Wave

Yes. Wave's entry pricing is Free (Pro $16/mo): the core accounting and invoicing is genuinely free in the US, with unlimited invoices and no monthly fee. The paid Pro plan adds receipt scanning, automatic bank imports, and priority support. Payment processing and payroll are separate paid add-ons. For a US sole proprietor or micro-business, Wave is one of the few genuinely free, fully usable options.

The Pro plan adds automatic bank feed imports, receipt scanning with OCR, and priority customer support over the free Starter plan. The free plan handles invoicing and manual bookkeeping well, but you import bank transactions manually. If you want automated bank reconciliation and receipt capture, the low-cost Pro tier is worth it. The comparison table on this page shows the Pro price alongside other providers.

Yes, as a paid add-on. Wave Payroll runs US payroll with a monthly base fee plus a per-employee fee. In some states it is a full tax-service that files payroll taxes for you, and in others it is self-service where you file. The base fee differs between those two state types, so check whether your state is tax-service or self-service. The calculator on this page lets you add employees to estimate the combined cost.

Wave lets you add sales tax to invoices and tracks 1099 contractor payments and reporting. Its multi-state sales tax handling is limited, so it suits single-state micro-businesses rather than multi-state online sellers. For complex multi-state nexus, QuickBooks or Xero with Avalara are stronger. For a simple service business in one state, Wave's tax tracking is adequate.

Wave is best for US sole proprietors, freelancers, and micro-businesses that want free invoicing and bookkeeping without a subscription. It is easy to use and covers the basics well. It tops out fast, though: there is no inventory, reporting depth is limited, and multi-state sales tax is shallow. Businesses that need inventory, projects, or heavy reporting should look at QuickBooks, Xero, or Zoho Books.

Wave's AI is limited compared with the market leaders. It offers receipt OCR on the paid Pro plan, which extracts line items from scanned or emailed receipts, but it does not have a broad native AI assistant. For connecting external AI agents, Wave relies on third-party community connectors rather than an official Model Context Protocol server. If AI-assisted bookkeeping matters, QuickBooks, Xero, or Zoho Books are stronger.