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Invollo vs Wave: free invoicing with accounting, or with time tracking?

Wave is free accounting and invoicing for businesses in the United States and Canada. Invollo is invoicing with time tracking, signed quotes and a client portal, for freelancers and small teams in any country. If you’re in the US or Canada and want bookkeeping in the same app as your invoices, Wave is the stronger choice. If you’re based elsewhere, bill by the hour, or need clients to accept quotes before you start, Invollo fits better.

The short answer

Choose Wave if…

  • Your business is in the US or Canada, the two countries Wave serves.
  • You want free double-entry bookkeeping and financial statements next to your invoices.
  • You send a lot of invoices: Starter has no cap on invoices or clients.
  • You need payroll, bank feeds or receipt scanning, which Wave offers as Pro features or paid add-ons.
  • You want to invoice from free iOS and Android apps.

Choose Invollo if…

  • You’re based outside the US and Canada, for example in Bangladesh, India or the EU.
  • You bill by the hour and want tracked time, including a Windows desktop tracker with screenshots, turned into invoice lines.
  • You want clients to accept quotes with a typed name and drawn signature and see everything in a client portal.
  • You want clients to pay through your own Stripe or PayPal account, with no fee from Invollo on top.

Wave and Invollo side by side

Wave and Invollo compared feature by feature, with sources
 WaveInvollo
Where it worksBusinesses in the US and Canada[5]Any country. Card payments depend on where your own Stripe account is available.
Free planStarter, $0: unlimited estimates, invoices, bills and bookkeeping records[1]Free plan, $0 with no time limit and no card: 1 user, 3 active clients, 5 invoices and 5 quotes a month, 3 active projects, 10 emails a day sent through Invollo.
Paid planPro: $19 a month or $190 a year, per business[3][1]Pro (no client, invoice, quote or project limits) and Business (3 seats, your own sending domain), billed monthly; there is no annual plan. The pricing page shows the price for your country.
UsersInviting admins, editors and viewers needs Pro; Pro includes unlimited user access[14][2]1 user on Free and Pro. Business includes 3 seats with Owner, Admin and Member roles; there is no larger team plan.
Online payment fees2.9% + $0.60 per Visa or Mastercard payment, 3.4% + $0.60 for Amex, 1% for bank payments (minimum $1). On Pro, the first 10 transactions a month have no $0.60 fee[1][4]Clients pay through your own Stripe or PayPal account (PayPal in 24 of the 26 currencies, not BDT or INR), or by bank transfer you record. Invollo takes 0% of client payments; the gateway’s own fees apply.
Recurring invoicesWith Pro, or with online payments switched on[8]Not available.
Payment remindersAutomated late-payment reminders with Pro, or on Starter with online payments[1]Automatic overdue reminders by email, on every plan.
AccountingDouble-entry accounting on every plan[6]None. Reports show revenue, outstanding, overdue, hours, expenses and net income; export to CSV or JSON for your accountant.
Bank feedsAutomatic bank transaction imports on Pro[7]None.
Time trackingWave lists “No mileage or time-tracking features, but integrations are available”[9]Web timer, Chrome extension and a desktop tracker for Windows 10 and 11 that takes periodic screenshots; tracked time becomes invoice lines. Every plan.
QuotesEstimates that convert to invoices; client acceptance needs Pro or online payments, and Wave says accepting an estimate “does not create a binding contract”[10]Quotes that clients accept online with a typed name and drawn signature, recorded with a SHA-256 proof, timestamp and IP; convert an accepted quote to an invoice. Every plan.
PayrollUS: $40 a month + $6 per active employee; all 50 states, and Canada except Quebec[11]None.
Mobile appsFree app for iOS and Android[12]No native mobile apps. Invollo runs in the browser.
CurrenciesForeign-currency invoices, with the conversion to your business currency tracked[13]26 invoice currencies, including BDT and INR, converted to one of 10 workspace currencies for reports.

On small screens, scroll the table sideways; the first column stays in place.

Where Wave is the better choice

Wave is an accounting product that also sends invoices, and that is its biggest advantage. Starter gives you real double-entry bookkeeping at no cost[6], so your invoices, payments and expenses end up in the same books. Invollo has nothing comparable: it records invoices, payments and expenses, but it isn’t accounting software.

Wave also covers more of the back office once you pay for it. Pro adds automatic bank imports[7]; receipt scanning is part of Pro or an $8-a-month add-on[3]; and payroll with tax filing is available in all 50 US states and in Canada outside Quebec[11]. If you invoice on your phone, Wave’s iOS and Android apps are free[12], while Invollo only runs in the browser.

Finally, Wave doesn’t limit how much you use it. Unlimited invoices on the free plan beat Invollo Free’s 5 invoices a month by a wide margin.

Where Invollo is the better choice

If you’re outside the US and Canada, Wave is not an option for invoicing. Its help centre says users elsewhere can no longer send invoices or reminders through Wave[5]. Invollo is built by a team in Bangladesh for freelancers who bill clients abroad: it invoices in 26 currencies, including taka and rupees, and clients pay through your own Stripe or PayPal account.

If you bill time, Invollo does the tracking. Wave points you to integrations for time tracking[9]. Invollo has a web timer, a Chrome extension and a Windows desktop tracker; tracked hours become invoice lines, so you don’t retype them. The desktop tracker takes periodic screenshots at an interval your workspace sets, which your client can review if you allow it. Tell everyone involved before you turn it on.

If you sell work with quotes, Invollo records the acceptance. Clients accept a quote online with a typed name and drawn signature, and Invollo stores a SHA-256 proof with the time and IP address. Then you convert the quote into an invoice. Clients also get a portal with their invoices, quotes and projects. Wave’s estimates can be accepted online too, but Wave notes that this isn’t a binding contract[10].

On fees, Wave charges 2.9% + $0.60 on a Visa payment[1], so a $1,000 invoice paid by card costs you $29.60. With Invollo you pay whatever your own Stripe or PayPal account charges, and Invollo adds nothing.

What Invollo doesn’t do

Before you switch, know what you’d give up:

  • No accounting, bank feeds or payroll. You’ll still need an accountant or accounting software for your books.
  • No recurring invoices. Every invoice is created by hand or from tracked time.
  • No mobile apps. Invollo works in a mobile browser, but there is no iOS or Android app.
  • The desktop tracker is Windows only (Windows 10 and 11). On a Mac, use the web timer or the Chrome extension.
  • The free plan is small: 3 active clients and 5 invoices a month. Most working freelancers will need Pro.
  • Teams top out at 3 seats on the Business plan.

Can you use both?

Some people in the US and Canada do: time, quotes and invoices in one tool, bookkeeping in another. Invollo has no Wave integration, so you’d carry totals across by hand or from Invollo’s CSV export. If that sounds like too much admin, pick the tool that matches your biggest job: Wave if it’s the books, Invollo if it’s billing your time. See how invoicing works in Invollo and how time tracking works.

Frequently asked questions

Is Wave really free?
Wave’s Starter plan costs $0 and includes unlimited invoices, estimates, bills and bookkeeping records. The Pro plan is $19 a month or $190 a year per business. Online payments cost a fee on each transaction, for example 2.9% + $0.60 for Visa and Mastercard, and payroll and receipt scanning are paid extras (Wave pricing, checked 4 October 2026).
Can I use Wave if my business is outside the US or Canada?
Wave’s help centre says that in November 2020 it moved to focus exclusively on the US and Canada, and that users outside those countries can no longer send invoices or reminders through Wave. Invollo works for businesses in any country.
Does Wave have time tracking?
Wave’s own FreshBooks comparison page lists “No mileage or time-tracking features, but integrations are available” among Wave’s cons. Invollo includes a web timer, a Chrome extension and a Windows desktop tracker on every plan.
Does Invollo do bookkeeping like Wave?
No. Invollo has no double-entry accounting, bank feeds or payroll. Its reports cover revenue, outstanding and overdue invoices, hours, expenses and net income, and you can export your data as CSV or JSON for an accountant or accounting software.
Does Invollo have recurring invoices?
No. Each invoice is created by hand, from scratch or from tracked time and expenses. If you bill the same amount every month, Wave Pro (or Wave with online payments switched on) has recurring invoices.

Sources

Wave’s official pages, each checked on 4 October 2026. Plans and prices change; the vendor’s page is always the final word.

  1. Wave: Pricing (checked 4 October 2026)
  2. Wave: Pro Plan (checked 4 October 2026)
  3. Wave: Receipts (Pro Plan and add-on prices) (checked 4 October 2026)
  4. Wave: Online payments (checked 4 October 2026)
  5. Wave Help Center: Changes for Wave users outside the United States and Canada (checked 4 October 2026)
  6. Wave: Accounting software (checked 4 October 2026)
  7. Wave Help Center: Import transactions automatically by connecting a bank account (checked 4 October 2026)
  8. Wave: Recurring billing (checked 4 October 2026)
  9. Wave: FreshBooks vs Wave (checked 4 October 2026)
  10. Wave Help Center: Mark an estimate as accepted (checked 4 October 2026)
  11. Wave: Payroll (checked 4 October 2026)
  12. Wave: Invoicing software (checked 4 October 2026)
  13. Wave Help Center: Create a foreign currency invoice or bill (checked 4 October 2026)
  14. Wave Help Center: User types and permission levels for collaborators (checked 4 October 2026)
  15. Invollo: pricing page and product documentation.

Try Invollo on the free plan

No credit card and no time limit. If it isn’t the right fit, export your data as CSV or JSON and move on.

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