Best for
Best for software, app and game businesses selling worldwide that want the tax registrations and filings to sit with the platform rather than with them.
- Freelancers
- Small and mid-sized
- Enterprise
Accounting & Invoicing Comparison
Paddle vs. Wave
At a glance
At a glance
Best for
Best for freelancers and very small businesses that want free invoicing and bookkeeping, with paid add-ons for bank automation, receipts and payroll.
- Freelancers
- Small and mid-sized
Cataleo does not name a winner. Both statements come from the vendors themselves.
Full Comparison
| Criterion | Paddle | Wave |
|---|---|---|
| Starting price | From 5 percent plus 50 US cents per checkout transaction Pay-as-you-go, with no monthly platform fee, migration fee or add-on charges. Custom pricing is quoted for rapidly scaling and large-scale businesses, and is required for products under 10 US dollars or invoicing-heavy models. | Free; Pro from $19 / month The Starter plan is free with unlimited invoicing and bookkeeping. The Pro plan adds bank connections, automatic categorization, invoice branding and reduced payment fees. Receipt scanning (from $8 / month) and Wave Payroll (from $25 / month) are paid add-ons. |
| API | Yes, one REST API for payments, subscriptions and billing, with webhooks, Paddle.js and SDKs for Node.js, PHP, Go and Python | Not stated |
| Hosting | Cloud (SaaS) | Cloud (SaaS) |
| Invoicing and quotes | Yes, subscription and one-time billing with a localised, embeddable checkout, a customer portal, proration, credits and multiple seats; Paddle issues the invoice as merchant of record | Yes, unlimited professional invoices, estimates and bills on every plan, with recurring billing, online payments and automated late-payment reminders on Pro |
| Bookkeeping and bank feeds | No general ledger or bank feeds of its own; Paddle covers billing, payments and tax rather than financial record-keeping | Yes; the Pro plan connects bank accounts and auto-imports, merges and categorizes transactions, while the free Starter plan records them manually |
| Expenses and receipts | No expense claims or receipt capture; Paddle covers the revenue side, not spend | Receipt scanning with OCR is a paid add-on (from $8 / month); expenses are otherwise tracked through categorized transactions and the Tags feature |
| Tax and compliance | Yes, as merchant of record Paddle registers for, calculates, files and remits sales tax and VAT in more than 100 jurisdictions, across 300 or more markets | Through the paid Wave Payroll add-on: automatic payroll tax payments and filings with state agencies and the IRS, excluding 1099 filings, plus W-2, W-3 and 1099-NEC forms in the US and T4 and T4A slips and summaries in Canada |
| Payroll | No payroll | Available as a paid add-on, Wave Payroll, from $25 / month |
| Reports and exports | Yes, real-time subscription and revenue analytics through ProfitWell Metrics, included rather than sold as an add-on | Yes, financial reports and dashboard insights, with a Tags feature for tracking profitability by project or client |
| Integrations and API | Yes, one REST API for payments, subscriptions and billing, with webhooks across the customer, subscription and invoice lifecycles, Paddle.js, server SDKs for Node.js, PHP, Go and Python, a sandbox with test cards and webhook simulation, and Postman collections | Yes, a documented GraphQL API on Wave's developer portal, with OAuth applications, a single public endpoint, webhooks and an API playground |
| Deployment | Cloud (SaaS), Browser-based | Cloud (SaaS), Browser-based |
| Support | Not stated | Email helpdesk, Chat |
| Onboarding | Documentation and knowledge base | Documentation and knowledge base |
| Company size | more entries Freelancers, Small and mid-sized, Enterprise | Freelancers, Small and mid-sized |
| Integrations | more entries HubSpot, Intercom, Databox, RevenueCat | Plaid |
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The short version
Key Differences
- Starting price Paddle From 5 percent plus 50 US cents per checkout transaction Wave Free; Pro from $19 / month
- Company size Paddle Freelancers, Small and mid-sized, Enterprise Wave Freelancers, Small and mid-sized
- Invoicing and quotes Paddle Yes, subscription and one-time billing with a localised, embeddable checkout, a customer portal, proration, credits and multiple seats; Paddle issues the invoice as merchant of record Wave Yes, unlimited professional invoices, estimates and bills on every plan, with recurring billing, online payments and automated late-payment reminders on Pro
- Bookkeeping and bank feeds Paddle No general ledger or bank feeds of its own; Paddle covers billing, payments and tax rather than financial record-keeping Wave Yes; the Pro plan connects bank accounts and auto-imports, merges and categorizes transactions, while the free Starter plan records them manually
- Expenses and receipts Paddle No expense claims or receipt capture; Paddle covers the revenue side, not spend Wave Receipt scanning with OCR is a paid add-on (from $8 / month); expenses are otherwise tracked through categorized transactions and the Tags feature
Every line is one datapoint from the table above, picked automatically. Nothing here is written text.
The trade-offs
Strengths and Limitations
Paddle
Strengths
- As merchant of record, Paddle registers for, files and remits sales tax and VAT in more than 100 jurisdictions
- One pay-as-you-go rate with no monthly platform fee, migration fee or add-on charges
- Retain for dunning and cancel flows and ProfitWell Metrics for analytics are included
- One REST API with webhooks, server SDKs for four languages and a sandbox
Limitations
- Five percent plus 50 cents per transaction is well above a bare payment-processing rate
- No general ledger of its own, so a separate accounting system is still needed
- Products under 10 US dollars and invoicing-heavy businesses need a quoted price rather than the published rate
- More than 20 currencies is a narrower spread than platforms that settle in 100 or more
Wave
Strengths
- Free Starter plan with unlimited invoices, estimates, bills and bookkeeping
- Pro plan connects bank accounts and auto-categorizes transactions
- Add-ons for receipt scanning, payroll and expert bookkeeping through Wave Advisors
- Accepts credit card, bank transfer and Apple Pay payments
Limitations
- Bank connections, invoice branding and reduced fees require the paid Pro plan
- Receipt scanning and payroll are paid add-ons rather than included
Plans
Pricing
Paddle
- Pay-as-you-go Not stated 5 percent plus 50 US cents per checkout transaction, with no monthly fee, migration fee or hidden costs. Includes checkout, subscription management and recurring billing, multi-currency payment processing, full tax registration, filing and remittance, fraud and chargeback protection, revenue recovery, real-time reporting and analytics, migration services and 24/7 support.
- Custom Not stated Quoted for rapidly scaling and established large-scale businesses, tailored to the business model and products. Also the route for products priced under 10 US dollars and for invoicing-heavy businesses.
Wave
- Starter Free Unlimited invoices, estimates, bills and bookkeeping, plus the mobile app. Online payments cost 2.9% + $0.60 per transaction.
- Pro $19 / month Adds bank connections with automatic import and categorization, custom invoice branding, automated late-payment reminders and reduced payment-processing fees. Also $190 / year.
What users say
Review Scores · opens after launch
Paddle
- Ease of use
- Not rated yet
- User interface
- Not rated yet
- Onboarding
- Not rated yet
- Support and service
- Not rated yet
- Value for money
- Not rated yet
- Features
- Not rated yet
No reviews yet. Be the first to review this tool. Every review is checked for fairness before it appears, and the vendor cannot have one removed.
Wave
- Ease of use
- Not rated yet
- User interface
- Not rated yet
- Onboarding
- Not rated yet
- Support and service
- Not rated yet
- Value for money
- Not rated yet
- Features
- Not rated yet
No reviews yet. Be the first to review this tool. Every review is checked for fairness before it appears, and the vendor cannot have one removed.
Where this comes from
Where this comes from
Paddle https://www.paddle.com · checked against the official source on 2026-09-10
Wave https://www.waveapps.com · checked against the official source on 2026-09-12
This table lists factual criteria taken from information the vendors publish themselves. For how we put it together, see the methodology.