Comparison · Reviewed May 2026
Durvy vs Wave
Wave is genuinely free for invoicing + accounting and has been for a decade. It's the go-to for solo freelancers who want zero monthly cost and don't mind a slightly older UX.
TL;DR
Pick Wave if:
You're starting out, you want a free invoicing + accounting tool, and you don't need time tracking or a CRM. Wave's free tier is more generous than ours.
Pick Durvy if:
You want the four apps to share data (receipts → invoices, hours → invoices, everything → CRM) - Wave covers invoicing + accounting only, the other two pieces aren't part of the product.
Wave: $0 (forever) + paid add-ons · Durvy: $0-$49/mo
Feature comparison
| Feature | Durvy | Wave |
|---|---|---|
| Free tier | Yes (limited) | Yes (generous) |
| Unlimited invoices on free | No (3 active) | Yes |
| Time tracking | Yes (Suite) | No (use Toggl + integration) |
| CRM with kanban | Yes (Clienty) | No |
| Receipt scanning | Yes - Receiptly | Yes |
| Double-entry bookkeeping | No (CSV export) | Yes |
| Multi-currency | Yes - every paid tier | Yes |
| Recurring invoices | Yes (Pro+) | Yes |
| Payment processing fee | Not built-in (use Stripe/PayPal) | 2.9% + 30¢ per card |
| Payroll | No | Yes (paid add-on) |
| Team workspace | Agency $49/mo | Limited |
| Cross-app data integration | Built in | Manual / third-party |
Pricing and feature data reviewed 2026-05-15. Both products ship updates regularly - verify on each vendor's site before purchasing.
The honest pitch for each
Wave is the free invoicing + accounting tool that's been around since 2010. It really is free for the core product - invoicing, expenses, basic accounting, receipts, double-entry bookkeeping. The catch is they make money on payment processing (2.9% + 30¢ per credit card transaction) and on payroll add-ons. If you're a solo freelancer who sends invoices and wants free accounting, Wave delivers that and has for years.
Durvy is broader scope (four apps including time tracking and CRM) at a paid tier ($15-$49/mo). Wave doesn't have time tracking. Wave's CRM is basic contacts. If those two features matter to your business, Durvy wins. If they don't, Wave's free tier wins on price.
Where Wave is the right call
Two buyer profiles where Wave is genuinely the right choice:
- You're a freelancer who only needs invoicing + bookkeeping, and you want it free forever. Wave's free tier is more comprehensive than Durvy's free tier. Unlimited invoices on Wave; Durvy free caps at 3 active invoices. If that's the entire need, Wave wins.
- You need real double-entry accounting. Wave has a proper chart of accounts, balance sheet, P&L. Durvy doesn't - we export to CSV and assume your accountant handles bookkeeping. If you're DIY-ing the books, Wave is the more capable platform.
Where Durvy is the right call
Three signals Durvy is the better fit:
- You bill hourly or track time for projects. Wave doesn't have time tracking - they recommend a separate tool (Toggl, Harvest) and a Zapier-style integration. Durvy's Timely is built in: hours flow directly into invoices as line items, one click. For freelancers who bill hours, this saves real time monthly.
- You manage 10+ active clients and want a real CRM. Wave's clients are basically contact records - name, email, billing address. Durvy's Clienty has project kanban, health scoring (alerts when a client is at risk), contact log, dormant-client warnings, financial rollups per relationship. If client management is part of your workflow, you'll feel the difference.
- You want a freelance-first UX. Wave was built for small-business accounting first and freelancers were a use case. Durvy was built for freelancers first. The UX choices (camera-first receipt scanning, one-click timer, recurring invoices defaulted on) reflect that.
On Wave being free
Wave's free tier is real and has been for over a decade. It's not freemium-with-a-paywall-coming - they fund the company through payment processing fees and the payroll add-on. So if "free" is the deciding factor, Wave is harder to beat.
Durvy's free tier is more limited: 10 receipts/mo, 3 active invoices, no time tracking, no CRM, USD only. We made it deliberately tighter because our $15/mo Pro tier is the actual business - we'd rather have a clear free→Pro upgrade story than try to compete with Wave on free-forever invoicing.
If the cost matters more than the suite scope, use Wave. If the suite scope matters more than the cost, the Durvy $15 Pro tier covers receipts + invoices fully, and $29 Suite adds time + CRM.
TL;DR - pick Wave if...
...you only need invoicing + accounting, you want free forever, and you don't track time or actively manage many clients.
Pick Durvy if you bill hourly, manage active client relationships, want receipts/invoices/time/CRM as one connected system, and are willing to pay $15-29/mo for the upgrade.
Try Durvy free first.
No card. 10 receipts and 3 invoices a month free forever - enough to decide if the suite fits your workflow before you pay anything.
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