Neo-Capital vs Wave
Wave's basic plan is free, and Wave earns money from payment processing and its Pro plan. Neo-Capital Desktop costs $49 once.
Try Online or Desktop free for 14 days. No credit card needed.
Wave helped many small businesses move off spreadsheets with free invoicing and bookkeeping. It earns money from payment processing fees and its Pro plan, which costs $19 a month per business and adds bank connections and priority support. For a side business with only a few transactions, it works well.
As your business grows, the differences matter more. Neo-Capital Desktop Basic costs $49 once, less than three months of Wave Pro, and has no monthly bill after that. It includes reconciliation and bank sync (through SimpleFIN, about $15 a year paid to SimpleFIN). You can upgrade to Pro or Firm with the same data, and your books are stored on your own computer.
Neo-Capital vs Wave
Competitor prices and features are US list prices as of September 2026. Both products change, so please check anything important on their website and ours.
| Neo-Capital | Wave | |
|---|---|---|
| Price | ||
| Price | $49 once (or $19/mo Online) | Free / $19/mo Pro |
| Business model | ||
| Business model | You buy the software | Payment fees + subscription |
| Books stored on your own computer | ||
| Books stored on your own computer | ||
| Bank feeds | ||
| Bank feeds | Pro plan | |
| Invoices with online payment | ||
| Invoices with online payment | ||
| Bank reconciliation | ||
| Bank reconciliation | ||
| Audit trail | ||
| Audit trail | Pro and Firm | |
| Inventory and fixed assets | ||
| Inventory and fixed assets | Pro and Firm | |
| Multiple businesses | ||
| Multiple businesses | 2 on Pro, unlimited on Firm | One login, Pro billed per business |
| Mileage tracking | ||
| Mileage tracking | Through Driversnote | |
| Sales tax nexus tracking | ||
| Sales tax nexus tracking | Pro and Firm | |
| AI assistance available | ||
| AI assistance available | Ours or your own | |
Where Wave is strong
Wave is free to start. For a new side business with a few transactions a month and no budget, its invoicing and simple books are a good fit, and it is easy to turn on payment processing.
Where Neo-Capital is stronger
For $49 once, you get books that reconcile and are ready for your accountant, along with a deduction finder and quarterly tax estimates. Our revenue comes from selling the software, not from your payments. As your business grows, you can upgrade tiers with the same data.
Switching from Wave
Export your Wave transactions and customers as CSV files and import them into Neo-Capital. Your rules suggest categories on the Review page, and you approve each one.
Common questions about Neo-Capital and Wave
Is Wave really free?
Wave's starter plan is free, and Wave earns money from payment processing fees. Bank connections come with the Pro plan at $19 a month per business. Neo-Capital Desktop Basic is $49 once, which is less than three months of Wave Pro, and has no ongoing cost after that. Bank sync through SimpleFIN costs about $15 a year, paid to SimpleFIN.
Is Neo-Capital overkill for a tiny business?
Basic is designed for small businesses. It uses plain language, finds possible deductions and estimates your quarterly taxes. The advanced accounting tools appear only if you upgrade to Pro or Firm.
Can I move my Wave books over?
Yes. Export your transactions and customers from Wave as CSV files and import them. Your rules suggest categories, and you approve each transaction on the Review page.
What about accepting card payments?
Get Paid connects your own Stripe account, so your invoices include a payment link. When a customer pays, the payment and the fee are recorded in your books. Stripe charges its usual card fee, and we charge 1% of each payment.
Choose Online or Desktop
Subscribe to Online and use it in your browser, or buy Desktop once and keep it. With either one, you can export all of your data at any time.
More comparisons: vs QuickBooks Online · vs QuickBooks Desktop · vs Xero · vs FreshBooks · vs Zoho Books