Wave Alternative (2026): Settle vs. Wave

What Wave costs, where it caps you, and when it is the better pick. Prices checked November 2, 2026.

Quick answer

Wave is free invoicing and accounting software with pay-per-use payments and a paid Pro tier, for businesses in the US and Canada. Settle is a free iPhone app for solo contractors with no cap on estimates or invoices, where payments go to your own Stripe account. Choose Settle if you work alone on an iPhone. Stay with Wave if you want free bookkeeping, bills and accounting reports alongside your invoices.

Side by side

	Settle	Wave
Unlimited estimates and invoices	Free: $0, no document limit	Starter, $0: "unlimited estimates, invoices, bills". Pro is $19 a month or $190 a year
Limits on lower plans	None on any plan. AI drafts: 3 free, then Pro	No document limit listed
Free plan	Yes	Yes. Starter includes unlimited estimates, invoices and bills and basic accounting. Online payments are pay-per-use; bank imports, receipt scanning and automatic late-payment reminders are Pro
Card payment fee	Stripe's standard 2.9% + 30¢ paid to Stripe; Settle adds nothing	2.9% + 60¢ per Visa, Mastercard or Discover transaction and 3.4% + 60¢ for Amex on Starter. Pro drops the 60¢ on the first ten transactions each month. Bank payments 1%, $1 minimum. Wave does not permit surcharging
Payouts	Paid straight to your own Stripe account. Stripe sets payout timing and runs its own risk checks; Settle never holds the money	Wave processes the payments itself; its US terms say it "acts solely as a third party payment facilitator and processor" and may delay, cancel or reverse a payment it suspects is invalid. Its help center lists US payouts at 2 business days for cards and 2 to 7 for bank payments, which "cannot be expedited", and says online payments can be paused while account details are reviewed
Scheduling and dispatch	No	Not listed. "Schedule" on Wave's pages refers to recurring invoices and reminders, not jobs
Platforms	iPhone only	Web, iPhone, Android. US and Canada only

From each company's public pages, checked November 2, 2026. Confirm on Wave's page before you buy.

Why contractors look for a Wave alternative

Card fees are 2.9% + 60¢, and the discount needs a Pro subscription

Wave's pricing page lists 2.9% + $0.60 per Visa, Mastercard or Discover transaction and 3.4% + $0.60 for Amex on the free Starter plan. Pro, at $19 a month, drops the 60 cents on the first ten transactions each month, then charges Starter rates. Settle's payments run through your own Stripe account at Stripe's 2.9% + 30¢, on the free plan.

Source: Wave pricing

Wave is the payment processor, and it can pause payments

Wave's help center says US card payouts take 2 business days and bank payments 2 to 7, that these timelines cannot be expedited, and that online payments are paused while a customer's payment account details are under review. With Settle, customers pay into a Stripe account in your own name and Settle is never in the money path. Stripe still sets payout timing and runs its own risk checks, so a new Stripe account also waits several days for a first payout.

"Wave locked our account and our funds halting our business."Wave reviewer, Trustpilot

Source: Wave help: online payments processing fees and timelines

Support is chat and email, and invoices can't be exported in bulk

Wave's pricing page says support is by live chat or email, Monday to Friday, 9 AM to 4:45 PM Eastern. Its help center says invoices cannot be printed or exported in bulk; single invoices export as PDF, and a Google Sheets add-on is the workaround. Settle exports everything to CSV from your phone, and Nina's number is on every page of this site.

"There is no phone number, only AI chat."Wave reviewer, Trustpilot

Source: Wave help: print or export invoices

When Wave is the better choice

You want free bookkeeping, bills and accounting reports alongside your invoices. Settle only does estimates and invoices.
You work from a web browser or an Android phone. Settle is iPhone only.
You want customers to pay by bank transfer for a flat 1%.
You're in Canada, or you want payroll and bank-feed imports from the same vendor.

When Settle is not the right app

We would rather you know before you download:

iPhone only. There is no Android app and no web app.
No scheduling, dispatching, GPS or time tracking.
No QuickBooks sync. You can export everything to CSV.
One user per account. No crew or team logins.
Documents live on your phone. There is no sync between devices yet.
English only for now.
A new app from a small team. Most of the apps it competes with have been around for years.

How to switch from Wave

Wave's help center says you cancel Pro under Business settings, Manage Subscriptions (or through iOS or Google Play if you subscribed in the app), keep Pro features until the end of the period you paid for, and the Starter plan stays free. Before closing the account, use Data Export, which emails a link (active 24 hours) to XLS or CSV files of transactions, customers, vendors and bills; invoices can't be exported in bulk, and deleting the account cannot be undone.

There is nothing to import into Settle. Open the app, tap the orange button, and describe your next job. Your own prices are remembered from what you send, so your old price list doesn't need to come along.

Questions

Is Settle a good alternative to Wave?

Settle is a good alternative to Wave if you work alone, use an iPhone, and want no cap on how many estimates and invoices you send. It is not a replacement if you need scheduling, dispatch, a crew login, QuickBooks sync, or an Android or web app.

How much does Wave cost compared to Settle?

Wave: Starter, $0: "unlimited estimates, invoices, bills". Pro is $19 a month or $190 a year. Cheapest plan: Starter, $0. No document limit listed. Settle's free plan sends unlimited estimates and invoices; Settle Pro is $19.99 a month or $149.99 a year and adds unlimited AI-written drafts. Prices checked November 2, 2026.

Can I export my data from Wave before I switch?

Does Settle hold my money?

No. Customers pay through a link, and the payment goes to a Stripe account in your own name. Settle takes no cut and is never in the money path. Stripe sets payout timing and still runs its own identity and risk checks, as it does for any business.

Sources

Try Settle alongside Wave.

Free on iPhone. Unlimited estimates and invoices. 7 days of Pro to try the voice drafts, and you cancel in two taps.

Download on the App Store

iPhone, iOS 17 or later. Questions? Text Nina: (818) 945-9686

A Wave alternative for solo contractors