Found vs Wave Comparison 2026
Found is a business bank account with automatic tax set-aside built in, free with no monthly fee. Wave is free invoicing and double-entry bookkeeping software that works with the bank you already have, with Pro at $19 a month adding automation and receipt scanning. Found's own editorial note admits the comparison directly: stay with Wave if you are happy with your existing bank, and only move to Found if you want the account itself doing the categorising.
At a glance
- Wave starts cheaper, at $19.
- Both have a genuinely free tier.
Side by side
Found | Wave | |
|---|---|---|
| Starting price (they differ) | From $35 | From $19 |
| Pricing model | Free plan, paid tiers | Free plan, paid tiers |
| Free tier | Yes | Yes |
| Billing | Monthly or annual | Monthly or annual |
| Free trial (they differ) | 30 days | None |
| API |
Found
Banking, bookkeeping and tax in one account
Found is a business account for self-employed people with the bookkeeping and the tax set-aside built into it, so expenses categorise themselves as they land and the quarterly estimate is on screen rather than in April. It invoices, pays contractors and files 1099s. The free plan has no monthly fee and no minimum balance, which is the reason to look at it before a bank.
Our note
Wave is free and does the books without touching the banking, so Found only makes sense if you want the account itself to do the categorising. Anybody happy with their existing bank should stay with Wave and keep the $35.
Wave
Invoicing and bookkeeping that costs nothing
Wave does invoices, receipts and double-entry bookkeeping for free, and earns on card payments and on a paid tier that automates the parts you would otherwise do by hand. For a sole trader sending a dozen invoices a year it is the cheapest honest answer. Payroll and the advisor service exist in some countries only, which is worth checking before a whole tax year lives in it.
Our note
Why people weigh these two
- Wave instead of Found
- Wave covers the invoicing and bookkeeping side with a free plan and paid features from $19, while you keep your existing bank account.
- Found instead of Wave
- Found bundles banking with the bookkeeping and tax, with a free tier and plans from $35, one account instead of Wave's books sitting apart from where the money lives.
Which one should you pick
Pick Found if opening a new account is genuinely on the table and having the bank do the tax categorising, in real time, is worth switching for. The free plan costs nothing and adds invoicing, contractor payments and 1099 filing on top of the account itself.
Choose Wave to keep your current bank and still get real double-entry bookkeeping for free. Starter costs nothing at all, and Pro at $19 a month, cheaper than Found's $35 Plus tier, adds automation and receipt scanning without asking you to move your banking.
Common questions
- Which one requires switching banks?
- Found does: it is a business bank account in itself. Wave is software that sits on top of whatever bank account you already use, so nothing about your banking has to change.
- Which is cheaper at the paid tier?
- Wave's Pro plan is $19 a month against Found Plus at $35. Both add automation on top of their free plans, Wave for bookkeeping and Found for imported transactions and interest.
- Does either charge for card payments?
- Wave does, 2.9 percent plus 60 cents on both its plans, 3.4 percent for Amex. Found's listing does not describe a card-payment processing fee in the same way, focusing instead on wire and cheque fees.
- What does Found's own brief say about this comparison?
- It recommends staying with Wave if you are happy with your existing bank, and says Found only makes sense if you specifically want the account itself doing the categorising rather than software layered on top of one.
Ratings are the average of reviews readers left. The facts are stated by each tool’s own listing and are not verified by CloutStack. How we make money.