Wave gives you free invoicing and bookkeeping. If you also drive for work, bill by the hour, and file Schedule C, here is what Wave leaves out.
Start freeWave's Starter plan is free with unlimited invoices, and Wave Pro is $19 a month or $190 a year for automatic bank import. Wave does not list mileage tracking or time tracking on any plan. Self Employment Toolkit includes both, plus expenses, invoices, and a year-end Schedule C export, on a free plan or Pro at $6 a month.
| Self Employment Toolkit | Wave | |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free, or $6/mo or $48/yr | Starter free; Pro $19/mo or $190/yr |
| Mileage tracking | Yes, unlimited on Free | Not offered |
| Time tracking | Yes | Not offered |
| Invoicing | Yes, no caps | Yes, unlimited |
| Card payments on invoices | Not yet | Yes, per-transaction fees |
| Receipt capture | Pro, plus email forwarding | Paid add-on |
| Double-entry bookkeeping | No, by design | Yes |
| Schedule C export | Year-end bundle in Schedule C order | Not a Schedule C-ordered export |
Competitor prices and features were checked against each company's own pricing and help pages in November 2026. Prices change, so check theirs before you decide.
Every new account gets 30 days of Pro, no card required. Then stay on Free (unlimited trips, clients, expenses, and invoices, 10 time entries a month) or keep Pro for $48 a year ($4 a month).
See pricingFree unlimited invoicing is hard to argue with. Wave's Starter plan also gives you double-entry bookkeeping at no cost, and clients can pay your invoices by card, at Wave's processing rate.
If all you need is to send invoices and keep basic books, and you do not drive for work or bill by the hour, Wave's free plan may be all you need. I would rather say that than pretend otherwise.
Mileage is often the largest deduction a sole proprietor has, and Wave does not track it. Neither does it track billable hours. Most Wave users end up with a separate mileage app and a separate timer, then add the numbers together in a spreadsheet in April.
Self Employment Toolkit keeps all of it in one record. A trip can become an invoice line. Tracked hours roll into an invoice. Paid invoices post to income. The year-end export pulls every piece into Schedule C order.
Wave Starter is free. Wave Pro is $19 a month or $190 a year, and receipt capture is a separate paid add-on. Self Employment Toolkit Free includes unlimited trips, expenses, clients, and invoices. Pro is $6 a month or $48 a year and adds AI receipt reading and email forwarding at no extra charge.
Self Employment Toolkit is a web app that works in your phone's browser. There is no App Store app yet and no automatic drive detection: you start and end each trip yourself, and the route distance is filled in for you. Invoices are emailed as PDFs, but clients cannot pay them by card inside the app yet. It does not file your tax return.
Comparing other tools too? See every comparison, or read the full FAQ.
The tax year starts January 1, so the cleanest time to switch is before your first trip of the year. Every new account gets 30 days of Pro, no card required, so you can import what you have and try every feature. After that, keep Pro for $6 a month or $48 a year, or stay on Free.
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