Puzzle IO vs Wave: Best Accounting Software in 2025?

Winner

4.8

• Financial Insights
• Tax Compliance
• Bookkeeping Services
• Partner Ecosystem
• Accrual Automation
• Free Plan Available
• Paid plans from $42.50/month

TRY NOW

Runner Up

3.0

• Account Reconciliation
• Charts of Accounts
• Invoices
• Products & Services
• Financial Reporting
• Free plan available
• Paid Plans from $19/month

TRY NOW

Sorting out your business money can feel like a puzzle.

You’ve probably come across a few different software options.

And two popular ones are Wave and Puzzle IO.

Both say they can simplify things and help you keep track of your money without a headache.

But how do you know which one is best for your business needs? Let’s compare Puzzle IO vs Wave.

Overview

We’ve tested Puzzle IO and Wave, exploring their features, ease of use, and pricing. 

Our hands-on testing allows us to bring you a clear.

Side-by-side comparison to help you decide which accounting software best fits your business needs.

4.8out of 10

Ready to simplify your finances? See how Puzzle IO can save you up to 20 hours a month. Experience the difference.

Pricing: Free Plan available. Paid plan starts at $42.50/month.

Key Features:

• Financial Planning
• Forecasting
• Real-time Analytics

Try Puzzle IO for FREE Read Full Review

3out of 10

Over 4 million small businesses trust Wave to manage their finances. Explore Wave’s plans and find the right fit.

Pricing: Free plan available. Paid plan starts at $19/month.

Key Features:

• Invoicing
• Banking
• Payroll add-on.

Try wave for FREE Read Full Review

What is Puzzle IO?

So, Puzzle IO, what’s the deal?

It’s accounting software designed to keep your business finances organized.

Think of it as a central place to manage your money coming in and going out.

Also, explore our favorite Puzzle IO alternatives…

Our Take

Ready to simplify your finances? See how Puzzle io can save you up to 20 hours a month. Experience the difference today!

Try Puzzle IO for FREE Read Full Review Puzzle IO alternatives

Key Benefits

Puzzle IO really shines when it comes to helping you understand where your business is headed.

• 92% of users report better financial forecasting accuracy.
• Get real-time insights into your cash flow.
• Easily create different financial scenarios to plan.
• Collaborate seamlessly with your team on financial goals.
• Track key performance indicators (KPIs) in one place.

Try Puzzle io for free

Pricing

• Accounting basics: $0/month.
• Accounting Plus Insights: $42.50/month.
• Accounting Plus Advanced Automation: $85/month.
• Accounting Plus scale: $255/month.

Try Puzzle io for free

Pros

• Love the strong focus on planning.
• Forecasting tools are impressive.
• Real-time data is super helpful.
• Collaboration features work quite well.
• Interface feels pretty intuitive.

Cons

• It might be overkill for very small setups.
• Integration options could be broader.
• Customer support response time varies.

Try Puzzle io for free

What is Wave?

Okay, let’s talk about Wave.

It’s another accounting software option out there.

What’s cool is that they offer a completely free plan.

Which can be a real plus for new businesses.

Also, explore our favorite Wave alternatives…

Our Take

Don’t settle for less! Join the over 2 million small businesses that rely on Wave’s powerful, free core accounting features to streamline their finances today.

Try wave now Read Full Review wave alternatives

Key Benefits

Wave’s strengths include:

• A 100% free core accounting plan.
• Serving over 2 million small businesses.
• Easy invoice creation and payment processing.
• No long-term contracts or warranties.

Pricing

• Starter Plan: $0month.
• Pro Plan: $19month.

Try wave now

Pros

• Core features are available for free.
• The software is generally easy to use.
• It offers cloud-based access anytime.
• Invoicing features are well-integrated.
• Connecting bank accounts saves time.

Cons

• Free plan has limited automation.
• Customer support is limited on free plan.
• Payroll is an additional cost.
• Advanced features require paid plans.

Try wave now

Feature Comparison

You need to know the core differences before you commit.

We’ve done the deep dive to show you exactly how each platform handles the features that truly matter.

So you spend less time with spreadsheets and more time growing.

1. AI-Powered Automation

• Puzzle IO: This is where Puzzle IO shines. It is AI-powered, built for automation. It handles tedious tasks like transaction categorization and auto-adjustments. Many startup founders and co-founders chose Puzzle because it acts like a fractional finance expert.
• Wave: Wave offers basic automation, mainly for simple rules and automated payment reminders for invoices. It relies more on manual input and simple rules compared to Puzzle IO’s deep-learning systems.

2. Real-Time Financial Insights

• Puzzle IO: Provides immediate and clear insights into your current state. Its dashboard is a game-changer, instantly showing key metrics like cash runway, burn rate, revenue, and monthly recurring revenue. You can see your company quickly with an accurate picture.
• Wave: Wave offers standard financial reports (like Profit & Loss) but lacks the instant, startup-focused key metrics and forecasting tools that Puzzle IO provides. You must run a report to see the current state.

3. Startup-Specific Metrics

• Puzzle IO: Built specifically for early-stage and tech companies. It automates complex calculations like revenue recognition and tracks fixed assets, ensuring your books are up to date for investors. This gives founders a view you won’t see in other tools.
• Wave: Wave is focused on small business accounting software basics. It does not natively handle revenue recognition or track metrics like cash runway or burn rate. It is more focused on being a simple ledger.

4. Advanced Accounting Tasks

• Puzzle IO: It is designed to automate complex accounting rules, such as handling prepaid expenses and depreciation for fixed assets. This means non-accountants can trust their books at tax time. It greatly reduces the chance of errors.
• Wave: Wave’s primary focus is on simplicity for small business owners. It does not have built-in tools for managing prepaid expenses or fixed assets, requiring manual adjustments or reliance on a finance expert.

5. Invoicing and Payments

• Puzzle IO: Offers professional invoicing features and is optimized to integrate with Stripe and other modern payment processors. You can accept online payments easily.
• Wave: The wave accounting platform provides excellent, free accounting software with unlimited invoices. It is simple for freelancers to send invoices, accept online payments, and track billable hours. Wave makes this process very easy.

6. Expense and Receipt Management

• Puzzle IO: Supports digital receipt capture and uses its AI to match and categorize spending automatically, giving you better financial data. It is constantly checking for potential errors.
• Wave: Wave offers basic receipt scanning through its mobile app, which you can use to track expenses. However, the auto-import bank transactions and matching can sometimes be less robust than Puzzle’s system.

7. Payroll Functionality

• Puzzle IO: It requires integration with other tools like Gusto or Rippling for full payroll processing. You can still track expenses related to your active employee.
• Wave: Offers an integrated Wave payroll add-on in the US and Canada. You can pay an independent contractor or active employee using direct deposit, making it a one-stop shop for accounting and payroll.

8. User Access and Scalability

• Puzzle IO: Designed to support unlimited users and multiple roles. This makes it easy to bring on your accountant or co-founder. This platform is built for businesses that will scale in the future.
• Wave: The core free platform and most plans offer unlimited users and allow you to manage multiple companies from one login, which is a great value for small business owners.

9. Banking and Data Import

• Puzzle IO: Features strong, native integrations that auto-import bank transactions and other financial data. It’s designed for easy setup and keeping your books up to date to give you an accurate picture.
• Wave: Wave accounting reviews often praise its ability to auto-import bank transactions for free. Its free version allows bank connections, which is one of the key features of this free accounting software.

What to Look for When an Accounting Platform?

Here are the key points to consider for wave accounting:

• Free Starter Plan vs Paid Plan: The free starter plan covers core expense tracking and invoicing software, but check what features are locked behind the paid pro plan.
• Payment Costs: Pay close attention to credit card and bank payment transaction fees if you accept online payments.
• Payroll Needs: Wave excels at payroll processing for both employees and ensuring your independent contractors are paid correctly, but it is an add-on.
• Security: Ensure your money management features are safe with options like multi-factor authentication.
• Growth: While it offers unlimited users and handles basic general ledger entries, it may require a paid pro plan for advanced reporting as your business scales.
• Invoicing: Look for invoicing features like recurring billing and automated payment reminders.
• Support: Access to the help center and human support may depend on your subscription level.

Final Verdict

After this deep dive, our final thoughts are clear.

We highly recommend Wave for freelancers and small clients looking to save time and money upfront.

The free two-plan structure means you can start with bookkeeping records and invoicing software with zero cost.

You can easily manage recurring invoices and get your independent contractor paid.

However, suppose you are a high-growth business and need sophisticated features like real-time financial health metrics, deep tax compliance, and advanced automation to eliminate manual data entry.

In that case, Puzzle IO is the more intuitive service.

While QuickBooks is the industry standard, Puzzle IO is designed for the future.

You can’t wait to get your transactions automatically tracked from your credit card transaction or set the date range for your tax filing.

Puzzle IO offers a deeper feature set to save on the back end by giving peace of mind.

Try Puzzle IO for FREE Read Full Review Puzzle IO alternatives

Try wave for FREE Read Full Review wave alternatives

More of Puzzle IO

More of Wave

• Wave vs Puzzle IO: This software focuses on AI-powered financial planning for startups. Its counterpart is for personal finance.
• Wave vs Dext: This is a business tool for capturing receipts and invoices. The other tool tracks personal expenses.
• Wave vs Xero: This is popular online accounting software for small businesses. Its competitor is for personal use.
• Wave vs Synder: This tool syncs e-commerce data with accounting software. Its alternative focuses on personal finance.
• Wave vs Easy Month End: This is a business tool to streamline month-end tasks. Its competitor is for managing personal finances.
• Wave vs Docyt: This uses AI for business bookkeeping and automation. The other uses AI as a personal finance assistant.
• Wave vs Sage: This is a comprehensive business accounting suite. Its competitor is an easier-to-use tool for personal finance.
• Wave vs Zoho Books: This is an online accounting tool for small businesses. Its competitor is for personal use.
• Wave vs Quicken: Both are personal finance tools, but this one offers more in-depth investment tracking. The other is simpler.
• Wave vs Hubdoc: This specializes in document capture for bookkeeping. Its competitor is a personal finance tool.
• Wave vs Expensify: This is a business expense management tool. The other is for personal expense tracking and budgeting.
• Wave vs QuickBooks: This is well-known accounting software for businesses. Its alternative is built for personal finance.
• Wave vs AutoEntry: This is designed to automate data entry for business accounting. Its alternative is a personal finance tool.
• Wave vs FreshBooks: This is accounting software for freelancers and small businesses. Its alternative is for personal finance.
• Wave vs NetSuite: This is a powerful business management suite for large companies. Its competitor is a simple personal finance app.

Frequently Asked Questions