Fortnox vs Wave Comparison
Compare Fortnox vs Wave features, pricing, and more.
Last updated: November 2026
Fortnox
6.5/10
Swedish cloud accounting platform covering bookkeeping, invoicing, payroll, supplier invoice approval and reporting for small and mid-sized Swedish businesses and accounting firms.
Wave
4.9/10
Wave is a free-to-start accounting, invoicing, payments and payroll tool for very small businesses and freelancers in the US and Canada.
Feature-by-Feature Comparison
| Feature | | |
|---|---|---|
| Scores | ||
| Overall Rating | 6.5/10 | 4.9/10 |
| Scalability | 6/10 | 2/10 |
| Analytics | 5/10 | 3/10 |
| Compliance | 7/10 | 4/10 |
| Integration | 8/10 | 3/10 |
| Security | 6/10 | 5/10 |
| Support | 7/10 | 3/10 |
| Cost | 6/10 | 9/10 |
| Customization | 5/10 | 3/10 |
| Ease of Use | 7/10 | 8/10 |
| Pricing | ||
| Free plan | No | Yes |
| Cheapest paid plan | SEK 238/mo Mini | $19/mo Pro |
| Estimated cost for 10 users | SEK 238/mo Mini | $19/mo Pro |
| Features | ||
| Accountant Access | ||
| Expense Management | ||
| Financial Reporting | ||
| General Ledger | ||
| Invoicing | ||
| Payroll | ||
| Accounts Payable | Not listed | |
| Audit Trail | Not listed | |
| Bank Reconciliation | Not listed | |
| Corporate Cards | Not listed | |
| Inventory Accounting | Not listed | |
| Online Payments | Not listed | |
Fortnox vs Wave cost by team size
| Team size | Fortnox | Wave |
|---|---|---|
| 1 user | SEK 238/moMini | FreeStarter |
| 5 users | SEK 238/moMini | $19/moPro |
| 10 users | SEK 238/moMini | $19/moPro |
| 25 users | SEK 238/moMini | $19/moPro |
| 50 users | SEK 238/moMini | $19/moPro |
The plan that fits each team size, billed monthly, before add-ons and usage charges. Each cost opens that tool's pricing calculator for the team size.
Which One Should You Choose?
Why choose Fortnox
- Higher Integration score (8/10 vs 3/10)
- Higher Scalability score (6/10 vs 2/10)
- Better fit for enterprise (3/10 vs 1/10)
Why choose Wave
- Has a free plan (Fortnox does not)
- Higher Cost score (9/10 vs 6/10)
- Higher Ease of Use score (8/10 vs 7/10)
Pros & Cons
Fortnox
Pros
- More than 500 integrations, and one 189 kr licence covers all of them.
- A single platform covers bookkeeping, invoicing, payroll, supplier invoice approval, payments and a company card, which suits Swedish SMEs.
- Accounting firms get a dedicated bureau package for working in their clients' books.
- New companies get six months free, and every new subscription has a 30-day open purchase period.
- Trustpilot and Shopify app reviewers frequently praise customer service and sync reliability.
Cons
- Usage fees for invoices, paid employees and interpretations, plus an Access fee that scales with activity, make total cost hard to predict.
- Three-month agreements cost 15 percent more than the 12-month list prices.
- The product is Swedish-focused, and users have asked for an English interface.
- Some users call the reporting tools dated and say neobank integrations such as Revolut are missing.
Wave
Pros
- The free Starter plan includes unlimited invoices, estimates and bookkeeping records.
- Pro is a flat $19 per business rather than per user.
- US payroll now includes tax filing in all 50 states at a single price.
- Pro waives the $0.60 card fee on the first 10 payments each month.
Cons
- Free users get only chatbot support, there is no phone support, and reviewers report slow responses even on paid plans.
- There is no inventory tracking, time tracking or audit trail.
- Reports can only be adjusted by date range and cash or accrual basis.
- Trustpilot reviewers describe payroll problems after Wave moved payroll processing to Check in mid-2025.
- Automatic bank feeds and extra users require the Pro plan.
Not sold on either?
Frequently Asked Questions
Fortnox scores higher on our Finance Software criteria: 6.5/10 against 4.9/10 for Wave. The largest gap is in Integration: 8/10 for Fortnox and 3/10 for Wave.
Wave has a free plan; Fortnox does not list one.
Fortnox is the better fit for enterprise: we rate it 3/10 for them, against 1/10 for Wave.
