Pleo vs Wave Comparison
Compare Pleo vs Wave features, pricing, and more.
Last updated: November 2026
Pleo
6.8/10
Pleo is a European spend management platform that gives small and mid-sized businesses company cards, receipt capture, reimbursements and supplier invoice payments.
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 | 6.8/10 | 4.9/10 |
| Scalability | 6/10 | 2/10 |
| Analytics | 6/10 | 3/10 |
| Compliance | 7/10 | 4/10 |
| Integration | 7/10 | 3/10 |
| Security | 7/10 | 5/10 |
| Support | 5/10 | 3/10 |
| Cost | 6/10 | 9/10 |
| Customization | 6/10 | 3/10 |
| Ease of Use | 9/10 | 8/10 |
| Pricing | ||
| Free plan | No | Yes |
| Cheapest paid plan | £8/user/mo Start | $19/mo Pro |
| Estimated cost for 10 users | £80/mo Start | $19/mo Pro |
| Features | ||
| General Ledger | ||
| Payroll | ||
| Expense Management | ||
| Accountant Access | Not listed | |
| Accounts Payable | Not listed | |
| Audit Trail | Not listed | |
| Bank Reconciliation | Not listed | |
| Budgeting and Forecasting | Not listed | |
| Corporate Cards | Not listed | |
| Financial Reporting | Not listed | |
| Inventory Accounting | Not listed | |
| Invoicing | Not listed | |
| Multi-currency | Not listed | |
| Online Payments | Not listed | |
Pleo vs Wave cost by team size
| Team size | Pleo | Wave |
|---|---|---|
| 1 user | £8/moStart | FreeStarter |
| 5 users | £40/moStart | $19/moPro |
| 10 users | £80/moStart | $19/moPro |
| 25 users | £200/moStart | $19/moPro |
| 50 users | £400/moStart | $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 Pleo
- Higher Scalability score (6/10 vs 2/10)
- Higher Integration score (7/10 vs 3/10)
- Better fit for enterprise (4/10 vs 1/10)
Why choose Wave
- Has a free plan (Pleo does not)
- Higher Cost score (9/10 vs 6/10)
- Includes General Ledger, which Pleo lacks
- Includes Payroll, which Pleo lacks
Pros & Cons
Pleo
Pros
- G2 reviewers praise the card and receipt-capture app as easy for employees to use, and Pleo holds a 4.7 rating across roughly 1,400 G2 reviews.
- Per-user list prices are published, starting at £8 per user per month.
- Native accounting integrations cover Xero, QuickBooks, NetSuite, FreeAgent, Xledger and Twinfield.
- SAML SSO is included even on the entry Start plan.
- The UK entity is authorised by the FCA, and cards are issued under a Mastercard licence.
Cons
- Build and Optimise are billed yearly and require at least three users.
- Transaction charges such as FX fees of up to 2 percent and per-payment fees add to the subscription cost.
- Live chat support is only included on Optimise, and Trustpilot reviewers complain about slow support.
- Some reviewers report weak coverage and support in the US.
- It is not an accounting system and has no general ledger, customer invoicing or payroll.
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
Pleo scores higher on our Finance Software criteria: 6.8/10 against 4.9/10 for Wave. The largest gap is in Integration: 7/10 for Pleo and 3/10 for Wave.
Wave has a free plan; Pleo does not list one.
Pleo is the better fit for enterprise: we rate it 4/10 for them, against 1/10 for Wave.
Wave has General Ledger and Payroll, which Pleo lacks.
