Facturwise vs Wave: Free Plan and EU E-Invoicing

Facturwise vs Wave at a glance

Two tools heading in opposite directions

Wave and Facturwise are moving in fundamentally different directions. Wave is pulling back from international markets to focus exclusively on North America. Facturwise is built specifically for European cross-border e-invoicing compliance. If you are a European business evaluating free or low-cost accounting tools, Wave's geographic retreat and its complete absence of EU e-invoicing format support make it a poor fit for your situation, not because of the quality of the product, but because of who it is now built for.

Wave's Starter plan remains a genuinely capable free accounting tool for its intended audience. Unlimited invoicing, double-entry bookkeeping, profit and loss reports, and online payment processing at no monthly cost is a strong offer for a North American freelancer or micro-business with simple accounting needs. The Pro plan at $16 per month adds automatic bank import and unlimited receipt scanning, which are meaningful productivity upgrades.

For European users who can still access Wave and are evaluating whether to stay, the comparison below covers where the tools diverge and what that means in practice.

Wave's geographic retreat: what it means for European users

Wave's own official help centre documentation states directly that users outside the US and Canada should consider switching to Zoho Books, and provides a link to a partner deal offering one year of free Zoho Books service. Existing European accounts are described as remaining active, but with the explicit caveat that this may change in the future.

This is not a minor shift in marketing language. Wave has actively redirected new European users away from its product and established a migration partnership with Zoho Books to facilitate departures. The online payment processing features (credit card, ACH, Apple Pay) are restricted to US and Canadian businesses. The payroll add-on is US only.

A European business building its accounting workflow on Wave today is building on a platform that has signalled it is not committed to serving that market. That is a relevant risk factor to weigh alongside any feature comparison.

The EU e-invoicing gap in Wave

Wave does not support any structured EU e-invoicing format. ZUGFeRD, XRechnung, Factur-X, and Peppol BIS 3.0 are not mentioned anywhere in Wave's product documentation, feature pages, or marketing material. Wave generates standard PDF invoices. These are not structured e-invoices in the legal sense required by EU mandates.

Germany's B2B e-invoicing mandate has required all businesses to be able to receive structured e-invoices since January 2025. Sending obligations phase in from January 2027 for larger businesses and January 2028 for all businesses. German clients are increasingly requesting ZUGFeRD or XRechnung invoices. Wave cannot generate either.

France's mandate became active for receipt in September 2026 and extends to sending for all businesses in September 2027. French business clients require Factur-X. Wave does not support Factur-X.

Belgium's B2B Peppol mandate became active in January 2026. Belgian business clients require Peppol BIS 3.0. Wave does not support Peppol BIS 3.0.

Where Wave is stronger for its intended audience

Wave has genuine advantages within its intended North American market that are worth stating honestly.

The free Starter plan has more accounting depth than Facturwise's free tier. Double-entry bookkeeping, cash and accrual basis reporting, profit and loss statements, balance sheets, and cash flow reports are all available on the free Starter plan. Facturwise does not offer any of these.

The free plan also supports unlimited invoices and unlimited clients with no document count limit. Facturwise's free plan covers 5 invoices total. For a freelancer testing the waters before committing to a paid plan, Wave's free tier is a lower barrier to entry for general invoicing.

Online payment processing is integrated directly in the product. Clients pay directly from the invoice via credit card, ACH, or Apple Pay. Facturwise covers SEPA QR codes and IBAN on paid plans but does not have the same integrated payment gateway ecosystem.

Receipt scanning OCR is available via the Pro plan and as an add-on on Starter. Facturwise does not offer receipt scanning.

Zapier integration opens Wave to thousands of third-party app connections. Facturwise focuses on the e-invoicing workflow and does not have a comparable integration ecosystem.

Where Facturwise is stronger

The EU e-invoicing formats are the decisive difference. Wave cannot generate ZUGFeRD, XRechnung, Factur-X, or Peppol BIS 3.0 in any plan or configuration. These are not missing features that might be added; they are outside the product's stated geographic focus.

Facturwise generates all four formats on every plan including the free tier. Germany, France, Belgium, and the Netherlands are all covered from one account with no per-country setup.

The DATEV-compatible CSV export on all Facturwise plans including the free tier gives German users a path to hand off invoice data to their Steuerberater. Wave has no documented DATEV export. This matters for any freelancer or small business whose Steuerberater expects a monthly DATEV-compatible data handoff.

The interface runs in English, German, and French with full UI localisation in all three. Wave is English only. For users who work in German or French, Facturwise provides that interface natively.

Invoice output in 22 languages from one Facturwise account means each client receives their invoice in their own language automatically. Wave's invoice localisation is limited and primarily English-focused.

Facturwise's servers are based in the EU with GDPR compliance. Wave stores data in North America. Canada has EU adequacy status under PIPEDA, but Wave has not been independently GDPR audited, and its data storage is outside EU jurisdiction. For German and French businesses with GDPR obligations around client data in invoices, this is a relevant consideration.

The broader pattern of why this EU e-invoicing gap exists across accounting tools built outside Europe is covered in our piece on the ERP outgoing invoice gap.

When Wave might still be relevant for a European user

Wave is not a zero-value option for European users. If you already have a Wave account, are in a market not yet affected by EU structured e-invoicing mandates, primarily invoice clients in the US or Canada, and only need basic free bookkeeping, Wave's existing free plan still functions.

The risk is forward-looking. Wave's direction of travel is away from Europe. EU e-invoicing mandates are rolling out across Germany, France, Belgium, and the Netherlands now. Building your invoicing workflow on a platform that has signalled it is not committed to serving European businesses creates a predictable problem: at some point your clients will request a format Wave cannot generate, and you will need to find a different solution anyway.

When Facturwise is the right choice

Facturwise is the right choice if you are a European freelancer or small business that needs to send ZUGFeRD, XRechnung, Factur-X, or Peppol BIS 3.0 invoices and wants a tool built for European compliance from day one.

If you currently use Wave and your German clients are beginning to request ZUGFeRD invoices, your French clients now require Factur-X under France's September 2026 mandate, or your Belgian clients require Peppol BIS 3.0 since January 2026, Wave cannot generate those formats. Facturwise generates all four from its free plan.

If you work in German or French and need a product that runs natively in those languages, Facturwise provides full UI localisation in English, German, and French. Wave is English only.

If you have a Steuerberater handling your accounting and need a monthly DATEV-compatible export for handoff, Facturwise generates that on all plans including the free tier. Wave has no documented DATEV export.

If data residency within the EU is important for your GDPR compliance obligations, Facturwise operates on EU servers. Wave stores data in North America.

If you also evaluated other tools in this space, our Zoho Invoice comparison, FreshBooks comparison, Lexoffice comparison, FastBill comparison, and easybill comparison each cover the same EU e-invoicing gap from different angles.

What Facturwise does not do

This comparison would not be honest without stating clearly what Facturwise does not cover. Facturwise does not offer double-entry bookkeeping, profit and loss reporting, balance sheets, or automatic bank import. There is no receipt scanning OCR. No integrated payment gateway beyond SEPA QR codes and IBAN. No time tracking. No project management. No Zapier ecosystem. No native mobile app yet. No GoBD-compliant archiving.

Facturwise assumes you already have an accounting solution in place, or that you use a Steuerberater for your books. It handles the outgoing invoice compliance layer for European markets and the DATEV handoff for German workflows. Everything else stays in your existing accounting setup.

Frequently asked questions