# Bench vs Wave

**Leader by vioscaleAI score:** Wave

| Attribute | Bench | Wave |
|---|---|---|
| **vioscaleAI score** | 46 (59% (medium)) | 57.4 (72% (medium)) |
| content.faq | `[{"answer":"Bench is an online bookkeeping service that combines automated software with dedicated professional bookkeeping experts to provide monthly books, financial reporting, and tax preparation for small businesses. It is indexed under Accounting Software.","source":"https://bench.co","question":"What is Bench?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"Bench is a paid product; published pricing starts at $55 per hour. It is sold across 4 plans (Bookkeeping Grow, Bookkeeping Core, Bookkeeping Core + Tax and QBO Certified Bookkeeper). There is no free tier. Prices are published openly on the vendor's own pricing page. Pricing changes often, so verify at source before relying on it.","source":"https://www.bench.co/pricing","question":"How much does Bench cost?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"We have confirmed browser-based access to Bench. That is the extent of what we could verify from public sources, so it may well offer desktop or mobile clients we have not indexed.","source":"https://www.bench.co/pricing","question":"What platforms does Bench support?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"We have only confirmed a cloud / SaaS deployment for Bench, so it appears to be vendor-hosted. If a self-hosted option exists we have not found it documented publicly.","source":"https://www.bench.co/pricing","question":"Can Bench be self-hosted?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"We have confirmed 16 integrations for Bench, including Plaid, Square, QuickBooks Online, Drake, FileThis, Stripe, Salesforce and AWS, plus 8 more. This is what we could verify from public sources, so the vendor may support others we have not indexed.","source":"https://www.bench.co/pricing","question":"What does Bench integrate with?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"We have independently confirmed SOC 2 for Bench. Certifications we do not list are ones we have not been able to verify from public sources, which is not the same as Bench not holding them. Always confirm compliance directly before you rely on it.","source":"https://bench.co/security","question":"What security certifications does Bench have?","confidence":0.7},{"answer":"Bench is available in the United States. Its primary market is the United States.","source":"https://www.bench.co/pricing","question":"Where is Bench available?","confidence":0.75}]` | `[{"answer":"A unified platform combining bookkeeping, invoicing, payment processing, and reporting in one dashboard. Helps small business owners track income and expenses, manage cash flow, and maintain organized financial records year-round. It is indexed under Accounting Software.","source":"https://www.waveapps.com","question":"What is Wave?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"Wave offers a free tier, so you can start without paying. Paid plans start at $16 per month. Prices are published openly on the vendor's own pricing page. Pricing changes often, so verify at source before relying on it.","source":"https://www.waveapps.com/pricing","question":"Is Wave free?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"We have confirmed browser-based access to Wave. That is the extent of what we could verify from public sources, so it may well offer desktop or mobile clients we have not indexed.","source":"https://www.waveapps.com","question":"What platforms does Wave support?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"We have only confirmed a cloud / SaaS deployment for Wave, so it appears to be vendor-hosted. If a self-hosted option exists we have not found it documented publicly.","source":"https://www.waveapps.com","question":"Can Wave be self-hosted?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"We have confirmed 8 integrations for Wave, including Plaid, Zapier, Shopify, Square, ADP, RBC, Block Advisors and Apple Pay. This is what we could verify from public sources, so the vendor may support others we have not indexed.","source":"https://www.waveapps.com","question":"What does Wave integrate with?","confidence":0.6},{"answer":"Wave is available worldwide. Its primary markets are the United States and Canada.","source":"https://www.waveapps.com","question":"Where is Wave available?","confidence":0.75}]` |
| deployment.options | `{"cloud":true}` | `{"cloud":true}` |
| description.long | Bench pairs dedicated bookkeeping professionals with financial management software, offering plans ranging from basic bookkeeping to comprehensive packages including tax preparation and advisory services. | Wave enables small business owners to manage their financial operations in one place, including expense and revenue tracking, customer billing, digital payments, and reporting to support financial decision-making. |
| features.capabilities | `{"bank_feeds":"aggregator","deployment":"cloud","tax_compliance":"Federal income tax filing","payments_capture":true,"accountant_collab":true}` | `{"api_access":"full","bank_feeds":"aggregator","deployment":"cloud","ar_invoicing":true,"tax_compliance":"Tax-ready bookkeeping with organized records and reporting","double_entry_gl":true,"payments_capture":true,"accountant_collab":true,"project_accounting":true}` |
| integrations.count | 16 | 5 |
| integrations.list | `[{"name":"Plaid"},{"name":"Square"},{"name":"QuickBooks Online"},{"name":"Drake"},{"name":"FileThis"},{"name":"Stripe"},{"name":"Salesforce"},{"name":"AWS"},{"name":"Azure OpenAI"},{"name":"Mailchimp"},{"name":"Marketo"},{"name":"Stream Chat"},{"name":"Appcues"},{"name":"DataDog"},{"name":"Rollbar"},{"name":"Retool"}]` | `[{"name":"Plaid"},{"name":"Zapier"},{"name":"Shopify"},{"name":"Square"},{"name":"ADP"},{"name":"RBC"},{"name":"Block Advisors"},{"name":"Apple Pay"}]` |
| market.availability | `{"primaryMarkets":["US"],"availabilityScope":"global","availableCountries":[],"notAvailableCountries":[]}` | `{"primaryMarkets":["US","CA"],"availabilityScope":"global","availableCountries":[],"notAvailableCountries":[]}` |
| platform.support | `{"web":true}` | `{"ios":true,"web":true,"android":true}` |
| pricing | `{"type":"subscription","plans":[{"free":false,"name":"Bookkeeping Light","summary":"$199/mo or $1,910/yr","features":["Accurate books","Year-end tax-ready financials"],"components":[{"kind":"fixed","amount":199,"period":"month","currency":"USD"},{"kind":"fixed","amount":1910,"period":"year","currency":"USD"}],"description":"Bookkeeping for small businesses with annual revenue under $250,000","contactSales":false},{"free":false,"name":"Bookkeeping","summary":"$399/mo or $3,830/yr","features":["Accurate books","Year-end tax-ready financials","Unlimited bookkeeper access via phone/message/video"],"components":[{"kind":"fixed","amount":399,"period":"month","currency":"USD"},{"kind":"fixed","amount":3830,"period":"year","currency":"USD"}],"description":"Full bookkeeping service with dedicated bookkeeper access","contactSales":false},{"free":false,"name":"Bookkeeping + Tax","summary":"$649/mo or $6,230/yr","features":["Accurate books","Year-end tax-ready financials","Licensed tax professionals","Up to four tax advisory calls annually","End-to-end business tax filing"],"components":[{"kind":"fixed","amount":649,"period":"month","currency":"USD"},{"kind":"fixed","amount":6230,"period":"year","currency":"USD"}],"description":"Bookkeeping plus tax preparation and advisory services","contactSales":false},{"free":false,"name":"Full-service tax","summary":"$300/mo or $2,880/yr","features":["Tax filing","Year-round tax advisory","Up to four advisory calls annually"],"components":[{"kind":"fixed","amount":300,"period":"month","currency":"USD"},{"kind":"fixed","amount":2880,"period":"year","currency":"USD"}],"description":"Tax preparation and year-round advisory services","contactSales":false},{"free":false,"name":"Fractional Bookkeeper","summary":"$55/hr plus $1,200 one-time onboarding","features":["QuickBooks-native expert support","Dedicated bookkeeper access","Flexible scope of work"],"components":[{"kind":"per_unit","unit":"hour","amount":55,"currency":"USD"},{"kind":"one_time","amount":1200,"currency":"USD"}],"description":"Hourly expert bookkeeping support for businesses using QuickBooks","contactSales":false},{"free":false,"name":"Returning Customer tax filing","summary":"$1,200/yr","features":["Tax filing"],"commitment":"annual","components":[{"kind":"fixed","amount":1200,"period":"year","currency":"USD"}],"description":"Lower-cost tax preparation for existing Bench customers","contactSales":false}],"addOns":[{"name":"Advisory on demand","components":[{"kind":"fixed","amount":250,"currency":"USD"}]}],"summary":"From $199/mo. No free tier.","currency":"USD","freeTier":false,"sourceUrl":"https://www.bench.co/pricing","retrievedAt":"2026-09-18T12:30:12.760Z","startingPrice":{"amount":199,"period":"month","currency":"USD"},"billingPeriods":["month","year"]}` | `{"type":"subscription","plans":[{"free":true,"name":"Starter","summary":"Free","features":["Unlimited invoices, estimates, bills","Unlimited bookkeeping records","Mobile app access","Dashboard and reports","Payment processing available"],"description":"Basic accounting and invoicing for new businesses","contactSales":false},{"free":false,"name":"Pro","summary":"$16/month billed monthly, or $190/year billed annually","features":["Everything in Starter","Auto-import bank transactions via Plaid","Auto-merge and auto-categorize transactions","Unlimited receipt capture and tracking","Add multiple users/collaborators","Payment processing at discounted rates"],"commitment":"monthly","components":[{"kind":"fixed","amount":16,"period":"month","currency":"USD"}],"description":"Enhanced accounting with bank automation and transaction categorization","contactSales":false},{"free":false,"name":"Wave Advisors","summary":"$149/month or $199/month depending on tier","features":["Everything in Pro","Dedicated bookkeeper management","Monthly financial statements","Expert bookkeeping support","Transition assistance from other software","Optional one-on-one accounting coaching"],"components":[{"kind":"fixed","amount":149,"period":"month","currency":"USD"}],"description":"Hands-off bookkeeping with dedicated bookkeeper and financial expert support","contactSales":false}],"addOns":[{"name":"Payment Processing","components":[{"of":"transaction","kind":"percentage","plus":{"amount":0.6,"currency":"USD"},"rate":2.9}]},{"name":"Payroll"},{"name":"Receipts"}],"summary":"Free Starter plan with unlimited invoicing and bookkeeping. Pro from $16/month includes bank automation. Wave Advisors from $149/month for managed bookkeeping. Payment processing fees: 2.9% + $0.60 per Visa/Mastercard transaction.","currency":"USD","freeTier":true,"sourceUrl":"https://www.waveapps.com/pricing","retrievedAt":"2026-08-14T15:29:13.788Z","startingPrice":{"amount":16,"period":"month","currency":"USD"},"billingPeriods":["month","year"]}` |
| pricing.free_tier | no | yes |
| pricing.model | commercial | freemium |
| pricing.price_level | high | mid |
| pricing.starting_price | `{"amount":199,"currency":"USD"}` | - |
| pricing.transparent | yes | yes |
| reliability.status_page | - | yes |
| security.certifications | - | `[{"name":"PCI DSS Level 1","level":"Level 1","status":"active"}]` |
| security.pci | - | yes |
| security.soc2 | yes | - |

## Capabilities (Accounting Software)

| Capability | Bench | Wave |
|---|:--:|:--:|
| **Core** |  |  |
| Double-entry GL | - | ✓ |
| Multi-entity | - | - |
| Multi-currency | - | - |
| Bank feeds | Aggregator | Aggregator |
| **Modules** |  |  |
| AP automation | - | - |
| AR / invoicing | - | ✓ |
| Inventory | - | - |
| Fixed assets | - | - |
| Project accounting | - | ✓ |
| **Compliance** |  |  |
| Tax compliance | Federal income tax filing | Tax-ready bookkeeping with organized records and reporting |
| **Workflow** |  |  |
| Accountant collaboration | ✓ | ✓ |
| **Payments** |  |  |
| Payments capture | ✓ | ✓ |
| **Ecosystem** |  |  |
| API access | - | Full |
| **Deployment** |  |  |
| Deployment | Cloud | Cloud |

*Source: vioscaleAI. Generated 2026-10-16T20:58:01.277Z. "-" = undocumented, not absent.*