Wave is genuinely free — but it is cloud software: an account, your client and income data on their servers, and a business model built on payment processing and payroll add-ons. InvoicePro is the offline opposite: a single web page that makes invoices and quotes locally, with nothing uploaded.
Wave earned its popularity: free invoicing and accounting that works well for a lot of freelancers. The trade-off is that it is a cloud account. Your invoices, clients and income figures live on their servers, you sign in to use it, and the free product is supported by upsells like payments and payroll.
InvoicePro is not trying to be cheaper than free — it is trying to be private and yours. It is one HTML file that builds invoices and quotes, handles tax, discounts, your logo, 12 currencies and four layouts, and prints to a clean PDF, all in your browser with zero network requests. Pay $9 once for Pro and there is no account to manage and nothing to cancel.
| Wave | InvoicePro | |
|---|---|---|
| Cost | Free (cloud, monetized via payments/payroll) | Free version + one-time $9 Pro |
| Account required | Yes | No account, ever |
| Where your data lives | Wave cloud servers | Only in your browser (local) |
| Works fully offline | No | Yes, zero network requests |
| Invoices & quotes | Yes | Yes |
| Logo, tax, discounts | Yes | Yes |
| Multi-currency | Yes | 12 currencies |
| Upsells / add-ons | Payments, payroll, advisors | None — it is just the tool |
| Best for | Free cloud bookkeeping | Private, offline invoicing |
Wave is free; this comparison is about data ownership and working offline, not price. Wave plans and add-ons change over time — check their site for current details.
Client names, addresses and amounts never leave your browser.
Open the file and invoice — no sign-up, no email verification, no login.
Save the file and bill clients with the Wi-Fi off, on a plane, anywhere.
Switch modes, add a PAID stamp, print a crisp PDF.
Logo, accent colour and four layouts.
It is one tool that does one job — no payments cut, no nudges.
If you want free cloud bookkeeping with bank-feed reconciliation, built-in online payments and access from any device with a login, Wave is a strong free option and hard to beat on features-for-zero-dollars. InvoicePro is for freelancers who specifically want their billing data offline and private, and are happy to handle payment however they already do.
Nothing to export or migrate — open the generator and send your next invoice now. Get the single tool for $9, or all five in the $39 Freelance Tools Suite.
Part of a set of five offline, no-subscription tools that share a CSV format:
No account, nothing uploaded, works offline. Free to start.