Free today
The Starter plan is free: unlimited estimates, invoices, bills and bookkeeping records. Trifold's free plan is planned; the hosted service is early access.
Compare · Trifold vs Wave
Trifold vs Wave
Wave and Trifold both want small organizations to start without a bill: Wave's Starter plan is free today, and Trifold's free plan is planned. Wave is invoicing and bookkeeping for freelancers, solopreneurs and contractors, with its own payment processing, a payroll add-on and paid advisors. Trifold is for organizations paid through Stripe: payments become balanced books and a signed receipt for each payment that anyone can check.
Wave, in its own words: “Clear books. Confident decisions.”
Where Wave is strongest
Honest first. If these matter most to you, Wave is likely the better fit.
Simple, with help when you need it
Pro is $19 a month and adds bank import through Plaid. Add payroll ($25–40 a month), receipt scanning ($8–11 a month) or a paid Wave Advisor.
Accountant roles on the free plan
Starter includes free tax-pro and payroll roles; Pro adds admin, editor and viewer roles.
Where Trifold differs
Shipped means it works today in the engine. Next means it's on the roadmap and not built yet.
Anyone can check a receipt, with no account
A family, CPA or auditor pastes a receipt into the free verifier at /verify. It runs in their browser and sends nothing to us; the CLI does the same check offline.
Books built from Stripe events
Every Stripe payment and refund arrives as an event and posts as balanced double-entry books, with Stripe's record id on each one. Nothing is typed in by hand.
Sealed months and open formats
Seal each month so a later change shows, export to Parquet, hledger or CSV, and run the engine yourself if you like.
Side by side
The companies and products, fact by fact. Trifold's prices are planned; the hosted service is early access. "Not stated" means Wave's public pages don't say; it doesn't mean the feature is missing.
- Built for
- TrifoldSchools, studios, non-profits and other organizations paid through Stripe WaveFreelancers, solopreneurs, contractors and consultants
- Monthly price
- TrifoldFree, then Starter $29, Pro $79, Witnessed $149 a month, planned. Non-profit and co-op: $15 / $39 / $79 WaveStarter free; Pro $19 a month ($190 a year)
- Free plan
- TrifoldPlanned. The hosted service is early access; design partners are free during the pilot WaveYes: Starter
- Seats
- TrifoldNo per-seat fees; CPA and bookkeeper seats free (planned) WaveFree tax-pro and payroll roles on Starter; user limits not stated
- Payments
- TrifoldUses your own Stripe account WaveIts own payment processing: 2.9% + 60¢ per card payment on Starter
- Bank import
- TrifoldNone today; bank-statement import (CSV/OFX) is planned WaveThrough Plaid, on Pro
- Payroll
- TrifoldNone. A year-end package for your CPA is Later WaveAdd-on, $25–40 a month
- Who can check the records
- TrifoldAnyone, in a free browser verifier or the CLI, with no account WaveNot stated
- AI
- TrifoldRifo, Next (not shipped): drafts and explains, you approve, the engine does the math WaveNot stated
- Export
- TrifoldParquet, hledger and CSV, on every plan WaveNot stated
- Self-hosting
- TrifoldThe engine is self-hostable WaveNo; hosted only
- Stripe
- TrifoldNative: books built from Stripe events, Stripe's webhook signature checked WaveNot stated
Which one fits
Choose Wave if…
You're a solo operator who needs free invoicing and simple books.
Choose Trifold if…
You collect tuition, dues or class fees through Stripe and need reconciled books that others can check.
Sources
- Wave homepage: https://www.waveapps.com(opens in a new tab)
- Wave pricing: https://www.waveapps.com/pricing(opens in a new tab)
Facts about Wave checked against its public pages as of 2026-11-06. Prices and features change; check theirs before you decide. Corrections: hello@gettrifold.com. All comparisons.
Every dollar, three ways. Every month, sealed.
Books ✓Receipt ✓Stripe ✓
Design partners: founder onboarding, free during the pilot.