TaxTidy vs Wave: 2026 Comparison
Wave earned its reputation by giving away real accounting software: unlimited invoices, bills and bookkeeping records on a free Starter plan, with double-entry books underneath. Two things have moved since, and both matter here — automatic bank import and receipt scanning now sit on the paid Pro plan or a separate Receipts add-on. TaxTidy comes at the year from the receipt end and starts free there: your first 25 scans cost nothing, each one is read and placed on a numbered Schedule C line, and your Audit Readiness Score tells you which expenses still have no proof behind them.
What you get with TaxTidy
- Scanning is free where it counts. Your first 25 receipts cost nothing and need no card, and every one of them gets the full treatment — read, categorised, placed on a Schedule C line and scored.
- Shoebox Mode takes the whole camera roll in one pass and walks you through it card by card, which is what a real backlog needs rather than ten uploads at a time.
- Every expense is placed on a numbered Schedule C line by TaxTidy itself, and that line travels into the CSV export and the PDF report without anyone else needing to be involved.
- Your Audit Readiness Score is the part a set of books will not tell you: which expenses have no receipt image, no category, no date or no vendor, and therefore which parts of your year you could not defend.
- On Pro and above, the PDF report prints the full-size receipt image beside the expense it supports, grouped by Schedule C line — proof and figure on the same page.
- Fin answers in plain English against your own expenses, so the question "is this deductible, and why?" gets a real answer instead of a support article.
Feature comparison
| Feature | TaxTidy | Wave |
|---|---|---|
| Free plan | First 25 scans free, no card | Starter — invoicing and bookkeeping, free |
| Receipt scanning on the free plan | Yes, for your first 25 scans | Pro plan or the Receipts add-on |
| Photograph receipts from your phone | ✓ | ✓ |
| Upload a batch of receipts at once | Shoebox Mode — the whole camera roll | Up to 10 at a time |
| Receipts sent in by email | Smart Inbox forwarding address (Pro) | ✓ |
| Expenses on numbered Schedule C lines | ✓ | Through the Block Advisors filing service |
| A score showing what proof is missing | ✓ | – |
| Receipt image inside the tax report | Full-size image beside each expense (Pro) | Accounting reports |
| Send invoices and take payments | Not included | ✓ |
| Double-entry bookkeeping | Not included | ✓ |
| Automatic bank import | Statement PDF or CSV (Pro) | Pro plan |
| AI assistant for tax questions | Fin, reading your own expenses | Mave, for product support |
| Someone else keeps your books | Not offered | Wave Advisors, from $149/month |
Pricing
TaxTidy
- TaxTidy Free$0 — first 25 scans
- TaxTidy Pro$12.99/month ($99.99/yr)
- TaxTidy CPA$19.99/month ($179.99/yr)
Wave
- Wave Starter$0 — invoicing and bookkeeping
- Wave Pro$19/month ($190/yr)
- Wave Receipts add-on$8/month ($72/yr)
- Wave Advisors bookkeeping$149/month and up
Wave pricing is taken from its published plans and can change. Check their site for today's rate.
Choose TaxTidy if
Choose TaxTidy if the receipts are the problem and you want them handled from the free tier onward, without deciding between a subscription and an add-on first. It suits the sole operator who does not need formal books, does not send many invoices, and does need to know that every deduction on the return has a picture of a receipt sitting behind it.
What Wave does well
- The free Starter plan is genuinely generous: unlimited invoices, bills and bookkeeping records at no cost, with real double-entry books underneath.
- Receipt capture on the paid plans is well built — phone photo, drag and drop, batches of up to ten, and a personal email forwarding address.
- It offers a route to an actual filed return through Block Advisors, which produces a Schedule C for sole proprietors and single-member LLCs.
- Wave Advisors will keep the books for you from $149 a month, which is a real option if you would rather hand the whole thing over.
Choose Wave if
Choose Wave if you need invoicing and proper double-entry books and would like the core of that for nothing. It is a strong fit for a small business that bills customers, wants formal accounts, and is happy to add the Pro plan or the Receipts add-on when receipt scanning and bank import become worth paying for. The filing handoff is a genuine convenience if you want one company arranging the return as well.
The bottom line
Wave is bookkeeping software that added receipts. TaxTidy is a receipt tool that ends at a defensible Schedule C. If you need invoices and books, Wave gives you a great deal of that free and TaxTidy does not compete for the job. If what keeps you awake is the drawer of paper and whether any of it would hold up, TaxTidy starts free at exactly that point, and your first 25 scans will tell you what the output looks like.
Frequently asked questions
Is Wave’s receipt scanning free?
Not any more. Wave’s free Starter plan covers invoicing and bookkeeping records, and receipt scanning requires either the Pro plan at $19 a month or the standalone Receipts add-on at $8 a month. Automatic bank import also sits on Pro now. TaxTidy gives you your first 25 scans free with no card, including the categorisation, the Schedule C line and the Audit Readiness Score.
Does Wave produce a Schedule C?
Wave routes actual tax filing to Block Advisors, an H&R Block service, and that flow does produce a Schedule C for sole proprietors and single-member LLCs at a separate cost. TaxTidy assigns the Schedule C line inside the product itself, on every expense, and carries it into the CSV export and the PDF report, so you hold the categorised data whoever ends up filing.
Can I use TaxTidy and Wave together?
Yes, and the split works well. Keep invoicing and books in Wave, and run receipts through TaxTidy for scanning, Schedule C categorisation and audit documentation. On Pro and above TaxTidy exports a CSV with a Schedule C Line column that imports into Wave or goes to your accountant directly.
How does the pricing compare?
Wave is free for invoicing and bookkeeping, $19 a month or $190 a year for Pro, and $8 a month or $72 a year for the Receipts add-on alone. TaxTidy is free for your first 25 scans, $12.99 a month or $99.99 a year for Pro, and $19.99 a month or $179.99 a year for CPA. The two are priced around different jobs, so compare what you need done rather than the headline. Both companies run promotions, so check each site for today’s rate.
TaxTidy provides expense organization tools based on the most current US tax law available to it. TaxTidy is not a CPA, Enrolled Agent, or licensed tax professional. All categorizations, deductions, and tax calculations are estimates. Please verify all data for accuracy and consult a certified tax professional before filing.
Start with your first 25 scans free
Photograph a receipt and watch it land on the right Schedule C line, with an Audit Readiness Score that shows you exactly what is still missing. No credit card.
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