# Wave vs QuickBooks Desktop

The clearest difference is rating: Wave at 4.4 against QuickBooks Desktop's 1.9. Wave also leads on review sentiment (29% vs 5%) and ratings volume (6.7K vs 120). QuickBooks Desktop's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 4). On price, ads, monetization model and device support there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. Wave sells 4 in-app purchases, starting at $8.00 per month. QuickBooks Desktop asks for nothing beyond the download.

Wave holds the better App Store score, 4.4 against 1.9. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Wave has 6.7K ratings behind it against 120, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 29% of Wave's written reviews are positive against 5% of QuickBooks Desktop's.

Wave ships an update every 3 weeks, QuickBooks Desktop every 6 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 24, 2026 and October 20, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Wave | QuickBooks Desktop |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | **[4.4 (6.7K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/wave-small-business-software/id881629660/reviews)** | [1.9 (120 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/quickbooks-desktop/id1518924185/reviews) |
| Number of ratings | **6.7K** | 120 |
| Positive reviews | **28.9% of reviews** | 4.9% of reviews |
| In-app purchases | Yes | **No** |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | **Every 3 weeks** | Every 6 weeks |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free with in-app purchases |
| Best chart rank | **#61** | — |
| Size | 128 MB | 206 MB |
| Requires iOS | 16.4 | **16.0** |
| Devices | iPhone | iPhone |
| Age rating | 17+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Wave Financial Inc](https://appshunter.io/developer/574934359) | [Intuit Inc.](https://appshunter.io/developer/313441566) |

## What reviewers say

### Wave

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/wave-small-business-software/id881629660)

**Currently charting:** #61 Top Grossing · Business (US App Store)

Manage your small business finances on the go. Send professional invoices, track expenses with receipt scanning, and monitor your business insights. Get paid faster with integrated online payment options.

**Highlights:** Send customized invoices and estimates, Scan receipts with OCR for expense tracking, Monitor business insights on a dashboard, Accept online credit card and bank payments, Automate late payment reminders, Syncs with desktop account

**In-app purchases (4)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Mobile receipts - Monthly | $8.00 | per month |
| Pro Plan - Monthly | $19.00 | per month |
| Mobile receipts - Annual | $72.00 | per year |
| Pro Plan - Annual | $190.00 | per year |

**What reviewers like**

- 🚀 Easy to use
- 🚀 Professional invoicing
- 🚀 Great for small businesses
- 👍 Convenient mobile app
- 🚀 Seamless integration between devices

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 Buggy app with crashes
- 🔒 Poor customer service and support
- 💰 Expensive payment processing fees
- 🔒 Unreliable payouts and fund holds
- 🐛 Missing key features in mobile app

**Reported bugs**

- App crashes when trying to edit invoices
- Inability to view past transactions in mobile app
- Inconsistent behavior when connecting bank accounts
- Incorrect tax calculations and reporting issues
- Delayed or missing payments from customers

**Requested features**

- Add dark mode option
- Improve mobile app functionality
- Integrate with more third-party services
- Provide better customer support channels
- Add more customization options for invoices


### QuickBooks Desktop

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/quickbooks-desktop/id1518924185)

Streamline expense tracking by capturing receipts and bills directly from your mobile device. Automate entries, attach documents for audit trails, and track business mileage with ease. Designed for existing QuickBooks Desktop users to save time and stay organized.

**Highlights:** Scan receipts and automate expense entries, Upload bills and automate bill entries, Attach documents to transactions, Track business mileage with auto-calculated distance, Organize digital audit trails

**Features:** macOS Compatibility

**In-app purchases:** none

**What reviewers like**

- 👍 Amazing mobile application
- 🚀 Ease and speed of recording transactions
- 💡 AI and OCR capabilities
- ✅ Automatically codes entries
- 🔗 Links to receipts/invoices

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 App freezes at logo
- 🐛 Takes hours for receipts to show
- 🐛 Doesn't work with desktop version
- 🐛 Zero help on the road
- 🐛 Broken after working

**Reported bugs**

- App freezes at logo screen
- Receipts take hours to show on desktop
- Doesn't work with desktop version
- Broken after working
- Receipt management doesn't work

**Requested features**

- See sales orders or purchase orders on sign-on
- Ability to see documents (sales orders/purchase orders)
- PDF conversion for scans
- Ability to type expense account description
- Get receipt recognition back


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Wave free?

Wave is free to download, with in-app purchases available.

### Is QuickBooks Desktop free?

QuickBooks Desktop is free to download, with no in-app purchases.

### Which has better reviews, Wave or QuickBooks Desktop?

Wave is rated higher. Wave averages 4.4 out of 5 from 6.7K ratings, while QuickBooks Desktop averages 1.9 from 120 ratings.

### Do Wave or QuickBooks Desktop have ads?

Neither Wave nor QuickBooks Desktop shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, Wave or QuickBooks Desktop?

Wave ships an update every 3 weeks, and QuickBooks Desktop every 6 weeks. Most recently, Wave was updated on October 24, 2026 and QuickBooks Desktop on October 20, 2026.

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*Compared by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/) from daily US App Store data. Review summaries are generated from verbatim App Store reviews.*