Comparison
Invoicey vs Wave
Invoicey vs Wave: which free invoice generator is better for EU freelancers? Compare EU VAT, pricing, AI features, and multi-currency support.
Wave is free to start for invoicing and accounting, making it genuinely impressive for North American freelancers and startups. However, Wave was designed for the US and Canadian market — it has no EU-specific VAT compliance features, no reverse-charge mechanism, no multi-language invoice output, and its servers are based in North America, raising GDPR data residency concerns. For European freelancers, these are not minor gaps; they are legal requirements. Invoicey fills every one of these gaps while remaining free for up to 5 invoices per month with no account needed.
Invoicey
Free AI invoice generator built for EU/UK freelancers. EU VAT-ready fields, multi-currency, SIREN/SIRET support, estimate-to-invoice, and 5 languages.
Wave
Wave is free invoicing and accounting tool popular with freelancers and startups in North America. Includes double-entry bookkeeping at no cost.
5
Invoicey wins
2
Tied
3
Wave wins
Verdict
Choose Invoicey if you are an EU/UK freelancer who needs VAT compliance, multi-language support, and GDPR-compliant hosting. Choose Wave if you need free full accounting with bookkeeping and are based in North America.
Pricing comparison
Wave's core invoicing and accounting is free with no monthly invoice limit, which is hard to beat on price alone. Wave charges for payment processing (typically 2.9% + $0.60 per transaction for credit cards) and for payroll features in supported regions. Invoicey's free tier is limited to 5 invoices per month but requires no account. The Pro plan at €7.99/month or €47.88/year (€3.99/month effective) removes the invoice cap entirely and adds recurring invoices, full client management, and AI-powered features. For EU freelancers sending more than 5 invoices per month, €7.99/month is the practical monthly entry point — still substantially cheaper than most alternatives.
Invoicey pricing
- Free — 5 invoices or estimates/month, no signup
- Pro — €3.99/mo effective annual or €7.99/mo monthly
- Pro+ — €6.49/mo effective annual or €12.99/mo monthly
Wave pricing
See Wave's website for current pricing. Plans and promotional rates change frequently — the comparison above reflects publicly available information at time of writing.
Who should choose which?
Choose Invoicey if…
- You are based in the EU or UK and need invoices that comply with local VAT laws, including correct rates per country and reverse-charge wording for cross-border B2B services
- You invoice clients in multiple EU countries and need invoices printed in French, German, Dutch, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, or Polish
- You are concerned about GDPR and want your client data stored on EU-based infrastructure under European data protection law
- You want AI invoice drafting from a plain-English description rather than a basic double-entry accounting ledger
- You need a frictionless tool — no account creation, no credit card, no onboarding wizard — just open the app and create an invoice
Choose Wave if…
- You are based in the US or Canada and need free double-entry bookkeeping integrated with your invoicing
- You want a single free platform that covers invoicing, expense tracking, and accounting without any monthly fee
- You need payroll functionality for a small team and want it connected to the same platform as your invoices
- Your business does not operate across EU jurisdictions and EU VAT-ready fields is not relevant to your billing
- You process a high volume of invoices and need an unlimited free tier without worrying about monthly usage caps
Frequently asked questions
Is Wave truly free?
Wave is free for invoicing, accounting, and receipt scanning. It charges for payment processing (credit card fees apply per transaction) and payroll in supported regions. There are no monthly subscription fees for the core product, but the payment processing costs can add up if you collect online payments frequently.
Does Wave work in Europe?
Wave is accessible from Europe but it was not designed for European compliance requirements. It lacks country-specific EU VAT rates, reverse-charge mechanisms for cross-border B2B invoices, and GDPR-compliant data hosting within the EU. European freelancers using Wave risk issuing non-compliant invoices, which can result in rejected VAT claims or tax authority penalties.
Wave vs Invoicey for EU freelancers
For EU freelancers, Invoicey is the better choice. Wave offers more accounting depth for free, but Invoicey provides the EU VAT-ready fields, multi-language output, and GDPR-compliant infrastructure that European law requires. At €7.99/month for Pro, or €3.99/month effective annually, Invoicey is also cost-effective for freelancers sending more than 5 invoices or estimates per month.
Can I use Wave if I invoice clients in multiple EU countries?
Technically yes, but practically Wave is a poor fit. You would need to manually research and apply the correct VAT rate for each EU member state, manually add reverse-charge wording for eligible transactions, and handle sequential invoice numbering according to local rules — all things Invoicey automates. The compliance risk of getting any of these wrong outweighs Wave's cost advantage.