Best Wave Alternatives in Australia (2026): 8 Options Compared

The strongest Wave alternatives Australia-wide in 2026 start with InvoiceSonic, which is priced in Australian dollars, labels GST and ABN the way an Australian tax invoice should, and takes payment by bank transfer or PayID. If you want to stay on A$0, Zoho Invoice is free at the time of writing and the free generator on this site builds an ATO-compliant PDF with no account. Stay on Wave if free invoicing and simple books cover the job and its North American shape has never cost you anything. We put all eight options through one test: the Australian-fit test.

Quick comparison

"Not listed" means exactly that: the tool's own Australian page did not state it at the time of writing, so we have not marked it a yes. It is not a fail — confirm it on a trial.

How we tested: the Australian-fit test. Wave is free, so the only honest reason to move is fit. Three questions. Is GST handled the way the ATO expects, with the words "Tax invoice", an ABN field and a 10% line? Is the product billed in Australian dollars? And do payments work here — bank transfer, PayID, a card rail that clears into an Australian account?

Who should stay on Wave. If you send a handful of invoices a month, sit under the A$75,000 GST registration threshold, and your accountant is happy with what you hand over, Wave costs nothing and does the job. Free is a real feature: nothing below beats A$0, and three of the eight only match it. Move when the fit starts costing you — a client queries the GST wording, or a support ticket goes unanswered.

The number that decides it. Against a A$0 incumbent every paid alternative has to argue for itself in dollars, so here is the smallest one. InvoiceSonic Pro billed annually is A$168 a year at the time of writing — A$14 a month, or A$3.23 a week. That buys unlimited invoices, recurring invoices with automatic reminders, your own logo and colours with no footer, open tracking and online quote acceptance. Whether it is worth it depends on how much Wave costs you in workarounds. If the answer is nothing, stay.

Who fails the test. Bookipi and Invoice Ninja fail the Australian-dollar leg outright, both priced in US dollars. Our own free generator fails the payments leg: it builds the document and stops. Zoho Invoice, Square, Bookipi and Invoice Ninja did not state ATO-specific GST handling on the pages we checked — the same criticism we make of Wave, so moving for that reason alone may not fix it. Only InvoiceSonic, Rounded, Xero and this site's generator clear the GST leg on published Australian detail.

1. InvoiceSonic — Best overall

InvoiceSonic is the closest like-for-like replacement for Wave's invoicing side that is built for Australia. It clears all three legs of the test: Australian dollar pricing, a GST label with an ABN field and BSB formatting, and payment by bank transfer or PayID with no gateway to set up.

The difference from Wave is what happens after you press send. Pro adds recurring invoices, automatic reminders, open tracking, an email receipt when you mark an invoice paid, and online quote acceptance. Be clear about the limit: no bank feeds, no BAS lodgement, no payroll — if you lean on Wave for its books, this replaces half of it.

Pros

• Billed in Australian dollars, with GST, ABN and BSB fields shaped for Australia.
• Bank transfer and PayID with no InvoiceSonic transaction fee, so the invoice total is what lands.
• Annual Pro is price-locked: the rate never rises while the subscription is active.

Cons

• Not accounting software: no bank feeds, BAS lodgement or payroll — it replaces Wave's invoicing, not its books.
• The free plan caps out at 3 saved invoices, 1 tracked email send and 1 reminder a month, and the 7-day Pro trial needs a card.

Price: at the time of writing, free at A$0, first invoice with no sign-up; Pro is A$19 a month, or A$168 a year billed annually, saving A$60. Best for: Wave users who want the invoicing half done properly in A$.

2. Invoice-Generator.com.au — Best free tool

Invoice-Generator.com.au is a free tax invoice generator that builds a finished PDF in your browser: no signup, no watermark, no invoice limit. It matches Wave on price and beats it on Australian shape, because the template is built to ATO wording rather than adapted to it.

The Australian invoice template carries an ABN field, a 10% GST line and a live compliance checklist, and nothing you type leaves the browser. Separate free tools cover a quote, a receipt and the GST maths. On the test it passes the GST leg outright and fails payments completely: it makes the document, it does not send, chase or collect.

Pros

• Free forever, with no invoice limit, so it matches Wave on cost.
• The compliance checklist catches a missing ABN or GST line before your client does.

Cons

• No sending, tracking or reminders, so anything repeat is retyped each time.
• No saved customer list and no payment collection — a step back from Wave.

Price: free, always. Best for: leaving Wave without paying anything, if all you used it for was a compliant invoice.

3. Zoho Invoice — Best free-for-free swap

Zoho Invoice is free — Zoho states no cost and no contracts — and it is the only tool here that matches Wave at A$0 while still sending, storing and tracking invoices. If your objection is the North American feel rather than the price, this swap costs nothing.

It publishes an Australian product page and invoices in 19-plus languages, and the Australian-dollar leg is moot because there is nothing to pay. What we could not confirm was ATO-specific GST wording, so check the tax settings against the tax invoice requirements. The caveat is the surroundings: a very large suite, a dense interface, and support aimed at paid-suite customers.

Pros

• Genuinely free with no contract, and it sends, stores and tracks rather than only building a PDF.
• Multi-language invoicing, which no other free option here offers.

Cons

• A dense interface, and the entry point to a large upsell suite.
• Support is built for paid-suite customers, and ATO-specific GST handling is not stated.

Price: free at the time of writing. Best for: Wave users who will not start paying and want the closest free replacement.

4. Square Invoices — Best if clients pay by card

Square Invoices gives you unlimited free invoices, estimates and automatic reminders, and the client pays by tapping a card link in the email. Where Wave's payment side is built around North America, Square runs an Australian product priced in AUD, clearing two legs cleanly.

The catch is that the free plan is not the cheap plan. At 2.2% on online card payments at the time of writing, a business invoicing A$120,000 a year with every client paying by card hands over A$2,640 in fees — fifteen times a A$168 annual subscription collected by bank transfer. Square earns that when money arriving days earlier beats the percentage, which on tight cash flow it often does.

Pros

• Unlimited free invoices, estimates and automatic reminders on the free plan.
• Australian dollar pricing, and card money often lands the same or next day.

Cons

• 2.2% on online card payments is A$2,640 a year on A$120,000 of card-paid invoices.
• Estimate auto-convert and milestone schedules are Plus only; GST wording is not stated.

Price: at the time of writing, free, or Plus at AUD $30 per month; 2.2% on online card payments. Best for: Wave users whose clients tap a card and who will trade a percentage for speed.

5. Bookipi — Best simple app for the phone

Bookipi is a plain invoice app that syncs between web and mobile, with overdue reminders and recurring invoices on every plan, including the free one. If Wave feels like accounting software to you, that simplicity is the appeal.

It fails the Australian-dollar leg. Starter is US$9.99 a month and Professional US$52 a month at the time of writing, so your invoicing cost moves with the exchange rate. The free plan stops at 3 invoices a month: fine for a side business, useless for anything busier. Australian GST wording is not stated.

Pros

• Recurring invoices and overdue reminders even on the free plan.
• Web and mobile stay in sync, so an invoice started on the phone finishes on the laptop.

Cons

• Priced in USD, so your invoicing cost changes with the AUD every month.
• 3 free invoices a month is very few, and GST handling is not stated.

Price: at the time of writing, free for 3 invoices a month; Starter US$9.99 and Professional US$52 per month. Best for: part-time sole traders who want a simple app and accept USD pricing.

6. Rounded — Best Australian-built option for sole traders

Rounded is built in Australia for sole traders and freelancers, and puts invoicing, expenses and a tax estimate in one place. It scores highest here on the spirit of the Australian-fit test, because it was designed for the ATO rather than adapted for it.

Solo is $99 a year regular AUD at the time of writing, cheaper than InvoiceSonic Pro billed annually, with expense tracking and a tax estimate on top. That is a genuine reason to pick it over our number one. The trade-off: no free plan at all, so no way to run a month on it for nothing.

Pros

• Australian-built for sole traders, so expenses and tax estimates are ATO-shaped already.
• Solo is $99 a year regular AUD at the time of writing, cheaper than most paid options here.

Cons

• No free plan, a hard step up from a A$0 incumbent.
• Promotional pricing varies, so renewal is not always the price you signed up at.

Price: at the time of writing, Solo $99 per year regular and Pro $70 per month regular in AUD; promotional pricing varies. Best for: Australian sole traders wanting invoicing, expenses and a tax estimate in one app.

7. Xero — Best for replacing Wave's books, not just its invoices

Xero is accounting software rather than an invoicing app, and that is why it belongs here. Wave is the only free tool most sole traders meet that does invoicing and bookkeeping together, and people who leave often find the second half was the part they relied on.

Xero is the Australian answer to that half: bank feeds, GST coding and BAS in one system your accountant already knows, and it clears the GST and Australian dollar legs more convincingly than anything else here. It also has no free plan, and for a sole trader sending six invoices a month it is far more software than the job needs. For the reverse comparison, see our guide to Xero alternatives for sole traders.

Pros

• Invoicing, bank reconciliation, GST and BAS in one system — the closest match to Wave's two halves.
• Your bookkeeper almost certainly already works in it, so handover costs nothing.

Cons

• No free plan, and the jump from A$0 to accounting software is the biggest here.
• Far more software than a solo operator sending a few invoices a month needs.

Price: paid plans available — check current pricing. Best for: Wave users who leaned on the bookkeeping and now need an Australian ledger.

8. Invoice Ninja — Best for running your own invoicing

Invoice Ninja is open source and self-hostable, so you can run it on your own server and own the data. If you are leaving Wave because you would rather not have your client list in a free North American product, it is the only option here that answers that.

It fails the Australian-dollar leg: Ninja Pro is US$14 a month or US$140 a year at the time of writing, and the hosted plan is free only up to 5 clients. Self-hosting removes the subscription but adds real work — a server, updates, backups and a mail setup that gets invoices past spam filters. GST wording is configurable rather than built in, so compliance is on you.

Pros

• Open source and self-hostable, so your data stays on infrastructure you control.
• The hosted free tier covers up to 5 clients, enough for a small consulting book.

Cons

• Priced in USD, and the 5-client free cap is reached quickly.
• Self-hosting is real setup and maintenance work, and GST wording is on you.

Price: at the time of writing, free up to 5 clients; Ninja Pro is US$14 per month or US$140 per year. Best for: technical sole traders who want to own the server it runs on.

What to look for in a Wave alternative in Australia

Replacing a free tool is a different decision from choosing your first. You already have a working system, so a replacement has to fix a named problem.

• Name what Wave is costing you. Support you cannot reach, GST wording a client questioned, a payment method that does not fit. If you cannot name it, stay.
• ATO wording, not "tax support". Where you are registered for GST the invoice must carry the words "Tax invoice", your identity and ABN, the date, a description of what was supplied, the GST amount, and the buyer's identity or ABN for sales of $1,000 or more, per the ATO. Generic tax fields usually get five of six.
• The currency the bill arrives in. A US-dollar subscription is a budget line that moves every month; two of the eight here are priced that way.
• How the money arrives. Bank transfer and PayID cost nothing and clear overnight; card at 2.2% costs A$2,640 on A$120,000 of invoices. The payment rail usually costs more than the software.
• Whether you need the books too. Wave bundles invoicing and bookkeeping; most alternatives here do only the first, so check what you are replacing before you cancel.
• Whether you need to charge GST at all. Registration is compulsory at A$75,000 of turnover, and rideshare and taxi drivers must register regardless. Under it, a plain invoice with no GST line is fine.

Which one should you choose?

Run the annual cost at the time of writing. Wave, Zoho Invoice and the free generator on this site are all A$0. InvoiceSonic Pro billed annually is A$168, or A$3.23 a week. Rounded Solo is $99 a year regular AUD. Bookipi Starter is US$9.99 a month and Invoice Ninja Pro US$140 a year, both moving with the exchange rate. Square charges nothing up front but 2.2% on card — A$2,640 on A$120,000 of card-paid invoices, making the free plan the most expensive option here for a busy business.

• If Wave works and you only wanted to check → stay on Wave.
• If you want Australian shape without paying → the free Australian tax invoice generator, or Zoho Invoice if you need sending.
• If you want invoices sent, tracked and chased in A$ → InvoiceSonic on Pro.
• If you want tax estimates and expenses from an Australian app → Rounded Solo.
• If it was Wave's bookkeeping you relied on → Xero, and budget for it properly.

When not to use InvoiceSonic or a free generator. If what you valued in Wave was the bookkeeping — bank feeds, categorised transactions, books your accountant can work from — neither InvoiceSonic nor a free PDF generator replaces that. That is accounting software: Xero or MYOB. If you want invoicing, expenses and a tax estimate from one Australian product, Rounded's Solo plan is $99 a year regular AUD at the time of writing, cheaper than InvoiceSonic Pro billed annually, and a fair reason to pick it over our number one. And if all you need is a compliant PDF now and then, paying to leave a free tool is a cost with no return — compare the free invoice generators instead.

Frequently asked questions