If you're a freelancer or solo business owner shopping for free financial tools, Wave and Stintly probably both showed up on your radar. They share a compelling pitch — free software that helps you manage invoices and track your money — but they take very different approaches to getting you there. Wave is a full-featured, web-based accounting platform. Stintly is a streamlined, offline-first mobile app designed for people who want simplicity without sacrificing control.
This comparison breaks down the real differences so you can pick the tool that actually fits how you work. No hype, no spin — just an honest look at what each app does well and where it falls short.
Quick Comparison
| Feature | Stintly | Wave |
|---|---|---|
| Price | 100% free | Free (invoicing & accounting); paid payroll add-on |
| Works Offline | Yes — fully functional without internet | No — requires an internet connection |
| Account Required | No | Yes — email signup required |
| Best For | Solo operators, freelancers, side hustlers | Small businesses needing full accounting |
| Platform | iOS (iPhone & iPad) | Web browser; mobile app with limited features |
| Key Features | Invoicing, time tracking, expense tracking, mileage logging | Invoicing, double-entry accounting, receipt scanning, payroll |
| Data Privacy | Data stays on your device | Cloud-stored; owned by H&R Block |
Pricing
Both Stintly and Wave market themselves as free tools, and both genuinely offer free core features. But "free" means different things in each case, and it's worth understanding where the costs actually live.
Wave's invoicing and accounting features are free to use. You'll see ads in the interface, which is how they subsidize the product. If you need payroll services, that's a paid add-on starting around $20 per month for the base fee plus $6 per employee. Wave also charges a processing fee when clients pay invoices via credit card (2.9% + $0.60 per transaction) or bank transfer (1% with a $1 minimum). These fees are competitive, but they do add up if you process a lot of payments through the platform.
Stintly is free with no asterisks. There are no ads, no premium tiers, no per-transaction fees, and no payroll upsell. You download it, you use it, that's it. There's nothing to upgrade to because the full feature set is available from day one.
| Cost | Stintly | Wave |
|---|---|---|
| Monthly cost | $0 | $0 (core); $20+/mo for payroll |
| 1-year total | $0 | $0 – $312+ (with payroll) |
| 3-year total | $0 | $0 – $936+ (with payroll) |
| Credit card processing | N/A | 2.9% + $0.60 per transaction |
| Bank transfer processing | N/A | 1% ($1 minimum) |
| Ads | None | Yes, in free tier |
For solo freelancers who just need to send invoices and track their money, Stintly's pricing is hard to argue with. Wave's payment processing fees are the main hidden cost — if you invoice $5,000 per month via credit card, you're paying roughly $175 in annual processing fees.
Save money. Try Stintly free today. Download Stintly for Free — no account needed, works 100% offline.
Features
Wave and Stintly overlap in some areas but diverge significantly in others. Here's where each tool earns its keep.
Where Wave excels:
- Double-entry accounting. Wave offers a proper chart of accounts, journal entries, and financial statements (profit & loss, balance sheet, cash flow). If you need real accounting software and don't want to pay for QuickBooks, Wave is one of the best free options available.
- Integrated payment processing. Clients can pay invoices directly through Wave via credit card or bank transfer. This reduces friction and speeds up collections.
- Receipt scanning. Snap a photo of a receipt and Wave extracts the details automatically. Useful for keeping your records clean without manual data entry.
- Payroll. Wave offers payroll as a paid add-on, which is a real differentiator for small businesses with employees. It handles tax calculations and direct deposits.
- Multi-user access. You can invite an accountant or bookkeeper to access your Wave account, which makes year-end tax prep much simpler.
Where Stintly excels:
- Offline-first design. Every feature in Stintly works without an internet connection. Create invoices on a job site, log time on a train, track expenses in a dead zone — it all works.
- Time tracking. Stintly includes built-in time tracking that ties directly into your invoicing workflow. Start a timer, do the work, and convert tracked hours into an invoice without switching apps.
- Mileage logging. For freelancers who drive to client sites, Stintly tracks mileage for tax deduction purposes. Wave doesn't offer this natively.
- Zero setup friction. No email, no password, no verification step. You download Stintly and you're working within seconds. Wave requires account creation and email confirmation before you can do anything.
- No ads, ever. Stintly's interface is clean and distraction-free. Wave's free tier includes ads, which can be distracting when you're trying to focus on your finances.
One thing to note: Wave is the stronger choice if you need full bookkeeping capabilities or if you work with an accountant who wants direct access to your financial records. Stintly is built for the freelancer who wants to handle invoicing, time tracking, and expenses without the complexity of a full accounting suite.
If you run a service-based business with field work, the right tools make all the difference. Lawn care professionals often pair their financial tracking with LawnBook for managing routes, scheduling, and client communication. Similarly, cleaning business operators use ShineBook to coordinate jobs, track recurring clients, and manage their crews — then handle the money side separately.
Want to try Stintly for free? Download Stintly for Free — no subscription required.
Offline & Privacy
This is where the philosophical difference between these two apps becomes clearest.
Wave is a cloud-first platform. Your invoices, client information, bank connections, and financial records all live on Wave's servers — which are now owned by H&R Block following their acquisition. To use Wave, you need to create an account, connect to the internet, and trust that a third party will keep your financial data secure. For many small businesses, this is perfectly fine. But it does mean your data is only as private as Wave's (and H&R Block's) privacy policy allows.
Stintly takes the opposite approach. Your data lives on your device and never leaves unless you choose to export it. There's no cloud sync, no remote server storing your client list, and no account that could be breached. For freelancers who handle sensitive client information — or who simply value keeping their financial data private — this is a meaningful advantage.
The offline capability also has practical benefits beyond privacy. If your internet goes down, Wave stops working. Stintly doesn't care. If you're working from a rural job site, a basement office with spotty reception, or a plane, Stintly keeps running. This matters more than most people realize until they're standing in a client's driveway trying to send an invoice and their phone shows one bar of signal.
Property managers juggling rental income across multiple units face similar connectivity challenges when visiting properties. Many of them rely on KeyLoft for tenant management and rent tracking precisely because field visits don't always come with reliable Wi-Fi.
Who Should Use Wave
Wave is the better choice in several specific situations, and it's worth being straightforward about that.
- You need real accounting. If you're producing financial statements, managing a chart of accounts, or working with a bookkeeper, Wave's double-entry accounting is genuinely useful. Stintly doesn't try to be an accounting platform.
- You want integrated payment processing. Letting clients pay directly through your invoice reduces late payments and eliminates the back-and-forth of "I sent a check." Wave handles this smoothly.
- You have employees. Wave's payroll add-on is a solid, affordable option for small businesses with W-2 workers. Stintly is designed for solo operators and doesn't offer payroll.
- You prefer desktop/web. If you do your financial work at a desk on a computer, Wave's web interface gives you a bigger screen and a full keyboard for data entry. Stintly is mobile-only.
- You need multi-user collaboration. Giving your accountant or business partner access to your financial data is simple in Wave. Stintly is a single-user tool by design.
Wave has been around since 2010 and has built a reliable platform used by millions of small businesses. The H&R Block acquisition has raised some concerns about the product's long-term direction, but for now, Wave remains a strong free option for businesses that need accounting capabilities.
Who Should Use Stintly
Stintly shines brightest for a specific type of worker, and if you fit this profile, it's likely the better tool for your needs.
- You're a solo freelancer or independent contractor. If it's just you — no employees, no business partner, no accountant on retainer — Stintly gives you everything you need without the features you don't.
- You work in the field. Photographers, consultants, contractors, tutors, dog walkers, personal trainers — anyone who works away from a desk benefits from Stintly's offline-first design.
- You bill by the hour. Stintly's integrated time tracking means you can track your hours and turn them into invoices in one workflow. No syncing between separate time tracking and invoicing apps.
- You drive to clients. Built-in mileage tracking saves you from maintaining a separate log for tax deductions.
- You care about privacy. If you'd rather keep your financial data on your device instead of on someone else's server, Stintly respects that preference completely.
- You hate creating accounts. No email, no password, no friction. Download and start working immediately.
- You want truly free software. No ads, no upsells, no transaction fees. Free means free.
Contractors and tradespeople often find that combining Stintly for invoicing and expense tracking with a project management tool tailored to their trade gives them complete business coverage. For example, TrestleBook handles the construction-specific side of things — job costing, project timelines, subcontractor coordination — while Stintly manages the financial paperwork.
The Bottom Line
Wave and Stintly are both genuinely free tools, but they're built for different workflows and different priorities.
Choose Wave if you need full accounting capabilities, want clients to pay invoices directly through your platform, or work primarily from a computer with reliable internet access. It's a mature, full-featured product that competes with paid accounting software.
Choose Stintly if you're a solo operator who wants a fast, private, offline-capable tool for invoicing, time tracking, and expense management. It won't replace your accountant's software, but it will handle your day-to-day financial workflows without an internet connection, without an account, and without ever charging you a cent.
The good news is that "free" means you can try both without risking anything. But if you already know you want something simple, mobile, and private — Stintly is the faster path to getting your invoicing under control.
Ready to switch? Download Stintly for Free — it takes 30 seconds and costs nothing.