You searched "Stintly vs Wave" because both apps advertise free, and free is rare in this space. Wave has been around since 2010 and built a real name in free invoicing and accounting. Stintly is newer, mobile-first, and aimed at solo operators who want to track time and money without signing up for anything. Both have a place. This comparison lays out where each one actually wins so you can pick without buyer's remorse.
The short version: Wave is a web accounting suite with optional paid payroll and payment processing. Stintly is an offline iOS app for tracking jobs, hours, expenses, and invoices without an account. Different shapes, overlapping users.
Quick Comparison
| Feature | Stintly | Wave |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free, forever | Free core + paid payroll & payments |
| Works Offline | Yes, 100% | No, web-only |
| Account Required | No | Yes, email signup |
| Best For | Solo operators, trades, freelancers | Small businesses needing accounting + payroll |
| Platform | iOS (iPhone & iPad) | Web, limited mobile companion |
| Key Features | Time tracking, invoicing, expenses, jobs | Accounting, invoicing, payroll, payments |
| Data Privacy | On-device only | Cloud-stored, owned by H&R Block |
Pricing
Wave's core invoicing and accounting are free. That has not changed since H&R Block acquired Wave in 2019. Where Wave makes money is payroll (starts around $20–$40/month depending on state plus per-employee fees), payment processing (2.9% + $0.60 per card transaction, 1% for ACH), and a "Pro" tier that bundles receipt scanning, recurring billing, and bank feeds for roughly $16/month. None of that is hidden — Wave is upfront about it — but the free tier now shows ads and upsells inside the app.
Stintly is free with no tiers. No Pro upgrade, no payroll module, no payment processing cut. The app does not have ads or in-app purchases because there is no account and no server to monetize. You download it, you use it, that is the deal.
| Cost Over Time | Stintly | Wave (Free Tier) | Wave (Pro + Payroll) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Monthly | $0 | $0 + processing fees | ~$36–$56/mo |
| 1 Year | $0 | $0 | ~$430–$670 |
| 3 Years | $0 | $0 | ~$1,300–$2,000 |
If you only need the free Wave tier and never take card payments, your direct cost matches Stintly. The difference shows up the moment you invoice a paying client through Wave Payments — that 2.9% + $0.60 stacks up fast on a $2,000 invoice ($58.60 gone). Stintly does not process payments, so there is nothing to skim.
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Features
Wave is genuinely strong at small-business accounting. Double-entry bookkeeping is built in. Bank feeds (in Pro) pull transactions automatically. Reports include profit-and-loss, balance sheet, sales tax, and cash flow — the stuff a CPA actually wants at tax time. Recurring invoices, late-payment reminders, and online payment links work well. If you have a few employees, Wave Payroll handles tax filing in supported US states and direct deposit.
Stintly does not pretend to be accounting software. It tracks the things solo operators actually do day-to-day: clock time against jobs, log mileage and expenses with photos of receipts, generate clean PDF invoices, and see what you earned this week. Job costing is built into the time tracker so you know whether a project was actually profitable. There is no general ledger and no balance sheet. If your tax setup needs that, you export Stintly data and hand it to an accountant or feed it into something heavier.
Where Stintly pulls ahead for field work: it runs on the phone in your pocket without signal. A landscaper logging hours at a property does not need to wait for LTE. The same pattern shows up across trades — LawnBook handles route-based lawn care operations, ShineBook covers residential and commercial cleaning crews, TrestleBook tracks construction job costing and contractor billing, and KeyLoft manages rentals and tenant relations for landlords. All of them share the offline-first, no-account-required design Stintly uses.
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Offline & Privacy
Wave is a cloud product. Your books live on Wave's servers, which are now part of H&R Block's infrastructure. That is fine for most users — it means automatic backups, multi-device sync, and access from any browser. It also means you cannot work without internet, your data is subject to whatever H&R Block decides about its product roadmap, and a forgotten password or account lockout cuts you off from your own invoicing history.
Stintly stores everything on the device. No login, no cloud sync, no analytics pinging home. The trade-off is real: you back up to iCloud or export PDFs yourself, and switching phones means restoring from backup rather than just signing in. For users in regulated industries, anyone billing clients who care about data residency, or people who have watched one too many SaaS products get acquired and gutted, on-device storage is the safer default.
The acquisition history is worth thinking about. Wave was acquired by H&R Block in 2019. The free tier has survived, but features have shifted — some have been paywalled, the mobile app was discontinued and partially rebuilt, and the original Wave team has largely turned over. None of that is unusual for an acquired SaaS, but it is a real risk factor if you depend on the product long-term.
Who Should Use Wave
Wave is the right pick if you fit this profile: you run a small business with employees or contractors, you want real double-entry accounting, you are comfortable working in a browser, and you need payroll tax filing handled. The free tier is genuinely useful for a one-person LLC that mostly needs invoices and a P&L at year-end. Wave Payments is convenient if your clients prefer paying by card and you accept the processing fees.
It also fits people who want a single tool that bridges day-to-day invoicing and proper bookkeeping. You will not outgrow Wave quickly — it scales to a handful of employees and into low-six-figure revenue without strain.
Who Should Use Stintly
Stintly fits solo operators who spend their day on a phone, on a job site, in a truck, or in a client's home. Trades, consultants, freelance creatives, side-hustlers, and anyone who needs to know "how many hours did I put into this job and what did I earn" without opening a laptop. It fits people who want zero subscriptions, zero accounts, and zero data hosted somewhere they cannot see.
It is also a good fit if you already have an accountant or use something else for bookkeeping and just need a clean time-and-expense tracker that produces invoices. Stintly does the front-line capture; your accountant handles the back office.
It is not a good fit if you need payroll, full accounting reports, or multi-user team access. Wave wins those use cases.
The Bottom Line
This is not a fight where one app crushes the other. Wave is real accounting software with a generous free tier and a paid payroll product that works. Stintly is a focused mobile tool for tracking time, jobs, expenses, and invoices without an account or internet. Pick Wave if you want bookkeeping in a browser and may add payroll. Pick Stintly if you want to capture work as it happens, keep your data on your device, and never see another subscription bill.
The honest test: open both. Wave takes ten minutes to sign up and configure. Stintly takes thirty seconds to install. Whichever one you still have on your home screen in two weeks is the right answer for you.
Ready to switch? Download Stintly for Free — it takes 30 seconds and costs nothing.