The Wave alternative that is free and has an AI bookkeeper

Wave is a genuinely good product with a free tier, but the automation is not part of it: automatic categorization requires the Pro plan at $19/mo and receipt capture is a further $8/mo. The most common reasons people look elsewhere are wanting that automation included rather than gated, needing features Wave does not offer such as inventory or broader country tax support, and wanting the product to keep investing in markets outside its core.

HelloBooks matches Wave on price — the Free Plan is permanent with no credit card — and adds the automation and breadth that free tools usually leave out.

• An AI bookkeeper that categorizes at 95%+ accuracy and reconciles daily
• Full bank reconciliation, included on the Free Plan
• Multi-currency with auto FX
• Inventory and warehouse modules for product businesses
• Multi-country tax: U.S. sales tax, U.K. VAT, India GST, Australia BAS, Canada GST/HST
• Up to 2 users on Free, including a free reviewer seat for your accountant

The pitch is simple: if you were going to use a free accounting tool anyway, use the one that also does the bookkeeping for you and supports your country’s tax rules. HelloBooks Free is a real product, not a trial, and it scales to Pro when you need more AI credits, unlimited users, or multi-entity.

For the maintained side-by-side — including how the free plans compare feature for feature — see the comparison page.