Wave Payroll Review 2026: Free Accounting, Cheap Payroll
Wave Payroll review: $40/mo plus $6/employee in tax-service states. Good for micro-businesses using Wave accounting. Not suitable for complex HR needs.
Quick verdict
Wave Payroll is worth considering only if you already use Wave accounting, which is free. For anything beyond basic payroll for a micro-business, Gusto or QuickBooks Payroll is more capable.
Pricing by state type
Wave Payroll has two pricing tiers based on whether your state is a "tax-service" state. In tax-service states (most major states), Wave handles tax deposits and filings for you: $40/month plus $6/employee.
In self-service states, Wave does the payroll calculations but you handle tax deposits yourself: $20/month plus $6/employee. That is significantly cheaper, but the added compliance burden makes it risky without an accountant.
As of 2026, Wave has been expanding its tax-service state coverage. Check their current list before signing up, it changes.
The Wave accounting connection
Wave accounting is free. If you run a freelance business or a very small company and use Wave for bookkeeping, adding Wave Payroll is a natural step. The sync between payroll and accounting is direct, payroll expenses categorize automatically.
This is the same argument as QuickBooks Payroll for QuickBooks users. The integration value is real for existing users. For everyone else, it is not a compelling reason to choose Wave.
Who Wave Payroll is not for
Wave is built for freelancers and micro-businesses. If you have more than 10 employees, you will start hitting the edges of what Wave can handle.
Benefits administration is not in Wave Payroll. No health insurance management, no 401k integration, no pre-tax benefits handling beyond basic payroll deductions. If your team expects benefits, you need a different tool or a separate benefits broker.
Wave support is minimal. There is no phone support for payroll. If you have a payroll emergency, you are limited to email and chat with variable response times.
Frequently asked questions
How much does Wave Payroll cost now? Wave shifted to a single US plan in April 2025 priced at $40/month plus $6 per worker, now supported by a partnership with Check for tax filing in all 50 states, replacing the older split between tax-service and self-service state pricing.
Does Wave Payroll file taxes in every state now? Yes, as of the 2025 pricing change Wave offers payroll tax payments and filings in all 50 states, a meaningful expansion from its earlier self-service-only model in many states.
What is Wave Payroll's user satisfaction rating? Wave Payroll holds a "great" 82% user satisfaction rating based on 147 reviews across recognized software review sites, reflecting solid but not top-tier sentiment.
What do Wave Payroll users complain about most? The lack of inbound phone support is the biggest recurring complaint, alongside minimal reporting (you can view wages, taxes paid, and deductions, but little beyond that) and no built-in time tracking or full benefits administration.
Is Wave Payroll a good fit for a growing team? Not really. Onboarding is entirely employer-driven with manual entry of each employee's details, which is fine for very small teams but becomes time-consuming as headcount grows past roughly 10 people.