Just Invoice vs Wave Canada in 2026

Choose Wave when you want free unlimited invoicing tied to bookkeeping and financial reports. Choose Just Invoice when you mainly want a narrower Canadian billing workflow, dedicated Interac instructions, bilingual Quebec-ready copy, and a lower paid plan.

This comparison is written by Just Invoice, so we have an obvious interest in the outcome. The facts below link to Wave's own documentation and separate verified capabilities from product positioning.

Quick decision

Choose | Best reason

-------|------------

Side-by-side comparison checked July 15, 2026

Wave's official pricing page lists Starter at $0 and Pro at $25 CAD per month or $250 CAD per year. Prices and inclusions can change, so confirm them before subscribing.

The biggest difference is scope

Wave is the stronger choice when invoices must flow directly into a bookkeeping system. It can track income, maintain bookkeeping records, manage sales tax accounts, and produce financial reports. Wave Pro adds automation such as eligible bank imports, receipt capture, and overdue reminders.

Just Invoice is intentionally not accounting software. It focuses on preparing estimates and invoices, applying Canadian taxes, saving clients and products, producing PDFs, requesting Interac e-transfers, and accepting card payments. That narrower scope is useful when a bookkeeper handles the books elsewhere or when full accounting screens would add unnecessary work.

Free invoicing is not a reason to dismiss Wave

Wave Starter includes unlimited invoices. That is a material advantage over the Just Invoice Free account's two-invoice monthly limit.

Just Invoice has a different free path: the guest generator can create unlimited invoice PDFs without registration, but it does not retain the business, client, or line-item data for the next invoice. The choice is therefore not "free versus paid." It is whether you want saved bookkeeping in Wave, a disposable no-account generator, or a focused saved workflow on Just Invoice Premium.

GST, QST, and Canadian sales taxes

Wave supports custom sales taxes, tax numbers, recoverable taxes, compound taxes, and per-line calculations. Its official sales-tax setup guide explains the configuration, while its calculation guide confirms per-line rounding.

Just Invoice starts from Canadian region and tax terminology, including Quebec TPS/TVQ in French. That can reduce setup for a business whose main task is issuing Canadian invoices, but Wave provides deeper accounting treatment after the tax is recorded.

Interac and online payment fees

Just Invoice has a dedicated option for placing Interac e-transfer instructions on the client PDF. Wave can carry e-transfer instructions in the Notes or Terms fields, but its integrated online bank-payment product is EFT rather than an Interac request.

For domestic online cards, Stripe's public Canadian pricing lists a standard rate of 2.9% + CA$0.30. Just Invoice does not add a platform percentage to Stripe's processing charge. Stripe eligibility, card type, and account pricing can change the final fee.

Wave's official payment-fee table lists Starter Visa and Mastercard transactions at 2.9% + $0.60. Pro removes the $0.60 fixed charge for the first 10 cumulative card transactions in each subscription month, then the Starter fixed charge returns. American Express and EFT use different rates. Verify the table for your payment mix rather than comparing one headline number.

Which should you choose?

Choose Wave if you want unlimited free invoicing, bookkeeping, bank-transaction workflows, expense records, or accounting reports in the same product.

Choose Just Invoice if you do not need full accounting and care more about a focused workflow, Quebec-ready French, dedicated Interac instructions, Canadian tax defaults, and a Premium price of $8 CAD per month.

Before deciding, create the same real invoice in both products. Test your tax combination, client details, payment instructions, PDF, and next-month workflow. Use invoice generator for the no-account Just Invoice test, then review features and Wave's current official pricing before paying for either plan.