Wave Payroll
Wave Financial
Payroll add-on for Wave accounting users
Wave Payroll pays employees and contractors and files payroll taxes in all 50 states for $40 a month plus $6 per person paid, and posts each run straight into Wave's accounting. Wave Payroll is for a small business already keeping its books in Wave. A business that wants benefits or HR tools is a poor fit, and so is one paying a single contractor, since the $40 base applies either way.
Cost at your size
Team size
For 6 people: $76 a month.
Wave Payroll costs $8 less than the median payroll & HR tool for 6 people ($84).
Wave Payroll pays for itself if it saves 2.5 hours a month at $30 an hour, our assumption.
Change assumptions
Figures from the vendor's published prices. How we calculate prices
What Wave Payroll connects to
Accounting
Accounting and scheduling tools in our catalog · found on vendor and marketplace pages, October 2026 · 1 of 1 checked by us
Sources
- Wave: support.waveapps.com/hc/en-us/articles/53660162386708-Overview-of-payroll-bookkeeping, found 2026-10-12, checked 2026-10-15
Getting help with Wave Payroll
- How to reach them
- Live chat: every plan · Monday to Friday from 9 AM to 5 PM Eastern
- Email: every plan
- Help center: every plan
5 incidents posted on Wave Financial's status page, which covers all Wave Financial products and regions, in the 90 days to Oct 27, 2026; 1 marked major or critical by Wave Financial. Status page
A vendor that posts every small issue can show more incidents than one that posts few, so a low count doesn't prove fewer problems.
From Wave Financial's support and pricing pages, October 2026 · checked by us 2026-10-14 · How we gather this
Sources
- waveapps.com/payroll, read 2026-10-13
- support.waveapps.com/hc/en-us/articles/4405904661140, read 2026-10-13
- Live chat: “Get a priority connection to our customer support team via live chat Monday-Friday.” (waveapps.com/payroll)
- Live chat hours: “Our Support Team is available Monday to Friday from 9 AM to 5 PM Eastern, and can be reached by email and live chat.” (support.waveapps.com/hc/en-us/articles/4405904661140)
- Email: “Connect with our support team via email for prompt assistance.” (waveapps.com/payroll)
- Help center: “If you need help using Wave, the Help Center and Mave, our automated support chatbot, are available 24/7 to all Wave customers.” (support.waveapps.com/hc/en-us/articles/4405904661140)
What reviewers say about Wave Payroll
Each site has its own reviewers, so we show the scores side by side and never average them. App ratings cover the mobile app only. How we show reviews
Why people pick it
- One price in all 50 states
- Posts straight into Wave accounting
Where it falls short
- $40 base is a lot for one or two people
- Does not file 1099s for you
Alternatives in payroll & HR
Are you Wave Financial? Feature Wave Payroll at the top of payroll & HR, or sponsor it in search and the quiz, from $99 a month. You can also manage its links or correct the listing.