The Wave alternative built for nonprofits
Wave is genuinely free, and that's why nonprofits start there. But it was built for freelancers — no fund accounting, no restricted-fund tracking, no donor statements. Vestrybooks does all three, and keeps the books free too.
No credit card · free plan forever · price locked for life
| Vestrybooks | Wave | |
|---|---|---|
| Real fund accounting | ||
| Restricted funds & grants tracked | spreadsheet workaround | |
| Year-end donor statements | ||
| Built for | Churches & nonprofits | Freelancers & small business |
| Keep the books free | ||
| Fund-balance reports for a board |
Wave's core accounting is free (as of 2026) — so is keeping the books in Vestrybooks. The difference isn't price; it's whether the tool was built for a nonprofit's funds and donors.
Where Wave runs out of room
Restricted money stays restricted
Wave has one pot of money. The first time a donor gives "for the food pantry" or a grant lands, you're back in a spreadsheet to keep it separate. In Vestrybooks each restricted gift is a fund that keeps its own balance automatically.
Donor statements, not just a ledger
Wave records income; it doesn't produce year-end contribution statements for your donors. Vestrybooks tracks each gift by donor and fund and prints IRS-ready statements in one click.
Reports a board and a grantor trust
A balance by fund and budget-vs-actual come out of the box — the reports a nonprofit board and a funder expect, which Wave simply doesn't build.
The concept behind all of this is fund accounting — tracking money by purpose — and the full routine is in nonprofit bookkeeping.
Where Wave is the better fit
We'd rather you pick the right tool. If you're a very small organization with one unrestricted fund, no grants, and no need for donor statements — or you're really a small business, not a charity — Wave's free income-and-expense tracking is a perfectly good start. The moment you hold restricted money or need to hand a donor a year-end statement, that's when Wave's gaps start to cost you time.
Thinking about switching?
- If Wave is free, why move?
- Because "free" stops being cheap once you're rebuilding fund tracking in a spreadsheet every month and hand-making donor statements at year-end. Vestrybooks keeps the books free too — you only pay when you want the statements and bank matching automated.
- Can I move my data over from Wave?
- Yes. Export your transactions and contacts from Wave and bring them in, and we'll help you set up your funds. Most small nonprofits are running the same day.
- Does Vestrybooks really have a free plan?
- Yes — a real free plan, not a trial. You can record money in and out, track funds, and keep a donor list for free forever. See what's on each plan.
- Is our financial data safe?
- Yes — encrypted in transit and at rest, per-person logins, an audit history, and automatic backups. Your data is yours to export anytime. See our security page.
Free to keep the books — built for your nonprofit
Real fund accounting and donor statements Wave doesn't do, with a free plan that lasts.