Head-to-head feature and pricing breakdown. Honest about what each tool does best.
Bottom line: Wave is $192/year. SIMPL is $199 once. Break-even at 13 months. 5-year totals: Wave $1,205 vs SIMPL $199.
| Feature | Wave | SIMPL |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $192/year | $199 once |
| 5-Year Cost (with inflation) | $1,205 | $199 |
| P&L Statements | ✓ | ✓ |
| Balance Sheet | ✓ | ✓ |
| Net Worth Tracking | ✗ | ✓ |
| Zero-Based Budgeting | ✗ | ✓ |
| Envelope System | ✗ | ✓ |
| Debt Snowball / Avalanche | ✗ | ✓ |
| Schedule C / 1099 Tools | ✗ | ✓ |
| Quarterly Tax Estimates | ✗ | ✓ |
| Receipt Capture + OCR | ✗ | ✓ |
| 21 Financial Reports | ✗ | ✓ |
| Works Offline | ✗ | ✓ |
| Local-First Data | ✗ | ✓ |
| Subscription Required | Yes | No |
Assumes 11.4% annual SaaS inflation (verified industry average). SIMPL is paid once in Year 1 and $0 every year after.
| Year | Wave | SIMPL | Saved That Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $192 | $199 (one-time) | -$7 |
| 2 | $214 | $0 | $214 |
| 3 | $238 | $0 | $238 |
| 4 | $265 | $0 | $265 |
| 5 | $296 | $0 | $296 |
| 5-Year Total | $1,205 | $199 | $1,006 |
| 10-Year Total | $3,273 | $199 | $3,074 |
Genuinely useful free tier before the 2024 paywall. Clean invoicing and receipt scanning. You prefer paying monthly and do not mind the annual price climbing with inflation.
You want to own your tools, stop paying subscriptions, keep your financial data on your own device, and never worry about a vendor shutting down or hiking prices. $199 once. Breaks even at 13 months, then zero forever.
Wave pre-selected. Toggle other tools to see your full stack.
SIMPL over any time horizon longer than 13 months. Year 1: SIMPL $199 vs Wave $192. Year 5 total: SIMPL $199 vs Wave $1,205.
Genuinely useful free tier before the 2024 paywall. Clean invoicing and receipt scanning. SIMPL focuses on financial management — P&L, balance sheet, budgeting, tax prep — and does those better than Wave.
Zero-based budgeting. Schedule C IRS line mapping, 1099 summary, quarterly tax estimates, receipt OCR, 21 financial reports, offline mode, local-first data storage, and one-time pricing.
$199 one-time. No subscription. No renewal. No upgrade pressure. You buy the license once and keep it. Future major versions may be optional paid upgrades, but the version you buy keeps working forever.
Yes. There's a free demo mode with sample data so you can test every feature before paying. Plus a 30-day money-back guarantee on purchase — no-questions refund.
Yes. SIMPL is the financial-only subset of Helix. If you just need to manage money, SIMPL ($199). If you also need CRM, scheduling, and invoicing, Helix ($279). Same codebase, same team, same ownership model.
One payment. Break-even at 13 months vs Wave.
Get SIMPL — $199 See Helix Full Suite — $279