#9 of 10 in our directory
Wave review: pricing and limits
Wave is an online paystub generator that is free and does not calculate tax withholding for you. It covers 1 document type — Pay stub. States covered: US residents only. Price checked 20 October 2026.
Everything on this page is what Wave states about itself, checked 20 October 2026, except where a value is marked verified. Compare it against the rest of the list in our directory of paystub generators.
We earn nothing from these links, and no vendor paid for placement.
What Wave states
| Attribute | Value |
|---|---|
| Price per stub | $0 (vendor-stated, Vendor tool page, checked 20 October 2026. Stated as no cost to generate or edit a pay stub.) Source: Vendor tool page as of 20 October 2026 |
| Free tier | Yes (vendor-stated, Vendor tool page, checked 20 October 2026) Source: Vendor tool page |
| Watermark on preview | Yes (verified, Hands-on check by our editorial team, checked 6 September 2026. Confirmed by hand across all ten tools: the on-screen preview carries a watermark and the purchased PDF does not.) |
| Watermark on free download | Not stated by the vendor (checked 20 October 2026) |
| Automatic tax calculation | No (verified, Hands-on check by our editorial team, checked 6 September 2026. Wave's standalone free pay stub generator does NOT auto-calculate taxes. Figures must be entered manually.) |
| States covered | US residents only (vendor-stated, Vendor tool page, checked 20 October 2026) Source: Vendor tool page |
| Documents produced | Pay stub (vendor-stated, Vendor tool page, checked 20 October 2026) Source: Vendor tool page |
| Templates | Not stated by the vendor (checked 20 October 2026) |
| Delivery | Save as PDF to email or keep on file (vendor-stated, Vendor tool page, checked 20 October 2026) Source: Vendor tool page |
| Refund policy | Not applicable — free (vendor-stated, Vendor tool page, checked 20 October 2026) Source: Vendor tool page |
| Support | Not stated by the vendor (checked 20 October 2026) |
| Privacy policy | Wave privacy policy checked 20 October 2026 |
| Data retention | Personal information destroyed within 60 days of closing an account, unless the law requires keeping it longer (vendor-stated, Vendor privacy policy, checked 20 October 2026) Source: Vendor privacy policy |
What it does well
- Has a free tier.
Limitations
- Does not calculate taxes — you enter every figure yourself.
- US residents only.
- Salary-based income employees only.
- Pay period start date defaults to 1 January.
Who it suits
A free, clean stub when you already know your withholding figures.
That is our editorial view, formed from the vendor’s published information. It is not a test result — we have not run this tool end to end.
Alternatives to Wave
Compare it against the rest of the list in our side-by-side table of paystub generators, or read about these three:
People who need more than a stub — W-2s, 1099s and employment verification from one place.
Anyone who also needs W-2s, 1099s or other IRS forms from the same account.
A low per-stub price with a free first stub, and it handles state-specific items like California SDI and NYC local tax.
Back to the directory of paystub generators.