#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 6 September 2026.
Everything on this page is what Wave states about itself, checked 6 September 2026, except where a value is marked verified. Compare it against the rest of the list in our directory of paystub generators.
What Wave states
| Attribute | Value |
|---|---|
| Price per stub | $0 (vendor-stated, Vendor tool page, checked 6 September 2026. Stated as no cost to generate or edit a pay stub.) Source: Vendor tool page as of 6 September 2026 |
| Free tier | Yes (vendor-stated, Vendor tool page, checked 6 September 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 6 September 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 6 September 2026) Source: Vendor tool page |
| Documents produced | Pay stub (vendor-stated, Vendor tool page, checked 6 September 2026) Source: Vendor tool page |
| Templates | Not stated by the vendor (checked 6 September 2026) |
| Delivery | Save as PDF to email or keep on file (vendor-stated, Vendor tool page, checked 6 September 2026) Source: Vendor tool page |
| Refund policy | Not applicable — free (vendor-stated, Vendor tool page, checked 6 September 2026) Source: Vendor tool page |
| Support | Not stated by the vendor (checked 6 September 2026) |
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.