# Wave Payroll: how AI models rank it, November 2026

Gane Index, November 2026 Edition. Named in 5 judge labels across 1 category by 5 of 14 models. Page: https://www.gane.ai/index/hr/vendors/wave-payroll

## Standing by category

| Category | Share | Rank | Negative rate | Labels |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| [Payroll software](https://www.gane.ai/index/hr/core/payroll-software/index.md) | 0% | 59 | 60% | 5 |

## What the models said for it

- "Wave or Payroll4Free might be ideal solutions" (Claude Haiku 4.5, Payroll software)

## And against it

- "users report a disruptive migration ... "The migration was a disaster"" (Muse Glimmer 30B, Payroll software)
- "If you use Wave, verify their current stability with the Check integration before committing." (Qwen 3.7 Flash, Payroll software)
- "Budget-friendly, but limited features and support for complex needs." (MiniMax M2.5, Payroll software)

## By model

| Model | First choice | Alternative | Mention | Warning | Labels |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Claude Haiku 4.5 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| GPT-5.4 mini | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Gemini 3.5 Flash | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Perplexity Sonar | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Grok 4.20 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Mistral Small | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| DeepSeek V4 Flash | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Llama 4 Maverick | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Qwen 3.7 Flash | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Kimi K2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| GLM 4.7 FlashX | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| MiniMax M2.5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| GPT-6 Luna | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Muse Glimmer 30B | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |

## Sources returned with these answers

The sites and pages cited by the answers that named Wave Payroll, from 10 of the 13 answers that named it (only the models that return a source list).

### Domains cited

- forbes.com: 7
- reddit.com: 6
- gusto.com: 3
- softwareadvice.com: 3
- trustpilot.com: 3
- adp.com: 2
- bbb.org: 2
- capterra.com: 2
- fitsmallbusiness.com: 2
- irisglobal.com: 2

### Pages cited

- https://reddit.com/r/waveapps/comments/1lgatcb/warning_to_small_business_owners_avoid_wave: 6
- https://forbes.com/advisor/business/software/best-payroll-services: 5
- https://reddit.com/r/smallbusiness/comments/1shalmn/buyer_beware_if_youre_looking_for_a_payroll: 3
- https://trustpilot.com/review/paychex.com: 3
- https://adp.com/resources/articles-and-insights/articles/c/choosing-a-payroll-and-hr-solution-provider-for-your-small-business.aspx: 2
- https://forbes.com/advisor/business/software/best-cheap-payroll-services: 2
- https://gusto.com/resources/guides/best-cheap-payroll-services: 2
- https://irisglobal.com/blog/payroll/payroll-mistakes-to-avoid-when-growing-a-small-business: 2

## In its own words

What Wave Payroll's own pages state, read 2026-09-28. Stated by the vendor, not checked by the index.

- Positioning: Run payroll for employees or contractors with peace of mind (https://waveapps.com/)
- For: employees or contractors (https://waveapps.com/)
- Price stated: add-on from $25/month (https://www.waveapps.com/pricing)
- Starting price: 25 (https://www.waveapps.com/pricing)
- Certifications: PCI DSS
- Customers named: Dae

## What it publishes

Every page waveapps.com exposes, read 2026-09-29: 944 addresses. By kind, pages and the last 90 days:

- blog: 417 pages, 0 in the last 90 days, latest undated
- webinar or virtual event: 1 pages, 0 in the last 90 days, latest undated
- report or ebook: 2 pages, 0 in the last 90 days, latest undated
- comparison: 38 pages, 0 in the last 90 days, latest undated
- template or tool: 16 pages, 0 in the last 90 days, latest undated
- glossary or explainer: 22 pages, 0 in the last 90 days, latest undated
- podcast or video: 1 pages, 0 in the last 90 days, latest undated
- news or press: 9 pages, 0 in the last 90 days, latest undated

## Record

- Method: https://www.gane.ai/index/hr/methodology
- License: CC BY 4.0. Cite as Gane Index, November 2026 Edition, www.gane.ai/index/hr.