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

HR AI Recommendation Index, October 2026 Edition. Named in 4 judge labels across 1 categories by 4 of 14 models. Page: https://hr-ai-index.com/vendors/wave-payroll/

## Standing by category

| Category | Share | Rank | Negative rate | Labels |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Payroll software | 0% | 38 | 50% | 4 |

## What the models said for it

- "Wave Payroll: $40/month + $6 per active employee; appealing if you already use Wave accounting." (GPT-6 Luna, Payroll software)

## And against it

- "Cheapest entry, but minimal functionality. Good only if you have very simple payroll needs." (GLM 4.7 FlashX, Payroll software)
- "if you want the most affordable platform, though it has limited capabilities" (Perplexity Sonar, Payroll software)

## Movement since September 2026

Floor: 13 points of share, measured on the calibration repeat. A larger change is movement; a smaller one is noise.

- Payroll software: 0% to 0%, ±0. Inside the floor by 13 points · rank 19 → 38 of 58.

## 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: Wave is a PCI-DSS Level 1 Service Provider
- Customers named: Joshua Nadler, Tatiyanna W., Eric Silverberg & Eli Gladstone, Robbie Katherine Anthony, Tru Williams, Dae, Troy Styke, Sarah Stockdale

## 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://hr-ai-index.com/methodology/
- Raw judge labels and full responses: https://hr-ai-index.com/data/
- License: CC BY 4.0. Cite as HR AI Recommendation Index, October 2026 Edition, hr-ai-index.com.