Wave vs Popl Comparison: Digital Business Card for Teams

In this blog, we compare Wave Connect vs Popl to help you find the best digital business card solution for lead capture, branding, and lead privacy.
Why Teams Are Looking for Popl Alternatives
Digital business cards are everywhere now. Sales reps, marketers, recruiters — they all need a fast, scalable way to share contact info. Popl is popular, but many teams are switching to Wave Connect for a few clear reasons:
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Popl charges additional fees per scan or lead collected
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Popl promotes itself to your leads after they have exchanged info
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Popl has limited branding and team features
Wave fixes all that. Let’s break it down.
Wave vs Popl Feature Comparison

Here’s a side-by-side look at Wave Connect vs Popl to help you quickly compare key features, pricing, and team capabilities.
Wave stands out with flat pricing, full branding control, and advanced team tools, while Popl adds fees and offers limited team functionality. This quick breakdown shows why Wave is the better choice for growing teams.
Feature | Wave Connect | Popl |
---|---|---|
Unlimited Contacts & Scans | ✅ Included | 🚫 Pay per lead |
Pricing | $5/user/month Flat per user | $4/user/month + scan fees |
Branding | Fully customizable | Limited; Popl branding shown to your contacts |
Team Management | Admin dashboard + roles | Basic team controls |
CRM Integrations | ✅ Included | ✅ Included |
Paper Card Scanner | ✅ Included | ✅ Included (pay per scan) |
Subteams & Role Permissions | ✅ Yes | 🚫 No |
Lead Privacy | Your data stays yours | Popl popups & upsells |
Ease of Use | Rated easiest to use | Mixed reviews |
What Makes Wave a Better Option Than Popl for Teams

Here’s a quick breakdown of why more teams are switching from Popl to Wave. It comes down to pricing, branding, and better tools for managing teams at scale.
1. No Hidden Fees
❌ Popl charges a base fee and a fee per scan. The more leads your team collects, the more you pay.
✅ Wave has flat pricing with unlimited scans, contacts, and shares. No surprises.
One of the biggest drawbacks of Popl is its hidden fees. While pricing starts at around $5 per user per month, Popl also charges extra for each new contact or lead scan. That means if your team exceeds its lead limit, you’ll get hit with overage fees — something many users only discover after the fact. For teams doing high-volume outreach, like at conferences or trade shows, these per-scan charges can lead to unexpected bills that feel more like a “networking tax.”
Wave Connect takes a simpler approach: flat pricing, unlimited usage. You pay one predictable rate per user, no matter how many leads your team captures. There are no scan limits, no overages, and no upsells. Even Wave’s free tier includes unlimited contact storage. This makes budgeting easy and ensures your team never has to hold back on networking. For growing organizations, this kind of cost certainty is a major advantage.
2. Full Brand Control
❌ Popl profiles show Popl’s branding and push their app to your contacts.
✅Wave gives you full control — colors, logos, layout, even the domain.
Popl adds friction to the contact-sharing experience by prompting your leads to join Popl after they scan your digital card. These pop-ups appear immediately after the exchange, encouraging your prospects to sign up for Popl or download their app — turning what should be a smooth connection into a marketing opportunity for Popl.
Wave Connect avoids this entirely. When someone scans your Wave card, they see only your information — no pop-ups, no ads, and no platform promotions. Your brand stays front and center, and your contacts aren’t pushed toward a third-party signup. It’s a clean, distraction-free experience built to keep the focus on you.
3. Built for Teams
❌ Popl has team features, but most are limited to high-tier enterprise plans.
✅ Wave includes:
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Admin dashboard
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Team templates
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Role permissions
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Subteams
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SSO & SCIM provisioning
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Lead analytics
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Assisted onboarding
If you're choosing a digital business card platform for your team, admin control and scalability matter. Wave Connect is built for teams, offering an easy-to-use dashboard where admins can create, update, and manage cards for everyone. You can set roles, lock branding sections, organize users into subteams, and track engagement across the board. Wave also includes SSO, SCIM provisioning, and CRM integrations — all included without needing a custom plan.
Who Should Use Wave Connect

Wave Connect's digital business card is built for teams that need to move fast, stay on brand, and protect their data. Whether you're in sales, marketing, recruiting, or IT, Wave offers the flexibility and control to support your growth.
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Sales Teams doing high-volume outbound
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Marketing Teams at events or conferences
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Recruiters capturing candidate info
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Ops & IT needing privacy, control, and SSO
Wave is made for organizations that want control, privacy, and scale.
Final Take
If you’re tired of hidden fees and generic branding, Wave Connect is the better alternative to Popl.
No lead limits. No surprises. Just a clean, powerful tool built for teams.