Wave power devices are generally categorized by the method used to capture the energy of the waves. They can also be categorized by location and power take-off system. Method types are point absorber or buoy; surfacing following or attenuator oriented parallel to the direction of wave propagation; terminator, oriented perpendicular to the direction of wave propagation; oscillating water column; and overtopping. Locations are shoreline, nearshore and offshore. Types of power take-off include: hydraulic ram, elastomeric hose pump, pump-to-shore, hydroelectric turbine, air turbine, and linear electrical generator. Some of these designs incorporate parabolic reflectors as a means of increasing the wave energy at the point of capture. These capture systems use the rise and fall motion of waves to capture energy. Once the wave energy is captured at a wave source, power must be carried to the point of use or to a connection to the electrical grid by transmission power cables.

These are descriptions of some wave power systems:

• In the United States, the Pacific Northwest Generating Cooperative is funding the building of a commercial wave-power park at Reedsport, Oregon. The project will utilize the PowerBuoy technology Ocean Power Technologies which consists of modular, ocean-going buoys. The rising and falling of the waves moves hydraulic fluid with the buoy; this motion is used to spin a generator, and the electricity is transmitted to shore over a submerged transmission line. A 150 kW buoy has a diameter of 36 feet (11 m) and is 145 feet (44 m) tall, with approximately 30 feet of the unit rising above the ocean surface. Using a three-point mooring system, they are designed to be installed one to five miles (8 km) offshore in water 100 to 200 feet (60 m) deep.

• An example of a surface following device is the Pelamis Wave Energy Converter. The sections of the device articulate with the movement of the waves, each resisting motion between it and the next section, creating pressurized oil to drive a hydraulic ram which drives a hydraulic motor. The machine is long and narrow (snake-like) and points into the waves; it attenuates the waves, gathering more energy than its narrow profile suggests. Its articulating sections drive internal hydraulic generators (through the use of pumps and accumulators).
• With the Wave Dragon wave energy converter large "arms" focus waves up a ramp into an offshore reservoir. The water returns to the ocean by the force of gravity via hydroelectric generators.
• The Anaconda Wave Energy Converter is in the early stages of development by UK company Checkmate SeaEnergy. The concept is a 200 metre long rubber tube which is tethered underwater. Passing waves will instigate a wave inside the tube, which will then propagates down its walls, driving a turbine at the far end.
• The AquaBuOY is made by Finavera Renewables Inc. Energy transfer takes place by converting the vertical component of wave kinetic energy into pressurized seawater by means of two-stroke hose pumps. Pressurized seawater is directed into a conversion system consisting of a turbine driving an electrical generator. The power is transmitted to shore by means of a secure, undersea transmission line. A commercial wave power production facility utilizing the AquaBuOY technology is beginning initial construction in Portugal. The company has 250 MW of projects planned or under development on the west coast of North America. This technology seems to be on-hold as of February 2009. Finavera Renewables surrendered wave energy permits from FERC.

• The SeaRaser, built by Alvin Smith, uses an entirely new technique (pumping) for gathering the wave energy.
• A device called CETO, currently being tested off Fremantle, Western Australia, consists of a single piston pump attached to the sea floor, with a float tethered to the piston. Waves cause the float to rise and fall, generating pressurized water, which is piped to an onshore facility to drive hydraulic generators or run reverse osmosis water desalination.
• Another type of wave buoys, using special polymeres, is being developed by SRI
• Wavebob is an Irish Company who have conducted some ocean trials.
• The Oyster wave energy converter is a hydro-electric wave energy device currently being developed by Aquamarine Power. The wave energy device captures the energy found in nearshore waves and converts it into clean usable electricity. The systems consists of a hinged mechanical flap connected to the seabed at around 10m depth. Each passing wave moves the flap which drives hydraulic pistons to deliver high pressure water via a pipeline to an onshore turbine which generates electricity. In November 2009, the first full-scale demonstrator Oyster began producing power when it was launched at the European Marine Energy Centre (EMEC) on Orkney.
• Ocean Energy have developed the OE buoy which has completed (September 2009) a 2-year sea trial in one quarter scale form. The OE buoy has only one moving part.
• The Lysekil Project is based on a concept with a direct driven linear generator placed on the seabed. The generator is connected to a buoy at the surface via a line. The movements of the buoy will drive the translator in the generator. The advantage of this setup is a less complex mechanical system with potentially a smaller need for maintenance. One drawback is a more complicated electrical system.
• An Australian firm, Oceanlinx, is developing a deep-water technology to generate electricity from, ostensibly, easy-to-predict long-wavelength ocean swell oscillations. Oceanlinx recently began installation of a third and final demonstration-scale, grid-connected unit near Port Kembla, near Sydney, Australia, a 2.5 MW_e system that is expected to go online in early 2010, when its power will be connected to the Australian grid. The companies much smaller first-generation prototype unit, in operation since 2006, is now being disassembled.
• An Israeli firm, SDE ENERGY LTD., has developed a breakwater-based wave energy converter. This device is close to the shore and utilizes the vertical motion of buoys for creating an hydraulic pressure, which in turn operates the system's generators. S.D.E. is currently building a new 250 kWh model in the port of Jaffa, Tel Aviv and preparing to construct it's standing orders for a 100mWh power plants in the islands of Zanzibar and Kosrae, Micronesia.

• Another Australian company BioPower Systems uses the biomimicry of the floats of swaying sea plants in the presence of ocean waves in its BioWave system.

• A Portuguese company, Martifer, is developing an attenuator and offshore device, FLOW.