Accounting software records what a business earns and spends, tracks the GST/HST it collects, and produces the statements an accountant or the CRA asks for. This page compares four widely used products on price and on what each plan includes. It’s part of the self-employed tax hub, and each product also has its own review.
Prices below are the regular monthly prices in Canadian dollars. Every one of these companies runs introductory discounts for new customers, so the first months usually cost less.
Prices compared
| Software | Plans and regular monthly price (CAD) | Free option |
|---|---|---|
| Wave | Starter $0; Pro $25 | Yes (Starter) |
| FreshBooks | Lite $26; Plus $42; Premium $72; Select by quote | No |
| Xero | Starter $25; Standard $60; Premium $80 | No |
| QuickBooks Online | Lite, EasyStart, Essentials, Plus, Advanced: Lite $20 a month; regular prices for the other plans shown beside the introductory offer on Intuit’s pricing page | No |
What the plans include
Wave is free for invoicing and bookkeeping: the Starter plan includes unlimited invoices, estimates, bills and records. Automatic import and categorisation of bank transactions comes with Pro. Receipt scanning is an add-on on both plans ($8 a month on Pro), and payroll starts at $25 a month on Pro.
FreshBooks limits plans by the number of clients you bill: 5 on Lite, 50 on Plus, and no limit on Premium. Double-entry accounting, bank reconciliation, receipt scanning and accountant access start on Plus; project profitability is on Premium. Its design centres on invoicing and billable time, which suits service businesses.
Xero’s Starter plan allows 20 invoices and 5 bills a month; Standard removes those limits, and multi-currency is on Premium. The Xero vs QuickBooks comparison goes through the differences.
QuickBooks Online has the widest plan range. EasyStart is for 1 user, Essentials adds bill management, multi-currency and time tracking for up to 3 users, Plus adds inventory and project profitability for 5, and Advanced allows 25. Lite is a smaller plan covering invoicing, payments, mileage and sales tax tracking. The QuickBooks vs FreshBooks comparison covers how it differs from FreshBooks for service businesses.
Matching software to the business
| Situation | What to look at |
|---|---|
| Freelancer or sole proprietor who mostly sends invoices | Wave Starter (free) or Wave Pro for automatic bank feeds |
| Bills clients by the hour | FreshBooks, whose plans are built around invoicing and time |
| Holds inventory | QuickBooks Plus and up |
| Several people need access | QuickBooks (up to 25 users on Advanced) |
| Invoices in foreign currencies | Xero Premium, QuickBooks Essentials and up |
Whatever the software, GST/HST registration and filing rules are the same; the small business tax deductions guide covers which expenses to record. For registering a business and setting up its accounts, see starting a business in Canada.
Related reading
Sources
The figures and rules on this page come from these sources, last checked against them on September 25, 2026. How we check facts.
- FreshBooks: FreshBooks Canada pricing
- QuickBooks (Intuit): Plans & Pricing | Compare Features | QuickBooks Canada
- waveapps.com: Pricing
- waveapps.com: Payroll
- Xero: Pricing Plans | Xero CA