Accounting Software Pricing Canada: Full Cost Comparison for 2026

The advertised price of accounting software is rarely what you actually pay. Payroll is usually an add-on. More users means more cost. Receipt capture, advanced reporting, and CRA integration often require higher tiers.

Here's the real cost breakdown for every major accounting software option available to Canadian businesses in 2026.

All prices in CAD, as of April 2026.

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Bookkeeper

| Plan | Monthly Cost | What's Included | |------|-------------|-----------------| | Free | $0 | Full bookkeeping, AI categorization, HST tracking, bank feeds, CRA reports |

Bookkeeper is free to start with no feature gating on core functionality. AI categorization, bank reconciliation, HST/ITC tracking, and financial reports are all included.

Start free →

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QuickBooks Online

| Plan | Monthly Cost | Transactions | Users | |------|-------------|-------------|-------| | Simple Start | $35 | Unlimited | 1 | | Essentials | $60 | Unlimited | 3 | | Plus | $90 | Unlimited | 5 | | Advanced | $140 | Unlimited | 25 |

Add-ons (monthly):

• Payroll (Core): $55 + $5/employee
• Payroll (Premium): $90 + $8/employee
• QuickBooks Time: $25 + $10/user

Real cost for a typical small business (Essentials + basic payroll for 3 employees): ~$175/month

Notes: The Essentials plan removed accounts payable (bill management) in recent updates — now requires Plus at $90/mo for full AP functionality.

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Wave

| Feature | Cost | |---------|------| | Accounting + invoicing | Free | | Receipt scanning | Free | | Payroll (Ontario, BC, AB) | $40/mo + $6/employee | | Wave Money (business banking) | Free | | Payment processing | 2.9% + $0.30 per transaction |

Real cost for a typical freelancer: $0 (no employees, no payment processing)

Real cost for a small business with 3 employees: ~$58/month (payroll only)

Notes: Wave payroll is only available in Ontario, BC, and Alberta as of 2026. Quebec, Manitoba, and Saskatchewan are not supported.

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FreshBooks

| Plan | Monthly Cost | Active Clients | |------|-------------|---------------| | Lite | $21 | 5 | | Plus | $40 | 50 | | Premium | $75 | Unlimited | | Select | Custom | Unlimited |

Add-ons:

• Additional team members: $14/user/month
• Advanced Payments: 3.5% + $0.30 per transaction

Real cost for a freelancer with 10 clients: $40/month (Plus plan)

Real cost for a small agency with 5 team members: $75 + (4 × $14) = $131/month

Notes: The per-client limitation at lower tiers is FreshBooks' most criticized pricing decision. If you have more than 5 active clients, you immediately need the $40/month tier.

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Xero

| Plan | Monthly Cost | Invoices | Bills | |------|-------------|---------|-------| | Starter | $25 | 20/mo | 5/mo | | Standard | $55 | Unlimited | Unlimited | | Premium | $90 | Unlimited | Unlimited + multi-currency |

Add-ons:

• Xero Payroll (via Wagepoint): ~$40+/month
• Xero Projects: $15/month
• Xero Analytics Plus: $9/month

Real cost for a typical small business (Standard): $55/month

Notes: The Starter plan's 20-invoice limit makes it impractical for most businesses. Most Xero customers end up on Standard ($55) or higher.

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Zoho Books

| Plan | Monthly Cost | Users | Invoices | |------|-------------|-------|---------| | Free | $0 | 1 | 1,000/yr | | Standard | $20 | 3 | Unlimited | | Professional | $50 | 5 | Unlimited | | Premium | $70 | 10 | Unlimited |

Notes: The free plan is genuinely useful for businesses under $50K revenue. The Standard plan at $20/month offers strong value for growing businesses.

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True Cost Summary

| Software | Base Price | Typical SMB Cost (with payroll) | |----------|-----------|--------------------------------| | Bookkeeper | Free | $0 | | Wave | Free | $58/month (3 employees) | | Zoho Books | Free–$20 | $20–$50 | | FreshBooks | $21–$75 | $40–$131 | | Xero | $25–$90 | $95–$130 | | QuickBooks Online | $35–$140 | $115–$230+ |

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What You're Really Paying For

The price differences reflect genuine feature differences. QuickBooks and Xero charge more because they do more — multi-entity accounting, advanced inventory, direct CRA payroll filing, and deep accountant integration.

For most Canadian small businesses and freelancers without complex operations, the $35–$90/month QuickBooks or Xero tier is more than necessary. The free-to-low-cost options handle the fundamentals just as well.

The question isn't "what's the cheapest option?" — it's "what's the cheapest option that does what I actually need?"

For a feature-based comparison, see best accounting software for Canadian small businesses in 2026. For guidance on how much bookkeeping should cost overall, see how much does bookkeeping cost in Canada.