Wave vs QuickBooks Online in Canada
Wave has a free plan and QuickBooks Online doesn't. But on Wave's free plan you upload bank statements and sort each transaction yourself: automatic bank import and categorizing are on Wave Pro, CA$25 a month. QuickBooks Lite is listed from $20 a month, and the larger QuickBooks plans add inventory and more users.
The short answer
Pick on the thing your business can’t do without.
You want to pay nothing
Wave's Starter plan is free. You get unlimited invoices, estimates and bills. You upload bank statements and sort each transaction yourself. QuickBooks has no free plan.
You want your bank connected for the least money
Wave Pro is CA$25 a month or CA$250 a year and imports and categorizes your bank transactions for you. QuickBooks Lite is listed from $20 a month, with 2 bank connections and 1 user.
You track inventory or have a bigger team
QuickBooks has inventory on its Plus and Advanced plans, and Advanced allows up to 25 users. We didn't see inventory on Wave's pricing page.
You run payroll in Quebec
Wave Payroll covers every province and territory except Quebec. QuickBooks Payroll fills out RL-1 slips and files with Revenu Québec.
Side by side
| Wave | QuickBooks Online (Canada) | |
|---|---|---|
| Free plan | Starter, $0 | No; 30-day free trial, no card needed |
| Paid plans | Pro, CA$25 a month or CA$250 a year | Five plans, Lite listed from $20 a month. Others: see their pricing page |
| Bank transactions | Starter: upload statements. Pro: automatic bank import | 2 bank connections on Lite; unlimited from EasyStart |
| Sorting transactions | Starter: you sort each one. Pro: auto-categorize | Intuit AI helps categorize expenses |
| GST/HST | Sales tax report of tax on sales and purchases | Calculated and tracked; you prepare the return in QuickBooks and submit it to the CRA |
| Invoices | Unlimited, on both plans | Yes |
| Receipts | Pro lists unlimited receipt capture | Receipt capture |
| Users | Add users on Pro | 1 on Lite and EasyStart, up to 3, 5 or 25 on the others |
| Payroll | CA$25 a month plus $6 per employee or contractor paid; not in Quebec | Monthly add-on, including Quebec (RL-1) |
| Inventory | Not on the pricing page | Plus and Advanced |
From waveapps.com and quickbooks.intuit.com/ca as of October 2026. Prices in Canadian dollars, before introductory discounts.
What Wave’s free plan leaves to you
On Starter you download statements from your bank’s website and upload them, as CSV, OFX, QBO or QFX files, then put each transaction in the right category yourself. Wave says automated bank connections need the Pro plan, and Pro is also where transactions are merged and categorized automatically. Pro is CA$25 a month or CA$250 a year, and we didn’t see a free trial for it. If you came to Wave when bank imports were free, our Wave alternative page explains what changed in 2026.
What QuickBooks costs
QuickBooks Online has five Canadian plans: Lite, EasyStart, Essentials, Plus and Advanced. Lite is listed from $20 a month, for one user with 2 bank connections, and an introductory discount was showing when we checked. We couldn’t read the other prices reliably, so we haven’t quoted them: see their pricing page. There’s a 30-day free trial with no card needed.
Payroll
Wave Payroll is a CA$25 monthly base fee plus $6 for each active employee and each contractor you pay. It sends your remittances to the CRA automatically and prepares T4 and T4A slips. It covers every province and territory except Quebec, and has a 30-day free trial. QuickBooks Payroll is a monthly add-on that calculates CPP, EI and income tax, fills out T4 and RL-1 slips, does Records of Employment and files with the CRA or Revenu Québec. Its price is on QuickBooks’ pricing page.
Who each one suits
- Wave Starter: a small business that mostly needs free invoices and is happy to upload statements and sort transactions by hand.
- Wave Pro: the same business, once sorting by hand takes too long. CA$25 a month brings automatic bank import and categorizing.
- QuickBooks Online: a business that tracks inventory, needs more than a few users, or runs payroll in Quebec.
A third option: sorted for you, free
Spark Books is free bookkeeping for Canadian small businesses. Like Wave Starter, you upload statements: there’s no live bank feed. Unlike it, Spark sorts each transaction for you into a Canadian chart of accounts with the GST/HST split out, asks only about the ones it can’t tell, works out your GST/HST return figures and hands your accountant a year-end package. It has no payroll or inventory, and isn’t available in Quebec yet. How Spark Books works.
Questions
- Is Wave really free in Canada?
- Wave's Starter plan is free, as of October 2026. It includes unlimited estimates, invoices, bills and bookkeeping records. Automatic bank import, automatic categorizing and extra users are on the Pro plan, CA$25 a month or CA$250 a year.
- Is Wave or QuickBooks better for a small business in Canada?
- Wave if you want free invoicing and don't mind uploading statements and sorting transactions yourself, or want a bank feed for CA$25 a month. QuickBooks if you track inventory, need several users, or run payroll in Quebec. Both handle GST/HST.
- Does Wave connect to my bank?
- On the Pro plan. Wave says automated bank connections need a paid Pro subscription. On Starter, you download statements from your bank's website and upload them (CSV, OFX, QBO or QFX).
- How much does QuickBooks Online cost in Canada?
- As of October 2026, QuickBooks Lite is listed from $20 a month for one user. QuickBooks also has EasyStart, Essentials, Plus and Advanced. We couldn't read those prices reliably, so see quickbooks.intuit.com/ca/pricing. There's a 30-day free trial with no card needed.
- Which has payroll in Canada, Wave or QuickBooks?
- Both. Wave Payroll is a CA$25 monthly base fee plus $6 per active employee and $6 per contractor paid, in every province and territory except Quebec. QuickBooks Payroll is a monthly add-on that covers Quebec; its price is on QuickBooks' pricing page.
- Is there a free option that sorts transactions for me?
- Spark Books is free and sorts each transaction into a Canadian chart of accounts with the GST/HST split out. Like Wave Starter, it has no live bank feed: you upload statements. It has no payroll or inventory, and isn't available in Quebec yet.
More comparisons
Free software
- Spark BooksEverything Spark Books does, and the two plans.
- Free bookkeeping software in CanadaWhat's actually free, and the catch with each.
- Free accounting software in CanadaWhat it has to do for the CRA, and when you still need an accountant.
- AI bookkeepingWhat it gets right, what it gets wrong, and why Spark asks.
Switching from
- A free QuickBooks alternativeWhat Spark does and doesn't do next to QuickBooks Online.
- A free Xero alternativeHow Spark compares with Xero for a Canadian business.
- A Wave alternativeWhat changed on Wave's free plan, and your options.
- A free FreshBooks alternativeFreshBooks' Canadian plans next to Spark Books.
Head to head
- QuickBooks Online vs XeroPlans, prices, GST/HST and payroll in Canada.
Wave is a trademark of its owner. QuickBooks and Intuit are trademarks of Intuit Inc. Spark Finance isn’t affiliated with or endorsed by either.
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