FreshBooks vs QuickBooks Online: the Canadian view
Both are good. They're built for different businesses. Here's how to tell which one is yours, with Canadian prices checked Nov 2, 2026.
Heads-upRun by the same person behind Trim & Tally, a bookkeeping service; we may earn commissions from some links. Commissions never decide what we recommend. How we make money.
The picks
| Situation | Our pick | Regular price (CAD/mo) | Why |
|---|---|---|---|
| Just starting, not yet GST-registered, few transactions | Wave Starter | $0 (Pro $25) | Free invoices and bookkeeping; upgrade to Pro for bank feeds |
| Service business that lives on invoices and estimates | FreshBooks Plus | $42 | Easiest invoicing; accountant access; mind the client limits |
| Employees, inventory, several locations or departments | QuickBooks Online Plus | $110 | Payroll add-on, inventory, classes/locations, most bookkeepers know it |
| Bookkeeper on Xero, or want receipt capture included | Xero Standard | $60 | Hubdoc included, cheaper than QBO Plus; no Canadian payroll plan listed |
Reviewer experience: Allison has worked in QuickBooks for years, mostly the desktop version, and has used FreshBooks for receivables. Wave and Xero, and the QuickBooks Online plan details, are researched from the vendors' own pages.
How to choose (five questions)
- Will you have employees in the next 12 months? Then lean QuickBooks, or plan on a separate Canadian payroll app.
- Do you sell physical stock? (liquor, retail, parts) QuickBooks Plus, or a POS that tracks inventory.
- How many different customers do you bill a year? FreshBooks counts billable clients (5 / 50 / unlimited by plan).
- Are you GST-registered? You must register once your taxable revenue passes $30,000 in a single calendar quarter or over four consecutive quarters (the CRA's small-supplier test). Pick software that tracks GST/HST properly from day one.
- Who does your books or taxes? Use what they use, unless there's a strong reason not to.
By industry
- Trades and renovation: FreshBooks for owner-operators. QuickBooks Online once you have a crew and payroll, usually paired with a field-service app such as Jobber.
- Restaurants, bars, lounges, hotels: QuickBooks Online Plus, with your POS posting a daily sales summary.
- Oilfield services: QuickBooks Online is what most oilfield bookkeepers and many field-ticket apps (e.g. INVOICE+, Pit & Rig via CSV) connect to.
Wave
- Starter: C$0 (unlimited invoices, estimates, bills and records; you enter or upload bank data yourself)
- Pro: C$25/month or C$250/year per business (automatic bank imports via Plaid, receipt capture, payment reminders)
Wave's pricing page states the Pro price as US$19 / C$25 per month per business. Payroll and card processing cost extra.
FreshBooks
- Lite: C$26/month regular (billing up to 5 clients)
- Plus: C$42/month regular (up to 50 clients; adds receipt scanning, accountant access)
- Premium: C$72/month regular (unlimited clients; adds accounting reports, bill capture)
- Select: custom quote. Add-ons: team members C$13/month each, Advanced Payments C$25/month
Intro offer seen Nov 2, 2026: 80% off for 4 months. Budget for the regular price. 30-day free trial, no card.
QuickBooks Online (Canada)
- Lite: C$20/month regular (1 user, no accountant access, 2 bank connections)
- EasyStart: C$30/month regular (1 user plus your accountant)
- Plus: C$110/month regular (5 users; inventory, project profitability, classes/locations)
- Advanced: C$220/month regular (25 users; workflow automation, custom reports, backup/restore)
- Essentials plan also exists; its regular price was not shown on the page we captured. Payroll is a paid add-on (Core / Premium / Elite).
Intro offer seen Nov 2, 2026: 90% off (e.g. Plus at C$11/month) for new 'Buy now' customers; that discount is not available if you start with the 30-day free trial.
Xero (Canada)
- Starter: C$25/month (20 invoices and 5 bills per month)
- Standard: C$60/month
- Premium: C$80/month (adds multi-currency)
Intro offer seen Nov 2, 2026: 80% off for the first 3 months for new Canadian customers. 30-day free trial.
Sources (checked Nov 2, 2026)
Related
Jobber vs Housecall Pro for Canadian trades
Two of the biggest field-service apps for home and property service crews. One is from Edmonton, one from San Diego. Here's what each costs and where each fits, from their own pages.
QuickBooks Online vs Xero in Canada
The two big cloud ledgers. Xero is cheaper at the middle tier and includes Hubdoc. QuickBooks has Canadian payroll built in and more bookkeepers who know it.