PayHr vs Wave Payroll: Canadian pricing and small teams

Which option fits your business?

PayHr Manual suits a cost-focused evaluation when an Ontario business can own the payment and submission steps. For paid payroll, Wave’s illustrated recurring charge is lower at five people paid twice monthly. At one monthly run, PayHr automation has the lower recurring fee before setup and optional documents. Neither product currently supports Quebec payroll.

Pricing and assumptions

Wave’s Canadian payroll pricing is $25 CAD monthly plus $6 per active employee and $6 per contractor paid. Canadian payroll excludes Quebec. The table assumes employees only. Use the Canadian offer; the US price on the same site is different.

PayHr Manual — Free ($0 service fee). Unlimited employees, contractors and manual pay runs, with manual T4/T4A and ROE workflows. Your team arranges and verifies wage payments, tax remittances and manual submissions; bank or adviser charges may still apply. Paid automation is optional.

Examples compare service fees before tax, wages, employer contributions and remittances. They exclude promotions, optional filings and extras unless stated. All employees are paid on every run; there are no contractors. These are budgeting examples, not equivalent service packages or provider quotes.

What PayHr includes

PayHr has free manual payroll and optional automated payments at $6 per person per automated run, plus a one-time $25 automation setup fee. Optional automated ROEs cost $5 each and T4/T4A filings $15 each. Manual document workflows remain free. Review the full PayHr pricing before choosing automation.

PayHr’s employee workflow is Ontario-first; Quebec payroll is not supported. A payment method is saved during workspace setup. Payroll approval records the run and does not itself transfer wages or remit taxes. Compare the work you retain as well as the fee.

The same team can produce a different result

In this five-person example, PayHr automation has the lower recurring fee with one run, while Wave has the lower fee with two. PayHr’s setup fee and optional automated documents can widen or reverse a first-year difference. A free manual workflow is a separate comparison because your team still completes the payment work.

If you have seasonal employees, check exactly when someone counts as active for billing. For contractors, model the months in which you actually pay them. Keep employee counts and contractor payments on separate lines rather than assuming every worker follows the same schedule.

What to check before choosing

Walk through how payroll figures reach your books and how you reconcile outstanding liabilities. Confirm province coverage, direct-deposit setup and the support available if a payment needs attention. A lower software bill is helpful only if the workflow fits your team.

For a broader shortlist, see our Canadian payroll pricing comparison and pay-frequency cost guide.

Budget for the calendar you actually use

A five-person team paying monthly would incur $360 over twelve PayHr automated runs, compared with $660 over twelve months at Wave’s cited $55 monthly fee.

Change that same team to twice-monthly payroll and PayHr automation becomes $720 across 24 runs, while the illustrated Wave total remains $660. PayHr setup and optional documents are additional. This is why a comparison based only on employee count can be misleading. Keep the headcount constant, list the actual pay dates, and then price both schedules without assuming your business is free to change its required pay frequency.

Illustrative scenario, not a customer case study. Costs use the assumptions and source rates stated in this guide.

Frequently asked questions

Is the Wave price on this page the Canadian price?

Yes. The examples use the Canadian $25 base plus $6 per active employee monthly. They do not use the US offer displayed elsewhere on Wave’s site.

What if the business pays contractors too?

The tables model employees only. Wave lists a charge per contractor paid; PayHr automation charges per person per automated run. Add the contractor payment schedule separately instead of applying an employee-only total.

Put your next payday in order

Explore PayHr’s payroll software and free manual payroll plan, or follow the workspace setup guide.