Truly Free Canadian Payroll Software in 2026: Beanflow vs CanPay, CRA PDOC, PaymentEvolution, Rise and Wave

What “truly free” means in this guide

A product counts as truly free when it requires no recurring subscription and no per-pay-run charge for the usage tier described. Optional paid support, or filings the employer handles directly with the government anyway, do not make payroll calculation software paid. A free calculator computes deductions but does not run payroll — see our CRA PDOC calculator guide. A zero-base-fee product charges nothing monthly but bills per use.

Methodology: every competitor fact below comes from the vendor's or the government's own page, linked next to the claim, as accessed on August 22, 2026. Where this review could not verify a capability from public documentation, the table says so instead of guessing. Product facts about Beanflow come from Beanflow's own product documentation and behavior. Prices and plans change; verify current terms before deciding.

Comparison at a glance

The six options in detail

Beanflow Payroll

Beanflow is the publisher of this guide, so weigh its claims accordingly — the limitations section below is written with the same specificity as the advantages. Core payroll runs in the browser with no monthly fee, no per-employee charge, and no credit card requirement. The calculation engine is built from the CRA's T4127 payroll deduction formulas, and calculation cases are validated against the CRA's own Payroll Deductions Online Calculator. Payroll covers every province and territory except Quebec.

On pay runs, Beanflow automatically applies jurisdiction-specific statutory-holiday and vacation-pay rules where supported. At year end it produces T4 slips and a summary as CRA-ready XML that you upload yourself, plus source-deduction remittance summaries with due dates. See the Beanflow product page for the current feature list.

CanPay GrandMaster Suite

CanPay's free payroll software page states that GrandMaster Suite is free with full functionality for payrolls of 20 employees or less, with no time limit, and that product updates are downloadable at no charge. The limit counts every employee type — terminated, inactive, and on-leave employees included — and CanPay says the free version ships without technical support; a pay-as-you-go support plan is offered for assistance. Past 20 employees, a paid license is required. The downloads page listed version 21.10, compatible with Windows, in August 2026.

The suite is a desktop payroll system that creates ROEs and T4s, and its FAQ is explicit about the boundary: it lets you create the electronic files, and “you are responsible for uploading the file to the CRA and to Service Canada.” Remittances are calculated for you to pay, and EFT banking files are created for you to upload to your bank.

CRA Payroll Deductions Online Calculator (PDOC)

The CRA's Payroll Deductions Online Calculator calculates federal, provincial (except Quebec), and territorial payroll deductions and confirms the deductions you include on statements of earnings. It is a calculator, not a payroll system: it keeps no employee records, runs no pay periods, produces no T4s or ROEs, and handles no remittances. The CRA also cautions that printed PDOC calculations must not be used as an official statement of earnings. For Quebec, the provincial government administers income tax, QPP, and QPIP through Revenu Québec's WebRAS program.

PaymentEvolution (PayEvo)

PaymentEvolution's business pricing page lists a Growth plan at a $0 monthly base price for up to 3 employees, charging $3.50 per employee per pay run, with a $55 one-time setup fee per source account for electronic payments and email support only. Its own worked example prices one employee on bi-weekly pay at about $7.00 per month (roughly $84 per year). Direct deposit is included, and CRA remittances are included — and noted as required — where remittance services apply. Higher tiers start at a $25 minimum monthly base (Business Basic, up to 25 employees at $2.50 per employee per run). The $0 base fee is real, but per-run charges mean total cost grows with team size and pay frequency.

Rise

Rise sells Canadian HR and payroll on per-employee monthly pricing. Its pricing page, checked in August 2026, listed a Start plan at $8 per employee per month in Canadian dollars on a flexible month-to-month basis, and notes that all tiers are subject to a base fee. Among the listed payroll features are direct deposit, automatic tax remittance, automatic T4 generation, integrations, and full payroll reports and compliance. Details of higher tiers are provided via demo rather than published prices. This review could not verify Rise's ROE handling from the plan-level public documentation, so that cell is left unverified above rather than guessed.

Wave Payroll

Wave's payroll page, checked in August 2026, lists Canadian pricing at $25 CAD per month plus $6 per active employee and $6 per independent contractor paid, applying to new payroll customers who signed up after April 2, 2025. Wave advertises automatic CRA tax remittances handled on the employer's behalf, unlimited direct deposits, generation of T4 and T4A slips and summaries, ROE support, and availability across all provinces and territories except Quebec, with a 30-day free trial.

Choosing by situation

There is no single winner here — the right choice depends on what you are willing to do yourself and what you are willing to pay for.

When Beanflow is a good fit

You want Canadian payroll with no software bill, you are fine paying staff by e-transfer or cheque, and you are comfortable uploading your T4 return and making source-deduction payments to the CRA yourself. You get CRA-checked CPP, EI, and income-tax calculations, plus automatic statutory-holiday and vacation-pay handling for supported jurisdictions. If you are leaving another tool mid-year, catch-up payroll rebuilds the current tax year from prior pay stubs.

When another option may fit better

• You prefer desktop software, have 20 employees or fewer, and need no hand-holding: CanPay GrandMaster Suite's free tier.
• You only need to sanity-check one deduction figure before payday: CRA PDOC — it is exactly that tool, and nothing more.
• You want deposits and remittances fully managed and accept usage-based fees: PaymentEvolution's plans.
• You want payroll bundled with a broader HR platform: Rise.
• Your bookkeeping already lives in Wave and you want payroll beside it with automated CRA remittances: Wave Payroll.

Where Beanflow falls short

Stated plainly, as of August 22, 2026:

• No direct-deposit money movement. After a run is approved, employers pay employees by e-transfer or cheque. Beanflow does not move funds.
• You remain responsible for government submissions. Beanflow generates T4 XML and remittance summaries with due dates, but you upload the T4 return and pay the CRA. It does not remit on your behalf.
• ROE output is a draft extract, not a submission. For supported cases Beanflow prepares an ROE Web extract from your payroll records; unsupported cases must be finished in ROE Web, and Beanflow does not file the ROE for you.
• No Quebec payroll. Quebec's separate provincial system is not supported.

Paid tools automate some or all of these steps — that is a large part of what their fees buy.

Frequently asked questions

Is there genuinely free payroll software in Canada?

Yes. Two kinds exist. Beanflow core payroll is web-based with no monthly fee and no per-employee charge, and CanPay offers its full-function GrandMaster Suite desktop software free for payrolls of 20 employees or less. Both differ from trials that start billing later.

Is CRA PDOC a complete payroll system?

No. The CRA Payroll Deductions Online Calculator calculates federal, provincial (except Quebec), and territorial deductions for a single calculation. It does not keep employee records, run pay periods, produce T4s or ROEs, or handle remittances, and the CRA says its printed calculations are not an official statement of earnings.

Does free payroll software submit CRA remittances automatically?

Not the options reviewed here. Beanflow generates remittance summaries and due dates, but you submit the payment yourself. CanPay GrandMaster Suite calculates remittance amounts, and its FAQ says you make the payments. Automated CRA remittances are a feature of paid services such as Wave Payroll.

Can free payroll software produce T4s and ROEs?

Yes, with limits. Beanflow generates T4 slips and summaries as CRA-ready XML that you upload, and prepares a draft ROE extract for supported cases that you finish in ROE Web. CanPay GrandMaster Suite creates T4 and ROE electronic files, and its FAQ states you are responsible for uploading them to the CRA and Service Canada.

Is Beanflow free for a limited trial or ongoing use?

Ongoing use. Beanflow core payroll has no monthly fee, no per-employee charge, no trial deadline, and no credit card requirement. Paid extras exist elsewhere in the Beanflow ecosystem, but core payroll itself carries no recurring charge.

Sources and related reading

All competitor and government facts on this page were verified against the following official pages on August 22, 2026. Vendor plans change; treat these links as the point-in-time record.

• CanPay — Free Canadian payroll software (GrandMaster Suite)
• CanPay — Canadian Payroll Software downloads (version and platform)
• CanPay — GrandMaster Suite FAQ (support policy, T4/ROE/EFT upload responsibilities)
• Government of Canada — Payroll Deductions Online Calculator
• PaymentEvolution — Business pricing
• Rise — Pricing
• Wave — Payroll (Canada pricing and features)

Related reading on this site: the Beanflow vs Wagepoint & Wave comparison, the CPP, EI & tax withholding guide, and the Beanflow product page.