NorthOS
- Price /mo
- $12 CAD
- Free tier
- No (14-day trial)
- Automatic tracking
- Yes, unlimited trips
- Full bookkeeping included
- Yes, full Canadian bookkeeping
- T2125 vehicle mapping
- Yes, with your business-use share
Buyer's guide
The best mileage tracking app for self-employed Canadians (2026)
Every app on this page can log a drive. The differences show up after the drive: whether the kilometres become a business-use share, whether that share reaches your T2125 vehicle expense claim, and whether your books live beside the log or in another tool entirely. This page ranks the options for that whole job, and names what each one genuinely does best.
The short answer
If you are self-employed and the point of tracking mileage is a vehicle expense claim on your T2125, NorthOS is the best fit. Mileage tracking is unlimited and included in the $12 CAD a month plan, trips feed your business-use share, and the claim lands on its T2125 line beside the rest of your books, GST/HST tracking included. The log and the tax filing are one system instead of two apps and a copy-paste.
If all you want is the log itself, a dedicated tracker is a fine choice and the ranking below says which one wins at what. MileIQ has the most polished automatic drive detection, Driversnote makes the cleanest classic logbook reports, and a free spreadsheet honestly covers occasional drivers.
The mileage trackers Canadians compare, side by side
The two columns on the right are where the tools split: whether your bookkeeping lives in the same place as the log, and whether the kilometres reach the T2125 without retyping.
| Tool | Price /mo | Free tier | Automatic tracking | Full bookkeeping included | T2125 vehicle mapping |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| NorthOS | $12 CAD | No (14-day trial) | Yes, unlimited trips | Yes, full Canadian bookkeeping | Yes, with your business-use share |
| MileIQ | US$13.99 (Unlimited) | Yes, 40 drives/month | Yes, automatic drive detection | No, mileage only | Not advertised |
| Driversnote | US$11 (Pro) | Yes (limited) | Yes | No, mileage only | Not advertised |
| Hurdlr | US$9.99 (Premium) | Free version (limited) | Yes | Income and expense tracking | No, manual Tax Report |
| QuickBooks Lite | $20 CAD | No (30-day trial) | Yes, in the mobile app | Yes, invoicing-first | No |
| Paper or spreadsheet log | Free | Yes | No, every trip by hand | No | Manual |
MileIQ
- Price /mo
- US$13.99 (Unlimited)
- Free tier
- Yes, 40 drives/month
- Automatic tracking
- Yes, automatic drive detection
- Full bookkeeping included
- No, mileage only
- T2125 vehicle mapping
- Not advertised
Driversnote
- Price /mo
- US$11 (Pro)
- Free tier
- Yes (limited)
- Automatic tracking
- Yes
- Full bookkeeping included
- No, mileage only
- T2125 vehicle mapping
- Not advertised
Hurdlr
- Price /mo
- US$9.99 (Premium)
- Free tier
- Free version (limited)
- Automatic tracking
- Yes
- Full bookkeeping included
- Income and expense tracking
- T2125 vehicle mapping
- No, manual Tax Report
QuickBooks Lite
- Price /mo
- $20 CAD
- Free tier
- No (30-day trial)
- Automatic tracking
- Yes, in the mobile app
- Full bookkeeping included
- Yes, invoicing-first
- T2125 vehicle mapping
- No
Paper or spreadsheet log
- Price /mo
- Free
- Free tier
- Yes
- Automatic tracking
- No, every trip by hand
- Full bookkeeping included
- No
- T2125 vehicle mapping
- Manual
“Free tier” means an ongoing $0 plan, not a time-limited trial. Prices are regular monthly rates as of 2026, before introductory promotions (MileIQ, Driversnote, and Hurdlr price in USD). “Not advertised” means the feature does not appear on the vendor's pricing page, which is where vendors list what they sell. Pricing changes often, so check each provider directly: MileIQ, Driversnote, Hurdlr, and QuickBooks.
How each tool ranks for this job
Ranked for the specific job of a self-employed Canadian keeping a CRA-ready vehicle log that ends up on the T2125. Each entry names what the tool genuinely does best, because most of them are the right answer to a different question.
1.
NorthOS
Wins at: mileage that ends up filed, not just logged
Unlimited mileage tracking is included in the $12 CAD a month plan, not a separate app. Trips feed your business-use share, and your vehicle expense claim lands on its T2125 line beside the rest of your books, with the $30,000 GST/HST threshold tracked on the same dashboard. The dedicated trackers below log drives well, but every one of them hands you a report to carry into your tax filing by hand. NorthOS is the one where that last step does not exist.
2.
MileIQ
Wins at: Set-and-forget automatic drive detection
MileIQ made automatic mileage tracking mainstream, and drive detection is still the thing it does best: it logs every trip in the background and you classify each one as business or personal with a swipe. The free plan covers 40 drives a month, and Unlimited is US$13.99 a month as of 2026. It is a mileage app, not bookkeeping: your income, expenses, and GST/HST live somewhere else, and its pricing page does not advertise CRA or T2125 features. Best if all you want is the most polished drive log and you handle the tax side elsewhere.
MileIQ pricing3.
Driversnote
Wins at: Classic logbook reports
Driversnote is built around the traditional vehicle logbook: track trips automatically or by hand, then export a tidy report for your accountant. It has a Canadian version of its site in English and French, and it advertises a partnership with Wave in Canada, which makes it a natural companion if Wave already runs your invoicing. There is a limited free tier, and Pro is US$11 a month as of 2026. Like MileIQ it stops at the log: the report is yours to carry into your T2125 by hand.
Driversnote pricing4.
Hurdlr
Wins at: Gig work that mixes mileage with income tracking
Hurdlr is a mileage and expense tracker first, and it is genuinely good at automatic mileage capture and on-the-go income tracking for gig and delivery workers. Its Premium plan is US$9.99 a month. The catch for Canadians is that it tracks but does not file: Hurdlr states it does not provide tax filing in Canada, so it produces a Tax Report you then use to complete your T2125 by hand. Best if you drive for platforms and want income and kilometres in one tracker.
Read the full Hurdlr comparison5.
QuickBooks Lite
Wins at: Mileage inside a bigger accounting suite
QuickBooks includes automatic mileage tracking in its mobile app alongside receipts, expense sorting, GST/PST/HST, and invoicing. QuickBooks Lite is $20 CAD a month as of 2026, and the point of choosing it is the suite, not the mileage: you would pick it because you want Intuit's broader accounting platform and mileage comes along for the ride. For a sole proprietor whose main jobs are the T2125 and GST/HST, it is more software at nearly twice the price of NorthOS.
Read the full QuickBooks comparison6.
A paper or spreadsheet log
Wins at: Cost, when you barely drive for work
The CRA does not require an app. A notebook in the glovebox or a simple spreadsheet meets the record-keeping requirement if you keep it honestly: date, destination, purpose, and distance for every business trip. It wins on cost and loses on discipline, because a log you fill in from memory at tax time is exactly the kind of record an audit picks apart. If you drive for work a few times a month, start here with our free template. If you drive weekly, automate it.
Get the free CRA mileage log templateThe CRA rules a mileage app is really about
The log is only half the job. These plain-language guides cover the rules that turn kilometres into a defensible deduction.
- Vehicle expenses for self-employed Canadians explains the actual-cost method and the business-use share.
- The free CRA mileage log template is the $0 starting point if you drive for work occasionally.
- The T2125 guide for Canadian sole proprietors covers the form your vehicle claim ultimately lands on.
- The best bookkeeping software for Canadian sole proprietors is the full-books ranking, if mileage is only part of what you need.
Frequently asked questions
What does the CRA require in a mileage log?
For a self-employed Canadian, a vehicle log should record the date, destination, purpose, and distance of each business trip, along with your total kilometres driven in the year. The business share of your total driving is what determines how much of your vehicle costs you can deduct on Form T2125. The record can live in an app, a spreadsheet, or a paper notebook; what matters is that it is kept through the year rather than reconstructed at tax time.
Can self-employed Canadians just claim a per-kilometre rate?
Generally no. The flat per-kilometre allowance rates are for employers reimbursing employees. A self-employed sole proprietor instead deducts the business share of actual vehicle costs, things like fuel, insurance, repairs, licence fees, and depreciation, based on the portion of driving that was for business. That is why the log matters: it establishes the business-use share that gets applied to your real costs on the T2125. Our vehicle expense guide walks through how the calculation works.
Is a free mileage app enough for a Canadian sole proprietor?
Often, yes, if your driving is light. MileIQ's free plan covers 40 drives a month, Driversnote offers a limited free tier, Hurdlr advertises a free version, and a spreadsheet or paper log costs nothing. The free options stop at the log itself: turning kilometres into a T2125 vehicle expense claim, and keeping the rest of your books beside it, stays manual. Paid tools earn their fee when you drive often enough that classifying and transcribing trips by hand becomes a weekly chore.
Which mileage tracking apps work in Canada?
All of the apps compared on this page are usable in Canada. Driversnote publishes a Canadian version of its site in English and French and advertises a Wave partnership in Canada. MileIQ and Hurdlr both price in US dollars, and their pricing pages focus on US tax concepts rather than CRA ones, so the Canadian tax step stays in your hands. QuickBooks and NorthOS are both sold in Canadian dollars, and NorthOS is built specifically around CRA forms: kilometres feed a business-use share that lands on your T2125 vehicle expense line.
Does NorthOS include mileage tracking?
Yes. NorthOS includes unlimited mileage tracking as part of its $12 CAD a month plan, alongside full bookkeeping for Canadian sole proprietors. Trips feed your business-use share, and vehicle costs are mapped to the T2125 vehicle expense line with the rest of your expenses, so the log and the tax claim stay in one place instead of being exported from one app and retyped into another.
This article is for informational purposes only and is not tax advice. Confirm your situation with the CRA or a professional.
Mileage, books, and the T2125 in one place.
NorthOS is bookkeeping and tax compliance for Canadian sole proprietors and side hustlers. Unlimited mileage tracking, T2125 expense mapping, GST/HST $30,000 threshold tracking, and the Quick Method for every province and territory. $12 CAD a month.