AdjustedCostBase.ca is great for manual ACB tracking — but if you want automated broker import, superficial-loss detection, and T5008 reconciliation at the same $49/yr price, Sched3 is the modern alternative.
For over a decade, AdjustedCostBase.ca has been the default answer to “how do I track my ACB?” — a free ledger where you type in each transaction and it keeps the running average cost. Its premium tier ($49/year) adds spreadsheet upload and an annual PDF report in the Schedule 3 format.
Sched3 starts from a different premise: your transactions already exist in your brokers’ files, the CRA’s edge-case rules (superficial losses, return of capital, phantom distributions, USD conversion) should be applied by software rather than remembered by you, and the end product should be a package your accountant can file from — not just a ledger.
If you hold a handful of Canadian securities at one broker, rarely trade, and are comfortable entering transactions by hand, the free tier of AdjustedCostBase.ca does the core job — a correct pooled ACB — at a price of zero. It has earned its reputation.
You should probably stay with it if manual entry doesn’t bother you and none of the following apply: multiple brokers, US-dollar trades, ETFs with return of capital or reinvested distributions, tax-loss selling, RSUs, or crypto.
| Capability | Sched3 (Active, $129/yr) | AdjustedCostBase.ca (Premium, $49/yr) |
|---|---|---|
| Pooled ACB (CRA weighted-average method) | ✓ | ✓ |
| Data entry | Broker CSV import (13 format-aware adapters) | Manual entry; premium spreadsheet upload |
| Superficial-loss detection | ✓ 30-day windows, affiliated accounts, safe rebuy date | — (you apply the rule yourself) |
| ETF return of capital & phantom distributions | ✓ Per-fund data, applied automatically | Manual entry from your T3 slips |
| Foreign currency conversion | ✓ USD, EUR, GBP & 20+ via Bank of Canada | ✓ Manual or rate lookup |
| T5008 reconciliation | ✓ Broker slips matched line by line | ✗ |
| RSU / ESPP / employee-option cost base | ✓ | Manual entry |
| Crypto (swaps as dispositions) | ✓ | ✗ |
| Corporate actions (splits, spin-offs, mergers) | ✓ Guided, ACB carried through | Manual entry |
| “What if I sell?” simulator | ✓ | ✗ |
| Output | Schedule 3-ready PDF/CSV + audit trail + accountant package | Annual capital gains PDF (premium) |
| Accountant multi-client tools | ✓ Pro plan, 20 clients incl. | ✗ |
| Free tier | ✓ Manual entry + 1 broker import (100 tx) | ✓ Manual entry |
Both tools compute a weighted-average ACB correctly. The difference is everything around that average. On AdjustedCostBase.ca, you are the compliance engine: you must remember that the ETF you hold paid a phantom distribution in December, that your rebuy 22 days after a loss sale denied the loss, and that each USD trade needs the Bank of Canada rate from its own trade date. Each of those is a transaction you have to know to enter.
Sched3 inverts that: import the broker file, and the software raises the flags — a superficial-loss warning with the safe rebuy date, an unapplied return-of-capital adjustment from the fund’s own records, a T5008 whose box 20 doesn’t match your true cost. The rules run over your data instead of living in your head.
Sched3’s Investor plan costs exactly what AdjustedCostBase.ca premium costs — $49/year — and at that price you already get broker CSV import, superficial-loss detection with safe rebuy dates, Bank of Canada FX on every trade, and splits & DRIPs handled. The Active plan ($129/year) adds the reconciliation and multi-asset layers: T5008 matching, T3/ETF adjustments, crypto, equity compensation, corporate actions, and the accountant-ready package.
And switching is low-risk: import your current shares and Canadian-dollar ACB directly from an AdjustedCostBase.ca CSV, then add only the broker activity after that cutoff. There is nothing to re-type and no need to reconstruct eight years of trades.
Yes. Download your portfolio data as CSV, choose “Continue from an opening ACB,” and review the detected current shares and total Canadian-dollar ACB. Pick the balance date, save the snapshot, then import only broker activity after that date. Sched3 retains the source export and prevents older overlapping rows from being counted twice.
No — its math is correct for the transactions you enter. The risk is in what never gets entered: phantom distributions, return of capital, superficial-loss adjustments, and FX conversions are easy to miss when entry is manual. Sched3 automates exactly those inputs.
Yes — unlimited manual entry, one broker import of up to 100 transactions, basic ACB, and CSV export, plus 20 free calculators and 58 free guides that require no account at all.
Every paid plan produces a Schedule 3-style summary. The Active plan adds the accountant-ready PDF package with the audit trail — every figure traceable to the trades and slips behind it.