Home / Compare / QuickBooks Online vs Xero
QuickBooks Online vs Xero
QuickBooks Online: The default choice for most US accountants. Payroll, payments and time tracking are separate paid add-ons. Xero: Charges by plan, not by seat, so adding people does not change the bill.
Plans and prices
| Tool | Plan | Price | Included |
|---|---|---|---|
| QuickBooks Online | Simple Start | $38/mo | 1 |
| QuickBooks Online | Essentials | $85/mo | 3 |
| QuickBooks Online | Plus | $140/mo | 5 |
| QuickBooks Online | Advanced | $340/mo | 25 |
| Xero | Early | $27/mo | No per-user fee. 20 invoices and 5 bills a month |
| Xero | Growing | $59/mo | No per-user fee |
| Xero | Established | $97/mo | No per-user fee |
The cheapest paid plan is $38 a month at QuickBooks Online and $27 a month at Xero, a gap of $132 a year ($396 over three years).
Where each one rates higher
- QuickBooks Online rates higher on payroll, inventory.
- Xero does not rate higher on any single feature in our set.
| Our fit rating | QuickBooks Online | Xero |
|---|---|---|
| Payroll | Strong | Good |
| Inventory | Strong | Good |
| Invoicing | Good | Good |
| Accountant access | Strong | Strong |
| Several users | Strong | Strong |
| Ease of learning | Good | Good |
| Free plan | Minimal or none | Minimal or none |
Ratings are our editorial judgments, published on How we score. They are not vendor claims.
Who wins for four typical setups
Same scoring as the quiz, limited to these two tools, for US businesses.
| Setup | Better fit |
|---|---|
| Solo freelancer, 5 invoices a month, wants free | QuickBooks Online (tie) |
| Product shop, 3 users, works with an accountant | QuickBooks Online |
| Small team with payroll and an accountant | QuickBooks Online |
| Invoice-heavy, wants to stay under $30 a month | Xero |
Visit QuickBooks Online Visit Xero
Take the 90-second quiz The quiz needs no email or phone number.
How we are paid. Vendor links on this site go straight to each vendor's own pricing page. They are not referral links today, so we earn no commission from them. We plan to join vendor referral programs. When those links go live they will earn us a commission, this notice will say so, and results will still ignore commissions. This is software matching, not accounting or tax advice. Read the details.