Accounting · alternatives
Alternatives to Xero
24 accounting tools sit alongside Xero in this directory. Below is what separates each from Xero on the figures we hold, price, model, tier count and rating, and a direct comparison for every one.
- Alternatives listed
- 24
- With a free tier
- 5
- Cheaper to start
- 2
- Xero starts at
- $13/month
Why people look past Xero
Only what the record supports. Each point below is a figure on the Xero entry measured against the tools listed beside it.
There is no free tier
The record for Xero carries no free tier, so evaluating it means paying first. 5 of the 24 alternatives below can be used without paying.
What each alternative does differently
Ordered by the aggregated rating on each catalogue entry. Differences are drawn from price, pricing model, tier count and rating, the fields the category listing carries. For a feature-level difference, follow the head-to-head link on each card: those pages read both full records.
Cloud accounting from Intuit with country specific editions, seat caps by plan and payroll charged separately
- Starts $17 a month dearer, at $30/month.
- 4 tiers to Xero's 3.
The corporate card that helps you spend less
- Can be used without paying; Xero cannot.
- Starts $2 a month dearer, at $15/month.
Spend management combining corporate cards, bill payment and expense claims, now part of Paylocity
- Starts $16 a month dearer, at $29/month.
Simple business payments
- Can be used without paying; Xero cannot.
- Starts $12 a month dearer, at $25/month.
- Sold on a freemium model rather than subscription.
- 5 tiers to Xero's 3.
Expense reporting and travel management at three dollars per user per month
- Can be used without paying; Xero cannot.
- Starts $10 a month cheaper, at $3/month.
- Sold on a Per user per month model rather than subscription.
Virtual card and spend management platform aimed at SaaS and travel spend
- Can be used without paying; Xero cannot.
- Sold on a Per user per month model rather than subscription.
Every Xero alternative at a glance
A dash means the catalogue entry carries no figure, not that the answer is nothing.
| Tool | Entry price | Model | Tiers | Head to head |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Xero (this page) | $13/month | Subscription | 3 | |
| QuickBooksSmart, simple online accounting software for small business | $30/month | Subscription | 4 | vs Xero |
| RampThe corporate card that helps you spend less | Free, then $15/month | Subscription | 3 | vs Xero |
| AirbaseThe first all-in-one spend management platform | $29/month | Subscription | 3 | vs Xero |
| MelioSimple business payments | Free, then $25/month | Freemium | 5 | vs Xero |
| Zoho Expense | Free, then $3/month | Per user per month | 3 | vs Xero |
| Mesh Payments | Free, then $13/month | Per user per month | 3 | vs Xero |
| Spendbase | Free | Free card tier, plus a share of savings on the managed plan | 2 | vs Xero |
| Rydoo | $10/month | Per user per month | 3 | vs Xero |
| Moss | On request | Quote | 1 | vs Xero |
| Medius Expense | On request | Quote | 1 | vs Xero |
| Happay | On request | Quote | 1 | vs Xero |
| Kodo | On request | Quote | 1 | vs Xero |
| Circula | €15/month | Per user per month | 4 | vs Xero |
| Soldo | £21/month | Per user per month | 3 | vs Xero |
| Ottimate | On request | Quote | 1 | vs Xero |
| Yooz | $199/month | Per month by invoice volume | 2 | vs Xero |
| Workiva | On request | Quote | 1 | vs Xero |
| Basware | On request | Quote | 1 | vs Xero |
| Vena Solutions | On request | Quote | 2 | vs Xero |
| Tropic | On request | Quote | 1 | vs Xero |
| DATEV | On request | Quote | 3 | vs Xero |
| insightsoftware | On request | Quote | 1 | vs Xero |
| Causal | On request | Quote | 1 | vs Xero |
| Medius | On request | Quote | 1 | vs Xero |
Ratings are aggregated from third-party sources and imported with each catalogue entry; Softwr hosts no reviews of these products. How each figure is used is set out on the Xero badges page.
Cheaper ways to solve the same problem
Free to start (5)
These publish a tier that costs nothing, so they can be evaluated before any money changes hands.
- Ramp , Free, then $15/month
- Melio , Free, then $25/month
- Zoho Expense , Free, then $3/month
- Mesh Payments , Free, then $13/month
- Spendbase , Free
Cheaper than Xero (2)
Entry price under Xero's $13/month. The record does not say what unit that price is charged in, so confirm per-seat versus flat rate before comparing budgets.
- Zoho Expense , Free, then $3/month
- Rydoo , $10/month
What you would be giving up
Xero is most often brought in for small business bookkeeping, invoicing and bank reconciliation, bill payment and purchase order management, sharing books with an accountant or bookkeeper. Anything replacing it has to cover the ones you actually depend on, and a cheaper tool that misses one of them is not cheaper.
Two things this page cannot settle. It compares on price, model, tier count and rating, because those are the fields the category listing carries, feature-level differences need both full records, which is what the head-to-head pages load. And the ratings are third-party aggregates imported with each entry rather than reviews written here, so a 0.2 difference between two tools is noise rather than a finding.
If Xero is broadly right and the question is cost, the Xero pricing breakdown covers every tier and what each one adds. If you want the whole field rather than a shortlist, the Accounting category lists everything the directory holds, and best accounting tools ranks them.
Xero runs on web, ios, android, api. Platform coverage is not carried on the category listing for the alternatives, so it is one more thing to check on each head-to-head page rather than here.
Questions about Xero alternatives
- What are the main alternatives to Xero?
- 24 other accounting tools are listed in this directory, led by QuickBooks, Ramp, Airbase, Melio. They are ordered by the aggregated rating on each catalogue entry, not by any Softwr ranking.
- What is the best free alternative to Xero?
- 5 of the alternatives listed here can be used without paying: Ramp, Melio, Zoho Expense, Mesh Payments, Spendbase.
- Is there a cheaper alternative to Xero?
- Yes. 2 of the alternatives below start under Xero's $13/month: Zoho Expense at Free, then $3/month, Rydoo at $10/month.
- Why do people look for an alternative to Xero?
- On the figures on record, one thing stands out: there is no free tier. Each is set out with the numbers behind it above.
- What would I give up by switching from Xero?
- Xero is most often brought in for small business bookkeeping, invoicing and bank reconciliation, bill payment and purchase order management, sharing books with an accountant or bookkeeper. Anything you replace it with has to cover the ones you actually rely on, the side-by-side comparisons linked from each alternative below put the two feature records against each other.
- Is there an open-source alternative to Xero?
- None of the accounting tools listed here are recorded as open source. That is what the licence field on each entry says, and the field is not always filled in, so it is worth checking directly for any tool you are serious about.
- How were these Xero alternatives chosen?
- They are the tools filed in the same category, Accounting, ordered by the aggregated rating on each entry. There is no editorial shortlist, and nothing on this page is paid: no sponsored placement runs on alternatives pages and the order cannot be bought. Softwr has not used these products.
- Where can I compare Xero against one of these directly?
- Every alternative below has a side-by-side page against Xero covering price, platforms, features and what each one is used for. Those pages read the full record for both products rather than the summary shown here.
- Does this list cover every accounting tool?
- No. It covers what this directory holds in the Accounting category, 24 tools beside Xero. The category page lists the rest of the catalogue as it grows.