Accounting & Finance · head to head
Empower vs Xero
The short version
- Each has a real cost: Empower empower's managed advisory tiers require a minimum of $100,000 in investable assets for Personal Strategy and $1,000,000 for Private Client, with exact advisory fee percentages deferred to the Form ADV filing rather than published on the site.; Xero the Early plan caps you at 20 invoices and 5 bills per month, and the invoice limit counts both approving and sending
- They diverge on capability: Empower covers Net worth tracking, Xero covers Bank reconciliation.
Where they differ
Only the attributes on which Empower and Xero actually diverge.
Identical on both: free tier (No), user rating (Not yet rated).
What each one covers
Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.
Only in Empower
- Net worth tracking
- Investment tracking
- Retirement planner
- Cash flow
- 401k fee analyzer
- Bank connections
- Brokerage accounts
- SOC 2
Only in Xero
- Bank reconciliation
- Invoicing
- Bill payment
- Expense claims
- Financial reporting
- Inventory tracking
- Project tracking
- Mobile apps
What people use each for
The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.
Empower
- Wealth trackingnot Xero
- Retirement planningnot Xero
- Investment analysisnot Xero
Xero
- Small business bookkeeping, invoicing and bank reconciliationnot Empower
- Bill payment and purchase order managementnot Empower
- Sharing books with an accountant or bookkeepernot Empower
Where each one falls short
Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.
Empower
- Empower's managed advisory tiers require a minimum of $100,000 in investable assets for Personal Strategy and $1,000,000 for Private Client, with exact advisory fee percentages deferred to the Form ADV filing rather than published on the site.
Xero
- The Early plan caps you at 20 invoices and 5 bills per month, and the invoice limit counts both approving and sending
- Invoices created by connected app partners count against the Early plan invoice limit
- Multiple currencies, project time and cost tracking, employee expense and mileage claims and industry benchmarking are restricted to the top Established plan at $90 per month
- Cash flow forecasting is capped at 30 days on Early and 60 days on Growing, with 180 days only on Established
- Payroll is not included in any plan and costs an extra $36 a month plus $6 per employee or contractor through Gusto
- Inventory Plus is a paid optional add-on rather than part of any plan
- The advertised 90% off applies only to the first 6 months, after which the regular $25, $55 or $90 monthly price auto-renews
- The introductory discount excludes add-ons, usage charges and payment fees
- Payment fees apply to online invoice payments and to bill payments other than standard domestic ACH, and are billed on top of the subscription
- Subscriptions are billed monthly with no annual payment option, and after upgrading you must wait one month before downgrading to a cheaper plan
- Xero states subscription prices are increasing from October 1, 2026
Pricing, plan by plan
Empower
$29/month- Free ToolsFree
- Net worth tracking
- Cash flow
- Investment checkup
- Wealth ManagementFree
- 0.89% AUM fee
- Dedicated advisor
- Tax optimization
Xero
$13/month- Early$13/month
- Send 20 invoices
- Enter 5 bills
- Reconcile bank transactions
- Growing$37/month
- Unlimited invoices & bills
- Bulk reconcile transactions
- Short-term cash flow
- Established$70/month
- Everything in Growing
- Use multiple currencies
- Track projects
Which should you pick?
Choose Empower if
- You need net worth tracking.
- You work on Web, Ios, Android.
- You also want investment tracking.
Choose Xero if
- You need bank reconciliation.
- You work on Web, Ios, Android, Api.
- You also want invoicing.
Questions people ask
- Is Empower or Xero better?
- Neither clearly leads. Empower starts at $29/month and Xero at $13/month, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
- Which is cheaper, Empower or Xero?
- Empower starts at $29/month and Xero at $13/month.
- Does Empower or Xero run on more platforms?
- Empower runs on Web, Ios, Android. Xero runs on Web, Ios, Android, Api.
- What is Empower best used for?
- Empower is most often used for wealth tracking, retirement planning, investment analysis. Of those, wealth tracking and retirement planning are not what Xero is typically brought in for.
- What can Empower do that Xero cannot?
- Empower covers Net worth tracking, Investment tracking, Retirement planner, Cash flow. Xero covers Bank reconciliation, Invoicing, Bill payment, Expense claims.
Related pages
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- Xero vs Airbase
- Xero vs Melio
- Xero vs Wise Business
- Xero vs ADP
- Xero vs Brex
- Xero vs Expensify
- Xero vs Fyle
- Xero vs Payoneer
- Xero vs Pleo
- Xero vs Sage 50
- Xero vs SAP Concur
- Xero vs Spendesk
- Xero vs Stampli
- Xero vs Tipalti
- Xero vs Zoho Books
- Xero vs Adyen


