Softwr

Accounting · head to head

Medius vs Xero

Medius logo

Medius

Accounting

Accounts payable automation and supplier payments for mid-market finance teams, Marlin Equity owned

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Xero logo

Xero

Accounting

Beautiful accounting software

From
$13/month
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: Medius the sourcing, contract and procurement modules are considerably less developed than the AP core, so buying Medius as a full source-to-pay suite means accepting weak upstream tooling.; 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: Medius covers Invoice capture and coding, Xero covers Bank reconciliation.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Medius and Xero actually diverge.

Attributes where Medius and Xero differ
AttributeMediusXero
Starting priceOn request$13/month
Pricing modelquotesubscription
PlatformsWeb, iOS, AndroidWeb, Ios, Android, Api
FoundedUnknown2006

Identical on both: free tier (No), user rating (Not yet rated), category (Accounting).

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 Medius

  • Invoice capture and coding
  • Matching and exception handling
  • Fraud and anomaly detection
  • Supplier payments
  • Approval workflow
  • ERP integration

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.

Medius

  • A mid-market finance team where most spend arrives as an invoice with no purchase order to match againstnot Xero
  • A group with several legal entities on different ERPs that wants one AP process across all of themnot Xero
  • Reducing invoice fraud exposure with automated detection of supplier bank detail changesnot Xero
  • Replacing a scanning bureau and a shared AP inbox with automated capture and exception-based reviewnot Xero

Xero

  • Small business bookkeeping, invoicing and bank reconciliationnot Medius
  • Bill payment and purchase order managementnot Medius
  • Sharing books with an accountant or bookkeepernot Medius

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

Medius

  • The sourcing, contract and procurement modules are considerably less developed than the AP core, so buying Medius as a full source-to-pay suite means accepting weak upstream tooling.
  • Pricing is quote-only and driven by invoice volume, so a business with many low-value invoices pays disproportionately relative to the spend being controlled.
  • Payments are billed on transaction volume separately from the AP subscription, which is easy to omit from a cost comparison against a licence-only AP tool.
  • Private equity ownership since 2017 has produced an acquisition-driven product line, so payments and adjacent capability come from bought-in technology rather than the original platform.
  • ERP integration depth varies sharply by system, and organisations on less common or heavily customised ERPs face integration work that lengthens the implementation.

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

Medius

On request
  • Medius AP Automation$undefined/year
    • Two packaged AP automation tiers
    • Priced by invoice volume and entity count
    • Sourcing, contracts and procurement modules sold separately

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 Medius if

  • You need invoice capture and coding.
  • You work on Web, iOS, Android.
  • You also want matching and exception handling.
Medius review

Choose Xero if

  • You need bank reconciliation.
  • You work on Web, Ios, Android, Api.
  • You also want invoicing.
Xero review

Questions people ask

Is Medius or Xero better?
Neither clearly leads. Medius starts at On request and Xero at $13/month, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Medius or Xero?
Medius starts at On request and Xero at $13/month.
Does Medius or Xero run on more platforms?
Medius runs on Web, iOS, Android. Xero runs on Web, Ios, Android, Api.
What is Medius best used for?
Medius is most often used for a mid-market finance team where most spend arrives as an invoice with no purchase order to match against, a group with several legal entities on different erps that wants one ap process across all of them, reducing invoice fraud exposure with automated detection of supplier bank detail changes, replacing a scanning bureau and a shared ap inbox with automated capture and exception-based review. Of those, a mid-market finance team where most spend arrives as an invoice with no purchase order to match against and a group with several legal entities on different erps that wants one ap process across all of them are not what Xero is typically brought in for.
What can Medius do that Xero cannot?
Medius covers Invoice capture and coding, Matching and exception handling, Fraud and anomaly detection, Supplier payments. Xero covers Bank reconciliation, Invoicing, Bill payment, Expense claims.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Medius: Is Medius a procurement suite or an AP tool?

Primarily an AP automation platform with procurement modules attached. If sourcing is your main requirement, look elsewhere.

Medius: Who owns Medius?

Marlin Equity Partners, which acquired it in 2017 and has funded several bolt-on acquisitions since.

Medius: How is it priced?

By quote, driven by invoice volume and entity count, with payments billed separately on transaction volume.

Medius: Does it replace our ERP?

No. It sits alongside the ERP and posts approved invoices into it.

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