Is Paylocity or Xero better?

Neither clearly leads. Paylocity 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, Paylocity or Xero?

Paylocity starts at On request and Xero at $13/month.

Does Paylocity or Xero run on more platforms?

Paylocity runs on Web, Ios, Android. Xero runs on Web, Ios, Android, Api.

What can Paylocity do that Xero cannot?

Paylocity covers Payroll, HR Management, Benefits Administration, Time and Labor. Xero covers Bank reconciliation, Invoicing, Bill payment, Expense claims.

Payroll & Benefits · head to head

Paylocity vs Xero

Paylocity

Payroll & Benefits

HR and payroll solutions to drive employee engagement

From: On request
Rated: -

Full review Website

Xero

All industries

Beautiful accounting software

From: $13/month
Rated: -

Full review Website

The short version

Each has a real cost: Paylocity the Internet Archive's capture of Paylocity's homepage on 3 January 2021 named a wide suite of modules, including Payroll, On Demand Payment, HR Edge, Recruiting, Performance Management, Compensation Management and a Learning Management System, all sold via 'Request a Demo' with no price figures published.; 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: Paylocity covers Payroll, Xero covers Bank reconciliation.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Paylocity and Xero actually diverge.

Attributes where Paylocity and Xero differ
Attribute	Paylocity	Xero
Starting price	On request	$13/month
Pricing model	quote	subscription
Platforms	Web, Ios, Android	Web, Ios, Android, Api
Category	Payroll & Benefits	All industries
Founded	1997	2006

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 Paylocity

Payroll
HR Management
Benefits Administration
Time and Labor
Talent Management
Employee Engagement
Slack
Microsoft Teams

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.

Paylocity

No use cases recorded yet. See the Paylocity review.

Xero

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

Where each one falls short

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

Paylocity

The Internet Archive's capture of Paylocity's homepage on 3 January 2021 named a wide suite of modules, including Payroll, On Demand Payment, HR Edge, Recruiting, Performance Management, Compensation Management and a Learning Management System, all sold via 'Request a Demo' with no price figures published.

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

Paylocity

On request

Core Payroll$undefined/month
- Payroll Processing
- Tax Services
- Direct Deposit
Complete HCM$undefined/month
- All Core features
- HR
- Benefits

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 Paylocity if

You need payroll.
You work on Web, Ios, Android.
You also want hr management.

Paylocity 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 Paylocity or Xero better?: Neither clearly leads. Paylocity 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, Paylocity or Xero?: Paylocity starts at On request and Xero at $13/month.
Does Paylocity or Xero run on more platforms?: Paylocity runs on Web, Ios, Android. Xero runs on Web, Ios, Android, Api.
What can Paylocity do that Xero cannot?: Paylocity covers Payroll, HR Management, Benefits Administration, Time and Labor. Xero covers Bank reconciliation, Invoicing, Bill payment, Expense claims.

Paylocity vs Xero

Paylocity

Xero

The short version

Where they differ

What each one covers

Only in Paylocity

Only in Xero

What people use each for

Paylocity

Xero

Where each one falls short

Paylocity

Xero

Pricing, plan by plan

Paylocity

Xero

Which should you pick?

Choose Paylocity if

Choose Xero if

Questions people ask

Related pages

More on Paylocity

More on Xero

Keep looking

Other head to heads