Software · head to head
QuickBooks vs Xero
QuickBooks
Software
Smart, simple online accounting software for small business
- From
- $30/month
- Rated
- -
The short version
- Each has a real cost: QuickBooks chart of Accounts is capped on every QuickBooks Online tier except Advanced; Simple Start, Essentials and Plus all have a limited entry count; 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: QuickBooks covers Income & expense tracking, Xero covers Bill payment.
Where they differ
Only the attributes on which QuickBooks and Xero actually diverge.
| Attribute | QuickBooks | Xero |
|---|---|---|
| Starting price | $30/month | $13/month |
| Founded | 1983 | 2006 |
Identical on both: pricing model (subscription), free tier (No), platforms (Web, Ios, Android, Api), user rating (Not yet rated), category (Unknown).
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 QuickBooks
- Income & expense tracking
- Payment processing
- Tax preparation
- Bill management
- Amazon
- Bill.com
- TSheets
- PCI DSS
Only in Xero
- Bill payment
- Expense claims
- Inventory tracking
- Project tracking
- HubSpot
- Deputy
- 700+ apps
- ISO27001
Both cover
- Invoicing
- Financial reporting
- Bank reconciliation
- Mobile apps
- PayPal
- Square
- Shopify
- Stripe
- Gusto
- SOC2
What people use each for
The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.
QuickBooks
- Bookkeepingnot Xero
- Invoicingnot Xero
- Expense trackingnot Xero
- Financial reportingnot Xero
- Tax preparationnot Xero
Xero
- Small business bookkeeping, invoicing and bank reconciliationnot QuickBooks
- Bill payment and purchase order managementnot QuickBooks
- Sharing books with an accountant or bookkeepernot QuickBooks
Where each one falls short
Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.
QuickBooks
- Chart of Accounts is capped on every QuickBooks Online tier except Advanced; Simple Start, Essentials and Plus all have a limited entry count
- Even the top Advanced tier caps bulk invoice uploads at 1,000 transaction lines per batch
- Payroll is a separate paid add-on billed per employee per month (USD 6 to 10 depending on plan) on top of the base subscription
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
QuickBooks
$30/month- Simple Start$30/month
- Income & expense tracking
- Invoice & payments
- Tax deductions
- Essentials$60/month
- Everything in Simple Start
- Bill management
- Time tracking
- Plus$90/month
- Everything in Essentials
- Inventory tracking
- Project profitability
- Advanced$200/month
- Everything in Plus
- Dedicated account team
- 25 users
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 QuickBooks if
- You need income & expense tracking.
- You work on Web, Ios, Android, Api.
- You also want payment processing.
Choose Xero if
- You need bill payment.
- You work on Web, Ios, Android, Api.
- You also want expense claims.
Questions people ask
- Is QuickBooks or Xero better?
- Neither clearly leads. QuickBooks starts at $30/month and Xero at $13/month, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
- Which is cheaper, QuickBooks or Xero?
- QuickBooks starts at $30/month and Xero at $13/month.
- Does QuickBooks or Xero run on more platforms?
- Both run on Web, Ios, Android, Api, so platform support will not decide this one for you.
- What is QuickBooks best used for?
- QuickBooks is most often used for bookkeeping, invoicing, expense tracking, financial reporting. Of those, bookkeeping and invoicing are not what Xero is typically brought in for.
- What can QuickBooks do that Xero cannot?
- QuickBooks covers Income & expense tracking, Payment processing, Tax preparation, Bill management. Xero covers Bill payment, Expense claims, Inventory tracking, Project tracking. Both handle Invoicing, Financial reporting, Bank reconciliation, Mobile apps.