Comparison
QuickBooks Online vs Xero
How QuickBooks Online and Xero compare on price, pricing model, features and reviews, with every fact checked on October 24, 2026.
Quick verdict
Choose QuickBooks Online if
- Small businesses that work with an outside accountant who already uses QuickBooks.
- Teams that want a wide third-party app ecosystem.
- Businesses needing inventory, projects and budgeting on the Plus tier.
Choose Xero if
- Teams that need unlimited users without per-seat cost.
- Businesses with multi-currency needs.
- Firms working with accountants who use Xero practice tools.
QuickBooks Online vs Xero side by side
| QuickBooks Online | Xero | |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | Intuit's cloud bookkeeping suite with four paid tiers that scale by user cap (1, 3, 5, 25) rather than per seat. | New Zealand-built cloud accounting with three flat-priced plans and no per-user license fees. |
| Status | Active | Active |
| Starting price | $38/month (Simple Start, 1 user) | $27/month (Early) |
| Pricing model | flat per plan with user cap | flat per plan, no per-user license fee |
| Free plan or trial | Free plan, Free trial | Free trial |
| Per seat per month | No per-seat price; Advanced is $340/month for up to 25 users. | $0 per user (no per-user license fees per vendor page) |
| Billing | Monthly only. | Monthly only. |
| Annual discount | Not published | Not published |
| Minimum seats | Not published | Not published |
| 20 users per year | Advanced $340/month x 12 = $4,080 per year at list for up to 25 users (promo excluded) | Growing $59/month x 12 = $708 per year; user cap not stated on the page, so fit for 20 users is not confirmed. |
| G2 rating | 4.0 (3,866 reviews) | 4.4 (1,558 reviews) |
| Founded | 1983 | 2006 |
| Headquarters | Mountain View, US (Intuit) | Wellington, New Zealand |
| Employees | 10,001+ (Intuit group) | 4,000+ (Inc. Magazine figure) |
| Invoicing and billing | Invoicing with online payments from Simple Start; Free plan limited to 2 invoices per month; bulk invoice creation in beta on Essentials. | Quotes and invoices; Early plan limited to 20 invoices and 5 bills per month. |
| Bank feeds and reconciliation | Automated bookkeeping from Simple Start; reconciliation tools listed from Plus; Free plan limited to 1 bank connection. | Auto-reconcile $5/month add-on on Early, included on Growing and Established. |
| Financial reporting | Top 3 reports on Free, general business reports on Simple Start, enhanced reports on Essentials, custom KPIs and dashboards on Advanced. | Cash flow forecast 30/60/180 days by plan. |
| Expense and bill management | Expense categorization and free ACH bill pay from Simple Start; $0.50 per standard ACH over monthly allotment; Bill Pay Elite listed for Advanced. | Expense claims and project tracking only on Established. |
| Payroll and sales tax support | Payroll sold as an optional add-on; pricing not on the pricing page. | Xero Payroll powered by Gusto, $36/month + $6 per employee. |
| Accountant access and integrations | 2 accountant seats on Simple Start to Plus, 3 on Advanced; integrations not available on Free. | No per-user fees; integrations count not verified. |
| Pricing model | Tiered flat price with user caps; no per-user price listed. | Flat per plan; usage charges for payroll, projects and expenses billed monthly in arrears. |
| Target company size | 1 to 25 users; Advanced aimed at the upper small business end. | Small businesses; Established for larger teams. |
| Recurring invoices and subscriptions | Not stated on pricing page. | Not verified. |
| Online payment acceptance | QuickBooks Payments, card and ACH; Free plan gets unlimited invoices if you enable Payments. | Not verified. |
| Automated payment reminders | Not stated on pricing page. | Not verified. |
| Sales tax and multi-currency | Not verified. | Not verified. |
| Accounting integration | Native accounting product. | Native accounting product. |
| Time and expense billing | Employee time added to invoices from Essentials. | Projects tracking on Established. |
| Branding and templates | Custom lead form on Essentials; not verified for templates. | Not verified. |
Differences most comparisons miss
Worth knowing about QuickBooks Online
- Users are capped by plan (1/3/5/25), so a 20-person team has to buy Advanced at $340/month on the vendor pricing page.
- Third-party sources and Intuit's own notice documented a list increase effective July 1, 2025 (Simple Start $35 to $38, Essentials $65 to $75, Plus $99 to $115, Advanced $235 to $275)
- Community answers and a ThreatLocker post state QuickBooks Online does not support SAML SSO with external identity providers; Google sign-in is the alternative.
- The Free plan appeared on the pricing page with 2 invoices per month and no integrations.
Worth knowing about Xero
- No per-user license fees, so seats do not affect price.
- Prices step up on October 1, 2026 to $27/$59/$97 from $25/$55/$90 (insightfulaccountant.com and vendor page)
- Pricing page says Xero may change pricing at any time and subscriptions auto-renew monthly.
- No annual billing option shown on the US pricing page.
What reviewers complain about
QuickBooks Online
- Repeated price increases and promo-then-list pricing.
- Support quality and billing issues reported by some reviewers.
- User caps force a jump from Plus (5 users) to Advanced (25 users)
Xero
- Repeated list price increases.
- US payroll and tax depth thinner than QuickBooks (general reviewer theme, not verified)
- Plan limits on bills and invoices on Early.
Sources
Both columns use the same sources: vendor pricing and product pages, documentation, G2 and company records, checked on October 24, 2026. Full source lists are on the QuickBooks Online and Xero reviews.