QuickBooks Online vs Xero

Pick up to 4 tools and see their free plans, entry prices, platforms and limits in one table. Every fact comes from each vendor's own pages, checked 21 October 2026.

Written head to head: QuickBooks Online vs Xero, with when to choose each side.

Compared on	QuickBooks Online Free plan · from $38/mo Visit Remove	Xero From $27/mo Visit Remove
What it is	Intuit's cloud accounting for US small businesses, from a free tier to plans with AI bookkeeping	Cloud accounting with three US plans, no per-user fees, Gusto payroll and the JAX AI assistant
Free plan	1 user, no accountant access, up to 2 invoices a month (unlimited if you qualify for and enable QuickBooks Payments), the top 3 reports (profit and loss, balance sheet, account quick report), 1 bank connection, chat support. No credit card required. Mobile app access and third-party integrations are not available on Free.	No
Cheapest paid plan	$38/mo (Simple Start)QuickBooks Online pricing	$27/mo (Early)Xero pricing
What it covers	1 user plus access for 2 accountants. Promotion: 50% off ($19/month) for the first 3 months. No annual contract; the pricing page shows no annual price.	Per organization, no per-user licence fees; send quotes and 20 invoices, enter 5 bills; auto-reconcile is a $5/month add-on. Promotion: 90% off ($2.70/month) for the first 6 months for new US customers, until 2 November 2026.
Free trial	30-day free trial, shown alongside the 50%-off offer on the pricing page	One month free on any Xero plan
Platforms	Web, iOS, Android	Web
Integrations (vendor's figure)	800+ integrations	Integrate with 1000+ apps
Open source	No	No
Good for	US small businesses that want accounting, invoicing and payroll from one vendor Sole owners starting on a free plan with a few invoices a month Growing teams that need inventory, project profitability and up to 25 users	Small businesses that want several people in the books without per-user fees Businesses that work closely with an accountant or bookkeeper Companies that bill or pay in foreign currencies
Watch out for	Free plan: 1 user, 2 invoices a month unless QuickBooks Payments is enabled, 1 bank connection, no mobile app or third-party integrations User caps: 1 on Simple Start, 3 on Essentials, 5 on Plus, 25 on Advanced Inventory, budgets and project profitability need Plus ($140/mo); workflow automation and custom permissions need Advanced ($340/mo)	Early caps you at 20 invoices and 5 bills, and auto-reconcile costs $5 a month extra Multi-currency, projects and expense claims need Established ($97/mo) Payroll costs $36 a month plus $6 per person through Gusto
Made by	Intuit Inc.	Xero Limited

Entry prices are the cheapest paid plan, as each vendor publishes it; “What it covers” says what that price is per (a user, a channel, a brand, a number of contacts). The sources are listed on each tool's page.

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