QuickBooks Online vs Xero vs Zoho Books

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

Compared on	QuickBooks Online Free plan · from $38/mo VisitRemove	Xero From $27/mo VisitRemove	Zoho Books Free plan · from $15/mo VisitRemove
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	Accounting with a free plan under $50K revenue, six US plans priced per organization and the Zia 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	For businesses with financial-year revenue under $50K: 1 user plus 1 accountant, up to 1,000 invoices and 1,000 expenses a year, 50 receipt autoscans a month, 5 scheduled reports, email support. Bank feeds are not included; document autoscans are the only add-on allowed.
Cheapest paid plan	$38/mo (Simple Start)QuickBooks Online pricing	$27/mo (Early)Xero pricing	$15/mo billed annually (Standard)Zoho Books 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.	Per organization; 3 users, up to 5,000 invoices and 5,000 bills/expenses a year, 200 receipt autoscans a month. Extra users $3/user/month ($2.50 billed yearly). Prices exclude local taxes.
Free trial	30-day free trial, shown alongside the 50%-off offer on the pricing page	One month free on any Xero plan	14-day free trial
Platforms	Web, iOS, Android	Web	Web, iOS, Android, Windows, API
Integrations (vendor's figure)	800+ integrations	Integrate with 1000+ apps	Not stated
Open source	No	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	Micro businesses under $50K revenue that want free double-entry accounting Product businesses that need inventory and purchase orders inside the accounting tool Teams that want custom workflows, approvals and custom modules
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	The Free plan applies only while annual revenue stays under $50K, with 1 user and no bank feeds Annual invoice and bill caps on every plan, from 5,000 on Standard to 100,000 on Elite and Ultimate Multi-currency, projects and inventory need Professional ($50/mo); budgets and cash flow forecasting need Premium
Made by	Intuit Inc.	Xero Limited	Zoho Corporation Pvt. Ltd.

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.

Every tool in accounting and invoicing software is on its category page, with the written head-to-heads on Compare.