Xero vs FreshBooks

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: Xero vs FreshBooks, with when to choose each side.

Compared on	Xero From $27/mo Visit Remove	FreshBooks Free trial · from $20.70/mo Visit Remove
What it is	Cloud accounting with three US plans, no per-user fees, Gusto payroll and the JAX AI assistant	Invoicing and accounting for freelancers and service businesses, priced by number of billable clients
Free plan	No	No
Cheapest paid plan	$27/mo (Early)Xero pricing	$20.70/mo billed annually (Lite)FreshBooks pricing
What it covers	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.	Invoice up to 5 billable clients; extra team members $11/month each; $248.40 billed yearly. Promotion: 80% off ($4.60/month) for the first 4 months.
Free trial	One month free on any Xero plan	30-day free trial, no credit card required
Platforms	Web	Web, iOS, Android
Integrations (vendor's figure)	Integrate with 1000+ apps	100+ apps in the FreshBooks AppStore
Open source	No	No
Good for	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	Freelancers and consultants who bill a small number of clients Service businesses that invoice for tracked time and project work Owners who want their accountant working in the same books
Watch out for	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	Lite invoices only 5 clients and Plus 50; unlimited clients need Premium ($70/mo) Each team member costs $11 a month on top of the plan Bank reconciliation, receipt scanning and accountant access are not on Lite
Made by	Xero Limited	2NDSITE Inc.

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.

Add a tool

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