Xero vs Zoho Books

Compared on	Xero From $27/mo VisitRemove	Zoho Books Free plan · from $15/mo VisitRemove
What it is	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	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	$27/mo (Early)Xero pricing	$15/mo billed annually (Standard)Zoho Books 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.	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	One month free on any Xero plan	14-day free trial
Platforms	Web	Web, iOS, Android, Windows, API
Integrations (vendor's figure)	Integrate with 1000+ apps	Not stated
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	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	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	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.