Xero vs Zoho Books vs FreshBooks

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

Compared on	Xero From $27/mo VisitRemove	Zoho Books Free plan · from $15/mo VisitRemove	FreshBooks Free trial · from $20.70/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	Invoicing and accounting for freelancers and service businesses, priced by number of billable clients
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.	No
Cheapest paid plan	$27/mo (Early)Xero pricing	$15/mo billed annually (Standard)Zoho Books 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.	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.	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	14-day free trial	30-day free trial, no credit card required
Platforms	Web	Web, iOS, Android, Windows, API	Web, iOS, Android
Integrations (vendor's figure)	Integrate with 1000+ apps	Not stated	100+ apps in the FreshBooks AppStore
Open source	No	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	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	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	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	Zoho Corporation Pvt. Ltd.	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.

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