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Xero is the best overall accounting software for high-turnover businesses due to superior expense management, billing tools, and 1,000+ integrations.
Both Xero and QuickBooks have steep learning curves, extensive set-up requirements and cluttered interfaces, making them best suited for experienced accounting professionals. For small businesses managing simpler processes, I recommend our best-rated accounting software – Zoho Books – instead, due to its intuitive design and smaller price tag.
Still, choosing between QuickBooks and Xero is by no means straightforward. So, to guide you through this Xero vs QuickBooks comparison, this article offers a granular comparison of their pricing plans, usability, stand-out features, and support options. Read on for the full research-backed details, and see how they weigh up at a glance below.
- Xero is the superior accounting software, offering better expense management, billing and bank reconciliation features compared to QuickBooks.
- Xero also includes unlimited user seats across all pricing plans, while QuickBooks has strict user limits per tier.
- QuickBooks wins over Xero for its more accessible customer service, superior financial planning capabilities and more user-friendly interface.
- Both Xero and QuickBooks come with steep learning curves, so an alternative like Zoho Books and FreshBooks would be better options for beginners.
- Xero supports over 1,000 third-party app integrations, providing greater flexibility than QuickBooks’ library of 800+ integrations.
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4.6
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Businesses needing advanced financial insights and customization |
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Excellent help and support features, including dedicated on all plans and 24/7 support and training on Advanced plan |
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| Try QuickBooks | Try Xero now |
Xero vs QuickBooks: At a Glance
This Xero vs QuickBooks comparison shows Xero outperforms QuickBooks in core bookkeeping, integrations, and user seat limits, while QuickBooks leads in customer support, cash flow forecasting, and ease of use. Here are some key deciding factors to help you determine their suitability for your business.
- Xero’s core accounting features are better than QuickBooks, with the platform boasting superior fixed asset tracking, billing, and bank reconciliation tools.
- Xero allows unlimited users on all of its plans, making it a slightly better choice than QuickBooks for larger teams with simpler accounting requirements.
- Xero lets users connect with more integrations than QuickBooks (1000+ vs 800+), allowing businesses to extend the capabilities of the platform further.
- QuickBooks is cheaper to get started on, although Xero is currently running a deal where you get its Established plan for $9.70 per month for the first six months.
- QuickBooks is a stronger choice over Xero for restaurants, because of QuickBooks’ built-in inventory management system and native point-of-sale (POS) integrations.
- QuickBooks has a more modern design, while Xero’s typography and interface make it feel quite dated in comparison.
- Xero and QuickBooks are both quite complex to get started on, but QuickBooks’ helpful tooltips and live chat options make it slightly easier to adjust to the steep learning curve.
Read on for a deeper dive into Xero and QuickBooks’ main comparison points, and check out which businesses each provider is best suited for below:
Who is Xero better for?
- Experienced accounting professionals managing complex workflows
- Businesses with high turnover and consistent billing needs
- Users willing to invest time in a longer set-up process for heavier-duty features
Who is QuickBooks better for?
- Businesses that want to improve budgeting efforts with advanced cash flow projection tools
- Businesses that would benefit from customized reporting tools to improve performance
- Users who prefer a modern-looking system with a clear set-up process
Xero vs QuickBooks: Top Features Comparison
QuickBooks and Xero both offer a broad array of accounting and financial management features. Here’s our comparison of how both providers’ toolkits compare head-to-head.
Tax preparation: Xero
Xero is the best platform for tax preparation, offering a broad range of tax types, including goods and services tax (GST). While both providers offer standard tax capabilities like tax rate calculations and tax form generation, QuickBooks requires you to set up VAT records first and manually add tax categories to stock products, which can be more daunting for beginners.
Unfortunately, neither provider offers tax forecasting or planning tools, so if this is a dealbreaker for you, I’d recommend using a competitor like FreeAgent instead, which has both of them available.
QuickBooks asks you for simple payroll tax information when setting up. Source: QuickBooks
Get Started with Accounting Software Today
We recommend Xero for the best value, and QuickBooks for a richer feature set
Invoicing: Tie
Xero’s and QuickBooks’ invoicing features are closely matched, and are actually some of the best we’ve researched – alongside those offered by Zoho Books. From recurring invoicing and automated invoice and quote sending, to useful payment reminders, the platforms provide you with any capability you’ll need to effectively track payments.
Both pieces of accounting software also notify you when a client has viewed an invoice, making it easier for your team to track and chase outstanding payments. Unlike budget providers like Wave, QuickBooks and Xero offer multi-currency support for invoicing, helping them both to net a perfect score in our research subcategory, and making them a solid choice for international businesses.
Learn more about how QuickBooks compares to the free accounting software Wave.
You’re able to search through Xero’s aged payable summaries through a variety of filters. Tech.co user testing
Financial planning: QuickBooks
QuickBooks is superior for financial planning because its Cash Flow Planner add-on alerts businesses to prospective cash shortfalls; a capability that isn’t available with Xero.
QuickBooks and Xero offer fairly similar reporting features, both letting users create new reports from scratch, export reports with embedded calculations, use built-in templates for key financial statements like balance sheets and cash flow statements, and more.
Xero’s profit and loss features give you a detailed overview over your businesses financial health. Source: Tech.co user testing
Collaboration: Xero
After pitting the two providers head-to-head, I found that Xero’s collaboration features are stronger, namely because the software supports unlimited users on all pricing plans.
QuickBooks, on the other hand, has pretty strict user limits on all plans, making the software less suitable for large teams with workers who need to view financial data simultaneously.
QuickBooks didn’t score badly in the category, however. Both providers include access to a client portal, giving customers a secure way to access their financial information and view and download invoices. QuickBooks also lets users collaborate on documents in real time, which will be especially useful for remote teams.
Xero’s unlimited user caps allow large teams to track and manage financial data simultaneously. Source: Xero
AI automation: Xero
In our testing, Xero outperformed QuickBooks in AI automation by providing automated budget and forecast categorization – a capability not currently available with QuickBooks.
That said, there isn’t much in it. Both providers offer useful AI-powered insights and are capable of classifying expenses automatically, which can be a huge time-saver for businesses that are used to carrying out the process manually.
Third-party integrations: Xero
Xero provides over 1,000 third-party app integrations, compared to QuickBooks’ library of over 800 apps.
The Xero App Marketplace covers categories including CRM, invoicing, inventory, time tracking, ecommerce, and more, with new entries being added regularly. Xero also offers ten in-house apps that can help you access its features on your mobile device, and grants businesses open API access to build custom integrations.
Still, QuickBooks offers API support and its App Store lets you filter results by category and industry, making it easier for users to locate useful integrations. While its app marketplace isn’t quite as expansive as Xero’s, the options it offers are still well ahead of its closest competitors like Zoho Books and FreshBooks, so it’s still a great option for businesses that rely heavily on other software services.
The QuickBooks app library provides us with access to more than 800 third-party integrations. Source: Tech.co testing
Xero vs QuickBooks: Help and Support
QuickBooks provides superior help and support compared to Xero by offering 24/7 AI chatbot access and direct phone support.
While both providers let you resolve queries with a user forum and knowledge center, QuickBooks goes above and beyond by giving users access to an AI chatbot 24/7, as well as live agents during traditional working hours.
While QuickBooks users will need to find the phone number separately on its support page, the provider also lets you talk to agents directly on the phone, which is a perk that Xero does not currently offer. All in all, this makes QuickBooks a better option for businesses that want to find resolutions quickly, without having to sift through tons of information.
That said, after trialing out the QuickBooks knowledge center, I found that pages frequently failed to load, making it harder for me to access important resources quickly. In comparison, Xero’s support resources proved to be much more reliable, particularly for their ability to help me resolve issues I was facing with specific tasks like changing currency.
Xero vs QuickBooks: Ease of Use
QuickBooks is easier to use than Xero thanks to its modern user interface, guided setup process, and prepopulated data fields.
While QuickBooks’ is best suited for professionals or businesses willing to invest time into mastering its complexities, the platform offers a number of aids for the average user: including helpful tooltips, a well-organized dashboard and prepopulated fields to streamline tasks.
I did note a steep learning curve, however, particularly when it came to setting up tax and expense processes. Therefore, if you only need an accounting platform to handle simple tasks, I’d recommend going with a more beginner-friendly option like FreshBooks instead.
QuickBooks’ interface is much more modern and slick than Xero’s. Source: Tech.co user testing
Similarly to QuickBooks, Xero boasts a structured navigation that positions it well for professionals who are already experienced with accounting processes. I also found specific tasks – like personalizing emails and managing bills – particularly streamlined.
Yet, my overall experience with Xero was quite negative. Not only is Xero’s interface and typography quite outdated, but it also gives users poor visual feedback, which is why it wasn’t able to beat out QuickBooks in this category.
Learn more with our how-to guide for QuickBooks Online.
Xero vs QuickBooks: Pricing Plans
In this Xero vs QuickBooks pricing breakdown, QuickBooks tends to be cheaper overall. Granted, this doesn’t necessarily mean QuickBooks is the most cost-effective option for your business needs.
Xero offers three price plans with differing levels of features. Xero’s pricing starts at $27 per month and reaches $97 per month. However, the provider is giving businesses an impressive 90% off for the first six months, bringing its entry price down to just $2.70 per month for its Early plan.
QuickBooks, meanwhile, offers five different plans: QuickBooks pricing plans range between $20 and $340 per month. QuickBooks is also running a deal that gives you 50% off for the first three months, helping to lower the barrier to entry for businesses adopting new accounting software.
Here’s how each accounting software vendor breaks down their services, so you can see how they compare.
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Bookkeeping
Does it include bookkeeping functions?
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Accounts payable
Does it include a range of accounts payable functions?
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Accounts receivable
Does it include a range of accounts receivable functions?
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Project accounting
Does it offer tools to track different projects?
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Financial reporting
Does it offer financial reporting tools?
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Budget and forecasting
Does it offer budgeting and forecasting tools?
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Contracts
While Xero offers cheaper packages overall, the provider makes businesses sign a contract in order to move forward. Xero also charges you if you cancel your membership without giving one month’s notice, making it a less flexible choice for businesses after a part-time accounting solution.
Free Trials
Both Xero and QuickBooks offer the same trial period: 30 days for free.
That said, they also both offer a special entry deal for your first few months, although these deals can vary. At different seasons of the year, QuickBooks plans have been between 50% and 70% off for the first three months. Whatever the current deal, users will need to skip their free trial to qualify.
Similarly, all of Xero’s plans are often 50% off for the first three months. This means that Xero Early may be as cheap as $13.50 per month when 50% off, while QuickBooks Simple Start would cost just $19 a month, provided it is offering the same deal.
Neither QuickBooks nor Xero offers a permanent free plan. If that’s what you’re looking for, check out our guide to the best free accounting software.
How Does Xero vs QuickBooks Compare to Alternatives?
Xero and QuickBooks are both solid options for professionals with complex needs. But truth be told, our research found that Zoho Books will be a safer bet for smaller businesses, offering better core accounting features than both QuickBooks and Xero, with a smaller price tag. Zoho Books’ support features let it down, however, so if you expect to be reaching out for support often, I’d stick with QuickBooks.
The home dashboard from Zoho Books provided us with lots of valuable data to keep us informed. Source: Tech.co testing
If your business is primarily focused on invoicing and tracking expenses, FreshBooks is another great alternative. When I tested out the platform, I found it easier to use than Xero and QuickBooks, and its 24/7 help center rivals QuickBooks, making it a reliable option for businesses adopting accounting software for the first time.
FreshBooks makes simple tasks like managing invoices straightforward. Source: Tech.co user testing
There’s no shortage of quality accounting solutions. Check out our comparison table below to see how the best contenders weigh up side-by-side:
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Xero |
Zoho Books |
Sage 50 |
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Free |
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$132.17/month |
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30 days |
It’s free, no trial needed |
14 days |
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30 days (demo only) |
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Being an all-in-one, easy to use solution |
A broad range of accounting features, professional look and feel, helpful and free trial period |
Online integrations |
Basic accounting functionality for free |
Strong automation features |
Great features; a simple, slick interface; and a competitively low price |
Very user-friendly |
Easiest setup |
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Save 50% for three months |
95% off for the first 6 months |
No active deals |
No active deals |
60% off for six months on all plans |
No active deals |
No active deals |
How Did We Compare Xero vs QuickBooks?
At Tech.co, we take our impartial research and analysis seriously, so you can have complete confidence that we’re giving you the clearest, most useful recommendations.
After conducting an initial investigation to identify the most relevant, popular, and established accounting tools in the market, we conducted further research, including testing six major accounting software platforms.
Based on years of market and user needs research, we’ve established an accounting software testing methodology that scores these platforms against six main categories, and 25 subcategories — with a total of 1,512 areas of investigation being considered overall.
We also put the platforms through their paces with hands-on testing to gain a deeper grasp of their average user experience. We dedicated 57 hours to carrying out 37 user tests, with a total of 555 tasks being completed in total.
Our main testing categories for accounting software are:
- Core accounting features: We check how adept a platform will be at managing accounting tasks, focusing on key bookkeeping features like invoicing, tax preparation, journal entry, time tracking, financial transactions, and payment support.
- Operational efficiency: We determine how capable a system is at ensuring day-to-day processes run seamlessly, paying close attention to third-party integrations, collaboration tools, AI automation, and customization options.
- Financial planning: We assess how capable a system will be at measuring income, profits, and losses. Specifically, we check for the presence and quality of forecasting and budgeting, inventory management, reporting, and compliance tools.
- Help and support: We assess how useful and reliable a platform’s support system is, focusing on support options, whether it’s 24/7 support or knowledge center accuracy, as well as cloud backup, and security safeguards.
- Pricing: We compare the overall cost of each platform, taking factors like monthly costs, set-up fees, hidden fees, and free plans into account. We also measure how strict contracts are, and how much it would cost for a business to terminate them early.
- User experience: An overall judgment of how easily users can interact with the platform. We tested each accounting platform and got our team to report how easy they were to use, how they felt when they were using them, and how likely they were to recommend the platform to another business.
When it comes to calculating a product’s final score, not all testing areas are weighted evenly, with factors like “core accounting features” and “operational efficiency” being prioritized for small businesses, while sector-specific features are valued more highly for businesses across different industries.
We understand that accounting software is always evolving. That’s why at Tech.co, we have full-time product researchers to re-run this testing process regularly. It’s the only way to ensure our results remain reflective of the present day.
Learn more about our research.
Xero is the better accounting platform overall, due to its superior bookkeeping and collaboration features, and its wider library of integrations. Due to these benefits over QuickBooks, I’d recommend Xero for businesses with high turnover and consistent billing needs.
QuickBooks is still a powerful accounting platform, offering stronger cashflow projection software, more customizable reports, and a much more modern interface than Xero. This makes QuickBooks a safer bet for users with a lower learning curve and businesses focused on closely monitoring their financial health.
Despite their accolades, neither Xero nor QuickBooks are beginner-friendly platforms. So if you don’t have much time to invest in navigating the software complexities, I’d recommend foregoing both options altogether and using a simpler alternative like FreshBooks instead.
FAQs
Migrating between platforms is relatively straightforward for basic data (such as customer/vendor lists, charts of accounts, and open invoices), which can be exported and imported via CSV files.
However, transferring full historical transaction histories is more complex and requires using specialized migration tools (like Movemybooks or Conversion Balances) or working with an accountant to set clean cut-off dates.
Both Xero and QuickBooks support payroll, but their approaches differ significantly.
QuickBooks offers native and integrated payroll add-ons (including full-service options for automated tax filings, W-2s, and direct deposits) within its ecosystem.
On the other hand, Xero relies on third-party integrations (such as Gusto) to handle full payroll processing and payroll tax administration.
Xero is widely considered the better option for international business operations. Both systems support multi-currency transactions, but Xero automatically calculates real-time exchange rate gains and losses across accounts, bills, and invoices more seamlessly.
Additionally, multi-currency features are included in Xero’s established plan tiers, whereas QuickBooks restricts advanced currency adjustments to higher pricing tiers.
This depends on which accounting software you choose.
QuickBooks grants read-only access to your financial data for 12 months after cancellation, allowing you to view and export reports before the data is permanently deleted.
Xero retains your data for up to 7 years after cancellation. During this window, you can reactivate your account or export reports, after which data may no longer be accessible.
Yes, although this depends on your chosen platform and your workflow.
With QuickBooks, additional costs typically come from upgrading plan tiers just to get more user seats, as well as monthly base/per-employee fees for native payroll.
On the other hand, Xero expenses often come from third-party app subscriptions needed to match QuickBooks’ native capabilities – such as dedicated payroll services or advanced inventory management apps.
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