Accounting Software
Xero: features, pricing and who it fits
Xero is a cloud ledger from New Zealand sold as three flat-priced plans, starting at $27 per month. Users are unlimited because no per-user fee applies. The Early plan caps invoices at 20 and bills at 5 each month, which small sellers should check.
Who Xero is for
Best for
- Teams that need unlimited users without per-seat cost
- Businesses with multi-currency needs
- Firms working with accountants who use Xero practice tools
Look elsewhere if
- Buyers needing annual billing discounts (none on the US page)
- Teams needing SAML SSO, which we could not confirm
Fit by company size
| Category | 1-10 people | 11-50 people | 51-500 people | 500+ people |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Accounting Software | Workable | Strong fit | Workable | No data |
| Invoicing Software | No data | Strong fit | Workable | No data |
Strong fitWorkablePoor fitNo data from the vendor
Xero features
- Invoicing and billing
- Quotes and invoices; Early plan limited to 20 invoices and 5 bills per month
- Bank feeds and reconciliation
- Auto-reconcile $5/month add-on on Early, included on Growing and Established
- Financial reporting
- Cash flow forecast 30/60/180 days by plan
- Expense and bill management
- Expense claims and project tracking only on Established
- Payroll and sales tax support
- Xero Payroll powered by Gusto, $36/month + $6 per employee
- Accountant access and integrations
- No per-user fees; integrations count not confirmed by the vendor
- Pricing model
- Flat per plan; usage charges for payroll, projects and expenses billed monthly in arrears
- Target company size
- Small businesses; Established for larger teams
- Recurring invoices and subscriptions
- not confirmed by the vendor
- Online payment acceptance
- not confirmed by the vendor
- Automated payment reminders
- not confirmed by the vendor
- Sales tax and multi-currency
- not confirmed by the vendor
- Accounting integration
- Native accounting product
- Time and expense billing
- Projects tracking on Established
- Branding and templates
- not confirmed by the vendor
- Reporting and aging
- Cash flow forecast 30/60/180 days by plan
- Pricing model and transparency
- Flat per plan; usage charges for payroll, projects and expenses billed monthly in arrears
Xero pricing
| Plan | Price | Unit | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Early | $27/month | organization | 20 invoices and quotes, 5 bills; promo $2.70/month for 6 months |
| Growing | $59/month | organization | Unlimited invoices; auto-reconcile included; 60-day cash flow forecast |
| Established | $97/month | organization | Expense claims and project tracking included; 180-day forecast |
Promo is 90% off the base price for 6 months for new US customers, code valid until Nov 2, 2026. Payroll via Gusto adds $36/month plus $6 per employee or contractor. Prices rose in October 2025 and again October 1, 2026 per insightfulaccountant.com and the vendor page.
Prices as published by Xero on the date above. Quotes for larger teams often differ, which is what a request on SaaSBid surfaces.
Pros and cons
What users like
- Usable for owners without accounting background
- Strong automatic bank reconciliation
- No per-user fees
Common complaints
- Repeated list price increases
- US payroll and tax depth thinner than QuickBooks (not confirmed by the vendor)
- Plan limits on bills and invoices on Early
Integrations, security and hosting
- Security and compliance
- ISO/IEC 27001:2022, SOC 2 (report on request), PCI DSS (level 2 merchant, card processing outsourced)
Worth knowing before you buy
- No per-user license fees, so seats do not affect price
- Prices step up on October 1, 2026 to $27/$59/$97 from $25/$55/$90 (insightfulaccountant.com and vendor page)
- Pricing page says Xero may change pricing at any time and subscriptions auto-renew monthly
- No annual billing option shown on the US pricing page
- Auto-reconcile is a paid $5/month add-on on Early but included above it
