The best alternatives to Xero are QuickBooks Online and Zoho Books for similarities in features and functionality. Other Xero competitors include QuickBooks Enterprise for consolidating multiple companies and FreshBooks for simplicity. Here’s the complete list of providers that we believe are worthy Xero alternatives:
- QuickBooks Online: Best overall Xero alternative
- Zoho Books: Best for mobile app accounting
- QuickBooks Enterprise: Best for keeping the books of multiple companies
- Wave: Best free Xero alternative for basic expense tracking and invoicing
- FreshBooks: Best for very small service-based businesses
- QuickBooks Solopreneur: Best for freelancers needing simple expense tracking
- Quicken: Best alternative for individuals with a few rental properties
We are committed to providing you with an unbiased, thorough, and comprehensive evaluation to help you find the right accounting software for your business. We meticulously and objectively assess each software based on a fixed set of criteria—including pricing, features, ease of use, and customer support—in our internal case study.
To delve deeper into our best small business accounting software, we tested and used each platform to evaluate how the features perform against our metrics. This hands-on approach helps us strengthen our accounting software expertise and deliver on the Fit Small Business mission of providing the best answers to your small business questions.
Comparison of Top Xero Competitors & Alternatives
Monthly Pricing | Users Included | Free Trial | |
|---|---|---|---|
 | $20 to $80 | Unlimited | 30 days |
 | $35 to $235 | 1 to 25 | 30 days |
 | $0 to $275 | 1 to 15 | 14 days |
Enterprise | N/A | ||
 | Free or $16 | 1 or unlimited | N/A |
 | 30 days | ||
Solopreneur | 1 | 30 days | |
 | Unlimited | N/A | |
Great Invoicing | Solid Inventory Accounting | Strong Mobile App | Good Project Accounting | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ✓ | ✓ | ✕ | ✓ |
| ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
Enterprise | ✓ | ✓ | ✕ | ✓ |
| ✓ | ✕ | ✕ | ✕ |
| ✓ | ✕ | ✕ | ✓ |
Solopreneur | ✓ | ✕ | ✓ | ✕ |
| ✕ | ✕ | ✕ | ✓ |
QuickBooks Online: Best Overall Xero Alternative
Pros
- Similar features to Xero
- Ability to track activity by class and location
- Better mobile app than Xero; can receive payment and view reports
- Live customer support is available
- Over 130 customizable reports
Cons
- Separate subscription for each company file
- Cannot compare estimated to actual project costs unless you upgrade to Advanced
- Limitations on the number of users
QuickBooks Online has four plans. Our top-recommended plan is QuickBooks Online Plus because it has all the necessary accounting features present in Xero but at a more affordable price point than QuickBooks Online Advanced.
- Simple Start: $35 per month for one user
- Essentials: $65 per month for up to three users
- Plus: $99 per month for up to five users
- Advanced: $235 per month for up to 25 users
You can try any of the four QuickBooks Online plans for free for 30 days or purchase right away and get a 50% discount for three months.
We chose QuickBooks Online as the overall best Xero competitor because it offers many of the same features as Xero but is more flexible in many areas, including invoicing and bank reconciliation. It stands out in its ability to calculate sales tax rates automatically based on the customer address, which is something Xero can’t do. QuickBooks Online also offers more extensive customer support options, including live customer support. Overall, it remains a great pick for small businesses that prefer to outsource bookkeeping to a ProAdvisor.
As our best small business accounting software, QuickBooks Online offers almost everything that Xero has to offer. What makes QuickBooks Online stand out is its popularity in the US and its vast network of ProAdvisors.
Compared to Xero, QuickBooks scored higher in banking, A/P, and A/R—but only by a few percentage points. In banking, it can perform manual bank reconciliation, which is a great feature for users who don’t want to connect their bank accounts to their accounting system.
Zoho Books: Best for Mobile App Accounting
Pros
- Free plan for businesses with less than $50,000 in annual revenue
- Phone support and live chat included in all paid plans
- Best mobile app we found that can perform almost all accounting functions
- Integration with Zoho Inventory for detailed inventory tracking
Cons
- Cannot manage and track fixed assets
- Limitation on the number of invoices you can send in free plan
- Subscription to Professional plan required to track unpaid bills
Zoho Books has one free plan and five paid tiers, and the features included vary by plan (discussed in detail in our Zoho Books review’s pricing section). You can try the free plan and upgrade when necessary.
- Free: Good for one user, 1,000 invoices per year, and annual revenue limit of $50,000
- Standard: $20 per month for up to three users
- Professional: $50 per month for up to five users
- Premium: $70 per month for up to 10 users
- Elite: $150 per month for up to 10 users
- Ultimate: $275 per month for 15 users
You can try any of the paid plans for free for 14 days with no credit card required.
We selected Zoho Books as the best mobile accounting app because of its ability to send invoices, enter bill payments, assign expenses, record time worked, and view reports. The functionality of Zoho’s mobile app is a lot better compared to Xero’s and excels with invoice customization options and customer service. Zoho Books offers live customer support via telephone or chat in all of its paid packages—unlike Xero, which doesn’t offer live and phone support.
Zoho Books—just like Xero and QuickBooks—is accounting software perfect for established businesses. If you want something less comprehensive and affordable, you can pick Wave, which is ideal for users who just want to track income and expenses. Though Zoho Books also has a free plan, we still recommend Wave Free because it doesn’t impose annual revenue limits.
Overall, Zoho Books scored higher than Xero. They are head-to-head in A/P, A/R, banking, and inventory, with either leading by a fractional point. However, Zoho Books shines in the mobile app and ease of use criteria. In fact, Zoho Books has the best mobile app in this guide. It also has better ease of use because it has a more user-friendly interface than Xero. Navigating the platform is easier because the design is intuitive and not compact.
QuickBooks Enterprise: Best Desktop Alternative for Multicompany Accounting
Pros
- Manage multiple companies in one subscription
- Large network of independent QuickBooks ProAdvisors
- Inventory features can calculate COGS using the average cost method
Cons
- Expensive for some small businesses since each user requires a separate subscription fee
- Cannot manage and track fixed assets
- Harder to share books with an external accountant compared to cloud software
QuickBooks Enterprise has four plans, and prices scale based on the number of users.
- Silver: $142 to $960 monthly ($1,481 to $9,789 if billed annually), maximum of 20 users.
- Gold: $194 to $1,004 monthly ($1,922 to $10,981 if billed annually), maximum of 20 users
- Platinum: $231 to $1,049 monthly ($2,363 to $10,656 if billed annually), maximum of 20 users
- Diamond: $389 to $1,429 monthly (no annual billing option), maximum of 40 users
QuickBooks Enterprise is the most powerful product in Intuit’s QuickBooks lineup and is a great choice for businesses that prefer desktop accounting software. Picking QuickBooks Enterprise assures that you’ll have all the features you’ll ever need. And given that it’s now subscription-based, product updates and new features are automatically released to subscribers.
QuickBooks Enterprise aced six out of the 15 criteria that we set in our case study. Undoubtedly, it didn’t disappoint in features because it comes with all the premium features that QuickBooks offers. It’s even better than QuickBooks Online in some aspects.
The only downside with Enterprise is its cost. Some may find it expensive because pricing is based on the number of users, especially for small businesses needing to add multiple users to the system. Given, it’s best to stay with Xero because it has unlimited users. Alternatively, you may opt for QuickBooks Online Advanced because it can accommodate up to 25 seats.
Wave: Best Free Alternative to Xero for Basic Expense Tracking & Invoicing
Pros
- Free plan (Starter) is great for basic expense tracking and invoicing
- Manage up to 15 businesses under a single account
- Create and send unlimited invoices
- Create recurring invoices even in the free plan
- Multicurrency transactions
Cons
- Add only one user in the free plan
- No live customer support in the free plan unless you purchase an add-on
- Can’t connect bank accounts in the free version
- No time tracking features
- No inventory tracking
Wave has two subscription options:
- Starter: Free; includes one user and has accounting and invoicing features
- Pro: $16 per month or $170 per year; includes unlimited users and has additional features, including bank connections, free receipt capture, and live chat and email support
Add-ons:
- Bookkeeping support: $149 monthly (Starter and Pro)
- Assisted payroll: $40 monthly for tax service states and $20 monthly for self-service states plus $6 monthly per employee
- Receipt scanning: $8 per month or $72 per year (Starter only; free in Pro)
We believe that Wave Starter is the best free alternative to Xero because it offers solid expense tracking and invoicing features but is only good for one user. You should upgrade to Wave Pro if you want to add more users because it has unlimited seats. However, Wave can’t track fixed assets and inventory like Xero can. If you find Wave Starter or Pro lacking, pick FreshBooks instead. It is also easy to use but houses more features than Wave.
In our evaluation, we used Wave’s free plan, Starter. Its marks are either above or below average. Compared to Xero, Wave scored lower because it only has basic features. Overall, Wave is perfect only for businesses that have just started and are not yet willing to buy more advanced software. It’s also ideal for freelancers because the free plan is easy to use and can create unlimited invoices and bills.
FreshBooks: Best for Very Small Service-based Businesses
Pros
- Excellent customer service
- All plans include beautiful unlimited invoices
- Time tracking and team collaboration tools
- Mobile app has GPS mileage tracker
- Client self-service portal available
Cons
- Can’t track activity by class and location
- Only one seat in each plan—additional users can be added for a fee
- Plans limit the number of billable clients
- Cannot track inventory
- Live bank connection required to account for cash
All tiers include one user—each additional seat is $11 per month.
- Lite: $19 per month for five billable clients
- Plus: $33 per month for 50 billable clients
- Premium: $60 per month for unlimited billable clients
- Select: Custom pricing for unlimited billable clients and specialized features
FreshBooks offers a 30-day free trial for the Lite, Plus, and Premium plans.
We selected FreshBooks as the best Xero competitor for very small service-based businesses because of its useful features like time tracking, which helps you keep track of billable hours and add them to invoices easily. You can also set up automatic recurring billings for customers and communicate with clients directly through the mobile app, a feature that Xero lacks. FreshBooks was designed for those without accounting knowledge; therefore, it is easy to set up and use.
FreshBooks got high marks in project accounting, A/R, and ease of use, but Xero still takes the lead. Since FreshBooks doesn’t have inventory features, it’s better used for service-based businesses needing to track projects, billable time, and project income and costs. However, invoice creation in FreshBooks is easier than in Xero because the former has a more user-friendly and intuitive interface.
Alternatively, we recommend picking QuickBooks Online for basic to intermediate inventory features or QuickBooks Enterprise for the most advanced inventory features, such as barcode and bin tracking.
QuickBooks Solopreneur: Best Alternative for Freelancers Needing Simple Expense Tracking
Pros
- Client portal to track and send invoices
- Track expenses automatically
- Easier to set up and use than Wave
- Access to the mobile app with GPS mileage tracker
- Estimate and pay quarterly taxes
Cons
- Doesn’t track assets and liabilities
- Difficult to upgrade to other versions of QuickBooks Online
- Can’t process 1099 payments
- Only allows one user
QuickBooks Solopreneur is $25 per month or $120 (approximately $10 per month) if billed annually. You can try it for 30 days free (credit card required) or get 50% off for three months if you subscribe right away.
QuiickBooks Solopreneur is a new product in the QuickBooks lineup, replacing QuickBooks Self-Employed. Solopreneur offers newer and better features than its predecessor but still maintains the idea that it’s for one-person businesses who wish to track income and expenses. We picked it for users who are looking for a simple alternative to Xero.
The downside is that QuickBooks Solopreneur is not ideal for small business accounting because it’s only intended for a one-person business. Xero is still a better pick than Solopreneur if you’re a small business.
But since Solopreneur caters only to one-person businesses, it’s not ideal if you’re planning to expand the business in the near future. We recommend going with QuickBooks Online or Zoho Books.
- With QuickBooks Online, it’s easy to upgrade plans (e.g., from Plus to Advanced) or migrate to another product (e.g., from QuickBooks Online to Enterprise).
- With Zoho Books, you can start free and then upgrade to higher plans. It has five paid tiers, which makes it highly scalable.
Quicken: Best Alternative for Individuals With a Few Rental Properties
Pros
- Powerful budgeting capability
- Manage both personal finances and rental properties
- Easy to use with a robust feature set
- Bill pay feature available
Cons
- Only available via download for your computer
- Not a double-entry accounting system
- No way to track and manage payroll
Prices for each plan are the same for both Windows and Mac versions. The Mac version does not offer a Home & Business plan:
- Deluxe: $5.99 per month, billed annually
- Premier: $7.99 per month, billed annually
- Home & Business: $10.99 per month, billed annually
We selected Quicken as one of the best alternatives to Xero, specifically for individuals with a few rental properties because you can manage both your personal finances and rental properties in one place. In comparison to Xero, which doesn’t offer tenant management features, Quicken allows you to track documents, loans, and bank accounts and to manage your contacts, rental agreements, and security deposits. Quicken also offers document storage and a powerful budgeting capability, two more features that Xero lacks.
How We Evaluated Xero Competitors
We evaluated Xero alternatives using the internal case study we developed to assess the products we recommend objectively.
5% of Overall Score
In evaluating pricing, we considered the billing cycle (monthly or annual) and number of users.
7% of Overall Score
This section focuses more on first-time setup and software settings. The software must be quick and easy to set up for new users. Even after initial setup, the software must also let users modify information like company name, address, entity type, fiscal year-end, and other company information.
7% of Overall Score
The banking section of this case study focuses on cash management, bank reconciliation, and bank feed connections. The software must have bank integrations to automatically feed bank or card transactions. The bank reconciliation module must also let users reconcile accounts with or without bank feeds for optimal ease of use. Lastly, the software must generate useful reports related to cash.
7% of Overall Score
The A/P section focuses on vendor management, bill management, bill payments, and other payable-related transactions. A/P features include creating vendors and bills, recording purchase orders and converting them to bills, creating service items, and recording full or partial bill payments.
7% of Overall Score
This takes into account customer management, revenue recognition, invoice management, and collections. The software must have A/R features that make it easy for users to collect payments from customers, remind customers of upcoming or overdue invoices, and manage customer obligations through analytic dashboards or reports.
10% of Overall Score
Businesses with inventory items should choose accounting software that can track inventory costs, manage cost of goods sold (COGS), and monitor inventory units.
10% of Overall Score
Service or project-based businesses should choose accounting software that can track project costs, revenues, and profits. The software must have tools to track time, record billable hours or expenses, send invoices for progress billings, or monitor project progress and performance.
4% of Overall Score
In this section, we’re looking at sales tax features. The software must have features that allow users to set sales tax rates, apply them to invoices, and enable users to pay sales tax liability.
4% of Overall Score
Reports are important for managers, owners, and decision-makers. The software must have enough reports that can be generated with a few clicks. Moreover, we’d also like to see customization options to enable users to generate reports based on what they want to see.
30% of Overall Score
Ease of use gets the highest weight in this case study because we want to give more credit to easy accounting software. For this section, we considered customer service, support network, and a subjective expert opinion score. Users must have easy access to customer service channels in case of problems, questions, or assistance.
Support network refers to a community of software users that can extend professional help to businesses. Having an independent software expert perform the bookkeeping is good for overall ease of use. Lastly, our expert opinion score is our subjective rating based on our experience in trying the software.
5% of Overall Score
The software must also have a mobile app to enable users to perform accounting tasks even when away from their laptops or desktops.
4% of Overall Score
We went to user review websites to read first-hand reviews from actual software users. This user review score helps us give more credit to software products that deliver a consistent service to their customers.
Switching to a new accounting software platform can be a significant undertaking, but with careful planning and execution, it can be a smooth process. Here are steps to guide you through the transition:
- Step 1: Evaluate your current system. Assess your current accounting system to understand the data you need to migrate and the features you require in the new system. Identify any customizations or integrations you may have.
- Step 2: Set clear objectives. Define your goals for switching to a new accounting software platform. Whether it’s improving efficiency, gaining new features, or reducing costs, having clear objectives will guide your decision-making process.
- Step 3: Research and choose the new software. Based on your evaluation and objectives, research and select the new accounting software that best suits your business needs. Consider factors like scalability, user-friendliness, features, and integration capabilities.
- Step 4: Back up data. Before making any changes, ensure you have a complete and secure backup of your existing financial data. This is crucial in case of any issues during the transition.
- Step 5: Plan for data migration. Work closely with the new software provider to plan and execute the data migration. This may involve importing existing financial data, customer information, vendor details, and other relevant records. Ensure that the data is accurate and complete.
- Step 6: Train your team. Provide comprehensive training sessions to familiarize users with the features and functionalities of the new platform. This can help minimize disruptions to daily operations.
- Step 7: Go live. Once you are confident that the new accounting system is ready, schedule the transition. This may involve a weekend or off-peak hours to minimize disruption to regular business activities.
- Step 8: Monitor and troubleshoot. Monitor the system closely after the transition and be prepared to address any issues promptly. Provide additional training or support as needed.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
No, Xero is more popular in New Zealand, Australia, and the United Kingdom. QuickBooks is far more well-known and popular than Xero in the US.
Xero includes unlimited users in all of its plans. If you need to add many seats to the software but don’t want to pay per user, Xero is the most flexible option.
Xero’s biggest competitor is QuickBooks Online, which provides strong customer service, a comprehensive bank reconciliation feature, and an easy-to-use interface. Other competitors include Zoho Books, FreshBooks, and Wave.
Xero’s prices range from $15 to $78 per month, and the price depends on the number of bills and invoices you process per month. Each plan offers unlimited users.
Bottom Line
In our Xero review, we highlighted its powerful features, such as inventory and project accounting. However, there are many other areas of accounting and business where Xero isn’t the best option. For instance, if customer service is important to you, choose FreshBooks. If you want a mobile app that’s better than Xero, pick Zoho Books.
If you want a free alternative, there’s Wave. If you have trouble finding a Xero Advisor, it might be time to switch to QuickBooks Online. Overall, the best alternative to Xero depends on your budget, the intricacies of your industry, and the specific features you need.