Bookkeep vs Xero (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 13, 2026, Xero grades higher than Bookkeep: 2.6 against 2.2 out of 4.0.
Checked Nov 9, 2026 and Nov 13, 2026 · graded Oct 17, 2026 and Nov 13, 2026 by ToolGPA
Xero grades higher on features and ease of use. They get the same grade on value for money, the free plan and platforms.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
Bookkeep
Sales and payout accounting automation for ecommerce and retail
Xero
Cloud accounting for small businesses, with unlimited users
Which one is for you
Pick Bookkeep if
- Fits if you run a shop on Shopify or Square and keep books in QuickBooks or Xero
- Works for businesses with several legal entities that want each posted
Look elsewhere if
- Pricey if you have several entities, since each needs its own subscription
- Watch out: sales tax filing is $75 a filing and payout splitting $3.99 a transfer
- Watch out: history from before sign-up is $0.35 an entry and can't be posted in the trial
- Tight on Lite: $200k revenue and 1 channel, and plans move up on their own
- Skip it if you're outside the US or Canada, because other countries are told to ask for rates
Pick Xero if
- Fits if your accountant already works in Xero
- Works for businesses where several staff and advisers need to be in the books, as users are unlimited
Look elsewhere if
- Tight if you send more than 20 invoices or enter more than 5 bills, since that's where Early stops
- Watch out: the advertised prices are 80% off for 3 months only, then $27, $59 or $97 a month
- Pricey if you need US payroll, at $36 a month plus $6 a person on top
- Pricey if you bill in other currencies, which need Established at $97, or want auto-reconcile on Early, a $5 add-on
- Skip it if you want a free plan to start on, as there isn't one, and taking the free month costs you the discount
How we grade them
| 2.2GPABookkeepFair | 2.6GPAXeroGood | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | C$19 a month per entity for Lite, up to $200k revenue and 1 channel. That's in the cheaper half of the category, but the plans climb to $1,199. | CEarly is $27 a month, between this category's middle at $23 and its dearer quarter at $31.10, and it stops at 20 invoices and 5 bills. No limits means Growing at $59. Users are unlimited on every plan, so a team costs no more. |
| Free plan and trial | CA 14-day free trial of any plan with no card. There is no free plan. | COne month free on any plan, but you give up the 80%-off-for-3-months offer to take it. There's no free plan, and the listing doesn't say whether a card is needed for the trial. |
| Features | CSummarised journal entries, many channels, sales tax filing and payout splitting. It does one job fully, a smaller job than accounting, and posts into your accounting system. | BBank reconciliation, invoices and quotes, Tap to Pay, bill capture, free ACH bill payments, cash flow forecasts, Syft analytics, the JAX assistant and Gusto payroll. Multiple currencies need Established, but the whole job is here. |
| Ease of use | CNo store rating on record, and you connect channels and map categories. | B4.65 from 1,689 App Store ratings, just under the top band. Auto-reconcile, which takes away the most clicking, is part of Growing and Established and a $5 a month add-on on Early. |
| Platforms and integrations | BWeb only, with QuickBooks, Xero, Zoho Books, NetSuite, Sage Intacct, Shopify, Amazon and Square. | BWeb, iPhone and Android, plus an app store with Gusto, Stripe, Syft, Dext, A2X and Mercury. There's no desktop app, which is what keeps it off an A. |
| Best for | online sellers with several channels and entities | small businesses that work with an accountant |
The GPA is the average of the five grades: an A is 4 points, an F is none. The full reasons are on each tool's page: Bookkeep and Xero. How we grade
Price against what you get
Bookkeep starts at $19 a month and scores 2.3 out of 4 on features, ease of use and platforms. Xero starts at $27 a month and scores 3.0.
Xero scores higher, and starts $8 a month higher: the question is whether the extra is worth that to you. Of the other accounting and invoicing tools on the chart, 16 score higher than Bookkeep for less, and 3 score higher than Xero for less.
Features, ease of use and platforms, averaged
What paid plans start at, a month (each step along is roughly double) →
- The best score at each price
- Has a free plan
- No free plan
Where they differ
- Bookkeep also covers workflow automation, online store and amazon selling.
- Xero also covers invoicing, expense tracking and payroll.
At a glance
| Bookkeep | Xero | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free trial | Free trial |
| Starts at | $19 per month per entity, billed monthly | $27 per month, billed monthly |
| Free plan | None | None |
| Free trial | 14-day free trial of any plan, no credit card required | One month free on any plan, taken instead of the 3-month discount |
| Web | ||
| iOS | ||
| Android | ||
| Made by | Bookkeep | Xero Limited |
| Price read from | bookkeep.com | xero.com |
| Checked | Nov 13, 2026 | Nov 9, 2026 |
Worth knowing
Bookkeep
- Each legal entity needs its own subscription, and plans change automatically with connected channels and revenue.
- Add-ons cost extra: sales tax filing is $75 per filing, payout splitting $3.99 per transfer and advanced reporting $99 a month.
- Historical journal entries before sign-up are billed at $0.35 each and cannot be posted during the trial.
- Prices are in US or Canadian dollars only; other countries are asked to inquire for rates.
Xero
- The advertised prices are 80% off for the first 3 months; plans then renew at $27, $59 or $97 a month.
- Early stops at 20 invoices and 5 bills, and its graphs and cash flow forecast are the basic ones.
- US payroll costs $36 a month plus $6 per employee or contractor, and is not offered to Xero's US mobile-only subscribers.
- These are US prices; Xero sells in other countries, including New Zealand, Australia and the UK, on separate regional sites.
Key features
Bookkeep
- Summarized journal entries
- Posts gross sales, discounts, refunds and sales tax from each channel to the accounting system, with mapping to classes, tracking categories or tags.
- Many sales channels
- Connects to Amazon, Clover, Shopify, Square, Stripe, Toast, Walmart, eBay, Mindbody, PayPal and others; channels allowed rise by plan.
- Accounting systems
- Posts to QuickBooks Online, Xero and Zoho Books from Lite; NetSuite, Sage Intacct and Intuit Enterprise Suite from Growth.
- Sales tax filing
- A managed filing service for Shopify, Toast and Square POS merchants in the US, billed per filing and requiring enrollment.
- Payout splitting
- Transfers deposit funds across bank accounts by store, franchise or fulfillment location for a flat fee per transfer; needs Pro or higher.
- Inventory module
- A separate Bookkeep Inventory product covers purchase orders and receiving; its price is listed separately.
Xero
- Bank reconciliation
- Match bank transactions to invoices and bills. Auto-reconcile is part of Growing and Established, and a $5 a month add-on on Early.
- Invoices, quotes and online payments
- Send invoices and quotes with a payment service attached, and take card payments in person with Tap to Pay on iPhone and Android.
- Bills and Smart Document Capture
- Bills and receipts are pulled into Xero from documents, and standard ACH bill payments in US dollars are included on every plan.
- Cash flow forecasts and analytics
- Forecasts run 30, 60 or 180 days ahead depending on the plan, and Syft analytics, dashboards and health scorecards are built in.
- JAX assistant
- Xero's AI assistant answers questions about the business's numbers and handles routine bookkeeping tasks.
- Xero Payroll, powered by Gusto
- Full-service payroll that calculates, files and pays federal and state taxes across all 50 states, without leaving Xero.
Plans
Bookkeep
Lite$19
per month per entity, billed monthly
Up to $200k annual revenue and 1 sales channel; category-level mapping, email support, monthly billing only.
Starter$49
per month per entity, billed monthly
Sub-category mapping for 1 sales channel, segmentation by channel or location, live chat support.
Growth$99
per month per entity, billed monthly
Adds NetSuite, Sage Intacct and Intuit Enterprise Suite posting and a dedicated onboarding session.
Pro$199
per month per entity, billed monthly
Up to $5M annual revenue and 5 channels; managed sales tax filing, managed COGS and payout splitting.
Advanced$499
per month per entity, billed monthly
Adds fulfillment-based revenue recognition for Shopify, a dedicated account manager and priority support.
Unlimited$1,199
per month per entity, billed monthly
Unlimited sales channels, buy-online-pick-up-in-store entries and unlimited payout splitting transfers.
Xero
Early$27
per month, billed monthly
Advertised at $5.40 a month for the first 3 months. Quotes, 20 invoices, 5 bills, bank reconciliation, sales tax and a 30-day cash flow forecast.
Growing$59
per month, billed monthly
Advertised at $11.80 a month for the first 3 months. No invoice or bill limits, auto-reconcile, dashboards, budgets and a 60-day forecast.
Established$97
per month, billed monthly
Advertised at $19.40 a month for the first 3 months. Adds multiple currencies, project time and costs, expense claims and a 180-day forecast.
Ways to pay less
Bookkeep
- Annual discount
Two months free on annual plans
Bookkeep's pricing page says annual billing gives two months free, about a 17% discount; Lite is monthly only.
Xero
- Other savings
80% off the first 3 months
New US customers buying their first organization pay 20% of the base plan price for 3 months, then the regular monthly price. Add-ons are not discounted.
- Other savings
Two months of Xero Payroll free
Xero's payroll page offers two months free to try Xero Payroll, which then costs $36 a month plus $6 per employee or contractor.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, Bookkeep or Xero?
As of Nov 13, 2026, Bookkeep is cheaper to start with: $19 a month, against $27 a month for Xero. Bookkeep starts at $19 per month per entity, billed monthly, and Xero starts at $27 per month, billed monthly.
Which has a free plan, Bookkeep or Xero?
As of Nov 13, 2026, neither Bookkeep nor Xero has a free plan. Both have a free trial.
Which platforms do Bookkeep and Xero run on?
As of Nov 13, 2026, only Xero lists iOS and Android apps. Both list a web app. A platform missing from a listing is one its maker's pages did not mention.
More comparisons
How this page was made
- The verdict at the top follows a fixed rule. When both tools are in the same category and either is in our top three for it, the verdict follows that ranking: the higher-placed tool is our pick. The top three weigh who each tool suits as well as its grades, so a pick can go against the GPA. Otherwise the page does not pick one and says which grades higher: the higher GPA first; on a tie, the one with a free plan, then the one that starts cheaper in dollars a month, counted the same way for both; if they are still level, what the choice depends on.
- The grades are our own, from each tool’s review or report card. The GPA is their average.
- Prices, plans and platforms come from each tool’s listing. The table above says where each price was read and when.
- The differences and the answers to the questions are worked out from those listings.