Dext vs Xero
We give Dext a 2.4 GPA and Xero a 2.6, out of 4.0. Dext grades higher on ease of use. Xero grades higher on features. 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.
Dext
Receipt and invoice capture that codes documents for your ledger
Xero
Cloud accounting for small businesses, with unlimited users
How we grade them
| 2.4GPADextFair | 2.6GPAXeroGood | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | CGraded against its own alternatives, since it captures receipts rather than keeping books: $25.21 a month billed yearly ($31.50 monthly) for 5 users and 250 documents, about what Xero's $27 and FreshBooks' $23 cost. And the ledger is paid for on top. | 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, though, which helps once a team is involved. |
| Free plan and trial | CA 14-day free trial with no card needed, long enough to run a couple of weeks of real receipts through it. There's no free plan after that. | 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 | DNext to its alternatives it does one slice of the job. Capture is done fully: phone, email, WhatsApp, supplier fetch, coding, expense claims and mileage. But it keeps no books, and needs Xero, QuickBooks or Sage, bought separately, to be useful at all. | 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 | A4.77 from 7,553 App Store ratings. Snap the receipt and it's read and coded for you, which is about as easy as bookkeeping gets. | 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, iPhone, Android and a browser extension, publishing to 36+ accounting and e-commerce platforms, with bank feeds from over 11,500 banks. There's no desktop app, which keeps it off an A. | 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 | getting receipts coded before they reach your books | 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: Dext and Xero. How we grade
Price against what you get
Dext starts at $25.21 a month and scores 2.7 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 $1.79 a month higher: the question is whether the extra is worth that to you. Of the other accounting and invoicing tools on the chart, 3 score higher than Dext 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
- Dext starts at $25.21 per month for up to 250 documents, billed annually ($31.50 billed monthly). Xero starts at $27 per month, billed monthly.
- Only Dext lists a browser extension.
- Xero also covers invoicing, reports and payroll.
At a glance
| Dext | Xero | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free trial | Free trial |
| Starts at | $25.21 per month for up to 250 documents, billed annually ($31.50 billed monthly) | $27 per month, billed monthly |
| Free plan | None | None |
| Free trial | 14-day free trial, no card required | One month free on any plan, taken instead of the 3-month discount |
| Web | ||
| iOS | ||
| Android | ||
| Browser extension | ||
| Made by | Dext Software Limited | Xero Limited |
| Price read from | dext.com | xero.com |
| Checked | Oct 18, 2026 | Oct 17, 2026 |
Who each one suits
Dext
- Small businesses that want receipts and bills coded before they reach the books
- Accounting and bookkeeping firms collecting paperwork from many clients
- Teams with employee expense claims and mileage to approve
Xero
- Small businesses that want every staff member and adviser in the books at no extra cost
- Businesses that work with an accountant who already uses Xero
- Companies that bill or pay in several currencies, on Established
Worth knowing
Dext
- Dext is not a ledger: it sends coded documents to accounting software such as Xero, QuickBooks or Sage, which is bought separately.
- After the monthly document allowance is used, uploads wait unread until the next billing date or an upgrade; over 5 business entities needs a quote.
- Line item, supplier statement and bank statement extraction past the free credits cost from $20.50, $20.50 and $13 a month, or $0.50, $0.50 and $0.32 a document.
- Firm plans need at least 10 clients, Data health and insights costs $7.50 per client a month extra, and annual plans need 30 days' notice to cancel.
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
Dext
- Capture from phone, email or WhatsApp
- Send receipts, invoices and statements from the mobile app, an email-in address, WhatsApp or an upload, or have Dext fetch invoices from suppliers directly.
- Data extraction and coding
- Reads supplier, date, amount, tax and line items (Dext states over 99% accuracy), suggests categories and applies supplier rules before publishing.
- Accounting software sync
- Publishes coded documents to 36+ accounting and e-commerce platforms, including Xero, QuickBooks and Sage, and pulls bank feeds from over 11,500 banks.
- Employee expenses and mileage
- Staff submit expense claims and mileage in the app, managers approve them, and each claim syncs to the books with an audit trail.
- AI Assist
- A paid add-on that learns the choices you make on suppliers, categories and splits and proposes automations for you to approve.
- Vault document storage
- Keeps every original document for at least ten years, tagged and searchable. Free up to 100MB, with more storage from $4 a month.
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
Dext
Business$25.21
per month for up to 250 documents, billed annually ($31.50 monthly)
5 users, capture, extraction and accounting sync. A slider adds users and documents: $48.75 a month billed annually at 10 users and 500 documents.
Essentials$17.70
per client / month, on an annual subscription billed monthly
For accounting and bookkeeping firms, 10-client minimum. Capture and processing for business and self-employed clients; the rate per client varies with the count.
Advanced$19.20
per client / month, on an annual subscription billed monthly
For firms, 10-client minimum. Adds advanced automation, practice insights and controls; the rate per client varies with the count.
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
Dext
- Annual discount
Up to 20% off business plans with yearly billing
The entry business plan costs $25.21 a month billed annually ($302.50 a year) against $31.50 billed monthly.
- Annual discount
13% off firm plans on an annual subscription
The pricing page for accounting and bookkeeping firms labels its annual subscription 13% off the monthly rate.
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.
