Pilot vs Xero (2026): which should you pick?

Pick Pilot if

• Fits if you're a small company that wants someone else to do the books and file the tax
• Makes sense if you run on Stripe, Shopify or Mercury

Look elsewhere if

• Pricey if your spending grows: Core rises with monthly expenses, $499 a month at $30,000
• Not for you if you want to keep your own books, as it's a service
• Skip it if you want accrual books on the cheapest plan, as Essentials is cash-basis
• Watch out: tax filing starts at $1,000 or more a year for a single-member LLC and must be bought with bookkeeping
• Watch out: companies above $200,000 a month in expenses get a custom plan

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

Pilot

• It is a service, not self-serve software: you hand the books to Pilot instead of keeping them yourself.
• Tax filing starts at $1,000+ a year for a single-member LLC and must be bought with Pilot bookkeeping.
• Core pricing climbs with monthly expenses, and companies above $200,000 a month get a custom plan.
• The pricing page does not say how long the free trial offered in the site header lasts.

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.

Pilot

AI-assisted bookkeeping

Transactions from bank and credit card feeds are categorized by AI, reconciled and closed each month; Core adds a human bookkeeper.

Tax filing

Federal and state returns for LLCs, partnerships, S-corps and C-corps, sold as a yearly service on top of Pilot bookkeeping.

CFO services

Monthly, bi-weekly or weekly calls with a finance lead, plus a budget and forecast model, from $1,750 a month on the Basic tier.

Reports and dashboards

Financial reports delivered on the 10th business day on Core, or the 6th on Custom, with dashboards and AI answers about past transactions.

Operations services

Bill payments, invoicing and payroll work can be added, priced from an estimate based on monthly volume.

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.

Pilot

• Essentials$99

  per month, for up to $100,000 in monthly expenses

  Cash-basis books from bank and card data, monthly close, year-end package for your tax preparer and in-app support.

• Core$299

  per month, up to $15,000 expenses, billed annually ($399 monthly)

  Adds a US-based bookkeeper, accrual or cash basis and a custom chart of accounts. Price rises with expenses: $499 a month at $30,000.

• CustomCustom

  For larger or more complex companies: existing QuickBooks file, AR, AP, payroll administration and CFO advisory. Sold through sales.

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.

Pilot

• Other savings

  Discount on Core for pre-revenue startups

  Pilot says startups that are still pre-revenue can contact it for a discount on the Core plan.

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.