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

Pick Quaderno if

• Fits if you sell online across countries and need VAT and sales tax worked out
• Makes sense if you sell through Stripe or Shopify

Look elsewhere if

• Not for you if you want a ledger, as it's sales tax and invoicing only
• Tight if you're on Hobby: 25 transactions, 1 user, 1 jurisdiction and 1 integration
• Watch out: every sale, refund and purchase counts, and going over moves you up a tier automatically
• Watch out: registration and filing done by Quaderno are quoted separately

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

Quaderno

• Plans are priced by transactions, counting every sale, refund and purchase recorded; going over moves the account to the next tier automatically.
• Hobby is limited to 1 user, 1 jurisdiction and 1 integration.
• Registration and return filing done by Quaderno is quoted separately and is not part of the listed plans.
• It handles sales tax and invoicing; it is not a general ledger or bookkeeping product.

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.

Quaderno

Tax calculation at checkout

Calculates sales tax, VAT and GST for a sale from the product and the customer's location, in 150+ countries according to the homepage.

Threshold alerts

Watches sales by region and warns when a business is about to cross an economic nexus or similar threshold and needs to register.

Compliant invoices

Sends invoices automatically after each payment, branded and localized, with e-invoicing for government mandates.

Tax reports and filing

Turns sales into jurisdiction-specific reports for self-filing, or files returns on the seller's behalf for US states, EU VAT OSS and other regions.

Platform integrations and API

Connects to Stripe, PayPal, Shopify, WooCommerce, GoCardless and Amazon FBA, and exposes a REST API for custom setups.

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.

Quaderno

• Hobby$24

  per month for up to 25 transactions, billed yearly ($29 monthly)

  1 user, 1 jurisdiction and 1 integration. Other plans have unlimited users, jurisdictions and integrations.

• Startup$41

  per month for up to 250 transactions, billed yearly ($49 monthly)

  Unlimited users, jurisdictions and integrations for up to 250 transactions a month.

• Business$83

  per month for up to 1,000 transactions, billed yearly ($99 monthly)

  Same features as Startup with a 1,000 transaction allowance; the page marks it as the most popular plan.

• Growth$124

  per month for up to 2,500 transactions, billed yearly ($149 monthly)

  Same features with a 2,500 transaction allowance. Above that, Enterprise is 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.

Quaderno

• Annual discount

  2 months free with yearly billing

  The pricing page says yearly billing gives 2 months free, which brings Growth from $149 to $124 a month.

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.