Satago vs Xero (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 13, 2026, Xero grades higher than Satago: 2.6 against 1.6 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 the free plan, features and ease of use. They get the same grade on value for money and platforms.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
Satago
Credit control and credit risk tools, with optional invoice finance
Xero
Cloud accounting for small businesses, with unlimited users
Which one is for you
Pick Satago if
- Fits if you use Sage or Xero and have customers who pay late
- Makes sense if you want credit checks on new customers
Look elsewhere if
- Skip it if you want to try it first, because there is no free plan or trial
- Tight on Basic: 25 credit reports and 100 email reminders
- Watch out: SMS reminders are limited per rolling 30 days, 100 on Premium and 1,000 on Platinum
- Watch out: invoice finance has its own fees, apart from these plans
- Not for you if you're outside the UK, because the pricing is aimed at UK businesses
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
| 1.6GPASatagoWeak | 2.6GPAXeroGood | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | C£45 a month, or £450 on yearly billing. That is in the upper part of what the category charges, and the SMS reminders and card payments are on £80. | 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 | FNo free plan and no trial on the listing. | 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 | DOne narrow job, credit control, which needs Sage or Xero to be useful. Invoice finance is a separate lending product. | 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 your accounting software before it does anything. | 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 Sage and Xero connections. | 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 | chasing late UK invoices and checking credit | 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: Satago and Xero. How we grade
Price against what you get
Satago starts at about $60.30 a month and scores 2.0 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 $33.30 a month lower. Of the other accounting and invoicing tools on the chart, 71 score higher than Satago 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
- Satago also covers workflow automation and dashboards.
- Xero also covers invoicing, bookkeeping, expense tracking and payroll.
At a glance
| Satago | Xero | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Paid | Free trial |
| Starts at | £45 per month (£450 billed annually) | $27 per month, billed monthly |
| Free plan | None | None |
| Free trial | None listed | One month free on any plan, taken instead of the 3-month discount |
| Web | ||
| iOS | ||
| Android | ||
| Made by | Satago Financial Solutions Limited | Xero Limited |
| Price read from | satago.com | xero.com |
| Checked | Nov 13, 2026 | Nov 9, 2026 |
Worth knowing
Satago
- Prices are in pounds, and the pricing page is aimed at UK businesses.
- Basic caps email reminders at 100 a month and credit reports at 25.
- SMS reminders are limited per rolling 30 days: 100 on Premium, 1,000 on Platinum.
- Invoice finance is a lending product with its own fees, priced separately from these plans.
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
Satago
- Credit control
- Automated chasing with customizable emails and schedules, a late payment calculator and, on higher plans, sending from your own email account.
- Risk Insights
- Customer credit scores, credit limit suggestions and views of risk concentration by days overdue and by sector.
- Invoice finance
- Selective and full invoice finance offered in the same platform; the site cites advance rates up to 90%.
- Accounting connections
- Connects to accounting software through an API; the site's footer lists Sage and Xero as integrations.
- Card and buy-now-pay-later acceptance
- Premium and Platinum add integrated card payment acceptance and buy-now-pay-later options for paying chased invoices.
- Accountant plans
- Separate plans for accountants with client counts, user limits and a 30% discount on standard pricing for each client added.
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
Satago
Basic£45
per month, billed monthly (£450 billed annually)
25 credit reports, credit limit suggestions and credit control with 100 email reminders a month.
Premium£80
per month, billed monthly (£800 billed annually)
100 credit reports, unlimited email reminders, 100 SMS reminders, card and buy-now-pay-later acceptance.
Platinum£200
per month, billed monthly (£2,000 billed annually)
Unlimited credit reports (fair usage), 1,000 SMS reminders and a dedicated account manager.
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
Satago
- Annual discount
Two months free on annual billing
Satago's pricing page shows annual totals of £450, £800 and £2,000 against £45, £80 and £200 a month, which works out to two months free on each 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.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, Satago or Xero?
As of Nov 13, 2026, Xero is cheaper to start with: $27 a month, against about $60.30 a month for Satago. Satago starts at £45 per month (£450 billed annually), and Xero starts at $27 per month, billed monthly.
Which has a free plan, Satago or Xero?
As of Nov 13, 2026, neither Satago nor Xero has a free plan. Xero has a free trial.
Which platforms do Satago 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.