Xero vs Zoho Books
We give Xero a 2.6 GPA and Zoho Books a 3.4, out of 4.0. Zoho Books grades higher on value for money, the free plan, ease of use and platforms. They get the same grade on features.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
Xero
Cloud accounting for small businesses, with unlimited users
Zoho Books
Online accounting from Zoho, with a free plan and six paid tiers
How we grade them
| 2.6GPAXeroGood | 3.4GPAZoho BooksVery good | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | 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. | BStandard is $15 a month billed yearly ($20 monthly) for the whole business with 3 users, right at the cheaper quarter of this category. It already has bank feeds, sales tax, 1099 e-filing and API access. |
| Free plan and trial | 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. | BFree for businesses under $50K revenue a year: 1 user plus an accountant, 1,000 invoices a year, bank reconciliation, 1099s and 50+ reports. One person could live on it, though automatic bank feeds need Standard. |
| Features | 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. | BInvoices, bills, bank feeds, sales tax, 1099s, projects, multiple currencies, inventory up to warehouses and batch tracking, budgets, custom modules and AI that answers questions about the books. That covers the whole job. |
| Ease of use | 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. | A4.81 from 5,247 App Store ratings, the top band for accounting apps. Receipt autoscans work on every plan, the free one included, which saves typing. |
| Platforms and integrations | 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. | AWeb, Windows, iPhone and Android, with an API from Standard up and links to Shopify, Amazon, eBay, Etsy and the rest of Zoho. That's the full spread. |
| Best for | small businesses that work with an accountant | a real free plan with room to grow |
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: Xero and Zoho Books. How we grade
Price against what you get
Xero starts at $27 a month and scores 3.0 out of 4 on features, ease of use and platforms. Zoho Books starts at $15 a month and scores 3.7.
Zoho Books scores higher and starts $12 a month lower. Of the other accounting and invoicing tools on the chart, 3 score higher than Xero for less, and none scores higher than Zoho Books 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
- Xero starts at $27 per month, billed monthly. Zoho Books starts at $15 per organization / month, billed annually.
- Zoho Books has a free plan. Xero does not, though it has a free trial.
- Only Zoho Books lists a Windows app.
- Xero also covers payroll.
At a glance
| Xero | Zoho Books | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free trial | Free plan |
| Starts at | $27 per month, billed monthly | $15 per organization / month, billed annually |
| Free plan | None | Free plan for businesses with under $50K revenue a year: 1 user plus 1 accountant, invoices, quotes, expenses, bank reconciliation, 1099s and 50+ reports, with email support. |
| Free trial | One month free on any plan, taken instead of the 3-month discount | 14-day free trial of the paid plans |
| Web | ||
| Windows | ||
| iOS | ||
| Android | ||
| Made by | Xero Limited | Zoho |
| Price read from | xero.com | zoho.com |
| Checked | Oct 17, 2026 | Oct 17, 2026 |
Who each one suits
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
Zoho Books
- Very small businesses that want a free plan with real double-entry books
- Companies already using other Zoho apps
- Growing product businesses that will need inventory and warehouses later
Worth knowing
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.
Zoho Books
- The free plan stays free only while revenue is under $50K a financial year, and paid add-ons other than autoscans cannot be added to it.
- Each plan caps users at 3, 5, 10, 10 or 15; more cost $3 per user a month, or $2.50 billed annually.
- Every plan caps invoices and bills a year: 1,000 on Free, 5,000 on Standard, 10,000 on Professional and 25,000 on Premium.
- These are US prices; Zoho lists separate editions for 18 countries plus a global one, including the UK, Canada, India and Australia.
Key features
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.
Zoho Books
- Invoicing and online payments
- Quotes, invoices, recurring invoices, retention payments and automatic reminders, with a customer portal for paying online.
- Banking and reconciliation
- Reconcile accounts on every plan. Automatic bank feeds start on Standard, along with recurring expenses and period locking.
- US tax and 1099s
- Track sales and use tax, manage W-9s and 1099 contractors, and e-file 1099-MISC and 1099-NEC forms from Standard up.
- Projects and inventory
- Professional adds timesheets, project profitability and basic inventory. Elite adds warehouses, serial and batch tracking and shipping labels.
- Automation and customization
- Workflows, approvals and custom roles from Professional; custom modules, buttons and functions from Premium; Blueprints on Elite.
- AI in accounting
- Ask questions about the books in plain English, spot anomalies and automate collections, plus receipt autoscans on every plan.
Plans
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.
Zoho Books
Free$0
Revenue under $50K a year. 1 user and 1 accountant, up to 1,000 invoices a year, recurring invoices, payment reminders and 1099 filing.
Standard$15
per organization / month, billed annually
$20 billed monthly. 3 users, bank feeds, sales and use tax, 1099 e-filing, custom reports, API access and 5,000 invoices a year.
Professional$40
per organization / month, billed annually
$50 billed monthly. 5 users, sales and purchase orders, multiple currencies, timesheets, project profitability, retainers and inventory.
Premium$60
per organization / month, billed annually
$70 billed monthly. 10 users, fixed assets, budgets, cash flow forecasting, a vendor portal and custom modules.
Elite$120
per organization / month, billed annually
$150 billed monthly. 10 users, advanced inventory with warehouses and batch tracking, Etsy, eBay and Amazon channels, and up to 2 Shopify stores.
Ultimate$240
per organization / month, billed annually
$275 billed monthly. 15 users and built-in business intelligence with 50+ prebuilt visualizations, KPI tracking and embeddable reports.
Ways to pay less
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.
Zoho Books
- Annual discount
Save up to 25% with yearly billing
Yearly billing cuts Standard from $20 to $15 a month, Professional from $50 to $40, Premium from $70 to $60, Elite from $150 to $120 and Ultimate from $275 to $240.
