Comparison
QuickBooks Online vs Xero pricing (US, 2026)
Plan prices side by side, what each costs across your client companies, and how both have moved.
Plans and prices side by side
| Vendor | Plan | List price per month | What it includes |
|---|---|---|---|
| QuickBooks Online | Simple Start | $38 | 1 user included |
| QuickBooks Online | Essentials | $85 | 3 users included |
| QuickBooks Online | Plus | $140 | 5 users included |
| QuickBooks Online | Advanced | $340 | 25 users included |
| Xero (US) | Early | $27 | Unlimited users; 20 invoices and 5 bills a month; 30-day cash-flow forecast |
| Xero (US) | Growing | $59 | Unlimited users; 60-day cash-flow forecast |
| Xero (US) | Established | $97 | Unlimited users; 180-day cash-flow forecast |
QuickBooks Online is priced per company, and Xero per organization (one set of books). Neither is priced per user. Plans do not line up one-to-one: compare what each includes before comparing the price. See the QuickBooks Online and Xero (US) pricing pages for what each plan leaves out.
What each plan costs across your client companies
A firm that pays for its clients’ subscriptions, or quotes them, multiplies the monthly price by the number of companies. These figures are annual list-price totals (monthly price × 12 × number of companies), before promotions and tax.
| Vendor | Plan | Per month | 10 companies a year | 25 companies a year | 50 companies a year |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| QuickBooks Online | Simple Start | $38 | $4,560 | $11,400 | $22,800 |
| QuickBooks Online | Essentials | $85 | $10,200 | $25,500 | $51,000 |
| QuickBooks Online | Plus | $140 | $16,800 | $42,000 | $84,000 |
| QuickBooks Online | Advanced | $340 | $40,800 | $102,000 | $204,000 |
| Xero | Early | $27 | $3,240 | $8,100 | $16,200 |
| Xero | Growing | $59 | $7,080 | $17,700 | $35,400 |
| Xero | Established | $97 | $11,640 | $29,100 | $58,200 |
The 2026 increases
| Date | Vendor | Plan | Before | After | Change | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oct 1, 2026 effective date per vendor; first seen Oct 3, 2026 | Xero | Growing per month per organization | $55 | $59 | +$4 (+7.3%) | StackWatch daily read first-party |
| Oct 1, 2026 effective date per vendor; first seen Oct 3, 2026 | Xero | Established per month per organization | $90 | $97 | +$7 (+7.8%) | StackWatch daily read first-party |
| Oct 1, 2026 effective date per vendor; first seen Oct 3, 2026 | Xero | Early per month per organization | $25 | $27 | +$2 (+8.0%) | StackWatch daily read first-party |
| Aug 1, 2026 effective date per vendor; first seen Aug 5, 2026 | QuickBooks Online | Plus per month per company | $115 | $140 | +$25 (+22%) | StackWatch daily read first-party |
| Aug 1, 2026 effective date per vendor; first seen Aug 5, 2026 | QuickBooks Online | Essentials per month per company | $75 | $85 | +$10 (+13%) | StackWatch daily read first-party |
| Aug 1, 2026 effective date per vendor; first seen Aug 5, 2026 | QuickBooks Online | Advanced per month per company | $275 | $340 | +$65 (+24%) | StackWatch daily read first-party |
For a firm with 25 client companies, QuickBooks Online’s August 2026 increase adds $3,000 a year on Essentials (25 × $10 × 12), $7,500 on Plus and $19,500 on Advanced; Xero’s October 2026 increase adds $1,200 a year on Growing (25 × $4 × 12).
Longer price history
| Vendor | Plan | Earliest price found | Latest price | Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| QuickBooks Online | Simple Start | $25† Jun 9, 2021 | $38 as of Oct 11, 2026 | +$13 (+52%) |
| QuickBooks Online | Essentials | $40† before Jul 15, 2021 | $85 as of Oct 11, 2026 | +$45 (+113%) |
| QuickBooks Online | Plus | $60 Oct 19, 2018 | $140 as of Oct 11, 2026 | +$80 (+133%) |
| QuickBooks Online | Advanced | $150 Oct 19, 2018 | $340 as of Oct 11, 2026 | +$190 (+127%) |
| Xero | Early | $11§ May 24, 2021 | $27 as of Oct 11, 2026 | +$16 (+145%) |
| Xero | Growing | $30§ Feb 19, 2018 | $59 as of Oct 11, 2026 | +$29 (+97%) |
| Xero | Established | $60 Nov 1, 2018 | $97 as of Oct 11, 2026 | +$37 (+62%) |
Xero Early is compared from May 24, 2021 because Xero raised the plan’s monthly invoice limit from 5 to 20 in September 2020; Xero Established is compared from Nov 1, 2018 because the plan was Premium until November 2018, when it was renamed, cut from $70 to $60 and bundled with Expenses and Projects. Earlier readings are in the history tables.
Xero renamed its plans in November 2018 (Starter, Standard and Premium became Early, Growing and Established) and has changed plan allowances since, so these percentages compare list prices only. Full detail, with the source of every figure, is on the QuickBooks Online price history and Xero price history pages.
What to check on each vendor’s page
QuickBooks Online
- Each plan card shows a promotional price next to the list price. Intuit’s pricing page puts a temporary promotional price (a percentage off for the first few months) beside each list price, and the offer is swapped or extended often. Treat the higher figure as the list price, and ask what the plan renews at when the offer ends. A changing banner is not a price change.
- Check which plan set is selected. The page has a toggle between small-business and mid-size plan sets. The four tiers on this page are the small-business set; do not mix figures from the two sets.
- Increases arrive on your billing date. Intuit applies a price change at each subscription’s next billing date, so the day you start paying more depends on your own renewal date and not only on the announced date.
- Use the US page for US dollars. The footer’s country selector leads to other countries’ QuickBooks pages with their own currencies and plans. Use quickbooks.intuit.com/pricing for US dollar prices.
Xero (US)
- Read the “Then $X per month” figure as the price. Xero’s plan cards lead with an introductory offer (a deep discount for the first months) and show the real monthly price in smaller text. An offer that ends or is replaced is not a price change.
- There is no annual billing in the US. Xero’s US page bills monthly. Third-party pages that quote an annual-prepayment discount are describing something the US page does not offer.
- Add-ons are not plans. Payroll (Xero Payroll, powered by Gusto) and inventory are optional extras priced separately. The payroll add-on fee is Xero’s price, not Gusto’s own price list.
- Confirm the region. Xero’s UK, Australian, New Zealand and other pages show different plans, currencies and price changes. Check that the page says United States (USD) before using any figure.
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Get free price alertsCommon questions
Is QuickBooks Online or Xero cheaper?
At list prices as read on October 11, 2026, Xero’s three plans cost $27, $59 and $97 a month and QuickBooks Online’s four plans cost $38, $85, $140 and $340 a month. The plans include different things (QuickBooks Online limits users by plan; Xero includes unlimited users), so compare what each plan includes, not only the price.
Do QuickBooks Online and Xero charge per user?
No. QuickBooks Online charges a flat monthly price per company, with a fixed number of users included in each plan (1, 3, 5 or 25). Xero charges a flat monthly price per organization with unlimited users on every plan.
When did QuickBooks Online and Xero last raise their prices?
QuickBooks Online raised Essentials, Plus and Advanced on August 1, 2026 (Simple Start was unchanged). Xero raised Early, Growing and Established on October 1, 2026.