Xero vs Quickbooks: Which is the better? (2023)

Xero and Quickbooks are some of the most popular accounting software on the market. Both have scalable plans and fit businesses of all sizes. Yet, there are differences. In this guide, we point out the main differentiators.

Xero vs Quickbooks

You have established a business and sold your first items or taken on your first costs. It is time to create an invoice to record an expense.

Quickbooks and Xero are both popular invoicing and accounting software for small and medium-sized businesses. Xero has 3,5 million subscribers worldwide, whilst Quickbooks Online has more than 5 million users.

If you are short on time, the following table provides you with an overview of what distinguishes the systems’ most popular plans and which is the most affordable. In this example, we compare Quickbooks Essentials and Xero Growing.

	Quickbooks	Xero	Conta
Monthly fee	$ 55	$ 37	$ 0
Type of software	Accounting and invoicing	Accounting and invoicing	Invoicing
Email and PDF invoicing	Yes	Yes	Yes
Recurring billing	Yes	Yes	Yes
Automated payment follow ups	Yes	Yes	Yes
Use multiple currencies	Yes	No	Yes

If you are looking for an easy-to-use invoicing solution, you should consider to start using Conta. Conta is a free online invoicing software for small businesses.

Sign up for Conta – it’s free!

QuickBooks

What are the functionalities of QuickBooks?

Launched in 2001, Quickbooks was one of the first online accounting software on the market.

Quickbooks is a powerful accounting software with all the functionality you need to run a business in 2023. The software has no usage limits and other hidden costs. Furthermore, Quickbooks has several plans, allowing you to scale the software to your needs.

On PC and Mac, you will access Quickbooks through your browser. The software also has its own mobile app for Android and iOS.

Quickbooks pros and cons

Reasons to choose Quickbooks:

• No usage limits.
• Great online help resources.
• File VAT returns directly to HMRC.
• Connect to your business bank account and track payments in a real-time fashion.
• Visualise data, key metrics and KPIs in your dashboard.

Disadvantages of Quickbooks:

• Creating invoices is not as intuitive as in other software.
• Expensive payroll module: Starting at $ 45/month.

Quickbooks pricing

Quickbooks start at $30/month. In Quickbooks’ most basic plan, Simple Start, you get access to powerful accounting and invoicing functionality, but are limited to one user.

If you need to connect the software to more than one third-party software, include more users, connect the software to your bank account or use QuickBooks time tracking module, you will have to upgrade to the Essentials plan, which costs $ 55/month.

Quickbooks also have more advanced plans for larger companies. With the Plus plan, which costs $ 85/month, you will get access to inventory and project modules. The most complex plan, Advanced, also includes nice features such as employee expenses and data restoration.

How to use Quickbooks

This video gives you an overview of Quickbooks, its functionality, look and feel:

Other people’s experience with Quickbooks

In GetApp, Quickbooks Online gets 4,3 of 5 possible stars.

Among the most positive reviews, Quickbooks’ customer support department is often brought forward as outstanding. Their interface also gets a lot of compliments.

Negative reviews often point out that Quickbooks increase its price every sixth month and that email invoices sent via Quickbooks tend to go to the recipient’s spam folder.

RECOMMENDED READ: The Best Quickbooks Alternatives (free and paid)

Xero

What are the functionalities of Xero?

Xero is a cloud-based accounting software which was first launched in 2006 in New Zealand. Today, Xero has 3,5 million users in over 180 countries.

Xero is easy to set up and has a simple interface. Invoicing is done in seconds and can either be done in the browser or using Xero’s mobile app for iOS and Android.

Managing expenses and bills is also easy. Note that you need the Growing plan or better to enter an unlimited number of bills. Furthermore, you need an Established plan to scan receipts with your phone.

Xero pros and cons

Reasons to choose Xero:

• Easy and affordable accounting software for small and medium businesses.
• Simple and intuitive invoicing interface.
• Manage expenses effortlessly.
• The most advanced plan costs $70, which is significantly cheaper than Quickbooks.
• Payroll for $5/month for up to five people.

Disadvantages:

• Limits multi-currency support to the most expensive plan.
• Receipt capture is limited to the most expensive plan.

Xero pricing

The average plan price of Xero is significantly lower than that of Quickbooks. Yet, you are more likely to choose the most expensive plan with Xero than with Quickbooks because the most popular plan (Growing) is more limited than Quickbooks’ most popular plan (Plus).

Xero’s Early plan starts at $13/month. With this plan, you are limited to 20 invoices and 5 bills per month. To get access to an unlimited number of transactions and bulk reconciliation, you have got to pick the growing plan (which costs $37/month).

The growth plan does not support multiple currencies, project accounting or employee expense claims, which means that you will have to choose the Established plan (currently at $70/month) if this is something you need.

How to use Xero

In this video, Accounting Stuff shows you how to use Xero:

Other people’s experience with Xero

Xero has 4,4 out of 5 possible stars in GetApp.

The software gets a lot of positive feedback regarding its automation functionality. The software, for instance, automatically matched bank transactions with transactions in your ledger daily. It also guides you through creating new transactions in Xero when they are missing. Xero also has a big portfolio of integrations which get a lot of positive feedback.

A limitation, often mentioned in reviews, is that you cannot send invoices from your email address (which is possible in Quickbooks). The customer service department also gets some negative feedback for its response time.

Conclusion: Is Xero better than Quickbooks?

If you are in need of accounting functionality, Xero and Quickbooks are good options.

Both software has satisfied customers and achieved a score above 4,3 in GetApp. Quickbooks tend to include more functionality in their cheaper plans, such as multi-currency support and receipt capture, whilst Xero’s most advanced plan is cheaper than Quickbooks’ most feature-rich plan.

Therefore, we recommend that you create a list of all your needs and chose the software than can deliver the features you need at the lowest cost.