Xero alternatives
Xero's US list is $25, $55 or $90 a month (checked September 28, 2026), Early caps you at 20 invoices and 5 bills, and payroll is Gusto billed on top. Six alternatives ranked on what a year really costs, where the caps are, and whether your accountant will follow.
For reference, Xero's US list is Early $25/mo (20 invoices, 5 bills), Growing $55/mo and Established $90/mo. All prices checked September 28, 2026 on each vendor's own pricing page; introductory prices are shown beside the regular price, never instead of it.
| What matters | Beancount.io | QuickBooks Online | Zoho Books | FreshBooks | Wave | GnuCash |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cost | Free open-source core; hosted Premium $99.99/yr or $14.99/mo | $38/mo regular list · $19/mo for the first 3 months · renewal terms not published · 30-day trial | Free up to $50K revenue; Standard $15/mo billed annually or $20 monthly | Lite $23/mo list ($1/mo for the first year); Plus $43/mo list | $190/yr or $19/mo | Free, open source |
| Caps on the entry plan | None — no invoice, bill, user or account caps | No invoice cap published; users capped per plan (Simple Start: 1 user + 2 accountants) | Free: 1,000 invoices a year and $50K revenue; Standard: 5,000 invoices a year | Lite: 5 billable clients; Plus: 50 | Unlimited invoices and bills, even on free Starter | None |
| Multi-currency | Native at every price, including commodities | Not published by plan on the pricing page — ask Intuit | From Professional ($40/mo billed annually or $50 monthly) | Not listed by plan on the pricing page | Not listed as a feature on the pricing page | Yes, free |
| Payroll | Not built in; record your payroll provider's journal | No payroll price on the QuickBooks Online pricing page | No payroll price on the Zoho Books pricing page | FreshBooks Payroll $40/mo + $6/mo per user | Add-on from $25/mo (not itemised per plan) | None; record it from your provider |
| Will your accountant follow? | Rarely directly — send exported reports | Yes, most firms; paid plans include accountant seats (free plan: none) | Accountant seat even on the free plan; fewer firms know it | Accountant access from Plus | Collaborator users need Pro | Desktop file only — send exports |
Ranked for the reasons people leave Xero: the plan you end up paying for, the caps on invoices and bills, multi-currency, payroll, and your accountant.
Free core · hosted Premium $99.99/yr
Plain-text double-entry accounting: your books are files you own, with no invoice cap, no user cap and multi-currency at every price.
Best for: Owners and technical founders who want books no vendor can cap, re-price or hold.
$38/mo regular list · $19/mo for the first 3 months · renewal terms not published · 30-day trial
The accountant-ecosystem peer: the one Xero alternative nearly every Xero accountant also works in.
Best for: Businesses whose accountant must keep working directly in the books after the move.
Free up to $50K revenue · Standard $15/mo billed annually or $20 monthly
The closest feature match to Xero for less money, with multi-currency well below the top plan.
Best for: Cost-conscious businesses that want Xero-class accounting, especially in more than one currency.
Lite $23/mo list ($1/mo for the first year) · Plus $43/mo
Invoicing-first accounting for service businesses that chose Xero mainly to get invoices out.
Best for: Freelancers and service firms whose accounting is mostly invoicing and getting paid.
$190/yr or $19/mo
The cheapest exit for very small books: free accounting and invoicing, with bank feeds on Pro.
Best for: Sole traders and microbusinesses leaving Xero because of the bill.
Free, open source
Free, open-source desktop double-entry accounting with multi-currency built in.
Best for: Owners who want free double-entry books on their own machine and do not need team access.
QuickBooks Online is the closest swap if your accountant must follow you, Zoho Books is the closest feature match for less money, and Beancount.io is the answer if you want books no vendor can re-price. QuickBooks is the one system nearly every Xero accountant also supports; Zoho Books adds multi-currency on its Professional plan ($40/mo billed annually) instead of Xero's $90 Established plan; Beancount keeps the ledger as plain-text files you own, with multi-currency at every price. Prices checked September 28, 2026 on each vendor's own pricing page.
Yes — Zoho Books, Wave, GnuCash and Beancount all cost less than Xero for most small businesses. Xero's US list prices, checked September 28, 2026, are $25/mo for Early, $55/mo for Growing and $90/mo for Established, and Early caps you at 20 invoices and 5 bills, which pushes most businesses onto Growing. Zoho Books has a free plan for businesses with up to $50K revenue a year and a Standard plan at $15/mo billed annually ($20 monthly); Wave Starter is free and Wave Pro is $19/mo or $190/yr; GnuCash is free; Beancount's core is free with hosted Premium at $99.99/yr.
Beancount and GnuCash include multi-currency for free, and Zoho Books includes it from its Professional plan. On Xero, multi-currency is only in Established ($90/mo, checked September 28, 2026). Zoho Books Professional is $40/mo billed annually or $50 monthly. Beancount treats every currency and commodity natively, so there is no tier to unlock. QuickBooks Online's pricing page does not publish which plan includes multi-currency, so ask Intuit before you migrate for that reason.
Only if you choose Gusto again — Xero's US payroll is Gusto, and outside Xero you pick your own payroll provider. Xero Payroll, powered by Gusto, is $36/mo plus $6 per employee or contractor on top of your Xero plan (checked September 28, 2026). FreshBooks Payroll is $40/mo plus $6/mo per user; Wave lists payroll from $25/mo without itemising it per plan; QuickBooks Online's pricing page does not publish a payroll price. Beancount and GnuCash have no payroll: you run payroll with a provider and record its journal in your books.
Close a financial year in Xero, export the reports and transactions, carry opening balances into the new system, and keep the Xero export as your read-only archive. Your accountant will follow most easily to QuickBooks Online, which nearly every Xero firm also supports; Zoho Books, FreshBooks, Wave, GnuCash and Beancount are less familiar to firms, so plan to send exported reports (profit and loss, balance sheet, general ledger) rather than give direct access. Ask your accountant before you migrate, not after.
Start free with plain-text double-entry accounting — no invoice caps, no per-user fees, multi-currency included, and a ledger you keep.
