QuickBooks vs Xero for startups: prices, users and AI in 2026

Xero is cheaper for a growing team: Growing costs $59 a month from October 1, 2026 with unlimited users, while QuickBooks Online Plus costs $140 for 5 users and Advanced $340 for 25. QuickBooks is the safer choice when your US CPA already works in it. List prices checked September 30, 2026: QuickBooks $38, $85, $140 and $340; Xero $27, $59 and $97.

Updated September 30, 2026 · 5 min read · By the Accountable team

The short version

QuickBooks Online lists at Simple Start $38, Essentials $85, Plus $140 and Advanced $340 a month; Xero lists at Early $27, Growing $59 and Established $97 from October 1, 2026 (it was $25, $55 and $90).
QuickBooks limits users to 1, 3, 5 and 25 by plan, while Xero says it has no per-user license fees.
Xero's Early plan caps you at 20 invoices and 5 bills, and multiple currencies are only on Established at $97.
QuickBooks raised Essentials, Plus and Advanced for renewals on or after August 1, 2026; Xero's 90%-off first-6-months offer ended September 30, 2026.
After you cancel a paid QuickBooks plan you keep read-only access for one year, and you can export to Excel in that time.

Plan by plan, Xero costs less at every tier

QuickBooks Online and Xero US plans, list prices per month, checked September 30, 2026 (Xero prices start October 1, 2026)
Plan	Price	Users	Limits and notable features
QuickBooks Simple Start	$38	1 user + 2 accountants	Expense categorization and tax deduction help
QuickBooks Essentials	$85	3 users + 2 accountants	Quarterly tax estimates, bulk invoices
QuickBooks Plus	$140	5 users + 2 accountants	Reconciliation help, auto-categorization, profit and loss insights, scenario planning, anomaly detection
QuickBooks Advanced	$340	25 users + 3 accountants	Continuous quality checks, customizable KPIs, auto-created projects
Xero Early	$27	No per-user fees	20 invoices and 5 bills, 30-day cash flow forecast
Xero Growing	$59	No per-user fees	Unlimited invoices and bills, 60-day cash flow forecast, Auto-reconcile as a $5 a month add-on
Xero Established	$97	No per-user fees	Adds multiple currencies, projects, expense claims, 180-day forecast and Auto-reconcile included

QuickBooks also runs a 50% off for 3 months promotion, and Xero ran 90% off for the first 6 months for customers who bought by September 30, 2026. The table shows the price after the discount ends.

A startup with 6 or 12 people pays $59 to $97 on Xero and $340 on QuickBooks

One company, list prices, monthly

2 people: QuickBooks Essentials $85 (3 users allowed) or Simple Start $38 for 1 user; Xero Growing $59.

5 people: QuickBooks Plus $140 (5 users); Xero Growing $59.

6 people: QuickBooks Advanced $340 ($4,080 a year), because Plus stops at 5; Xero Growing $59 ($708 a year). The gap is $3,372 a year.

12 people who bill in euros and pounds: QuickBooks Advanced $340; Xero Established $97, which adds multiple currencies.

Accountant seats do not count as users on either product. QuickBooks includes 2 on Simple Start, Essentials and Plus, and 3 on Advanced.

Prices went up at QuickBooks in August 2026

SWK Technologies reports that Intuit raised Essentials, Plus and Advanced for subscriptions renewing on or after August 1, 2026: Essentials from $75 to $85, Plus from $115 to $140 and Advanced from $275 to $340. Simple Start did not change. Monthly subscribers see the new price after August 1, and annual prepayers usually keep the old rate until the term ends.

Roundups written before August still list $30, $60 or $90 for the lower plans. Check the vendor's page, not a review, before you budget.

QuickBooks' AI comes in plan tiers and Xero's is called JAX

QuickBooks Online lists eight AI agents, including Accounting AI, Payments AI, Finance AI and Business Tax AI. Accounting AI is on Essentials, Plus and Advanced; its reconciliation help and report insights need Plus or higher.
Accounting AI shows what it auto-posted in a Needs attention widget, with RULE and AUTO badges, so you can review it.
Xero's JAX predicts and matches bank transactions, drafts invoices from plain-language requests, sends payment reminders and answers questions about your cash flow. Xero says it works with human oversight.
On Xero Growing, Auto-reconcile costs an extra $5 a month. On Established it is included.

Neither product lets an outside AI agent run your books the way an accounting MCP does. If that matters, see Accountable's agent access or the accounting MCP server guide.

Your CPA and your investors matter more than the feature list

Both tools export a general ledger, both work with accountants, and both have an API that other tools read. The practical question is which one your CPA and your investors can open without help.

Ask your CPA which file they want at year-end, and whether they would rather log in or receive exports. If the answer is QuickBooks, stay there or keep a QuickBooks copy: Accountable Pro and Holding can mirror your books into a QuickBooks Online file your CPA already uses.

What happens when you leave either one

QuickBooks Online: a cancelled paid plan is read-only for one year, and you can export reports and lists to Excel in a single zip from Settings › Export data. A cancelled free trial keeps your data for 90 days.
Xero: run the General Ledger Detail report for your whole history, export it to Excel, and export the chart of accounts from Accounting › Chart of accounts.
Either way, export a full-history general ledger before you cancel and check that its last month-end matches your balance sheet.

See how to switch from QuickBooks Online for the exact steps, or the QuickBooks and Xero migrations.

Questions founders ask

Is Xero or QuickBooks better for startups?

Xero is cheaper for teams because it has no per-user fees. QuickBooks is the default in many US CPA practices. Ask your CPA first, then compare the price at your team size.

Is Xero cheaper than QuickBooks?

Yes at every tier. Growing is $59 a month against $140 for QuickBooks Plus, and Xero's Established is $97 against $340 for QuickBooks Advanced.

Does Xero work in the US?

Yes. Xero sells US plans in dollars at xero.com/us, with W-9 and 1099 management and sales tax on every plan.

Can I switch from QuickBooks to Xero?

Yes. Export the General Ledger and chart of accounts from QuickBooks, load them into the new tool, and tie each month-end to the old reports before you cancel. Accountable does this move for free as well.

What if neither fits?

If you want AI to do most of the bookkeeping, compare Accountable, Digits and Puzzle in the best AI bookkeeping software guide. For several companies on one bill, Accountable is $198 a month for three.

A third option: AI bookkeeping with a QuickBooks copy for your CPA

Accountable categorizes every transaction with its reason and closes the month by the 1st. Three companies are $198 a month, and moving off QuickBooks is free. See the QuickBooks migration.

Move my books from QuickBooks

Sources, checked September 30, 2026: