Our Take
5.0
NerdWallet rating
The bottom line:
Xero users like how easy this cloud-based accounting software is to use. Our hands-on testing agrees. We found Xero to be simple and intuitive — though its reconciliation flow could be more detailed. Still, with more than 1,000 apps and no charge for extra users, Xero is an affordable choice for growing businesses.
Xero
Starting at
$20/month Additional pricing tiers (per month): $47, $80.
Promotion
95% off for 6 months.
Learn more
on Xero's website
Pros & Cons
Pros
- Simple layout and easy to use.
- All plans support unlimited users.
- Hundreds of third-party app integrations.
- Robust set of accounting tools at a low price.
Cons
- Users criticize Xero’s new invoicing system.
- No inbound customer support phone number.
- Entry-level plan limits bills and invoices.
Full Review
Xero is a small-business accounting software product founded in New Zealand in 2006. Since then, it’s become popular in the U.S., as well as other countries like Australia and the U.K.
Xero still isn’t as well known as the market leader, QuickBooks. But its growth means accountants are usually familiar with it. That’s key if you plan to work with a bookkeeper. If not, we found Xero to have a manageable learning curve in our testing. It’s definitely simpler than QuickBooks.
We also liked Xero’s full suite of reports, and users generally give its app positive reviews. One standout feature is that you can have unlimited users free of charge. Most competitors cap that number or charge extra for more users. Altogether, Xero is capable and scalable — yet still easy-to-use.
» MORE: Xero vs. QuickBooks Online
Xero is best for:
✔️ Keeping costs down without sacrificing functionality.
✔️ Granting software access to multiple users.
✔️ Entrepreneurs new to accounting.
Not a fit? Consider these competitors
Better for: Very small businesses with minimal accounting needs. | Free and up. | |
Better for: Startup businesses. | Free and up. | |
Better for: Freelancers. | $21 per month and up. | |
Better for: Businesses with in-depth accounting needs. | $35 per month and up. |
» MORE: Best Xero alternatives
Xero plan pricing and features
Promotional discounts may apply. Xero lets new customers sign up for a 30-day free trial to test out its features.
Early | Growing | Established |
|---|---|---|
$20 per month. | $47 per month. | $80 per month. |
| All features in the Early plan, plus:
| All features in the Growing plan, plus:
|
All Xero users can also access a huge library of integrations. More than 1,000 business apps are available across categories like point-of-sale software and inventory management. Just double-check that yours are there. For instance, we spotted some of our picks for best POS systems, such as Square and Lightspeed. But others, like Clover and Toast, lack direct integrations.
What users say about Xero
NerdWallet checked online forums like Reddit and review sites like TrustPilot to gauge how users feel about Xero. We used an AI tool to help analyze this feedback. Here are the major trends we spotted.
👍 Simple user interface
Users praise the software’s intuitive flow and user friendliness. Some users also point out that it’s easy to learn how to use.
👍 Price point
Lots of users appreciate Xero’s relatively low cost. Some commenters do complain about price hikes. Since we began covering Xero in 2021, its entry-level plan has risen from $13 to $20. However, it’s still less expensive than QuickBooks Online.
Looking for an even less expensive solution? Wave and Zoho Books both offer free accounting plans.
👎 New invoicing interface
Dozens of reviews lament Xero’s retirement of its “classic” invoicing interface. Users complain that the updated interface is clunky and more difficult to use, and some dislike the new “autosave” function. However, if you’re new to Xero, these changes may not be as bothersome without a point of comparison.
Xero acknowledged these complaints in a post in its support hub. The company says it’s planning to add more items to the dropdown menus, improve the line item display and remember your column preferences (so you don’t have to update them for each invoice). The timing of these releases is currently unclear.
👎 Bank feeds
Some Xero users wish the company would communicate more proactively when bank feeds fail to update. That being said, a lot of these reviews come from outside of the U.S. and may have more to do with their banks than the accounting software itself. Still, it’s important to be aware that your bank feed may fail from time to time.
👍/👎 Customer service
Users are mixed on this one. Some leave favorable comments, noting that representatives replied within hours. Others claim there’s an overall lack of customer service.
This isn’t necessarily surprising, since Xero doesn’t have an inbound customer support phone number. That likely upsets customers who prefer to solve issues immediately over the phone. However, some people may prefer online support, as long as it's prompt.
If you're looking for an alternative, FreshBooks' customer support receives overwhelmingly positive reviews from users on TrustPilot. FreshBooks offers weekday phone and chat support from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. EST.
Our experience testing Xero
👋 I'm Hillary Crawford, a lead writer and content strategist for NerdWallet. I've been covering small-business accounting software since 2021 and am QuickBooks certified. I did the testing for Xero.
To do that, I created my own Xero account and evaluated key components within the Established plan in March 2025. Here’s what stood out.
My take: Very scannable.
You can choose what you’d like displayed and hidden on your dashboard, and I appreciate the clean layout. Accounting tasks can be daunting, especially when you don’t have prior experience. But this dashboard makes it more approachable by only showing the basics.
Additionally, the tabs on the top left have dropdown menus that help you navigate to important tasks. Those include running a report, creating an invoice and tracking a project.
Xero dashboard.
My take: Better than expected.
After reading users’ numerous complaints about the new invoicing view, I expected to encounter a much clunkier screen. The interface does require you to horizontally scrolls, and that’s annoying. But you can change your view via the “show/hide fields” button so all your fields fit on the screen.
Another perk of the new invoicing page is that it automatically saves your invoice as a draft. That way, you don’t risk losing your work.
Xero's invoicing interface.
My take: Solid and straightforward.
Xero lets you “star” your most frequently visited reports so that they’re easily accessible. The dozens of reports are grouped logically into “favorites,” followed by “financial performance” reports and lastly categories like “payables and receivables.”
I ran the accounts payable aging summary report, shown below, to evaluate customization options and readability. From the getgo, my demo company has lots of overdue payments (as expected). To change your view, you can update standard fields, like aging periods, and filter by a range of options, including region and contact.
Overall, I’d say this is pretty standard and in line with what competitors like QuickBooks Online offer.
Xero's accounts payable aging report.
My take: Easy, but it’s missing something.
Xero lets you reconcile bank feed statements with transactions you’ve manually entered by simply clicking “OK.” However, unlike QuickBooks Online, it doesn’t show which accounts those transactions have been assigned to.
This isn’t a dealbreaker. But it’s nice to be able to scan your bank statement and see how transactions are being matched to particular accounts. To view or edit those, you have to visit the “account transactions” tab and click each transaction separately.
Xero's bank reconciliation screen.
My take: Good, but could be more detailed.
Xero’s project overview page is decent, but a bit lacking. For example, some competitors’ project overview page also lists a project’s total income, costs and profit margins, along with the number of hours spent on it. Xero’s page only lists project names and estimated costs, so it’s more difficult to see your projects’ profit margins at a glance.
Xero's project tracking overview.
My take: More tedious than necessary.
This process could be more straightforward, and I don’t like that you ultimately end up on a separate site — Xero Central.
To seek help, you start by clicking the question mark on the top right of a page. Then, you type in “contact Xero support” or something similar for the “contact Xero support” button to show up. The button redirects you to Xero Central, where you have to enter a query before even having the opportunity to get in touch with a human.
After you enter a query, you’ll find an “I still need help” button at the end of the page. From there, you can submit an online help ticket.
Xero Central's support page.
How we evaluated Xero
NerdWallet independently reviews accounting software products, like Xero, across 10 categories and more than 30 subcategories. We collected the data from Xero’s public-facing website and from company representatives.
Our accounting software ratings range from one to five stars overall. But we also score individual features to help business owners understand a product's strengths and weaknesses. Here’s how Xero stacks up:
Xero is top of the line for the following:
- Monthly pricing: $20-$80 per month.
- Double-entry accounting: Yes.
- Chart of accounts customization: Yes.
- Cash- and accrual-basis reporting: Yes, you can change your report preferences.
- Bank reconciliation: Xero automatically matches bank feed lines to existing transactions and asks for your approval. If it doesn’t find a matching transaction, it prompts you to create one.
- Bank feeds: You can connect Xero to your bank account so that new transactions automatically flow in.
- Dashboard customization: You can choose what modules you’d like to display on your dashboard.
- User limits: All three plans include an unlimited number of users.
- Capacity to support larger small businesses: Xero can support businesses with more than 100 employees.
- Audit trails: Yes.
- Bookkeeper certification: Accountants and bookkeepers can take Xero advisor certification courses online.
- Accountant access: Xero users can invite their accountant to collaborate.
- Payroll: Payroll integrations include Gusto, Paychex, OnPay, ADP and more.
- POS: POS integrations include Square, Lightspeed and Hike.
- Bookkeeping services: Users who need additional bookkeeping assistance can sync with Bookkeeper360.
- Additional integrations: Xero offers more than 1,000 third-party app integrations in total.
- Pricing listed on website: Yes.
- Free trial period: Yes, you can try out any plan for 30 days.
Xero is good — but not great — in these areas:
- Reporting: Xero has more than 80 reports available in the U.S., including a profit and loss report and balance sheet, as well as summary, detailed and aging reports. You can also filter reports by tag or date.
- Invoicing: You can accept payments online, convert estimates to invoices, customize invoices with logos and terms, and send automatic payment reminders to clients. However, Xero’s base plan limits how many invoices you can send each month.
- Inventory: All of Xero’s plans include basic inventory tracking. Advanced inventory tracking is available to Growing and Established plan users for an added cost.
- Accounts payable: Xero lets you store and pay bills and see when they’re due. However, the base plan caps the number of bills you can manage each month.
- Mobile app: Xero’s mobile app lets you photograph and upload receipts, send invoices, track mileage and view business insights on the go.
- Project tracking: The highest-tier Established plan enables project tracking, allowing you to manage project budgets.
- Transaction categorization: In addition to labeling transactions by account, you can create categories — like location or department — to further segment out your finances.
- Industry-specific reports: Not available.
- Phone support: No inbound phone support number is available. However, a representative will call you if necessary.
- Online support: Users can submit an online help ticket and receive a callback or email.
- Help library: Yes.
NerdWallet does not rate any Xero features at fewer than four stars.
Our evaluations also take user sentiment into account. This involves looking through individual reviews and feedback on sites like Trustpilot and Reddit. Then, we use AI tools to help spot larger trends within those comments. Since we cannot verify each user’s individual experience, we don’t incorporate user reviews in our star ratings.
However, we do test the product ourselves to evaluate commonly mentioned pain points and develop our own objective assessment. For more information on how we score accounting software products, see our full methodology.
Learn more
on Xero's website
Bonus offer
QuickBooks
QuickBooks Online
NerdWallet Rating
5.0
Promotion
50% off
for first three months or free 30-day trial.
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