If you priced out QuickBooks Online or Xero even six months ago, forget those numbers. Both companies raised prices in 2026, and the gap between them has shifted in ways that change the answer depending on how big your business is. Here's the current, verified breakdown.
## Quick Answer
For a single user with light bookkeeping needs, **Xero's Early plan at $25/month** is cheaper than anything QuickBooks offers at a comparable feature level. But once you need multiple users or advanced features, **QuickBooks Online's Essentials plan at $85/month** can actually undercut Xero's Growing plan on a per-user basis, since Xero doesn't charge per seat. There's no single winner — it depends on team size, invoice volume, and whether you need payroll built in.
## QuickBooks Online Pricing in 2026
Intuit raised QuickBooks Online prices for renewals starting August 1, 2026 — the second increase in about a year. Simple Start held steady, but the mid and upper tiers jumped noticeably.
| Plan | Price (current) | Users | Best For |
|---|---|---|---|
| Solopreneur | $20/mo | 1 | Freelancers, sole proprietors |
| Simple Start | $38/mo | 1 | Basic small-business accounting |
| Essentials | $85/mo | 3 | Small teams, bill management, time tracking |
| Plus | $140/mo | 5 | Inventory, project profitability, budgets |
| Advanced | $340/mo | 25 | Larger teams, advanced reporting, automation |
Before August, Essentials was $75, Plus was $115, and Advanced was $275 — meaning Plus jumped by $25 a month and Advanced by $65 a month in a single update. Payroll is never included in these prices; QuickBooks Payroll starts at roughly $50/month plus a per-employee fee on top of whatever plan you're subscribed to.
QuickBooks does run frequent promotions — new sign-ups who skip the free trial commonly get around 50% off their plan for the first three months, though the discount disappears at renewal and the list price is what you should budget around long-term.
## Xero Pricing in 2026
Xero's U.S. pricing structure is simpler: three plans, all with unlimited users, so the sticker price doesn't creep up as your team grows.
| Plan | Price (current) | Users | Best For |
|---|---|---|---|
| Early | $25/mo | Unlimited | Very small businesses, limited invoice/bill volume |
| Growing | $55/mo | Unlimited | Unlimited invoicing and bills, bulk reconciliation |
| Established | $90/mo | Unlimited | Multi-currency, expense claims, project tracking |
Xero has already announced its next round of increases: starting **October 1, 2026**, Early rises to $27, Growing to $59, and Established to $97. That's a smaller jump in dollar terms than QuickBooks' recent hike, but it's worth planning for if you're comparing year-one and year-two costs. Like QuickBooks, Xero's core plans don't include U.S. payroll — that runs through a Gusto integration as a separate charge.
One catch with Xero's cheapest tier: Early limits you to a set number of invoices and bills per month, so a business that outgrows that volume needs to jump straight to Growing at more than double the price.
## Side-by-Side: Comparable Tiers
| Need | QuickBooks | Xero | Cheaper Option |
|---|---|---|---|
| Solo freelancer, few invoices | Solopreneur $20/mo | Early $25/mo | QuickBooks |
| Single user, growing invoice volume | Simple Start $38/mo | Growing $55/mo | QuickBooks |
| 3–5 person team, unlimited invoicing | Essentials $85/mo | Growing $55/mo | Xero |
| Multi-currency, inventory, projects | Plus $140/mo | Established $90/mo | Xero |
| 10+ users, advanced reporting | Advanced $340/mo | Established $90/mo (unlimited users) | Xero |
The pattern is clear once you see it laid out: QuickBooks tends to win on price for a single user with basic needs, and Xero tends to win once you add more than two or three people, because QuickBooks caps users per tier while Xero doesn't charge extra for seats at all.
## Costs Beyond the Sticker Price
Neither platform's headline price is the whole story:
- **Payroll** is a separate add-on for both — budget an extra $50–$80+ per month depending on employee count and provider.
- **Payment processing** fees apply on both platforms per transaction, separate from the subscription.
- **QuickBooks** charges more as you add users beyond your plan's cap, sometimes forcing an upgrade to the next tier just for one more seat.
- **Xero's** unlimited-user model means a 10-person team pays the same subscription as a 2-person team on the same tier — a real advantage as you scale headcount without scaling accounting complexity.
## Which Should You Choose?
If you're a solo operator with simple books and no plans to add team members, QuickBooks' Solopreneur or Simple Start plans are the cheaper entry point. If you expect to add employees or contractors who need their own login, Xero's unlimited-user pricing usually wins out by the time you hit three or more people — and it avoids the awkward mid-year upgrade QuickBooks can force on you.
Price aside, QuickBooks still has the larger U.S. accountant network and deeper native inventory tools, while Xero is generally regarded as having a cleaner interface and a stronger app marketplace for add-on integrations. If the monthly bill is your deciding factor and your team is small but growing, run the math on both using your actual expected invoice volume and user count — the "cheaper" answer flips depending on where your business actually sits.
## FAQ
**Does QuickBooks or Xero have a free plan?**
QuickBooks offers a limited free tier (1 user, 2 invoices a month) plus a 30-day trial on paid plans. Xero does not have a permanent free plan but offers a free trial period instead.
**Is Xero cheaper than QuickBooks for a small team?**
Usually, yes, once you have three or more users — Xero's flat pricing doesn't scale with headcount the way QuickBooks' per-tier user caps do.
**Do either of these prices include payroll?**
No. Both QuickBooks and Xero sell payroll as a separate add-on subscription on top of the base accounting plan.
**Are these prices likely to change again?**
Almost certainly. QuickBooks raised prices twice in the past year, and Xero has a confirmed increase taking effect October 1, 2026. Check each provider's official pricing page before you commit to a plan.
*Pricing current as of September 2026. Software pricing changes frequently — verify current rates on the QuickBooks and Xero websites before purchasing.*