Xero vs FreshBooks (2026)

Pick Xero if you want full accounting with bank reconciliation on every plan and several people in the books, because Xero charges no per-user license fees. Its US plans cost $27, $59 and $97 a month, but the $27 Early plan stops at 20 invoices and 5 bills. Pick FreshBooks if you freelance or run a small service firm that bills clients for hours: time tracking, reminders and late fees come on the $23 Lite plan, and logged hours drop straight onto the invoice. FreshBooks gets expensive as you grow, though, since Lite covers 5 clients, bank reconciliation starts on the $43 Plus plan and every extra team member adds $11 a month.

Pricing compared

Neither product has a free plan, and both quote US prices before tax. On November 4, 2026, Xero charged $27 a month for Early, $59 for Growing and $97 for Established, billed monthly. FreshBooks charged $23 for Lite, $43 for Plus and $70 for Premium, with Select priced by quote. FreshBooks also sells yearly plans at 10% off: $248.40 for Lite, $464.40 for Plus and $756 for Premium. Xero's pricing page describes monthly billing only.

The sticker prices are close, so the limits decide the bill. Xero Early allows quotes, 20 invoices and 5 bills, and invoices created by connected apps can count toward that cap. Past 20 invoices you move to Growing at $59. FreshBooks counts billable clients instead: 5 on Lite and 50 on Plus, including clients you have archived. Invoices are unlimited on every plan.

Team size changes the picture. Xero lists no per-user license fees, so your bookkeeper, accountant and a partner log in for the plan price. FreshBooks adds $11 a month for each team member on Lite, Plus and Premium. A four-person firm on FreshBooks Plus pays $43 plus $33 for three extra people, or $76 a month, which is more than Xero Growing at $59.

For a freelancer working alone, the numbers run the other way. With 30 clients and 25 invoices a month, Xero needs Growing at $59, and FreshBooks Plus covers you for $43.

Both vendors ran new-customer offers when we checked. Xero took 80% off the base plan for the first 3 months ($5.40, $11.80 or $19.40 a month) for new US customers buying their first organization, and it also advertised one free month. FreshBooks took 80% off for 4 months ($4.60, $8.60 or $14 a month), and its terms say you can't combine that with the free trial. Neither discount covers add-ons or payment fees.

Invoicing and getting paid

This is where FreshBooks pulls ahead for service businesses. Every plan sends unlimited branded invoices, repeats them on a schedule, emails reminders to late payers and adds a late fee on the date you set. Estimates can ask for a deposit. Plus adds proposals with e-signatures and client retainers. Clients pay by card, Apple Pay, Google Pay, US bank transfer or Affirm, and AutoPay is free on every plan. Card payments start at 2.9% plus $0.30 and US bank transfers cost 1%.

Xero covers the same core jobs. You send quotes, turn an accepted quote into an invoice without retyping, set repeating invoices and choose when reminders go out. Invoice tracking tells you when a customer opens an invoice. Customers pay by card, ACH debit, Apple Pay or Google Pay, and the PayPal app in the Xero App Store adds PayPal and Venmo. Xero's invoicing page doesn't mention automatic late fees. Both can invoice in other currencies, but Xero keeps multiple currencies for Established, while FreshBooks lets you set a currency for each client and record expenses in the currency you paid.

The real gap is time. FreshBooks includes unlimited time tracking on every plan, from the browser, the phone app or a Chrome extension, and logged hours pull onto the client's invoice. Xero tracks project time and costs only on Established at $97 a month. If you bill by the hour and don't need Established's currencies or expense claims, FreshBooks gives you the timer for $74 a month less.

Bookkeeping, bills and reports

Xero is built around the bank feed. Every plan connects your accounts so you can match transactions against invoices and bills, and every plan tracks sales tax and keeps W-9 and 1099 records for contractors. Smart Document Capture reads bills and receipts on every plan. Growing adds auto-reconcile, custom dashboards, financial health scorecards, 3 budgets and a 60-day cash flow forecast. Established adds multiple currencies, expense and mileage claims, KPIs, industry benchmarks and a 180-day forecast. JAX, Xero's AI assistant, answers questions about your own figures. Standard ACH bill payments are free on every plan.

FreshBooks imports bank transactions on Lite, but bank reconciliation, double-entry accounting reports and accountant access start on Plus. Receipt scanning starts there too. Premium adds accounts payable, bill scanning and project profitability, which compares each project's time and expenses with what you billed. Bill Pay sends vendor payments by ACH or mailed check with no monthly fee through 2026, at $0.50 for a standard ACH payment, $5 for expedited ACH and $1.50 for a check.

Payroll works the same way on both: each runs it through Gusto as an add-on. Xero charges $36 a month plus $6 per employee or contractor, and FreshBooks charges $40 a month plus $6 per person, with unlimited runs, direct deposit and federal and state tax filing.

Xero's App Store lists more than 1,000 apps, and Xero says 250,000 accountants and bookkeepers use it. FreshBooks doesn't publish an integration count. It does offer a free, read-only connector that lets you ask Claude about your invoices, expenses and cash flow.

Ease of use and setup

The two products start from different places. FreshBooks is organized around clients, invoices and hours, and its Lite plan leaves bank reconciliation out, so a freelancer has less to set up on day one. Its 30-day trial needs no credit card and lets you bill as many clients as you like while you test. FreshBooks also offers a 30-day money-back guarantee on purchases.

Xero asks a little more of you at the start, because you connect bank feeds and reconcile them from day one. It offsets that with free setup help: every plan includes onboarding with a Xero coach for your first 90 days, covering bank connections, invoices, bills and dashboards.

Both have free iOS and Android apps. Xero's app sends invoices, captures receipts and bills, reconciles transactions and takes contactless payments with Tap to Pay, powered by Stripe. Xero recommends iOS 16 or later. FreshBooks' app runs on iOS 15 or later and Android 7.0 or later, tracks time and mileage and reads receipts, but reports stay on the desktop.

Support

Xero lists 24/7 online support on every plan. You search Xero Central, its help center, and raise a case from any article. If you want to talk, you leave your number and Xero calls you back. Xero's contact page lists no phone line or live chat, and the 90-day coach covers setup questions.

FreshBooks offers free phone and email support during office hours, though it doesn't publish the hours. You reach both through FreshBot, the help center's AI chatbot, which runs around the clock and hands you to a person when you type "contact support." Logged-in users see a phone number for their region. Select customers get dedicated phone support.

Xero suits you if you want help at any hour and are happy to wait for a callback. FreshBooks suits you if you want to phone a person during the working day.

Who each one suits

Choose Xero if the books matter as much as the invoices. It fits a small business with staff or partners who all need access, an accountant who wants clean bank reconciliation, or a company that pays overseas suppliers and can stretch to $97 a month for multiple currencies. Be careful with Early: 20 invoices and 5 bills fill up fast, so most active businesses should budget for Growing at $59.

Choose FreshBooks if you sell your time. Consultants, designers, small agencies and contractors get time tracking, reminders and late fees on the $23 plan, and proposals and retainers on Plus. It stays good value while you work alone or with one or two people. Once you pass 50 clients or add several staff, the $70 Premium plan and $11 seats push it past Xero.

If neither fits, QuickBooks Online is the usual third option and adds inventory from its Plus plan, and Wave has a free Starter plan for a sole trader on a tight budget.