Is QuickBooks Online or Xero cheaper?

QuickBooks Online pricing: From $35/mo. Xero pricing: From $25/mo.

Does QuickBooks Online or Xero have a better API?

QuickBooks Online: Open API. Xero: Open API.

QuickBooks Online vs Xero

QuickBooks Online and Xero are both accounting & bookkeeping tools. Here is how they compare on firm-size fit, pricing, and integration — sourced, with no vendor paying for placement.

	QuickBooks Online	Xero
Category	Accounting & Bookkeeping	Accounting & Bookkeeping
Best for	Solo · mid firms	Solo · mid firms
Pricing	From $35/mo	From $25/mo
Integration	Open API	Open API

How to choose. QuickBooks Online targets solo · mid firms and Xero targets solo · mid. On integration, QuickBooks Online is "Open API" and Xero is "Open API". Pricing: QuickBooks Online from $35/mo, Xero from $25/mo.

How this guide works

Most software directories rank by who pays. This one doesn't. It's a plain editorial reference, written to be useful to a working firm rather than to any vendor — including the one that maintains it.

No pay-to-list

No vendor pays for inclusion, placement, or ranking. There is no "sponsored" sort and no paid badges. Every product that meets a category's criteria can appear.

Only shipped capabilities

Each tool is described only by features it has actually released, sourced from the vendor's own product and developer documentation (reviewed July 2026). Roadmap items are not counted.

Categories a firm recognizes

Categories follow how US practices actually evaluate software, each with a stated definition and inclusion criteria. Deadline tracking is treated as a capability of practice management, with a small specialist list called out.

Who maintains it

CPA Field Guide is written and maintained by the team behind DueDateHQ, a deadline-monitoring tool listed in the guide. We describe every product — ours included — by the same standard, and never rank ours above its peers.

QuickBooks Online vs Xero