Xero vs QuickBooks Online

Xero lists Starter at R450, Standard at R795 and Premium at R1 095 a month including VAT, with an 80 percent discount for the first three months. QuickBooks lists Simple Start at R322, Essentials at R508, Plus at R708 and Advanced at R1 144 a month, with a launch offer of 90 percent off for six months. QuickBooks does not state whether VAT is in those figures, so ask before you set them beside Xero's VAT inclusive prices. Xero also says its prices increase from 1 November 2026.

On structure, QuickBooks puts multiple currencies on Essentials, the second plan, while Xero reserves them for Premium at R1 095. If you invoice abroad, that matters.

Xero emphasises online payments, document capture, forecasts and reconciliation, with plan limits on invoices and bills in Starter. QuickBooks emphasises invoices created from photos, PDFs and emails, VAT tracking with error checking, bank feeds on every plan and a plan ladder that adds custom fields, inventory and projects. Both connect to hundreds of apps, and the named examples differ: PayFast, Yoco and SimplePay for Xero, and PayPal, Square, ServiceM8 and Dext for QuickBooks.

Xero is more specific about South African banking, naming FNB, Absa, Standard Bank and Nedbank and describing API feeds with Nedbank and Investec. QuickBooks lists bank feeds but names no South African banks on the pages we read, so ask which of yours connect.

QuickBooks stands out here: free phone support with a paid plan, round the clock live chat and a free onboarding call with an expert. Xero says support is available around the clock but publishes no phone number.

Xero's entry plan is capped and it has no free plan. QuickBooks does not state its VAT basis, names no South African banks and is less common among South African bookkeepers.