How much does Xero cost? (2026)

The list as of September 22, 2026

Xero’s US pricing page lists Early at $25/month, Growing at $55, and Established at $90, after the intro. Unlimited users. Prices are USD and exclude tax. Confirm xero.com/us/pricing-plans/. A new-customer offer of 90% off the base plan for six months was listed through September 30, 2026 at 11:59pm UTC. The page shows that intro as $2.50, $5.50, and $9. It does not apply to add-ons or payment fees. Budget the regular price. We are not your accountant.

This is a cost guide. Is Xero worth it is the skip-if. Xero vs QuickBooks Online is the fork your CPA will actually argue about. How much QuickBooks Online costs is the Intuit napkin. Best accounting software for freelancers is the short list.

Which plan

• Early $25: quotes, 20 invoices a month, 5 bills, bank reconciliation, sales tax, 1099s. Fine for a slow sole prop. A weekly biller will hit the cap and should not pretend otherwise.
• Growing $55: the usual US freelancer and small-team plan. Invoices without that Early cap, bill entry, auto-reconcile, dashboards. Unlimited users, which is the point when a bookkeeper needs a login.
• Established $90: multi-currency, projects, expense claims, a longer cash-flow forecast. Consultants who invoice abroad and want projects in the file. Not a personality.
• Inventory Plus is optional on Growing and Established. Do not buy Established only because you heard the word inventory.

A year at the current regular list, before tax: Early $300, Growing $660, Established $1,080. The six-month intro is a promotion with an end date. If you start it in late September, ask what “regular price” means on the invoice after the discount — the list itself changes in October.

October 1, 2026

Xero’s US pricing-update page says the subscription price increases on October 1, 2026 for new and existing subscribers: Early $25 to $27, Growing $55 to $59, Established $90 to $97. Add-ons are extra. Existing promo codes apply until they expire. The multi-organization discount starts phasing out on that date. Invoices from October 1 show the new amounts. A year at the new list is Early $324, Growing $708, Established $1,164, still before tax.

What is not in the sticker

• Xero Payroll, powered by Gusto, is optional on every plan at $36/month plus $6 per employee or contractor on the pricing table we loaded. Ten people is $96 plus the ledger. That is a payroll product living inside Xero, not a reason to stay on Early.
• Online invoice payments have fees. Domestic ACH bill pay is included; other methods are not. Read the fee footnote.
• Sales tax on the Xero subscription depends on your billing address. The sticker excludes it.
• A bookkeeper who has never opened Xero will bill you to learn it. That hourly rate can erase a year of Growing versus QuickBooks.
• US payroll is not “free because Gusto exists.” If you already pay for Gusto, do not also turn on the Xero payroll add-on without a reason.

Compare it

QuickBooks Online, same week: Simple Start $38, Essentials $85, Plus $140, Advanced $340, with seat caps that climb by plan. Growing at $55 undercuts Essentials at $85 and buys unlimited users. It does not buy the US accountant network that still defaults to QuickBooks. FreshBooks is Lite $23 (5 clients), Plus $43 (50), Premium $70. Wave is $0 if you will reconcile and you do not need the file to survive a complicated year. See QuickBooks vs Xero and Xero vs FreshBooks before you switch a year of history for a $30 delta.

If you hire, price payroll beside the ledger. Gusto Simple is $49 + $6 per person and single-state. Xero’s Gusto-powered add-on is $36 + $6 on their table. Two Gusto bills is a mistake. One system of payday, one system of books.