FreshBooks vs Xero
No clear leader: Xero (74.0) and FreshBooks (70.8) are within the 5-point margin; treat as a tie. The attribute-by-attribute breakdown below, with a source and date on every value, is the honest way to compare them.
Capabilities
Feature-by-feature on the axes that matter for accounting software. “-” means undocumented, not absent.
What each one is
The product in its own terms, so the numbers below have context.
FreshBooks
A comprehensive accounting solution for small businesses and freelancers offering invoicing, expense tracking, time logging, and online payment acceptance combined with double-entry bookkeeping and project profitability analysis.
Xero
A cloud accounting solution that consolidates invoicing, payroll management, tax compliance, and financial reporting in one place, with AI-assisted automation to minimize manual data entry.
Pricing
List pricing as published by each vendor, with the date we read it. Always verify at the source before you buy.
FreshBooks
From $2.30/mo (introductory) or $23.00/mo (regular). Free 30-day trial.
- Lite$2.30/mo (promotional: 90% off for 3 months, regular $23.00/mo)
- Track and organize client info
- 5 billable clients
- Automated recurring invoices
- Plus$4.30/mo (regular price $43.00/mo)
- Track and organize client info
- 50 billable clients
- Automated recurring invoices
- Client payment options
- Email receipts to account
- Premium$7.00/mo (regular price $70.00/mo)
- Track and organize client info
- Unlimited billable clients
- Automated recurring invoices
- Client payment options
- Email receipts to account
Xero
From £18/month. First month free.
- Ignite£18/month
- Send quotes and 20 invoices
- Accept online invoice payments
- MTD for Income Tax ready
- Make online bill and payroll payments
- Optional company accounts and tax
- Grow£39/month
- All Ignite features
- Send invoices and quotes
- Accept online invoice payments
- Reconcile transactions
- Smart document capture
- +6 more
- Comprehensive£55/month
- Ultimate£70/month
Platform & deployment
Where each product runs and how it can be hosted. A dash means undocumented, not unsupported.
Integrations
What each product connects to. Counts come from the vendor's own integration directory where one exists.
FreshBooks
- Pidj
- NiceJob
- Acuity Scheduling
- ReviewNudger
- EasyCSV
- AvaTax
- Trophy Jar
- Paystorm: Chase Late Payments
- InvoiceSherpa
Xero
- Hubdoc
- TaxCycle
- Countable
- Stripe
- GoCardless
FreshBooks or Xero: which one depends on you
A composite score cannot know your constraints. Describe them and both get re-weighted against what you actually need, with the evidence behind every position.
Free to run, no account needed to start. How the evaluation works
Comparison generated from independently-sourced facts. Every value links to its source and retrieval date. See the method.