QuickBooks Online vs Xero
QuickBooks Online and Xero are both capable cloud accounting platforms for mid-sized US businesses, offering core financial tools. QuickBooks Online tends to be stronger for businesses needing robust inventory management, while Xero often appeals more to service-based businesses needing integrated project tracking and payroll, along with potentially easier setup. Both platforms face criticism regarding customer support and value for money, making feature fit the primary differentiator for businesses focused on service quality and cost-effectiveness within this size range (10-100 employees).
At Gralio.ai we help to simplify your decision-making process by offering detailed, side-by-side software comparisons like this one, to help you confidently choose the tool that aligns with your business goals.
This comparison was created by analysing 5618 reviews and 60 websites, saving 1 day, 7 hours, 42 minutes of reading.
About
About
Summary
Summary
Relative strengths of QuickBooks Online (compared to Xero)
-
QuickBooks Online includes native Inventory Management capabilities, which is essential for businesses selling physical goods and less central to Xero's core offering.
-
QuickBooks Online offers specific features like Receipt Capture using a phone camera and a dedicated Cash Flow Planner, aiding expense tracking and financial forecasting.
-
With a large established user base, particularly in the US, QuickBooks Online potentially offers wider familiarity among bookkeepers and accountants and integrations tailored to US tax needs implicitly stronger due to market focus (though explicit feature comparison isn't available).
Relative weaknesses of QuickBooks Online (compared to Xero)
-
Xero generally receives better ratings for Ease of Implementation, suggesting a potentially quicker and simpler setup process compared to QuickBooks Online.
-
Xero provides integrated Project Tracking features, allowing businesses to monitor costs and time for specific projects, a feature not listed as standard in the QuickBooks Online description.
-
Xero includes Payroll as a core listed feature (though plan limitations exist), potentially offering a more seamless integration than adding payroll separately in QuickBooks Online for businesses needing this function built-in from the start.
Who is using QuickBooks Online and Xero?
Who is using QuickBooks Online and Xero?
Who should use QuickBooks Online VS. Xero
Who should use QuickBooks Online VS. Xero
QuickBooks Online is a popular cloud accounting tool, especially for small to medium businesses getting started with their finances. Users often appreciate its user-friendly interface for basic tasks like invoicing and expense tracking, plus easy bank connections. However, we've heard that customer support can be slow and some find recent interface changes less intuitive. It's a solid choice if you need core accounting features without much complexity
Xero is accounting software we often see used by small to medium-sized businesses. Users frequently praise its user-friendly design, especially the bank reconciliation features. It's built to handle core accounting tasks like invoicing, paying bills, and reporting. While some find recent changes less intuitive and pricing a bit steep, it remains a solid choice for businesses needing straightforward financial management tools and good app integrations.
-
We find QuickBooks Online works best for small to medium-sized businesses (1-1000 employees) needing straightforward cloud accounting.
-
In our experience, QuickBooks Online is a strong option for Ecommerce, Finance, IT, and Professional Services needing core accounting tools.
-
In our experience, Xero works best for small businesses with 1-100 employees, though it can also support medium-sized companies up to 1000.
-
We find Xero is versatile and suitable for businesses across many industries, particularly popular within professional services firms.
QuickBooks Online and Xero features
Supported Partially supported Not supported Type in the name of the feature or in your own words tell us what you need
QuickBooks Online and Xero features
- InvoicingSupported
QuickBooks Online lets you create, send, and track invoices.
SupportedXero lets you create, send, and track invoices, and accept online payments.
- Accounting software integrationSupported
QuickBooks Online integrates with other accounting and financial management software.
SupportedXero supports the ability to connect to accounting software for financial management through various integration methods.
- Mobile app supportSupported
QuickBooks Online offers a mobile app to manage expenses.
Not supportedXero does not explicitly mention the availability of a dedicated mobile application to manage expenses on the go in the provided sources.
- Bank reconciliationSupported
QuickBooks Online enables reconciliation of payments with bank statements.
SupportedXero allows to reconcile payments with bank statements.
- Receipt managementSupported
QuickBooks Online allows users to upload, store and match receipts to expenses.
SupportedXero supports uploading, storing and matching receipts to expenses.
- Intuit APISupported
QuickBooks Online fully supports connecting and utilizing the Intuit API.
Not supportedXero does not directly support connecting to and utilizing the Intuit API.
Qualities
Qualities
- Value and Pricing Transparency-0.33Rather negative sentiment-0.08Neutral sentiment
- Customer Service-0.29Neutral sentiment-0.1Neutral sentiment
- Ease of Use+0.81Strongly positive sentiment+0.83Strongly positive sentiment
- Reliability and Performance-0.05Neutral sentiment+0.33Rather positive sentiment
- Ease of Implementation+0.29Neutral sentiment+0.64Rather positive sentiment
- Scalability+0.33Rather positive sentiment+0.27Neutral sentiment
QuickBooks Online and Xero Pricing
User sentiment
User sentiment
See full Pricing page
QuickBooks Online and Xero review insights
5618 reviews analysed from and
QuickBooks Online and Xero review insights
Users love
- User-friendly interface for basic accounting tasks.
- Seamless integration with banks for transaction imports.
- Wide variety of reports that can be easily generated and customized.
- Affordable pricing for small businesses.
- User-friendly interface, easy to learn and use
- Excellent bank reconciliation features, including bank rules
- Comprehensive reporting options available
- Seamless integration with other apps like Hubdoc
Users dislike
- Bank connections can be unreliable and require frequent re-linking.
- Customer support wait times can be long, especially for complex issues.
- Mobile app functionality is limited compared to the web version.
- Recent changes to the interface have made it harder to navigate.
- Bank feeds can be unreliable and sometimes disconnect
- New invoicing system is clunky and less efficient
- Payroll features have been removed from the starter plan
- Price has increased significantly in recent years with minimal new features
QuickBooks Online and Xero Ratings
QuickBooks Online and Xero Ratings
G24.0/5(2509)
Glassdoor4.4/5(11508)
- G24.3/5(684)
Capterra4.4/5(2425)- Glassdoor4.0/5(1338)
Company health
Company health
Employee growth
Web traffic
Financing
How reliable are the bank feed connections for each product?
Which product offers better inventory management capabilities?
What are the advantages of QuickBooks Online?
What are the disadvantages of QuickBooks Online?
Alternatives to QuickBooks Online and Xero
Michal has worked at startups for many years and writes about topics relating to software selection and IT management. As a former consultant for Bain, a business advisory company, he also knows how to understand needs of any business and find solutions to its problems.
Tymon is a seasoned CTO who loves finding the perfect tools for any task. He recently headed up the tech department at Batmaid, a well-known Swiss company, where he managed about 60 software purchases, including CX, HR, Payroll, Marketing automation and various developer tools.
How are we doing?
An AI tool that observes your work, finds inefficiencies, and suggests smarter ways to do things. Maybe you can use your tools better, automate tasks, or switch software.