# Alternatives to Xero

> Source: https://tickmarkbooks.com/xero/alternatives/ (re-verified)
> Updated: 28 October 2026

## At a glance

| Name | Best for | Starts at | A month at 100 transactions | Better than Xero at | Checked |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| [Xero](https://tickmarkbooks.com/xero.md) | Small businesses wanting the whole team and their advisor on the books, no per-user fees | From $27 a month | $27 | — | 28 October 2026 |
| [FreeAgent](https://tickmarkbooks.com/freeagent.md) | UK sole traders and small limited companies filing their own VAT and Self Assessment | From about $13 a month | About $25 | Notice before a price rise, Categorizes transactions | 26 October 2026 |
| [Zoho Books](https://tickmarkbooks.com/zoho-books.md) | Small businesses and startups that want one ledger plus the wider Zoho app suite | Free, then $20 a month | $20 | Sends invoices, Moves your history in | 26 October 2026 |
| [Puzzle](https://tickmarkbooks.com/puzzle.md) | A US startup on Mercury, Brex, Ramp, Stripe and Gusto that wants to replace QuickBooks | Price not established | $30 | Categorizes transactions, Sends invoices | 26 October 2026 |
| [Pilot](https://tickmarkbooks.com/pilot.md) | A US startup or small business that wants its books done for it in QuickBooks Online | Price not established | $137 | Categorizes transactions | 26 October 2026 |
| [Booke AI](https://tickmarkbooks.com/booke-ai.md) | A business or bookkeeping firm already on QuickBooks Online or Xero | Price not established | $156 | Categorizes transactions, Support | 26 October 2026 |
| [SimpleAI](https://tickmarkbooks.com/simpleai.md) | Accounting firms and finance teams processing high volumes of invoices and bank statements | From $79 a month | $106 | Past your plan’s limits, Categorizes transactions | 27 October 2026 |
| [QuickBooks Online](https://tickmarkbooks.com/quickbooks-online.md) | Small businesses that want one ledger plus payroll, payments and an accountant login | Free, then $38 a month | $38 | Categorizes transactions, Sends invoices | 28 October 2026 |
| [Sage Accounting](https://tickmarkbooks.com/sage-accounting.md) | VAT-registered sole traders and small firms up to 49 employees wanting payroll built in | From about $27 a month | About $58 | Categorizes transactions, Sends invoices | 27 October 2026 |
| [Digits](https://tickmarkbooks.com/digits.md) | A US startup or small business that wants its own AI-kept ledger in place of QuickBooks | From $65 a month | $65 | Categorizes transactions, Sends invoices | 27 October 2026 |

“About” figures are converted at the European Central Bank rate of 30 October 2026.

The ones people open most here come first, then the closest matches.

## Shortlist

### 1. FreeAgent

UK cloud accounting with HMRC filing, bank feeds and AI receipt capture, priced per business type.

**Where it improves on Xero:**
- [Notice before a price rise: yes — The terms of service promise at least 60 days' advance notice of a price or payment-term change, and a chance to decide whether to carry on before any increase.](https://www.freeagent.com/company/terms/)
- [Categorizes transactions: yes — The Guess feature categorizes imported bank transactions using machine learning on your own past explanations, so corrections you make feed the next suggestion.](https://support.freeagent.com/hc/en-gb/articles/115001586004-How-does-Guess-explain-your-transactions)
- [Sends invoices: yes — You create, send and automate invoices and reminders from web or mobile, and customers pay in one click through Stripe, PayPal, GoCardless or Tyl, which records the payment against the invoice.](https://www.freeagent.com/pricing/)

**Trade-offs against Xero:**
- [What the AI costs: partial — included in every plan for smart categorization and the first ten captures a month; processing more than ten receipts or bills needs the £5 (about $6.70)-a-month Smart Capture Unlimited add-on.](https://www.freeagent.com/pricing/)
- [Pays your bills: partial — Bills are captured, recorded and tracked as accounts payable inside FreeAgent, but actually paying them is left to partner products in its own Payment solutions directory rather than done in the product.](https://www.freeagent.com/features/expenses/)
- [Accrual books and reports: partial — It keeps accruals-basis books with automatic accounting reports, a dashboard profit and loss and limited-company Final Accounts; what it publishes for cash is a Cashflow forecast, not a monthly cash flow statement.](https://www.freeagent.com/pricing/)

[View FreeAgent](https://tickmarkbooks.com/freeagent)

### 2. Zoho Books

Cloud accounting ledger with Zia AI, bank feeds, sales tax and 1099 e-filing, from $20 a month.

**Where it improves on Xero:**
- [Sends invoices: yes — Invoices, recurring invoices, credit notes, payment reminders and a customer portal are on every plan, with online payment links and offline payments recorded against the invoice.](https://www.zoho.com/us/books/pricing/pricing-comparison.html)
- [Moves your history in: yes — Zoho moves your existing books across from QuickBooks or Xero at no charge, with assisted migration support rather than a paid onboarding package.](https://www.zoho.com/us/books/migration.html)
- [Files 1099s: yes — 1099 contractors and W-9s are tracked on every plan and 1099-MISC and 1099-NEC can be e-filed with the IRS from inside Zoho Books, or exported for Tax1099 and Yearli.](https://www.zoho.com/us/books/accounting-software-features/1099-tracking-w9-forms/)

**Trade-offs against Xero:**
- [Promotion and regular price: no — none — the $20 Standard rate is the standing month-to-month price; the lower $15 figure is simply the yearly billing rate, not a time-limited introductory offer.](https://www.zoho.com/us/books/pricing/)
- [Pays your bills: partial — Bills and vendor approvals are in the paid plans, but paying vendors by ACH with two- and three-way matching is the separate BillPay add-on at $59 a month billed annually ($69 monthly).](https://www.zoho.com/us/books/pricing/)
- [Your accountant can sign in: partial — The Free plan is quoted as one user plus one accountant, so an accountant seat is free there; the paid plans are quoted only as user counts, with extra users at $3 a month.](https://www.zoho.com/us/books/pricing/pricing-comparison.html)

[View Zoho Books](https://tickmarkbooks.com/zoho-books)

### 3. Puzzle

AI-native accounting software with optional bookkeeper services for startups and small businesses.

**Where it improves on Xero:**
- [Categorizes transactions: yes — Categorizes by itself and learns from you. Every plan auto-categorizes ('Up to 98% auto-categorization' on Starter).](https://help.puzzle.io/en/articles/6986850-rules-and-categories)
- [Sends invoices: yes — Sends branded invoices; you apply payments. Invoices are created in Puzzle (or imported by CSV, or synced from Stripe and Bill.com) and emailed with a PDF and your branding.](https://help.puzzle.io/en/articles/9359018-faq-accounts-receivable)
- [Contract and cancelling: yes — Monthly or yearly (20% off); cancel in Billing. Plans are sold monthly or yearly (yearly saves 20% and is charged up front).](https://help.puzzle.io/en/articles/14990198-how-to-cancel-your-puzzle-subscription)

**Trade-offs against Xero:**
- [Reconciles your accounts: partial — You reconcile on Starter; AI drafts it from Complete. Every plan has a reconciliation screen where you match the month's transactions to the statement until the difference is $0, then Puzzle runs an auto-validation check.](https://help.puzzle.io/en/articles/6986882-how-to-reconcile-bank-and-credit-card-accounts-in-puzzle)
- [Reads receipts and bills: partial — Reads an uploaded receipt; no stated matching. You can attach documents to a transaction or bill.](https://help.puzzle.io/en/articles/15138987-month-end-close-with-ai-close)
- [Pays your bills: partial — Records bills; payment through Ramp or Bill.com. Bills can be entered, imported by CSV or synced from Ramp and Bill.com, matched to payments and shown in AP aging.](https://help.puzzle.io/en/articles/9165703-faq-accounts-payable)

[View Puzzle](https://tickmarkbooks.com/puzzle)

### 4. Pilot

A bookkeeping and tax service for startups that pairs software-driven dashboards with human financial advisors.

**Where it improves on Xero:**
- [Categorizes transactions: yes — AI categorizes and learns your patterns. The AI Accountant categorizes transactions, reconciles accounts and identifies vendors.](https://pilot.com/platform/ai-accountant)

**Trade-offs against Xero:**
- [Ledger included: no — Works in QuickBooks Online; you pay for the license. Every bookkeeping plan is done in QuickBooks Online (FAQ: 'Pilot does all of its bookkeeping in QuickBooks Online').](https://pilot.com/terms/client-terms)
- [Setup or onboarding fee: yes — Onboarding charge equal to one month. A one-time onboarding charge equal to one month of bookkeeping on every plan (so $99 on Essentials and $399 to $1,199 on Core, by band, at monthly billing).](https://pilot.com/faq)
- [Pays your bills: partial — Bill payment is an add-on; Core manages 10 bills. Accounts payable is not in the bookkeeping plans by default.](https://pilot.com/faq)

[View Pilot](https://tickmarkbooks.com/pilot)

### 5. Booke AI

An AI bookkeeper that works inside QuickBooks Online and Xero to categorize transactions and match documents.

**Where it improves on Xero:**
- [Categorizes transactions: yes — Daily, and learns from your approvals and fixes. It processes new QuickBooks Online and Xero bank-feed transactions in a daily run, categorizes them from the client's own history, sends low-confidence ones to your team, and uses each approval or correction for later categorizations.](https://booke.ai/quickbooks-online)
- [Support: yes — Chat (weekdays 9-6 EST) and email; no phone listed. Chat: in the platform, Mon-Fri 9 AM-6 PM EST, 2-hour response (the SLA's header says 3 hours).](https://booke.ai/sla)

**Trade-offs against Xero:**
- [Ledger included: no — No: you also pay for QuickBooks Online or Xero. Booke works inside an existing QuickBooks Online or Xero file, joining it as a user; it is not a ledger and no ledger license is in its price.](https://booke.ai/)
- [Reconciles your accounts: partial — Prepares reconciliation; your team completes it. In QuickBooks Online it prepares work for reconciliation and does not promise a reconciled file; in Xero it can perform 'supported reconciliation actions for eligible configured cases' and leaves the rest open.](https://booke.ai/bookkeeping-automation-software)
- [Bank and card feeds: partial — Reads the QBO or Xero bank feed; no feed of its own](https://booke.ai/)

[View Booke AI](https://tickmarkbooks.com/booke-ai)

### 6. SimpleAI

AI agents that extract, classify and reconcile accounting documents, then publish them into Xero or QuickBooks.

**Where it improves on Xero:**
- [Past your plan’s limits: yes — Past the monthly credit allowance you buy add-on packs at a published rate, but the number of packs is capped per month, so very heavy months force a plan upgrade rather than open-ended overage.](https://simpleaiworks.com/en/pricing)
- [Categorizes transactions: yes — It classifies extracted entries by itself and the vendor says it improves from repeated corrections, custom prompts and your historical transactions rather than from fixed rules.](https://simpleaiworks.com/en)
- [Other currencies: yes — Foreign currencies are handled for documents and invoices, and NOVA's plan comparison shows Multi-Currency included on every tier including the free one, with FX revaluation among its reports.](https://simpleaiworks.com/en/contact)

**Trade-offs against Xero:**
- [Promotion and regular price: no — none on the SAAM plan cards: the only discount the vendor names on them is 10% for annual billing, and the separate Bank Statement Extraction module is the one that runs a labeled limited-time promotion.](https://simpleaiworks.com/en/pricing)
- [Ledger included: no — SAAM is not the ledger: it extracts and classifies documents and then publishes entries into the accounting software you already pay for, so a Xero, QuickBooks or Accurate subscription sits on top of its price.](https://simpleaiworks.com/en/contact)
- [Pays your bills: partial — Bills are captured and classified and every plan includes an approval workflow, but the agent's documented end point is publishing entries into your accounting software, not paying suppliers.](https://simpleaiworks.com/en)

[View SimpleAI](https://tickmarkbooks.com/simpleai)

### 7. QuickBooks Online

Intuit's cloud ledger, now with Intuit Intelligence agents that categorize, reconcile and flag errors.

**Where it improves on Xero:**
- [Categorizes transactions: yes — It categorizes bank and card transactions automatically and learns from how you have categorized before, then matches and records later transactions itself.](https://quickbooks.intuit.com/pricing/)
- [Sends invoices: yes — Invoices are sent from the ledger and customer card or bank payments are accepted and tracked inside the invoice through QuickBooks Payments, with reminders and status updates.](https://quickbooks.intuit.com/pricing/)
- [Files 1099s: yes — Contractor payments can be assigned to 1099 categories and the forms prepared and filed from inside QuickBooks; Advanced adds free 1099 e-filing through Bill Pay Elite.](https://quickbooks.intuit.com/online/essentials/)

**Trade-offs against Xero:**
- [Notice before a price rise: no — Intuit's own footnote reserves the right to change pricing without notice, so the terms promise no notice period before a renewal price rises.](https://quickbooks.intuit.com/accountants/)
- [Reconciles your accounts: partial — Automated reconciliation is a Plus-tier and above feature on the plan cards; the Simple Start and Essentials cards do not list it, so cheaper tiers leave the matching to you.](https://quickbooks.intuit.com/pricing/)
- [Stripe: partial — Third-party app integrations are offered with paid plans and an app marketplace, but they are explicitly unavailable on the Free plan, and the pages read name no individual app such as Stripe or Shopify.](https://quickbooks.intuit.com/pricing/)

[View QuickBooks Online](https://tickmarkbooks.com/quickbooks-online)

### 8. Sage Accounting

Sage's cloud small-business ledger with built-in payroll and the Sage Copilot assistant; US edition retired.

**Where it improves on Xero:**
- [Categorizes transactions: yes — Sage says Copilot automatically categorizes and reconciles payments inside Sage Accounting; the pages do not say whether it learns from a user's corrections over time.](https://www.sage.com/en-gb/sage-business-cloud/sage-accounting/)
- [Sends invoices: yes — Unlimited sales invoices are in every plan, Copilot drafts the chase emails for late payers, and incoming payments are matched and reconciled automatically.](https://www.sage.com/en-gb/sage-business-cloud/sage-accounting/)
- [Payroll: yes — built in: the UK plans bundle Sage Payroll with HR features at no extra subscription, charging GBP 1.85 per employee a month beyond the employees each plan includes; in Canada payroll is sold as an optional add-on instead.](https://www.sage.com/en-gb/sage-business-cloud/sage-accounting/)

**Trade-offs against Xero:**
- [Reads receipts and bills: partial — Receipt and invoice snapping is excluded from the entry Start plan and metered above it, with 30 captures on Standard and 100 on Plus before GBP 0.20 each.](https://www.sage.com/en-gb/sage-business-cloud/sage-accounting/)
- [Pays your bills: partial — Supplier and purchase invoice management starts on the Standard plan, not the entry plan, and Sage's pages describe no approval routing or outbound payment run for those bills.](https://www.sage.com/en-gb/sage-business-cloud/sage-accounting/)
- [Accrual books and reports: partial — Sage names accrual accounting as a reason to take the middle Standard plan rather than the entry plan, and its pages list advanced and custom reports without naming a monthly P&L, balance sheet and cash flow set.](https://www.sage.com/en-gb/sage-business-cloud/sage-accounting/)

[View Sage Accounting](https://tickmarkbooks.com/sage-accounting)

### 9. Digits

AI-native general ledger that books and reconciles itself, replacing QuickBooks or Xero for US businesses.

**Where it improves on Xero:**
- [Categorizes transactions: yes — AI models book transactions from connected banks, cards and payroll to the chart of accounts, learn the business, and the vendor says a correction an accountant makes is preserved rather than reversed.](https://digits.com/product/bookkeeping/)
- [Sends invoices: yes — Invoicing is included on all public plans, auto-fills customer details and terms, chases unpaid invoices and posts receivables straight into the same ledger.](https://digits.com/pricing/)
- [Payroll: yes — integration: payroll itself is run elsewhere and synced in, with runs, wages and taxes pulled automatically from 20 providers and anything else posted as a manual journal entry.](https://digits.com/ai-info/)

**Trade-offs against Xero:**
- [Promotion and regular price: no — none: the three plan cards publish flat monthly rates with no introductory discount, countdown or 'then' price attached to any of them on the public pricing page.](https://digits.com/pricing/)
- [Shopify: no — Shopify, PayPal and Square payments are not named among them.](https://digits.com/ai-info/)
- [PayPal: no — Shopify, PayPal and Square payments are not named among them.](https://digits.com/ai-info/)

[View Digits](https://tickmarkbooks.com/digits)