File No. 125 against No. 131
FreshBooks vs Xero: what each costs
FreshBooks is invoicing and accounting software for client work, and Xero is accounting software for small businesses. Both charge a flat monthly price per plan. The difference in how they bill: FreshBooks caps billable clients and charges for each added team member, while Xero caps invoices and bills on its entry plan and has no per-user license fees.
The short answer. FreshBooks vs Xero pricing: at list price FreshBooks is lower on every tier, with Lite at $23, Plus at $43 and Premium at $70 a month against $27, $59 and $97 for Xero Early, Growing and Established. Neither has a free plan. FreshBooks charges extra per team member and Xero does not. Files checked on 9 and 11 Oct 2026.
What each one costs
Every figure below is read from the two price files at the moment this page loads, so this page cannot drift away from them. Each row links to the vendor page the price came from.
| Plan | Price | Billed | Checked | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| FreshBooks From $23/mo | ||||
| Lite | $23/mo | billed monthly, list price | Vendor page | |
| Plus | $43/mo | billed monthly, list price | Vendor page | |
| Premium | $70/mo | billed monthly, list price | Vendor page | |
| Select | not published | quote only | Vendor page | |
| Xero From $27/mo | ||||
| Early | $27/mo | billed monthly, regular price | Vendor page | |
| Growing | $59/mo | billed monthly, regular price | Vendor page | |
| Established | $97/mo | billed monthly, regular price | Vendor page | |
Which one is for you
Pick FreshBooks if one person does the invoicing and the client list fits the plan: Lite at $23 a month covers 5 billable clients and Plus at $43 covers 50, both below the matching Xero tier.
Pick Xero if several people need access, since its plans carry no per-user license fees, or if bank reconciliation is needed on the entry plan: Early at $27 a month lists it.
What FreshBooks's pricing page does not say
- The large figures on the page are promotional. $1.00 on Lite lasts one year, and $8.60 on Plus and $14.00 on Premium last 3 months. The figures shown as Was ($23.00, $43.00 and $70.00) are the list prices filed here.
- The promotion is time limited: the banner read savings ends in 5 days on 9 Oct 2026. Its Offer Details were not read for this file.
- The plan price does not cover a team. Team Members cost $11 a month per person on every plan, Select included, although Select comes with 2 Team Member accounts at no extra charge.
- Plans are capped by billable clients, not by invoices: 5 clients on Lite and 50 on Plus. Unlimited clients start at Premium.
- Advanced Payments is a $20 a month add-on on Lite, Plus and Premium and is included only on Select. FreshBooks Payroll is a further $40 a month plus $6 a month per user on every plan.
- Accountant access, bank reconciliation and double-entry accounting reports are not on Lite. They start at Plus.
- Payment processing fees are not on the page. It lists the question of what FreshBooks charges per transaction, but the answer was collapsed and was not read.
What Xero's pricing page does not say
- The large figures on the page are offer prices. $5.40, $11.80 and $19.40 a month last for the first 3 months, then the regular prices of $27, $59 and $97 apply and renew monthly.
- The offer terms limit the 80% discount to new customers in the United States buying their first organization on xero.com with the code named in those terms. The discount covers the base plan only, not add-ons, usage or payment fees, and Xero can change or cancel it at any time.
- Early is capped at 20 invoices and 5 bills. The terms say the invoice limit counts invoices that are approved as well as sent, and that invoices created by connected apps may count toward it.
- Payroll is not in any plan. Xero Payroll, powered by Gusto, is an optional add-on at $36 a month plus $6 per employee or contractor on all three plans.
- Auto-reconcile is included from Growing. On Early it is an optional add-on at $5.00 per month.
- Multiple currencies, project time and cost tracking, and employee expense and mileage claims are listed only on Established, the $97 plan.
- Prices exclude taxes, which the terms say are calculated from the billing address. Payment fees apply to online invoice payments and to bill payments other than standard ACH, and the fee amounts are not on the pricing page.
- The terms say a move to a less expensive plan is possible 1 month after upgrading.
FreshBooks or Xero for one person
Both tools charge a flat monthly price for the plan, billed monthly, and neither lists a free plan. For a single user the comparison is tier against tier at list price.
| Tier | FreshBooks | Xero |
|---|---|---|
| Entry | Lite, $23 a month | Early, $27 a month |
| Middle | Plus, $43 a month | Growing, $59 a month |
| Top published | Premium, $70 a month | Established, $97 a month |
Is FreshBooks cheaper than Xero? At list price and for one user, yes, on each of the three tiers. FreshBooks also has a fourth plan, Select, which is quote only.
Both pricing pages showed time-limited promotional prices on the days they were read. The figures here are the list prices that apply once a promotion ends. The offer details are in each file.
What a team of 5 or 20 pays
The two tools part ways here. Xero's file records no per-user license fees, so a team of 5 or 20 pays the same plan price as one person: $27, $59 or $97 a month.
FreshBooks charges a monthly fee for each added Team Member on every plan, on top of the plan price. The per-person fee is recorded in FreshBooks' file, so a team of 5 or 20 on FreshBooks pays the plan price plus that fee for each added person. For a team, add those fees before comparing with Xero's flat price.
The caps on the entry plans
- FreshBooks caps billable clients, not invoices: 5 clients on Lite and 50 on Plus. Unlimited clients start at Premium, at $70 a month.
- Xero caps documents on Early: 20 invoices and 5 bills. Growing, at $59 a month, removes both limits.
- Accounting features. Bank reconciliation is listed on Xero Early. On FreshBooks it starts at Plus, along with accountant access.
- Payroll is an add-on with its own price on both.
For Xero vs FreshBooks plan by plan, the full tables are in FreshBooks' price file and Xero's price file. Other tools of this kind are in the invoicing drawer.
The evidence
Both vendors' pricing pages, as they looked when the figures were read.
Figures on this page come from the two files named above, each read off the vendor's own pricing page on the date shown. Prices change without notice; check before buying.
The files behind this
- FreshBooks From $23/mo
- Xero From $27/mo