QuickBooks vs Xero for a small business: price per month in the US and Canada, and what you pay after the discount ends (October 2026)

QuickBooks vs Xero in 2026: list prices per month on each US and Canadian site, the intro discounts and when they end, and user limits per plan.

In October 2026, QuickBooks Online's paid plans list at $38 to $340 per month on its US site, and Xero's at US$27 to US$97. On the Canadian sites, QuickBooks lists at $20 to $220 per month and Xero at $25 to $80, in Canadian dollars. Both sell their first months at 50% to 90% off, so the price you see first isn't the price you pay in year two. We read every price on each company's own pricing page on 2026-10-19.

The other difference that shows on the pricing pages is users. Every QuickBooks plan caps how many people can log in, from 1 to 25. Xero's pages say "No per-user license fees" on every plan.

This page compares what the pricing pages publish: price, discounts and users. It doesn't compare features plan by plan. Before you choose, check that the plan you want handles your sales tax (GST/HST and PST in Canada, state sales tax in the US) and connects to your bank.

United States

QuickBooks also lists a free plan on its US site: it sends 2 invoices a month, for 1 user, with no accountant access. QuickBooks' US page doesn't label its currency. We read it from a Canadian address, and it showed a bare $. Xero's US page is set to "United States (USD)".

Canada

Every price in this table is a bare $, as the pages show it: neither Canadian page puts "CAD" next to its prices. Xero's region selector reads "Canada (CAD)", and QuickBooks' Canadian prices are on its /ca/ site, so we take both to be Canadian dollars. QuickBooks' Canadian page shows each price struck through as a "Was" price beside the offer, and doesn't say what you pay once the 6 months end. Our year figures for QuickBooks Canada assume you then pay the "Was" price. Xero's Canadian page showed two different offers on the same afternoon: 90% off for 3 months to one of our readers, and 80% off for 3 months to another. So the first-year figures give both.

"Your first year, with the discount" is our arithmetic: the discounted price for the discounted months, then list price for the rest. From year two you pay the list price.

What each plan limits

QuickBooks

QuickBooks' paid plans don't cap invoices, but its two cheapest Canadian plans leave out bill management, and Lite caps you at 2 bank connections. QuickBooks' Canadian page doesn't have a separate row for filing GST/HST returns; it says sales tax is "calculated and tracked for you so you can file confidently with the CRA".

Xero

Xero's entry plan caps you at 20 invoices and 5 bills a month. If you send more than that, the entry price doesn't apply to you. Xero's Canadian pricing page doesn't list GST/HST returns on any plan; ask before you buy.

Worked example: three people in Toronto, more than 20 invoices a month

A small studio in Toronto has three people who need to log in, sends about 40 invoices a month, wants its bank feeds, and charges HST.

1. Xero: Starter caps invoices at 20, so the studio needs Standard: $60 a month, with no charge for the three users. That's $720 a year at list price.
2. QuickBooks: Lite and EasyStart allow one user, so the studio needs Plus: "Was $110" a month, up to 5 users. That's $1,320 a year at the "Was" price.
3. So Xero costs about half as much here, from year two. In the first year, QuickBooks' 6 months at 90% off bring Plus to $726, against $558 to $576 for Xero Standard.
4. Before you buy, check HST. QuickBooks' Canadian page says sales tax is calculated and tracked for filing with the CRA. Xero's Canadian pricing page doesn't mention GST/HST, so ask Xero, or your bookkeeper, how its plans handle your HST return.

What the numbers say

1. If your accountant needs access and you send 20 invoices or fewer a month, Xero's entry plan costs less at list price in both countries. It's US$27 against QuickBooks Simple Start's $38 in the US, and $25 against QuickBooks EasyStart's $30 in Canada. QuickBooks Lite in Canada is cheaper still at $20, but your accountant can't log in to it. Above 20 invoices or 5 bills a month, the Xero plan to compare is Growing (US$59) in the US or Standard ($60) in Canada.
2. The discounts change the first year, not the second. In Canada, QuickBooks' six months at 90% off make its first year cheaper than Xero's on the entry plans ($198 against $232.50 to $240), but at the "Was" and list prices Xero is cheaper. Compare the list prices, because that's what you'll pay for as long as you use it.
3. If more than one person keeps the books, users decide it. A QuickBooks plan is priced by how many people log in. On Xero, your bookkeeper, your accountant and your office manager don't change the price.
4. Your bookkeeper's choice matters as much as yours. A bookkeeper who works in one of them every day is likely to work faster in it. Ask which one they use before you buy.

Questions to ask before you choose

1. What does the entry plan limit: how many invoices and bills a month?
2. Does the plan I want file my sales tax: GST/HST and PST in Canada, or my state's sales tax in the US?
3. Does it connect to my bank and card for automatic feeds?
4. How many people need to log in, including my bookkeeper and accountant?
5. What does it cost after the discount ends, and can I cancel any time? (QuickBooks Canada: "No contract, cancel anytime". Xero, on its US and Canadian pages: "Xero subscriptions auto-renew monthly until they are cancelled".)
6. Which one does my bookkeeper or accountant already use?

How we collected this

On 2026-10-19 we read the pricing page of each company's US and Canadian site, from a Canadian address, and recorded each plan's list price, its introductory discount, and its user limit, with the URL and date. The intro offers end on set dates or after a set number of months, so they will change. List prices change too, so check the date. Neither company paid to be listed, and nobody was contacted.

What to do next

If your books are months behind, the software doesn't fix that: someone has to catch them up first. We're setting up catch-up bookkeeping into your own QuickBooks or Xero file, at a fixed price per month behind, and we plan to publish our close day and error rate when it opens. Join the list. If you keep the books yourself, the month-end close checklist works in either one.