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Compare QuickBooks Desktop Pro and Xero 
At a Glance
Market Segments
Small-Business (81.4% of reviews)
Small-Business (78.2% of reviews)
Entry-Level Pricing
$499.95
$13.00 Per Month
QuickBooks Desktop Pro
Star Rating
(1,727)4.3 out of 5
Market Segments
Small-Business (81.4% of reviews)
Entry-Level Pricing
$499.95
Browse all 5 pricing plansXero
Star Rating
(748)4.3 out of 5
Market Segments
Small-Business (78.2% of reviews)
Entry-Level Pricing
$13.00 Per Month
Free Trial is available
Browse all 3 pricing plansSummary
AI Generated Summary
AI-generated. Powered by real user reviews.
- Users report that QuickBooks Desktop Pro excels in Bill Generation, particularly with its Digital Billing feature, which received a high score of 9.4. In contrast, Xero's digital billing capabilities scored lower at 8.2, leading some reviewers to express a preference for QuickBooks in this area.
- Reviewers mention that QuickBooks Desktop Pro offers superior Payroll Management, with features like Direct Deposit and Check/W-2 Printing scoring 9.0 and 9.2 respectively. Users on G2 have noted that Xero's payroll features, while functional, do not match the efficiency and ease of use found in QuickBooks.
- G2 users highlight QuickBooks Desktop Pro's robust Inventory Management capabilities, particularly in Inventory Tracking and Inventory Costing, both scoring 8.5 and 8.1. In comparison, Xero's inventory management features received lower scores, with users mentioning that they found QuickBooks to be more comprehensive for their inventory needs.
- Users say that Xero shines in Expense Management, particularly with its Digital Receipt Management feature, which scored 8.2. Reviewers have noted that this feature is more intuitive compared to QuickBooks, which scored 7.8 in the same category, making Xero a preferred choice for those focused on expense tracking.
- Reviewers mention that QuickBooks Desktop Pro has a more extensive General Ledger functionality, especially with Journal Entries scoring 8.7 compared to Xero's 8.4. Users report that this makes QuickBooks a better option for businesses that require detailed financial tracking and reporting.
- Users on G2 report that Xero's Integration Capabilities are superior, particularly with its Accounting Integration scoring 8.6, while QuickBooks scored 9.0. However, some users have expressed that QuickBooks offers a wider range of built-in features, which can reduce the need for additional integrations.
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Pricing
Entry-Level Pricing
QuickBooks Desktop Pro
QuickBooks Premier 2017
$499.95
Skip the high cost networking with QuickBooks Plus Hosting Service powered by Right Networks.
- One-time payment
- 60-day money-back guarantee
Xero
Starter / Early
$13.00
Per Month
Good for sole traders, new businesses, and the self-employed.
- Send quotes and 20 invoices
- Enter 5 bills
- Reconcile bank transactions
Free Trial
QuickBooks Desktop Pro
Free Trial is available
Xero
Free Trial is available
Ratings
Meets Requirements
8.9
1,476
8.5
597
Ease of Use
8.6
1,481
8.7
614
Ease of Setup
8.3
618
8.3
314
Ease of Admin
8.6
619
8.6
251
Quality of Support
7.7
1,306
7.8
535
Has the product been a good partner in doing business?
8.2
602
8.4
246
Product Direction (% positive)
7.5
1,467
8.2
582
Features by Category
Expense Reports
Not enough data
7.9
77
Not enough data
8.6
76
Not enough data
7.8
68
Not enough data
8.1
72
Not enough data
7.8
71
Not enough data
7.9
68
Not enough data
8.2
69
Agentic AI - Expense Management
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Travel Management
Not enough data
7.4
66
Not enough data
6.2
62
Not enough data
5.6
60
Not enough data
7.0
64
Client Invoicing
Not enough data
8.8
73
Not enough data
8.5
69
Not enough data
7.9
70
Mobile
Not enough data
7.8
70
Not enough data
6.7
59
Not enough data
6.1
59
Platform
Not enough data
6.9
60
Not enough data
6.7
63
Administration
Not enough data
7.1
56
Administration
Not enough data
8.0
76
Not enough data
7.9
73
Not enough data
7.8
75
Not enough data
7.6
68
Not enough data
8.3
75
Platform
Not enough data
8.3
79
Not enough data
7.9
70
Not enough data
7.8
67
Not enough data
8.6
78
Not enough data
7.6
67
Not enough data
5.9
63
General Ledger
8.7
937
|
Verified
8.4
321
|
Verified
8.3
600
|
Verified
7.9
287
|
Verified
8.5
754
|
Verified
8.3
298
|
Verified
Accounts Receivable
8.6
930
|
Verified
8.5
335
|
Verified
8.4
720
|
Verified
8.0
250
8.1
589
|
Verified
7.9
273
|
Verified
Accounts Payable
8.6
745
|
Verified
8.1
248
8.8
841
|
Verified
8.4
305
|
Verified
8.6
649
|
Verified
8.2
283
|
Verified
Other Functionality
8.3
444
|
Verified
7.3
232
8.3
465
|
Verified
7.5
236
8.4
452
|
Verified
7.5
228
|
Verified
8.3
570
|
Verified
7.5
255
|
Verified
8.2
570
|
Verified
8.2
284
|
Verified
8.9
900
|
Verified
8.8
330
|
Verified
8.8
639
|
Verified
7.9
266
|
Verified
8.7
638
8.0
271
Reporting & Analytics
9.0
989
|
Verified
8.7
341
|
Verified
8.7
960
|
Verified
8.4
325
|
Verified
8.4
730
|
Verified
7.8
248
|
Verified
8.6
864
|
Verified
8.5
340
|
Verified
Platform
8.0
814
|
Verified
7.8
294
|
Verified
Feature Not Available
7.9
284
8.5
875
|
Verified
8.5
327
|
Verified
8.5
521
8.0
250
|
Verified
8.6
943
|
Verified
8.7
332
|
Verified
8.6
854
|
Verified
8.4
296
|
Verified
Integration
8.2
826
|
Verified
8.4
312
|
Verified
Feature Not Available
8.4
238
Feature Not Available
8.2
276
|
Verified
Cash Flow
9.0
115
|
Verified
8.3
207
|
Verified
9.1
131
|
Verified
8.7
228
|
Verified
8.9
122
|
Verified
8.5
208
|
Verified
Budgeting & Forecasting
8.4
730
|
Verified
7.8
248
|
Verified
8.5
106
|
Verified
8.4
204
|
Verified
8.5
81
|
Verified
7.9
176
|
Verified
8.9
106
|
Verified
8.2
202
|
Verified
Revenue
8.9
113
|
Verified
8.5
214
|
Verified
8.9
96
|
Verified
8.3
208
|
Verified
8.7
82
7.7
185
|
Verified
Payroll
8.9
87
7.9
169
|
Verified
8.9
99
7.3
161
|
Verified
8.9
98
|
Verified
8.1
195
|
Verified
9.0
112
|
Verified
8.6
206
|
Verified
AI
7.4
7
6.6
41
6.4
7
6.8
41
6.7
7
6.8
41
6.4
7
6.5
41
7.1
7
6.8
41
5.5
7
6.1
40
7.9
7
7.7
41
6.9
7
7.4
39
6.4
7
6.8
39
6.4
7
7.0
39
Mobile Applications - Accounting
Not enough data
7.8
19
Not enough data
8.1
19
Not enough data
7.8
19
Not enough data
6.0
19
Not enough data
8.0
19
Not enough data
8.2
19
Agentic AI - Accounting
Not enough data
Not enough data
General Ledger
8.7
937
|
Verified
8.4
321
|
Verified
8.3
600
|
Verified
7.9
287
|
Verified
8.5
754
|
Verified
8.3
298
|
Verified
Accounts Receivable
8.6
930
|
Verified
8.5
335
|
Verified
8.4
720
|
Verified
8.0
250
8.1
589
|
Verified
7.9
273
|
Verified
Accounts Payable
8.6
745
|
Verified
8.1
248
8.8
841
|
Verified
8.4
305
|
Verified
8.6
649
|
Verified
8.2
283
|
Verified
Employee Self Service
8.4
227
|
Verified
Not enough data
8.4
190
|
Verified
Not enough data
8.2
167
|
Verified
Not enough data
Administration
9.0
459
|
Verified
Not enough data
8.5
330
|
Verified
Not enough data
9.0
328
|
Verified
Not enough data
8.7
350
|
Verified
Not enough data
8.7
383
|
Verified
Not enough data
8.7
307
|
Verified
Not enough data
8.8
273
|
Verified
Not enough data
9.2
412
|
Verified
Not enough data
9.0
341
|
Verified
Not enough data
Taxes
9.1
427
|
Verified
Not enough data
8.9
111
Not enough data
8.8
332
|
Verified
Not enough data
Integration
8.4
252
|
Verified
Not enough data
8.2
86
Not enough data
8.6
290
|
Verified
Not enough data
8.5
69
Not enough data
Platform
8.7
442
|
Verified
Not enough data
8.9
434
|
Verified
Not enough data
8.7
461
|
Verified
Not enough data
8.7
408
|
Verified
Not enough data
Invoice Generation
Not enough data
8.0
88
Not enough data
8.7
87
Not enough data
8.7
84
Invoice Processing
Not enough data
8.0
82
Not enough data
8.2
84
Not enough data
7.6
84
Not enough data
8.5
91
Analytics
Not enough data
8.5
86
Not enough data
8.1
86
Not enough data
7.6
79
Not enough data
8.3
88
Integration
Not enough data
8.9
92
Not enough data
8.5
87
Not enough data
7.5
80
Not enough data
8.2
89
Agentic AI - Invoice Management
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Not enough data
Multichannel inventory management
Not enough data
7.7
26
Not enough data
8.1
26
Not enough data
7.5
26
3PL inventory management
Not enough data
8.6
27
Not enough data
8.0
27
Not enough data
8.1
26
Inventory Management
Not enough data
8.4
27
Not enough data
8.0
27
Not enough data
8.0
26
Not enough data
7.9
26
Not enough data
8.8
26
Inventory Management Platform Features
Not enough data
8.2
27
Not enough data
8.5
28
Not enough data
7.8
28
Not enough data
7.6
26
Not enough data
7.6
26
Not enough data
8.4
29
Not enough data
7.9
27
Not enough data
8.6
26
Not enough data
8.9
28
Not enough data
9.1
28
Bill Generation
8.9
78
7.7
84
9.4
69
8.2
86
9.2
65
8.3
87
Bill Processing
8.8
65
7.4
86
8.8
69
8.0
85
9.2
75
8.1
86
Integration
9.0
84
8.7
95
9.1
80
8.3
89
9.0
56
7.1
79
Agentic AI - Billing
Not enough data
8.3
5
Agentic AI - Accounting & Finance
Not enough data
Not enough data
Categories
Categories
Shared Categories
QuickBooks Desktop Pro and Xero are categorized as Billing and Accounting
Unique Categories
QuickBooks Desktop Pro is categorized as Payroll
Xero is categorized as Invoice Management, Inventory Control, Expense Management, and Nonprofit Accounting
Reviews
Reviewers' Company Size
QuickBooks Desktop Pro
Small-Business(50 or fewer emp.)
Mid-Market(51-1000 emp.)
Enterprise(> 1000 emp.)
Xero
Small-Business(50 or fewer emp.)
Mid-Market(51-1000 emp.)
Enterprise(> 1000 emp.)
Small-Business
(50 or fewer emp.)
Mid-Market
(51-1000 emp.)
Enterprise
(> 1000 emp.)
Reviewers' Industry
Accounting
16.9%
Construction
6.9%
Non-Profit Organization Management
5.5%
Marketing and Advertising
3.4%
Information Technology and Services
3.1%
Other
64.2%
Accounting
24.4%
Computer Software
8.6%
Information Technology and Services
7.8%
Marketing and Advertising
5.8%
Financial Services
3.4%
Other
49.9%
Most Helpful Reviews
QuickBooks Desktop Pro
Most Helpful Favorable Review
Josh S.
Verified User in Aviation & Aerospace
I appreciate how user friendly the software is. It is very easy to seamlessly transition between accounting tasks like payables and receivables. I also love how easy it is to directly download transactions from most banks and credit cards which saves so...
Most Helpful Critical Review
Verified User in Marketing and Advertising
I have the new user interface. It is not easy to use. They moved tabs that are often used to random places. For example, Reconcile used to be under the banking tab. Now it is in this random area on the upper right side by the name of our company with a gear...
Xero
Most Helpful Favorable Review
Dave O.
Verified User in Telecommunications
I switched from Quickbooks because Xero is online. Since then I've grown to love many other things compared to Quickbooks. Bank feeds make data entry minimal and bank recs easy. Xero is rapidly growing and improving. Some features were limited a few years...
Most Helpful Critical Review
Dimitri S.
Verified User in Broadcast Media
As business grew I noticed most features felt unpolished and were lacking functionality that would make them feel complete. To add the functionality that you expect would have been built in required several apps each with their own monthly fee. Some...
Josh S.
Verified User in Aviation & Aerospace
I appreciate how user friendly the software is. It is very easy to seamlessly transition between accounting tasks like payables and receivables. I also love how easy it is to directly download transactions from most banks and credit cards which saves so...
Dave O.
Verified User in Telecommunications
I switched from Quickbooks because Xero is online. Since then I've grown to love many other things compared to Quickbooks. Bank feeds make data entry minimal and bank recs easy. Xero is rapidly growing and improving. Some features were limited a few years...
Verified User in Marketing and Advertising
I have the new user interface. It is not easy to use. They moved tabs that are often used to random places. For example, Reconcile used to be under the banking tab. Now it is in this random area on the upper right side by the name of our company with a gear...
Dimitri S.
Verified User in Broadcast Media
As business grew I noticed most features felt unpolished and were lacking functionality that would make them feel complete. To add the functionality that you expect would have been built in required several apps each with their own monthly fee. Some...
Alternatives
Discussions
Does Quickbooks allow you to charge customers on a recurring basis?
I know that quickbooks is kind of the gold standard when it comes to accounting software, but does it have an online payment gateway?
2 comments
EM
It can be set up in a few easy steps. Check out this guide: http://www.qbexpress.com/how-to-setup-recurring-charges-for-customers-in-quickbooks/Read more
Best unique feature ?
2 comments
MA
User interface is simply fantastic. It has got a beautiful interface with excel. Like anything and everything in software can be exported and imported...Read more
What plans are there to migrate the features from quick books online?
2 comments
BL
My understanding is that QuickBooks Desktop is more in "Maintenance Mode" right now. I would not expect big new features added to desktop.
As an example,...Read more
What is Xero software used for?
3 comments
BA
The process of recording financial transactions and managing financial records.Read more
We run almost everything on Xero ourselves but can you recommend a remote bookkeeper who understands UK tax issues who I can consult occasionally to sort things out for me in the system.
2 comments
IC
Xero's advisor directory can help you find an accountant nearby.Read more
Is XERO a good accounting software?
2 comments
RB
Xerox is user-friendly accounting software. Read more
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