Xero Has No Free Plan, and Its Cheapest Tier Caps Invoices

Xero does not offer a free plan. Early costs $27 per month after a discounted first six months and includes quotes plus 20 invoices per month, Growing is $59 and Established $97. All tiers carry a 30-day free trial. Xero advertises 90% off the plan for the first six months on a promotion running to 2 November 2026.¹

This is the accounting platform other platforms measure themselves against, and it has never had a free tier.

The detail worth knowing is the invoice cap on the cheapest plan, which is the kind of limit people discover mid-month.

What you actually get

Established at $97 adds advanced analytics and scaling tools. A payroll add-on runs from $5 a month, and a seat for an employee or contractor is $6 a month.

Twenty invoices a month is the real ceiling

Twenty invoices per month is 240 a year, roughly a third of what Zoho Books allows free.

For a freelancer raising four or five invoices a month it is irrelevant. For anyone invoicing daily it is the binding constraint on the cheapest plan.

Xero's own feature list states the cap next to the invoice line, so it is disclosed rather than hidden. It is simply easy to overlook when comparing headline prices.

The 90% discount is a promotion with a date

Xero is advertising 90% off for the first six months, with the offer running to 2 November 2026 in the US market.

After it ends, Early returns to $27, which is the number to plan against rather than the promotional one.

Discounted first months are standard across accounting software, and every competitor here does something similar. The renewal price is the comparison that matters.

What Xero includes at every level

Bank reconciliation, quotes, online invoice payments and the core ledger are present on all tiers, including the entry one.

The platform's real strength is its ecosystem: several hundred integrations, a mature API and an accountant network that works inside the same file.

For a business whose accountant uses Xero, that integration is frequently the entire reason the client chooses Xero.

Where the entry tier thins

No multi-currency on Early, which rules out anyone billing overseas in more than one currency.

No automation or performance dashboards, both of which start at Growing.

Per-seat charges sit on top at $6 a month for an employee or contractor, so a small team pays more than the headline suggests.

How it compares

Zoho Books is free under $50,000 revenue with 1,000 invoices a year and full accounting.

Wave is free with unlimited invoicing and bookkeeping, funded by card processing.

FreshBooks also has no free plan, with Lite from $23 a month and five billable clients.

Akaunting has no free cloud tier either, though its source is open. And FreeAgent is free only for customers of a specific banking group.

Xero is the most expensive entry point here and the most complete ecosystem.

When it is worth taking the trial

When your accountant already works in Xero and collaboration matters more than price.

When you need a mature integration ecosystem rather than a single-purpose invoicing tool.

When the business is complex enough that multi-currency and reconciliation are daily requirements rather than occasional ones.

When it stops making sense

When the budget is zero. Nothing here starts at zero, and no startup programme changes that.

When you raise more than twenty invoices a month on the entry plan and need only billing, since cheaper tools allow unlimited invoicing.

When the discount lapses and Early at $27 buys less than a free competitor does.

Frequently asked questions

Does Xero have a free plan?
No. Xero offers a 30-day free trial and paid plans from $27 a month.

How much does Xero cost?
Early $27, Growing $59 and Established $97 per month after any introductory offer ends.

How many invoices can I send on Early?
20 invoices per month on the Early plan.

Is there a discount for new customers?
Xero has advertised 90% off for the first six months on a promotion running to 2 November 2026.

Are seats included?
Employee and contractor seats are charged at $6 a month each on top of the plan.

Is Xero good for a freelancer?
Only above a certain earning level. Below it, free tiers from Wave or Zoho Books do more for nothing.

Absence of a free plan, the 20-invoice cap on Early, tier pricing, the $6 seat charge and the 90% offer terms verified against Xero's pricing page on 20 October 2026.

Sources

1. Xero pricing plans: www.xero.com/us/pricing-plans. Used for: No free plan; Early is $27 a month after a six-month discount.

All sources are the vendor's own plan or documentation pages, checked on 20 October 2026. Plan terms change without notice, so confirm current limits before you rely on them.