The best Xero alternatives in Australia

Key takeaways

• The right Xero alternative depends on what you actually need: a complete accounting ledger, sole trader tax administration, or stronger payments and spend controls. Before switching, compare total cost (not just the sticker price), since add-ons, payment fees and per-user charges shift the real number significantly.

• Six platforms stand out for different jobs: Airwallex, MYOB, Reckon, Rounded, Zoho Books and Hnry.

• Airwallex is strongest for international payments, multi-currency accounts, cards, expenses and bill pay – most businesses will still keep a connected accounting platform for BAS and tax lodgements.

Xero is one of the most widely used accounting platforms in Australia, and for good reason – it covers bank feeds, invoicing, bills and BAS reporting in one place. But it's not the only option, and it's not always the right one. Businesses may look elsewhere when they want lower or simpler pricing, native multi-currency and international payment tools, stronger spend controls for employee cards and expenses, or a bundled tax service designed specifically for sole traders. None of this means Xero is a poor fit for most businesses – it just means the best platform depends on what you're actually trying to solve.

How does Xero work?

Xero is cloud accounting software built around bank feeds, transaction matching and reconciliation, invoicing, bills, expenses, reporting and GST/BAS workflows. Bank feed support and timing depend on your financial institution, and online invoice payments run through providers such as Stripe and GoCardless, alongside newer options like PayTo, Zip and Tap to Pay.

Where Xero plans differ is in the detail: expenses, receipt capture, payroll, multi-currency and bill-payment allowances all vary depending on your tier, and multi-currency is only available on the Comprehensive and Ultimate 10 plans and above. Xero also has a large app ecosystem, but native cards and advanced spend controls generally require a third-party integration rather than being built in.

The top alternatives to Xero in Australia

• Airwallex: An all-in-one financial operations platform built around international payments, multi-currency accounts, business cards, Expense Management and supplier Bill Pay. It integrates with accounting platforms including Xero, but it's not a standalone BAS or tax-lodgement system.

• MYOB: An Australian accounting suite covering GST/BAS, payroll, bank feeds, invoicing, bills and reporting, spanning products from Solo through to AccountRight.

• Reckon: Reckon One offers local GST/BAS workflows, bank feeds, invoicing and unlimited users for Australian sole traders and small businesses.

• Rounded: A simple invoicing and expense tool for freelancers and sole traders, with bank-fed expense tracking, time tracking and GST/BAS calculations.

• Zoho Books: A configurable accounting platform with invoicing, bills, purchase orders, expenses, document scanning and multi-currency support, backed by the wider Zoho ecosystem.

• Hnry: A pay-as-you-earn service for eligible sole traders, bundling tax calculations, tax payments, tax lodgements, invoicing and expense management.

Snapshot: Compare features across the best Xero alternatives

See how the top Xero alternatives compare across accounting, spend, and expense features.

In-depth: What features do the best Xero alternative platforms have?

Airwallex

Airwallex works as an all-in-one financial platform combining corporate cards, Billing, spend management and Expense Management, and it's particularly strong if international payments are part of your day-to-day. It combines multi-currency accounts and wallets, international transfers, payment acceptance, company and employee cards, expenses, supplier Bill Pay, purchase orders, invoicing and recurring or usage-based billing in a single platform. 

Expense and Bill Pay workflows include receipt and invoice OCR, coding, approvals, batch payments and purchase-order matching, all synced back to your accounting software – with Xero, Netsuite and QuickBooks, with GST/ATO-aligned records.

Fees

• Explore: A$29/month, or A$0/month if you deposit A$5,000+/month or hold a A$10,000+ balance.

• Grow: A$99/month, including Expense Management and Bill Pay for up to 500 bills a month.

• Accelerate: from A$999/month for enterprise features such as an advanced Netsuite integration.

• Additional spend users: A$15/user/month, with monthly fees charged per legal entity. FX, transfer, card and payment-processing fees can apply on top.

Pros

• Strong fit for international collections, supplier payments, multi-currency balances and overseas spend.

• Native company cards, expense controls, OCR capture, approvals and purchase-order matching.

• AI powered expense and spend tools – including the Expense Policy Agent, which reviews every expense automatically.

Cons

• Not a complete standalone accounting ledger or BAS/tax-lodgement replacement.

• Pricing and functionality depend on your plan, legal entity, eligibility, region and transaction type.

MYOB

MYOB isn't one product – it's a family of them, so the comparison that matters is Solo versus MYOB Business versus AccountRight, not "MYOB" as a single plan. MYOB Business covers invoicing, quotes, income and expenses, bank reconciliation, bills, purchase orders, reporting, GST/BAS and payroll, while AccountRight Premier is the documented option for multi-currency. 

In Tray uses OCR for uploaded bills and receipts, and recurring transactions plus AI-powered invoice reminders add a layer of automation. Employee cards and more advanced spend controls generally come through marketplace integrations such as ProSpend, Weel and Spenda, rather than being built natively into MYOB.

Fees

• Solo: A$11/month

• Lite: A$35/month

• Pro: A$70/month

• AccountRight Plus: A$165/month

• Online Payments: 1.8% + A$0.25 per transaction (including GST), subject to approval.

Pros

• Broad Australian accounting coverage, including GST/BAS, payroll, bank feeds, bills and reporting.

• A stronger fit for businesses with employees, inventory or more complex accounting needs.

Cons

• Feature differences across Solo, MYOB Business and AccountRight can make like-for-like comparison harder.

• Multi-currency sits behind the Premier tier and has documented workflow limitations.

Reckon

Reckon's accounting software covers bookkeeping, invoicing, bank feeds, reconciliation, expenses, GST/BAS reporting and optional payroll, with two main plans: Accounting Plus and Accounting Premium. It supports branded and recurring invoices, reminders and bank connections across more than 100 Australian banks and account types. Stripe payment acceptance can add "Pay Now" links and automate matching and reconciliation. 

Reckon also offers separate desktop products (Reckon Accounts Hosted and Reckon Accounts), which have different feature sets to the cloud accounting plans – features like multi-currency shouldn't be assumed to carry over between them. 

Fees

• Accounting Plus: A$24/month.

• Accounting Premium: A$46/month.

• Optional payroll: from A$16/month for up to four employees (A$32/month for up to ten employees; A$60/month for unlimited employees).

• 30-day free trial; no minimum subscription or lock-in 

• Stripe payment acceptance: 1.8% + A$0.30 per successful transaction.

Pros

• Australian-focused GST, BAS, PAYG and bank-reconciliation workflows.

• Invoicing, expenses, recurring invoices and accountant or bookkeeper access.

Cons

• Desktop products (Reckon Accounts Hosted and Reckon Accounts) offer different capabilities again – features documented for these shouldn't be assumed to carry over to the cloud accounting plans.

• Multi-currency, scheduled supplier payments, native OCR and corporate-card capabilities aren't clearly established for the core cloud accounting product.

Rounded

Rounded is built for Australian freelancers and sole traders rather than growing SMEs, and it says as much itself. It focuses on invoicing, quotes, online payments, bank-fed expenses, GST/BAS calculations, income-tax estimates and time tracking, importing transactions from more than 100 Australian financial institutions and using AI to suggest or pre-fill expense data from bank feeds. It supports multi-currency invoices and Stripe/PayPal payment integrations, but native supplier bill management, purchase orders, employee cards, and payroll are not supported.

Fees

• Starter: A$23.95/month 

• Pro: A$29.95/month 

• Annual billing is displayed as including one month free; subscription pricing includes GST.

• Stripe and PayPal transaction fees apply separately.

Pros

• A simple, Australian-built sole-trader workflow for invoices, expenses, time tracking and GST/BAS calculations.

• Mobile reconciliation and AI-assisted expense suggestions.

Cons

• A limited fit for growing SMEs needing inventory, payroll, purchase orders, supplier approvals or employee spend controls.

• The platform is suited to Australian sole traders; the tax engine is locked to the ATO, so if you expand across borders or you grow beyond your current operations, you will need another platform.

Zoho Books

Zoho Books is a configurable accounting platform with a wider ecosystem behind it, though some of the more advanced spend features live in separate Zoho products. Native modules include invoices, bills, purchase orders, expenses, bank feeds, reconciliation, reporting, and GST and BAS support, and its Documents feature can scan receipts and extract fields to create expenses, bills, invoices or purchase orders automatically. 

Multi-currency, bill approvals, user counts and document scans all vary by plan, and Zoho Expense is where advanced employee expenses, approvals, policy controls, reimbursements and corporate-card management actually sit. Zoho Books also supports Australian GST/BAS reporting, though you will need to file directly through the ATO portal. KeyPay payroll is also available as an integration rather than native payroll processing.

Fees

• Free: A$0 for businesses with revenue below A$50,000 per financial year.

• Standard: A$16.50 per organisation/month

• Professional: A$33 per organisation/month

• Premium: A$44 per organisation/month

• Elite and Ultimate: A$181.50 per organisation/month and A$319 per organisation/month respectively

• Discounts for annual billing

Pros

• Broad accounting coverage, including bills, purchase orders, expenses, document capture, multi-currency and Australian GST/BAS reporting.

• A large ecosystem if you're already using other Zoho products.

Cons

• Advanced employee expenses, corporate cards and policy controls may require Zoho Expense as a separate purchase.

• Feature limits, users, scans and multi-currency access vary substantially by plan.

Hnry

Hnry takes a different approach entirely, bundling an accountant with the software. It combines an Hnry Account, tax calculations and payments, expense management, invoicing, tax lodgements and support from sole-trader accountants, automatically calculating and paying income tax, GST, the Medicare levy and student loan repayments as income comes in. 

Invoicing includes recurring invoices, reminders, quotes and card-payment options, and expenses can be submitted by receipt photo, with the virtual Business Mastercard able to raise card purchases as expenses automatically. It's built specifically for eligible Australian sole traders: the account is AUD-only, and inventory, payroll, purchase-order approval, supplier bill management and native OCR aren't part of the offering.

Fees

• 1% + GST of each payment into the Hnry Account, capped at A$1,500 + GST/year.

• No monthly subscription or joining fee stated on the pricing page.

• Minimum fee of A$0.50 + GST for individual payments under A$50.

• Optional same-day payments cost A$0.50 per Pay Summary.

• No additional Hnry card fee for the virtual Business Mastercard.

Pros

• Bundles accounting support, tax calculations, tax payments, tax lodgements, invoicing and expense management for eligible sole traders.

• Pay-as-you-earn pricing and automated tax administration take admin off your plate.

Cons

• Designed for sole traders, not businesses needing broad inventory, payroll, multi-entity or team accounting.

• AUD-only account which costs more as you scale

Why businesses might look for an alternative to Xero

Xero's popularity doesn't mean it's the right fit for every business – a few specific limitations tend to be what sends people looking:

• Multi-currency is locked behind higher tiers. It's only available on Comprehensive and Ultimate 10 plans and above, which means you will be paying at least A$107 per month if you need the feature.

• No native corporate cards or spend controls. Card issuing, spend limits and employee controls all require a third-party App Store integration rather than being built into Xero itself.

• Supplier bill pay has real limits. Xero's online bill payments are restricted to AUD domestic payments and do not yet support future-date scheduling – though Xero has announced this is planned for later in 2026.

• Expenses and Projects users are capped by plan, with extra users charged per person per month once you exceed your tier's allowance.

• It's a general ledger first. Businesses prioritising overseas collections, cross-border spend or multi-currency balances over accounting depth may find a financial operations platform like Airwallex a better fit alongside (not instead of) Xero.

• Sole traders may find it more than they need. Simpler, cheaper tools such as Rounded, or a bundled tax service like Hnry, can be a better match for straightforward invoicing and GST/BAS needs.

Airwallex vs Xero: How do they compare?

These two products aren't quite like-for-like: Xero is the accounting system of record, while Airwallex is the financial operations layer that manages accounts, payments, cards, expenses, bills and billing, then integrates with accounting software like Xero.

Why businesses choose Airwallex

• International financial operations: Multi-currency accounts, transfers & FX, payment acceptance, cards, expenses and Bill Pay all in one platform.

• Native employee cards and controls: Spend limits, merchant-category rules and full visibility over who's spending what, and where.

• Automated expenses and accounts payable: OCR capture, coding, approvals, purchase-order matching, batch payments and accounting sync save your team from manual data entry.

• Billing flexibility: One-off, recurring and usage-based billing for businesses running subscriptions or metered pricing.

• A clear integration boundary: Airwallex handles operational money movement and spend, while your accounting platform stays in charge of the general ledger, BAS and tax workflows.