Xero vs MYOB (2026): Which Is Better for Your Business?

Xero is the better pick for most Australian small businesses that want the widest bookkeeper support and app choice, while MYOB wins if you employ a few people on a tight budget or need proper inventory and job costing without bolting on extra software. Both handle GST, online BAS lodgement, Single Touch Payroll Phase 2 and payday super, so neither will get you in trouble with the ATO. The real decision comes down to price at your headcount, how much stock or job tracking you do, and who's going to be doing the books.

Xero vs MYOB at a glance

All prices are the vendors' advertised ongoing rates in AUD as at September 2026. Both companies run steep introductory discounts, so compare the full price, not the first-six-months figure.

	Xero	MYOB
Entry plan	Ignite $37/month	Lite $26.25/month (billed as $315 a year)
Mid plan	Grow $78/month	Pro $70/month
Top small-business plans	Comprehensive $107/month; Ultimate from $143/month	AccountRight Plus $165/month; Premier $210/month
Invoice limits	Ignite: 20 invoices and 5 bills a month; unlimited from Grow	Unlimited on every plan
Payroll	Included: 1 person (Ignite), 2 (Grow), 5 (Comprehensive), 10 to 100 (Ultimate tiers)	$3 per employee per month on Lite (max 2) and Pro (unlimited); included on AccountRight
Bank feeds	Unlimited on all plans	Lite: 2 connected accounts; Pro and above: unlimited
BAS and STP	Lodge BAS from the software; STP Phase 2	Lodge BAS from the software; STP Phase 2
Inventory	Simple tracked stock on all plans	Basic single-location on Lite and Pro; full multi-location on AccountRight
Job costing	Xero Projects on the top plans only	Basic jobs on Lite and Pro; full job costing and time billing on AccountRight Plus
Multi-currency	Comprehensive and above	Premier only
Connected apps	1,000+	350+
Users	Unlimited	Unlimited
Offline access	No	AccountRight desktop app

Xero's price list states its figures include GST. MYOB's pricing page doesn't spell out its GST treatment, so check your first invoice before you assume the two are like for like.

Pricing: what each one really costs

Xero

Xero raised its Australian prices on 1 July 2026, the latest in a run of near-annual increases. The four small-business plans are Ignite ($37), Grow ($78), Comprehensive ($107) and Ultimate, which is priced by payroll headcount: Ultimate 10 at $143, Ultimate 20 at $180, Ultimate 50 at $250 and Ultimate 100 at $300 a month.

Payroll, automated super and Hubdoc receipt capture are built into every plan. The catch is the caps. Ignite limits you to 20 invoices and 5 bills a month and one employee; a busy month, or a second staff member, pushes you to Grow at $78, which is $936 a year. Xero also dropped its multi-organisation discount from 1 July 2026, so two entities now means two full-price subscriptions.

MYOB

MYOB's cloud range is Solo ($99 a year, mobile-only, for sole traders with no employees), Lite ($315 a year, which works out at $26.25 a month), Pro ($70 a month), then the heavier AccountRight Plus ($165) and Premier ($210). Payroll on Lite and Pro is an add-on at $3 per employee per month, with Lite capped at two employees. AccountRight includes unlimited payroll. There's also a Payroll Only plan at $15 a month for up to four employees if you just need STP reporting alongside something else.

Every MYOB plan has unlimited invoicing, which is the single biggest reason a sole trader who sends more than 20 invoices a month should look hard at MYOB before paying $78 for Xero Grow.

Worked examples

Your situation	Xero	MYOB	Cheaper
Sole trader, no staff, 15 invoices a month	Ignite $444/yr	Lite $315/yr	MYOB by $129
Sole trader, no staff, 30 invoices a month	Grow $936/yr	Lite $315/yr	MYOB by $621
3 employees	Comprehensive $1,284/yr	Pro + 3 payroll: $948/yr	MYOB by $336
8 employees	Ultimate 10 $1,716/yr	Pro + 8 payroll: $1,128/yr	MYOB by $588
40 employees	Ultimate 50 $3,000/yr	AccountRight Plus $1,980/yr	MYOB by $1,020

On list price MYOB is cheaper at every row. That's not the whole story, because Xero's mid plans include multi-currency and expense claims that MYOB reserves for AccountRight, but if your budget is tight, MYOB starts ahead.

Payroll, STP and payday super

Both products are STP Phase 2 enabled and both pay super electronically from inside the payroll module. Since 1 July 2026, that matters more than it used to: under payday super, contributions must reach each employee's fund within 7 business days of payday rather than quarterly, and the ATO's free clearing house has closed. Our payday super guide covers the new rules; the practical point here is that you want payroll and super in one system, and both Xero and MYOB deliver that.

Where they differ is the pricing model. Xero's headcount caps are hard edges: hire your third person on Grow and you're moving to Comprehensive. MYOB's $3-per-employee model scales smoothly until around 32 employees, where AccountRight Plus with unlimited payroll becomes cheaper than Pro. Xero's payroll screens are cleaner; MYOB's take more clicks but get the same job done.

Bank feeds and reconciliation

Xero's bank reconciliation is the reason many owners fall for it: transactions arrive daily, the matching suggestions are good, and bank rules clear the repetitive stuff in seconds. Every Xero plan has unlimited feeds.

MYOB's feeds are equally reliable from the major banks, but Lite caps you at two connected accounts. A transaction account plus a credit card and you've used both; add a savings account and you need Pro.

BAS and GST

This one is a tie. Both code GST on every transaction, produce the figures for your activity statement and let you lodge your BAS electronically from within the software once you've connected to the ATO. Both let you invite your accountant or BAS agent in with their own login at no charge.

Inventory

Xero's built-in inventory is simple tracked stock: quantities on hand and average cost, flowing through to invoices and bills. It's fine for a service business selling a few dozen products on the side, but it's not built for multiple locations, backorders or landed costs, which is why retailers on Xero usually add an inventory app such as Cin7 Core or Unleashed at extra monthly cost.

MYOB Lite and Pro offer basic single-location inventory roughly comparable to Xero's. AccountRight Plus is a different class: multi-location stock, cost layers, stock transfers and proper backorder handling, all native. If stock is your business rather than a sideline, MYOB gives you a real inventory system for $165 a month; matching it on Xero means an add-on that often costs as much again.

Job costing and time billing

Tradies and professional services firms need to know what each job earned. Xero Projects, its time and job tracking module, only comes with the top-end plans, so most trade businesses on Xero use a connected job-management app like ServiceM8, Tradify or simPRO and push invoices back to Xero. That works well, but it's another subscription.

MYOB includes basic job tracking on Lite and Pro: you tag invoices, bills and payroll hours to a job number and run a profit report per job. AccountRight Plus adds time billing and fuller job profitability reporting. For a small builder or consultancy that wants job costing inside the accounting file, MYOB is the stronger native option.

App ecosystem

Xero's app store lists more than 1,000 connected apps across payments, e-commerce, point of sale, CRM, rostering and industry-specific tools. MYOB's marketplace has more than 350. The gap is real, but most of the apps Australian small businesses actually use, including Square, Shopify, simPRO, Deputy and Employment Hero, connect to both. Write down the apps you rely on and check both marketplaces before you decide. Our essential software stack guide covers what a typical small business needs.

Bookkeeper and accountant familiarity

More Australian accountants and bookkeepers work in Xero day to day, and many firms have standardised on it. That has practical value: a Xero-native bookkeeper is faster, cheaper per hour of your work, and easier to replace if they leave. MYOB remains well supported, especially by practices that have used it since the desktop days, and almost every bookkeeper can work in either.

The simplest tiebreaker is to ask whoever will do your books which platform they're quickest in. If you're choosing a bookkeeper at the same time, our guide on BAS agents, bookkeepers and accountants explains what to check.

Ease of use

Xero is the more intuitive product for someone who isn't an accountant: cleaner dashboard, invoicing and reconciliation screens, and less jargon in the way. MYOB Business has improved a lot, but payroll and inventory workflows still take more clicks than their Xero equivalents.

MYOB's AccountRight has one advantage Xero can't offer: a desktop application that works offline and syncs when you're back online. If your internet is unreliable, that alone can settle the argument.

Scenario verdicts

Sole trader or freelancer, no staff. MYOB Lite at $315 a year, or Solo at $99 if you only need invoicing and expenses on your phone. Xero Ignite is worth the extra $129 only if your accountant works exclusively in Xero and you'll stay under 20 invoices a month.

Service business with two to five staff. Close call. MYOB Pro is a few hundred dollars a year cheaper. Xero Comprehensive includes multi-currency, expense claims for five people and the bigger app ecosystem. If you don't need those, take the saving.

Trades. Either platform paired with a job-management app works well. For job costing inside the accounting file without an extra subscription, MYOB Pro or AccountRight Plus.

Retail, wholesale or serious stock. MYOB AccountRight Plus for native multi-location inventory, or Xero plus a dedicated inventory app if you value Xero's interface enough to pay for both.

Growing team heading past ten staff. MYOB Pro, then AccountRight Plus once you pass about 32 employees. Xero Ultimate is polished but expensive at scale.

Two or more entities. MYOB Premier includes a second business on the one subscription; Xero now charges full price per organisation.

For a broader look that also covers QuickBooks and Reckon, read our best accounting software comparison. If you're already on Xero and the price rises have you shopping around, see Xero alternatives for Australian small business.

Switching between them

Both offer a 30-day free trial, and conversion services exist to move your chart of accounts, contacts, open invoices and history across. Switch on 1 July or the first day of a BAS quarter, after the previous period is lodged, so you're never reconciling half a quarter in two systems. Export your key reports and payroll year-to-date figures before you close the old file, and keep access to the records for the five years the ATO expects.

Key takeaways

• MYOB is cheaper than Xero at every headcount on list price (as at September 2026), from $129 a year for a sole trader to more than $1,000 a year at 40 staff.
• Xero's Ignite plan caps you at 20 invoices and 5 bills a month; MYOB has unlimited invoicing on every plan, including $315-a-year Lite.
• Both are STP Phase 2 enabled and handle payday super's 7-business-day deadline, so ATO compliance is a tie.
• Xero has the bigger app ecosystem (1,000+ apps against 350+) and more bookkeepers who use it every day.
• MYOB AccountRight Plus gives you real multi-location inventory, job costing and time billing natively for $165 a month; Xero needs add-ons for the same depth.
• Ask your bookkeeper or accountant which platform they're fastest in before you decide.

Where to get help

• Xero pricing plans and MYOB pricing for the current rates and any introductory offers.
• ATO: Single Touch Payroll for reporting obligations and the list of STP-enabled products.
• ATO: Payday super for the rules that started on 1 July 2026.
• Tax Practitioners Board register to check that anyone lodging your BAS for a fee is a registered BAS or tax agent.
• Your accountant or bookkeeper can tell you which platform they support, help you pick the right plan for your headcount, and manage the switch at the start of a BAS quarter.