Researched and edited by Rowan Vale Published September 20, 2026 · U.S. pricing and product details verified September 20, 2026 Xero is raising its U.S. subscription prices on October 1, 2026. The increase affects all three core accounting plans: Early rises from $25 to $27 per month, Growing from $55 to $59, and Established from $90 to $97. The new prices apply to both new and existing U.S. subscribers, and Xero says invoices dated October 1 onward will reflect the higher rates. The increases are relatively modest in dollar terms, but they matter for businesses comparing Xero with QuickBooks — particularly after QuickBooks also raised prices for several U.S. plans earlier this year. Quick answer: Xero's October increase adds $24 per year to Early, $48 to Growing, and $84 to Established at regular monthly pricing. After the increase, Xero Growing will cost $59 per month versus $85 for QuickBooks Essentials, while Xero Established will cost $97 versus $140 for QuickBooks ...

Researched and edited by Rowan Vale Published September 15, 2026 · U.S. QuickBooks pricing, feature limits, and downgrade documentation verified September 15, 2026 QuickBooks Essentials costs $85 per month at current U.S. list price. Simple Start costs $38 . For a solo business, that creates an obvious question: if you are the only owner using QuickBooks, why pay an extra $47 per month, or $564 per year ? The answer is not simply “Essentials is for three users.” Some of the biggest differences are features, not seats. And one commonly repeated assumption is now outdated: current U.S. QuickBooks documentation shows that Simple Start can both pay vendors and enter, organize, and track bills. In other words, the distinction is no longer simply “bill pay versus no bill pay.” The more important losses are multicurrency, recurring transactions, enhanced reporting, employee-time invoicing, and the ability to have more than one ordinary billable user. Quick answer: Simple Start can m...

Researched and edited by Rowan Vale Published September 8, 2026 · U.S. QuickBooks pricing, plan limits, and downgrade documentation verified September 8, 2026 QuickBooks Plus now costs $140 per month at U.S. list price. Essentials costs $85 . That makes the downgrade look simple: move down one tier and save $55 per month, or $660 per year . But Plus is not just Essentials with two extra users. You also give up inventory tracking, project profitability, budgeting, class and location tracking, and some reporting capabilities. More importantly, Intuit requires cleanup before a downgrade if you use features that the lower plan cannot support. Quick answer: if you do not use inventory, project profitability, budgets, classes/locations, or more than three billable users, Essentials deserves a serious look. If you do use those features, do not downgrade until you have exported the relevant reports and understood what becomes unavailable. Intuit’s current U.S. support documentation sp...