Xero Pricing Australia 2026: Every Plan and Cost Per Invoice

Xero pricing in Australia starts at A$37 a month for Ignite, which caps you at 20 invoices a month, then A$78 for Grow and A$107 for Comprehensive. Four Ultimate plans run from A$143 to A$300 a month, and Ultra is A$500. All prices are in AUD, include GST, are billed monthly and were checked on Xero's Australian pricing page in October 2026.

The plan you need comes down to two numbers: how many invoices you send each month and how many people you pay. A sole trader sending 40 invoices a month can't use Ignite, so they pay A$78 a month on Grow, which works out to about A$1.95 an invoice.

InvoiceSonic publishes this guide. We make an invoicing app, not accounting software, and we include it below only where it's a genuine alternative.

Xero pricing plans in Australia (October 2026)

Xero has eight plans in Australia. They're grouped as "manage your finances" (Ignite, Grow, Comprehensive), "pay and manage a team" (Comprehensive and the Ultimate plans) and Ultra for complex businesses.

The yearly figures are simply twelve monthly payments at the regular price. Xero doesn't sell an annual plan on its website (more on that below).

What each Xero plan includes

Each Xero plan includes everything in the plan below it, plus more payroll seats, more automation and longer cash flow forecasts.

Ignite: A$37 a month

Ignite covers the basics a sole trader needs: send quotes and up to 20 invoices a month, accept online invoice payments, enter 5 bills, reconcile bank transactions, track GST and lodge BAS. It also includes basic receipt and document capture, real-time reports, automated super, payroll for 1 person, a 30-day cash flow forecast and online bill payments.

Grow: A$78 a month

Grow removes the invoice cap and adds automated bill entry and tracking, payroll for 2 people, a 60-day forecast, custom dashboards and expense claims for 1 user. It also adds JAX, Xero's AI assistant, which categorises and matches high-confidence bank transactions automatically.

Comprehensive: A$107 a month

Comprehensive adds full document capture, payroll for 5 people, a 90-day forecast, expense claims for 5 users, multiple currencies, financial health scorecards, auto-reconciliation and budgeting with suggestions.

Ultimate 10, 20, 50 and 100: A$143 to A$300 a month

The Ultimate plans are priced by how many people you pay: 10, 20, 50 or 100. Each adds a 180-day forecast, expenses and project tracking for 10 users, KPI and ratio analysis, and industry benchmarking.

Ultra: A$500 a month

Ultra includes payroll for 50 people with extra employees at A$2 each, multi-entity consolidation and advanced forecasting through Syft, priority support and targeted data restore.

The Ignite 20-invoice cap: who it catches

Xero Ignite lets you send quotes freely but only 20 invoices a month. Above that, Xero points you to Grow at A$78. Xero's small print says the limit applies to both approving and sending invoices, and that transactions created by connected apps can count towards it.

Twenty sounds like plenty until you count your real billing:

• Weekly clients. Five clients invoiced every week is 20 invoices in a four-week month, right on the cap, and 25 in a five-week month.
• Cleaners, tutors, lawn mowing and NDIS support work. These are often billed per visit, so 20 invoices can go in a fortnight.
• Connected apps. If a booking app or online store creates invoices in Xero, those count too.
• Deposits and progress claims. A deposit invoice plus a final invoice is two invoices for one job.

Hitting the cap more than doubles your bill, from A$37 to A$78 a month, an extra A$492 a year. If you're close to 20 a month now, plan on Grow.

Xero add-on pricing: payroll, expenses and projects

Xero mostly bundles payroll, expenses and projects into plans rather than selling them separately. When you outgrow a plan's allowance, you either pay a per-user charge or move up a plan.

• Payroll. Each plan includes a set number of people paid: 1 on Ignite, 2 on Grow, 5 on Comprehensive, and 10 to 100 on Ultimate. Xero's pricing page doesn't list a per-employee rate below Ultra; Ultra charges A$2 for each extra employee. Xero counts everyone paid in the month, including staff who left during it.
• Expenses (claims and mileage). These are included for 1 user on Grow, 5 on Comprehensive and 10 on Ultimate. Each extra user is A$5 a month. Ignite doesn't include expense claims.
• Projects (time and cost tracking). Only the Ultimate plans and Ultra include projects, for 10 users. Each extra user is A$7 a month.
• Bill payments. Online bill payments are included up to 10 a month on Comprehensive and 15 on Ultimate, then A$0.35 per extra payment.
• Getting paid by card. Xero's Stripe payment fees in Australia are 1.75% + A$0.30 for domestic cards, or 1.3% + A$0.30 (capped at A$5) for PayTo, both GST inclusive. These are on top of your subscription and aren't covered by Xero's discounts.

The payroll steps add up fast. Hiring your second employee is free on Grow. Hiring a third means moving from Grow to Comprehensive, which costs A$29 a month more. Hiring a sixth means moving to Ultimate 10, another A$36 a month.

Is Xero billed monthly or annually?

Xero is billed monthly in Australia. Its terms say subscriptions renew monthly until you cancel, and its pricing FAQ on paying annually only describes monthly invoicing. Usage charges, such as extra payroll or expense users, are billed in arrears for the previous month. If you upgrade, you have to wait one month before moving back down to a cheaper plan.

Instead of an annual discount, Xero runs promotions. When we checked, new Australian customers could get 90% off for the first 3 months (until 2 November 2026), or a month free to try it first. Here's what the first year costs with the 90% offer:

Budget on the year-two figure. The discount only applies to the base plan, not to add-ons or payment fees.

Xero cost per invoice at your volume

At low volumes, Xero is one of the most expensive ways to send an invoice. It gets cheaper per invoice as you send more. The table below divides each plan's regular monthly price by the number of invoices sent, using the cheapest plan that allows that volume.

Three things stand out:

• Going from 20 to 40 invoices makes Xero more expensive per invoice, because the cap forces you onto Grow. Every other tool here gets cheaper as you send more.
• These tools don't all do the same job. Xero and MYOB Lite reconcile your bank and lodge BAS. MYOB Solo tracks GST but doesn't lodge BAS. InvoiceSonic and Zoho Invoice only handle invoicing.
• At 5 invoices a month, you're mostly paying for the accounting. If you don't need bank reconciliation or BAS, that's money spent on features you don't use.

Prices for MYOB, InvoiceSonic and Zoho Invoice were also checked in October 2026. MYOB's prices are covered in detail in our MYOB pricing guide.

Xero subscription costs after GST and tax

Xero's Australian prices include GST, so if you're registered for GST you can claim back one-eleventh of each payment as a GST credit. On Ignite, that's A$3.36 a month of the A$37, or about A$40 a year, bringing the real cost to about A$404 a year. On Grow it's about A$85 a year, bringing the real cost to about A$851.

Accounting software used for your business is generally a deductible business expense, which lowers the after-tax cost further. Check your own situation with your tax agent.

When a cheaper invoicing-only tool makes sense

A cheaper invoicing-only tool makes sense when your real job is sending invoices and getting paid, not bookkeeping. Ask yourself four questions:

1. Are you registered for GST? If not, you don't lodge a BAS. Registration is required once your GST turnover reaches A$75,000. See do I charge GST under A$75,000.
2. Do you have employees? If not, you don't need Single Touch Payroll.
3. Does your accountant need live access to your books? Many accept a year-end export of invoices and expenses from a sole trader.
4. Do you have a handful of expenses a month? A receipts folder or spreadsheet can be enough.

If you answered "no" to most of these, invoicing software at A$0 to A$19 a month usually does the job. InvoiceSonic, for example, has a free invoice generator with no sign-up. Pro costs A$19 a month (or 25% off billed annually) for unlimited invoices, ABN and GST fields, recurring invoices, and automatic reminders at 7, 14 and 30 days overdue. It doesn't reconcile your bank, lodge BAS or run payroll. Our Xero alternative comparison sets out exactly what you give up.

Stay with Xero if you lodge quarterly BAS, want bank feeds that match payments to invoices, pay staff, or your accountant works in Xero. In those cases A$37 to A$107 a month buys real time savings. For a wider shortlist, see our best invoicing software in Australia comparison, or accounting software for sole traders if you need full books.

Xero pricing vs MYOB and Hnry

For a sole trader, Xero Ignite (A$444 a year) costs more than MYOB Business Lite (A$315 a year billed yearly), and Lite has no invoice cap. MYOB Solo is cheaper again at A$99 a year, but it's phone-only and doesn't lodge BAS.

Hnry works differently. It charges 1% + GST of your income, capped at A$1,500 + GST a year, and that fee includes lodging your BAS and tax return. On A$40,000 of income, Hnry costs about A$440 a year, close to Xero Ignite. Xero doesn't do your tax return, though. Our Hnry review runs the numbers at different incomes.

Frequently asked questions

How much is Xero per month in Australia?
Xero costs A$37 a month for Ignite, A$78 for Grow, A$107 for Comprehensive, A$143 to A$300 for the Ultimate plans and A$500 for Ultra. Prices are in AUD, include GST and were checked in October 2026.

Does Xero have a free plan?
No. Xero has no free plan in Australia. New customers can get a month free to try it, or a promotional discount on the first few months. After that, the regular monthly price applies.

Can I pay for Xero annually?
Not on Xero's website. Xero subscriptions are billed monthly and renew monthly until cancelled, and there's no annual discount on its Australian pricing page.

What happens if I send more than 20 invoices on Xero Ignite?
Ignite's limit is 20 invoices a month, counting both approved and sent invoices. To send more, you need to upgrade to Grow at A$78 a month. Invoices created by connected apps can count towards the limit.

Do Xero prices include GST?
Yes. Xero's Australian prices include GST. If you're registered for GST, you can usually claim the GST component as a credit on your BAS.

Is Xero worth it for a sole trader?
Xero is worth it if you're registered for GST, want bank reconciliation and BAS lodgement in one place, or your accountant uses Xero. If you send a few invoices a month and aren't registered for GST, an invoicing-only tool costs far less per invoice.

Prices were checked on vendor pricing pages on 28 October 2026 and can change. This is general information, not tax or financial advice.