Xero Free Plan: What You Actually Get Before Paying
Xero has no free plan. It offers a 30-day free trial with full access and no card required. Here is what the trial includes and what happens when it ends.
By Galactic News Editorial · Published 2026-11-09T04:26:12+00:00 · Updated 2026-11-09T04:26:12+00:00
Xero Free Plan: What You Actually Get Before Paying
Here is the short answer. Xero has no free plan. There is no permanent free tier for any business size. What Xero does offer is a 30-day free trial. It gives full access to all features. No credit card is required to start. After 30 days, your data becomes read-only until you pick a paid plan. That distinction matters. A trial is not a free plan.
This guide explains exactly what the Xero trial includes, what happens when it ends, and how to use the 30 days well. It also covers the paid plans that follow and the free alternatives worth comparing. All facts come from Xero's own pages, checked in November 2026.
The Xero free plan does not exist
Some searches for a Xero free plan lead to confusion. Xero's US pricing page lists three plans. Early costs $27 a month. Growing costs $59 a month. Established costs $97 a month. There is no $0 plan on the page. Xero does not offer a permanent free tier in any region.
That puts Xero behind some rivals. Zoho Books offers a free plan for businesses with under $50,000 in annual revenue. It stays free indefinitely. FreshBooks and QuickBooks also lack free plans, so Xero is not alone. But a buyer who wants free accounting software should not wait for Xero to add a free tier. It has not done so, and there is no sign that it will.
The trial is the only free route into Xero. It lasts 30 days. It is the same trial in every region. You sign up with your name, email address, and phone number. You pick a plan to try. You do not enter payment details to start.
What the 30-day free trial includes
The trial gives you full access to every feature. You can try all features and any add-ons. That means invoicing, bank reconciliation, quotes, bills, expenses, and reports are all open. You can test the features of the top Established plan, not just the entry plan. That is generous. Many trials lock the best features away.
Bank feeds are the one exception. If your bank charges a fee to connect a bank feed, you cannot connect it during the trial. That is a bank fee, not a Xero limit. Most users can still connect their bank and test reconciliation.
Support is included during the trial. Xero gives free, unlimited support 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. You can contact the support team with questions while you test. There are no setup fees and no hidden costs during the trial.
You can also add as many organizations as you like during the trial. Each organization gets its own 30-day trial. That helps accountants and multi-business owners test Xero across several books at once.
What happens when the trial ends
When the 30 days run out, Xero asks you to pick a plan. You add billing details and pay monthly from that point. Your business information carries over to the paid subscription. There is no need to re-enter it.
If you do not pick a plan, your data becomes read-only. You can still see your books. You cannot enter new transactions or create new reports. You can export your data before that point. Export anything important before the last day of the trial. Do not leave it to chance.
You can cancel a free trial at any time from inside your Xero account. There is no penalty for cancelling. There is no charge if you never add billing details. The trial does not auto-bill, because no card is on file.
How to use the 30 days well
Start with your real books, not a test file. Enter your actual customers, suppliers, and opening balances. That way the trial shows you how Xero handles your real work. A demo with fake data tells you little.
Follow these steps to get the most from the trial.
- Connect your bank feed on day one, so transactions flow in all month.
- Send at least five real invoices and record the payments.
- Enter your regular bills and set up recurring ones.
- Run a profit and loss report and a balance sheet at the end of week two.
- Test the feature that matters most to you, such as multi-currency or projects.
- Check the invoice and bill limits on Early before the trial ends.
Pay attention to the Early plan limits. Early allows 20 invoices and 5 bills a month. The limit applies to both approving and sending invoices. If your trial month passes 20 invoices, Early will not fit. You will need Growing at $59 a month. That is the most common surprise for new users.
Also test the add-ons you may need. Automatic bank reconciliation costs $5 a month on Early. It is free on Growing and Established. Payroll, powered by Gusto, costs $36 a month plus $6 per person paid. Add these to your total before you decide.
The paid plans after the trial
After the trial, you pick one of three plans. Early at $27 a month suits a new business with few invoices. Growing at $59 a month suits a business with regular invoicing. Established at $97 a month adds multi-currency, projects, expense claims, and a 180-day cash flow forecast. All three plans include unlimited users.
New customers can get 80% off the base plan for the first three months. The offer applies to first-time US customers buying their first organization on xero.com. After the discount ends, the regular price applies. Budget for the regular price, not the discount.
Xero bills monthly in the US. There is no annual prepay discount. You can upgrade a plan at any time. You can downgrade only after 30 days on a plan. You can cancel with one month of notice.
Free alternatives to Xero
If a free plan is a must, Zoho Books is the closest match. Its free plan covers invoicing, expenses, bank reconciliation, and more than 50 reports. It stays free while annual revenue stays under $50,000. It allows 1,000 invoices a year and 1 user plus 1 accountant. For a very small business, it covers the basics at no cost.
Wave Accounting is another free option, though its feature set is narrower than Zoho Books. Both are worth a look before you pay for Xero. But neither matches Xero on bank feeds, reporting depth, or the size of its app ecosystem. Free is not always cheaper in the long run if the tool slows you down.
Bottom line
Xero has no free plan. It offers a 30-day free trial with full access and no credit card required. Use those 30 days with real data. Test invoicing, bank reconciliation, and reporting. Watch the Early plan's 20-invoice limit. After the trial, expect to pay $27, $59, or $97 a month. If you need a permanent free tier, Zoho Books is the better fit. If you want Xero's depth and can pay for it, the trial is the right way to start.