MYOB vs Xero: Which Is Better For Aussie SMBs In 2025?

The showdown.

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Arielle Executive - Sydney, Melbourne, New York

Last updated: July 31st, 2025

myob vs xero accounting software comparison
Arielle Executive - Sydney, Melbourne, New York

Last updated: July 31st, 2025

Reading Time: 8 minutes

Australian business owners are spoiled for choice when deciding between accounting software packages.

But savvy business owners will likely choose one of two industry titans: Xero and MYOB.

Both feature prominently in my roundup of the best accounting software in Australia, with MYOB clinching the #1 spot.

Their popularity means you won’t have trouble finding a bookkeeper or accountant familiar with the software.

But which is the best pick for a growing business with bold plans for the future? I took a closer look at their plans aimed at SMBs:

XeroGrow, Comprehensive, Ultimate 10 and higher ‘Ultimate’ plans.
MYOBLite, Pro, AccountRight Plus and AccountRight Premier.

MYOB vs Xero: At A Glance.

MYOB Is Best For:Xero Is Best For:
Businesses that want all-in-one simplicity without relying on external add-ons.Businesses that rely on third-party integrations. Xero connects to 1,000+ apps.
Easy-to-use interface and intuitive navigation.OS Flexibility – all plans are OS agnostic (MYOB AccountRight plans run on Windows only).
Built-in payroll and inventory (more scalable and cheaper than Xero).More customisable, AI-powered reporting.
Superior support includes online ticket (24/7)and chat/phone (Mo-Fri during business hours).

Honestly, MYOB and Xero are neck-and-neck across core features like invoicing, managing expenses, and standard reporting.

Both platforms give you the ability to:

  • Add an unlimited number of user profiles (all with their own logins).
  • Connect an unlimited number of bank and credit card accounts.
  • Send an unlimited number of invoices and quotes.
  • Accept payments (including via contactless Tap To Go).
  • Manage bills from suppliers and record business expenses.
  • Track GST owed and lodge your BAS to the ATO.
  • Generate reports on your financial performance.

But MYOB is better out-of-the-box for some industries and situations:

  • Project-based business models are easier to manage. You can create a custom ‘job’ for each project/service that links to associated transactions, costs and time.
  • Payroll is another area where MYOB is a smarter choice. You’ll pay over 50% more each month for a Xero plan that allows you to process payroll for 20 people, compared to MYOB.  
  • Businesses that need basic ‘stock on hand’ reporting (e.g., retail, wholesale and manufacturing). MYOB Business’ built-in inventory management has more to offer.

Having said that, Xero’s offering is strong, and it’s typically viewed as the more integration-friendly platform.

You get access to a huge library of 1,000+ third-party apps. Everything from CRMs, credit card payments, and direct debit management is on the menu.

So, while Xero’s inventory management features are weaker than MYOB’s, you can easily link a purpose-built inventory app like Cin7 (inventory management with a built-in POS & EDI).

But the focus on integrations can also be a pain point, because:

  • You’ll have to cough up more dough. Add-on fees stack up quickly.
  • API data connections can expire and/or break (sync errors can happen).
  • Native integration isn’t always possible: you may need to pay for a custom fix.

Xero’s support is also less accessible and responsive than I’d expect from such a large player.

Its online support is available 24/7, and the advice you get is generally solid, but waiting for a response can be frustrating.

MYOB’s support includes online resources/chat and a phone number that’s manned Mon-Fri during business hours.

And you’ll spend even less time on hold if you opt for the highest tiers, which come with priority support and tailored 30-minute ‘ask an expert’ sessions that you can even invite your bookkeeper along to.

1. Ease Of Use.

MYOB9/10
Xero:9/10

It’s fair to say, user-friendliness isn’t a major drawback of either software.

As you’d expect, both feature intuitive dashboards that put essential cashflow data at your fingertips and alert you to outstanding invoices.

Did You Know?

MYOB was ranked higher than Xero for ease-of-use, ease of integration, design and overall satisfaction, according to a recent survey of over 600 Aussies by Canstar Blue.

I find Xero’s terminology more confusing and its navigation somewhat labyrinthian.

Too many clicks to find things makes managing your books more of a chore than it should be. MYOB’s menus and interfaces felt cleaner and more logical.

But for mobile-friendly accounting, Xero has the edge. Its plans are all 100% browser-based with data stored in the cloud.

And its ‘Xero Accounting for business’ native mobile app is intuitive and gives you access to all the basics you’ll need on the go.

You can check your balances and P&L, send invoices, reconcile bank transactions, and track receipts and expenses.

On the other hand, MYOB offers multiple native apps for different purposes, and they’re somewhat buggy and restricted.

Its app for capturing receipt info on-the-go is handy, but two of its other apps (for invoicing/payments and time tracking for employees) have user ratings below 2 stars.

Fortunately, you can easily access MYOB on any mobile, tablet, or laptop. Its two lowest tiers aimed at SMBs are fully cloud-based.

A downside if you need advanced features: MYOB’s highest plans – AccountRight Plus and Premier – require downloading software to your desktop, in addition to an online account.

It’s not a deal breaker, but does add complexity.

Important!

Most day-to-day functions can still be done online (or via a mobile app). But you’ll be forced to switch to the desktop version for multi-currency transactions, advanced inventory and time billing.

That could limit your flexibility once your business has expanded to the point where you’re trading internationally or have complicated supply chains.

Data can presented differently via desktop too, which might take some getting used to.

Moreover, AccountRight only runs on desktops with a Windows operating system.

Mac users will need to either switch to PC, use a tool like Boot Camp, or use a virtual machine.

The latter is easy enough to install and use, but does create another layer of onboarding and training complexity in your business. And added cost.

However, the combined cost of an annual subscription to AccountRight Plus ($1,350/year) and Parallels virtual machine ($115/year) is still $95 cheaper than the annual cost of Xero’s comparable Ultimate 10 plan.

2. Invoicing And Payments.

MYOB9/10
Xero:9/10

Xero and MYOB both do a decent job of streamlining invoicing, so you can issue professional, branded invoices.

You can also automatically remind people to pay on time. Both platforms let you customise how many reminders are sent, how often and what the emails say.

But the devil is in the details.

Did You Know?

Xero retired its ‘classic’ invoicing interface in early 2025, and the new approach has introduced a number of changes to functionality and design that left many users fuming (and has some looking to switch to alternative platforms).

People complain about Xero’s invoicing experience being less intuitive, and slower to load, resulting in slower workflows.

And more restrictive too, like a limit on the number of line items that can be added.

Personally, I found quoting and invoicing through Xero very similar to MYOB. And it has some nifty features like:

  • The ability to customise which columns/fields are shown, so you can simplify your screen.
  • A detailed history to track edits and exactly when a customer received/viewed your invoice.

Here’s what stood out about MYOB’s invoicing:

  • A dedicated field for customer PO numbers.
  • An activity history that shows when invoices were emailed and viewed.
  • You can adjust reminder settings from the invoice interface.
  • You’re alerted to any open quotes for the client you’re invoicing at the time.

Annoyingly, neither platform lets you easily ask for a deposit payment, or break the invoice total into multiple progress payments.

You can simply ask for, and record partial payments – which adjusts the amount outstanding on an invoice.

You’ll be able to add your bank details to any invoice you send if you mainly accept direct deposits, but enabling online payments is a simple process on both platforms. 

Online payments through a MYOB Business plan gives your customers more options to pay their invoices, which helps save you time chasing what you’re owed.

In addition to debit/credit cards, digital wallets and PayPal (which Xero enables), MYOB also makes it easy to offer BPAY and automatically include a QR code on invoices that are exported as a PDF or printed – so people can scan and pay online. 

However, if you’re regularly meeting customers face-to-face, you might appreciate that Xero’s native mobile app supports Tap to Pay for in-person payments by card or digital wallet.

Important!

MYOB also offers Tap to Pay, but only on its entry-level Solo By MYOB tier, aimed at solopreneurs and tradies.

3. Payroll & Inventory Management.

MYOB9/10
Xero:7/10

To be clear, neither MYOB nor Xero offers advanced stock control features.

But for less complex operations that want to be able to do a simple stocktake and reordering on the regular, MYOB ekes out the win compared to Xero.

In Xero, you can add item/product details to pre-fill invoices, and track basic transaction details for up to 4,000 items.

MYOB also supports recording your product details – but with more granularity.

For instance, you can specify the unit of measure for an item, and indicate how many items are included in one unit sold, e.g., perhaps you always sell a particular product as a set of three.

Expert Tip.

Unlimited product tracking comes with MYOB’s AccountRight Plus, but you can also pay to add this feature on the Lite and Pro plans for $22 per month.

It’s a more flexible option for growing businesses that don’t want to step up to a full-featured inventory app or add-on.

You’ll get access to single-touch payroll (STP) with both Xero and MYOB, so you can comply with the Australian Tax Office’s (ATO) phase 2 reporting requirements.

But MYOB is clearly better value and more scalable, if growing your headcount or contractor network is important in your business.

(Related: 7 Best Crypto Exchanges In Australia).

Xero did a rejig of its plans in 2024 and cut payroll from its lowest plans. The backlash from customers was swift and severe.

With its tail between its legs, the platform reinstated payroll in May 2025.

On Xero’s $75/m Grow plan, you can currently pay two people and process automated super payments. MYOB’s comparable Lite plan also limits pay runs to two people.

Important!

To pay more than two people, you’ll have to step up to ‘Comprehensive’ on Xero (pay up to 5 people), and then ‘Ultimate 10’ (pay 10 people).

Whereas if you step up to MYOB’s mid-tier ‘Pro’ plan you can pay extra ($2/month per person) to process pay for an unlimited number of employees.

The simplifies life and saves you money assuming your accounting needs don’t become more complex as you add team members.

Of course, Xero lets you upgrade your plan, complete the pay run, and then downgrade again after 30 days – but that’s a hassle.

It makes life difficult if you ever face edge cases where you only need to process a larger pay run temporarily, such as:

  • Processing a final pay for a departing employee, when you’ve already onboarded a new employee.
  • Processing a quick pay run adjustment for a casual employee that’s usually on a different pay schedule to your salaried staff.

If you opt for MYOB’s AccountRight Plus plan, you can process payroll for an unlimited number of people, at no extra cost.

Even Xero’s highest possible plan – Ultimate 100, $272/m – puts a hard upper limit on pay runs.

You’ll pay an extra $2 per employee above 100 people, and the maximum number of people you can pay is 200.

If you’re a growing SMB with that’s regularly processing pay for over 200 people each month, that means you’ll need to switch a payroll add-on.

4. Reporting & Tax Management.

MYOB8/10
Xero:9/10

No matter which platform you choose, you’ll be equipped to track GST, lodge your BAS, and stay on good terms with the tax man.

Day-to-day insights into cashflow, P&L, and general ledger come as standard, and both Xero and MYOB help you create a budgets and do financial forecasting. 

To dive into your business’ financial health, Xero is more flexible for custom reporting.

Its advanced analytics are included in both its Comprehensive and Ultimate plans, which give you AI-powered predictions around cash flow and other business variables.

That’s valuable for more confident decision-making.

Important!

There are numerous online complaints from Xero users about bank feeds breaking or being delayed. That’s the kind of issue that could significantly reduce the platform’s usefulness for real-time cash flow insights and being able to reconcile your data.

5. Price.

MYOB9/10
Xero:7/10

Based on the platform’s regular pricing, the MYOB Business Lite plan is more than 50% cheaper than the comparable offer from Xero — the Grow plan.

At the higher end, you’ll pay $20/m less for Xero’s Ultimate 10 plan than MYOB’s AccountRight Plus.

But if you need to process payroll for more than 10 people, the price difference is negated – because you’d be forced to upgrade to the pricier Ultimate 20 plan on Xero ($12 more per month than AccountRight Plus).

And in fact, AccountRight Plus works out $210 cheaper than Xero’s Ultimate 10 if you pay annually – because MYOB discounts its plan if you pay for 12 months upfront.

There’s no option to pay annually with Xero (they don’t want more money upfront??)

MYOB’s most expensive plan, AccountRight Premier, is $195/m for comprehensive features including payroll for a large staff base.

Xero’s top plan, Ultimate 100, is 39% more expensive, without the same payroll advantages.

Xero vs MYOB: My Verdict.

Both MYOB and Xero are easy to get up and running with. You can connect bank accounts and start recording transactions without reading a manual.

But both have a reasonably steep learning curve if you want to become proficient with the platforms’ full functionality.

If you plan to pad out Xero with several add-ons, you’ll be adding to the said learning curve.

And you’ll need to train on more tools. And you’ll need to keep a close eye on your spend – the bloat can be real.

MYOB may be the better all-in-one offer.

Its user interface is friendlier, and it makes a strong case for growing with your business as you scale, given its unlimited payroll and inventory tracking in the top tiers.

Also, Xero costs more, and has a reputation for price rises and cutting useful features. In this economy, you’ve got to be wary about the risk of paying more, and getting less.

I’m not convinced the expense is justified unless you’re unwilling to compromise on specific use cases or features where Xero outperforms MYOB.

Jody

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