Both can put accounting and payroll in one subscription for an Australian business with staff: Xero builds payroll into every plan for a number of people that rises as you climb its ladder, and Reckon either adds payroll as a band priced by headcount or bundles unlimited payroll into its top plan. Which costs less depends on your headcount, so the calculator on this page decides it. Pick Reckon if you want an Australian-owned product with data hosted in Australia, free phone support and one-on-one onboarding. Pick Xero if you invoice in other currencies, want the wider app marketplace and round-the-clock online support, or want the more direct route to AI assistants. Both handle GST, BAS, STP Phase 2 and super, so compliance will not decide it.
Plans and pricing checked September 2026, and every figure below is read live from our pricing database, the same data as the table and calculator above.
Xero vs Reckon pricing: a plan ladder against a plan plus add-on
Xero's entry plan is $37/mo (Ignite), a plan part way up its ladder is $107/mo (Comprehensive) and its Ultimate plans start at $143/mo (Ultimate 10), with larger sizes above, all billed monthly with no contract. The entry plan caps the invoices you can send and the bills you can enter, so a business with a steady flow of paperwork moves up a rung sooner than the headline suggests; every plan above it is unlimited. Each step up also raises the number of people the included payroll covers, so the Xero plan you need is often decided by headcount rather than by features.
Reckon's accounting plans start at $24/mo (Plus) and the top of its ladder is $85/mo (Ultimate), also billed monthly, and you can cancel at any time. The ladder is short: an entry accounting plan, a higher one that adds timesheets, project management and a small inventory allowance, and a newer plan at the top that bundles unlimited payroll and inventory. Below that top plan, payroll is a separate add-on sold in headcount bands, which is the single biggest difference between the two bills.
The two ladders do not line up rung for rung: Xero's rungs widen the payroll allowance in the same price, while Reckon's leave payroll to be added separately or bundled at the top. Both give you unlimited users, so seats never move either bill. The comparison table on this page shows the current prices, and the calculator above folds your invoices and headcount into one estimated monthly figure for each.
Xero vs Reckon payroll: in the plan, or banded by headcount
This is the section that decides most real bills. Xero includes payroll in every plan for a set number of people; moving up the ladder raises that number, and the top plan comes in sizes for bigger teams. There is no separate payroll add-on: the cost of payroll on Xero is largely the cost of the plan whose allowance covers your headcount, which is what the calculator picks, though Xero notes extra charges can apply if you pay more people than a plan includes.
Reckon sells payroll as an add-on in bands: one for a small team, one for a mid-size team and one with no cap, each priced on top of the accounting plan. Its newer top plan folds unlimited payroll into the accounting price instead. Reckon reports STP from the pay run and lists its payroll as Payday Super ready.
- Payroll: Xero Yes, Reckon Yes (banded add-on from $16/mo)
- Payroll cost: Xero Included, Reckon From $16/mo (banded)
A team just under the edge of a Reckon band pays for that band; a team just over a Xero allowance pays more, by moving up a plan or for the extra people. Put your real headcount into the calculator above, read the two estimates side by side, then nudge the headcount up by the people you expect to hire and see which bill jumps.
GST, BAS, STP Phase 2 and super: both clear the bar
Both track GST and prepare your BAS, both report Single Touch Payroll Phase 2 and both pay superannuation from the payroll run. Under the Payday Super rules that started on 1 July 2026, super has to reach the fund soon after each payday, so how the software pays it matters: Reckon lists its payroll as Payday Super ready, and Xero lists automated superannuation on every plan. Ask whichever vendor you shortlist how its super payments run before you commit.
- GST and BAS: Xero Yes, Reckon Yes
- STP Phase 2: Xero Yes, Reckon Yes
- Super payments: Xero Yes, Reckon Yes
Support, ownership and where your data lives
Reckon is Australian-owned, hosts its data in Australia and answers the phone: phone and chat support are free, and new customers get free one-on-one onboarding. Xero, which comes from New Zealand, runs online support around the clock, so help late on a Sunday night is a Xero strength and a voice on the phone is a Reckon one.
- Support: Xero 24/7 online, Reckon Business hours AU
- Accountant access: Xero Yes (free), Reckon Yes
- Receipt capture: Xero Yes (Hubdoc), Reckon Yes
- Bank feeds: Xero Yes, Reckon Yes
Multi-currency, inventory and projects: what sits on which plan
Multi-currency is a Xero-only feature in this pair: it arrives part way up Xero's ladder, and Reckon One does not offer it, so a business that invoices or buys in other currencies has its answer. Project tracking sits on Xero's Ultimate plans and on Reckon's higher accounting plan. Reckon's higher plan tracks a small number of stock items, with unlimited inventory only in its top plan.
- Multi-currency: Xero Yes (Comprehensive), Reckon No
- Inventory: Xero Yes, Reckon Limited (Premium)
- Project tracking: Xero Yes (Ultimate 10+), Reckon Yes (Premium)
Which one connects to AI assistants
Xero has a native assistant, JAX, that categorises and matches bank transactions, and it publishes its own Model Context Protocol server, so an assistant that speaks MCP can be pointed straight at your Xero data. Reckon's in-product AI is limited and its route to an assistant runs through a third-party connector. On today's data Xero has the more direct path for anyone building AI workflows on their books.
- In-product AI: Xero Native (JAX), Reckon Limited (AI spend tracking, chat)
- Agent route: Xero Native MCP (official), Reckon Via 3rd-party (CData)
Pros and cons for this matchup
Reckon wins on Australian ownership and Australian-hosted data, free phone and chat support, free one-on-one onboarding, cancel-anytime billing, a payroll add-on you only pay for when you have staff, and a top plan that bundles unlimited payroll and inventory. Its limits are no multi-currency, limited in-product AI with a third-party route to assistants, and projects and inventory held back for its higher plans.
Xero wins on payroll built into every plan, multi-currency, no invoice cap once you are past the entry plan, a wide app marketplace, online support at any hour, a native AI assistant and an official MCP server. Its costs are the invoice and bill cap on its entry plan, a ladder you climb by headcount as much as by feature, and multi-currency and project tracking held back for higher plans. Unlimited users and compliance are a draw: both include them.
The verdict
For a business with staff, both can put books and payroll in one subscription, so the answer is where your headcount sits against Reckon's bands and top plan and Xero's allowances, which is arithmetic rather than opinion. For a sole trader with no employees, Reckon's shape has a real advantage: you pay for an accounting plan and nothing for payroll you do not run, and you get a phone number and an onboarding session with it. Either way, put your real numbers into the calculator above, nudge the headcount up by the people you expect to hire in the next year, and see which bill moves. Choose Reckon if local ownership, Australian data hosting and a phone line matter more to you than app choice and round-the-clock help; choose Xero if you invoice in other currencies, want the wider marketplace and round-the-clock help, or want the more direct route to AI assistants.