Xero Alternatives 2026: 5 Free Options
Xero alternatives: Wave, Zoho Books, GnuCash, Manager and 1 more. Prices and licenses checked October 25, 2026.
•3 min read•Accounting & Payments
Verdict:Xero has no free plan: the Early plan is $27 a month, Growing $59 and Established $97, with no per-user license fees, and the page shows a 90% discount on the first six months until November 2, 2026. Any comparison should use the regular $27 figure, not the promotion. Because Xero charges per organization rather than per user, the saving from a free tool is the plain monthly fee, so the question is which parts of Xero you actually used. If you mostly send invoices and record expenses, Wave's Starter plan is $0 and covers invoices, estimates, bills and bookkeeping records, but card processing carries a per-transaction fee. If you work with an accountant and your revenue is under $50K, Zoho Books' free plan allows one user plus one accountant. If you want to own your books and are fine on one computer, GnuCash and Manager's desktop edition are free with no usage limits, at the price of manual entry and no mobile app. Invoice Ninja only solves the invoicing half. None of these has been tested against a Xero export here, so import one month of real transactions into your pick before you cancel, and keep Xero's data export until the quarter closes cleanly.
Quick comparison
| Tool | Price | Platforms | Best for | Tested |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wave | Free (Starter plan at $0 for invoices, estimates, bills and bookkeeping records; card payments cost 2.9% + $0.60 a transaction); paid from $19 per month, billed monthly (Pro; $190 billed annually) | Web | Freelancers and tiny businesses that mostly invoice | Docs only |
| Zoho Books | Free (Free plan while annual revenue stays under $50K: 1 user plus 1 accountant and up to 1,000 invoices a year); paid from $15 per organization/month, billed annually (Standard; $20 billed monthly) | Web, iOS, Android | Small businesses with an outside accountant | Docs only |
| GnuCash | Free (double-entry accounting program with no price on its site) | Windows, macOS, Linux | People who keep their own books on one computer | Docs only |
| Manager | Free (Desktop edition with no time or usage limits but single-user) | Windows, macOS, Linux | Sole traders who want full bookkeeping without a subscription | Docs only |
| Invoice Ninja | Free (hosted plan for up to 5 clients, described as free forever) | Web, Self-hosted | Freelancers who need invoices, quotes and time tracking | Docs only |
| QuickBooks Online | Free (Free plan listed at $0 per month, no credit card required); paid from $38 per month (Simple Start, list price; page shows 50% off for 3 months) | Web, iOS, Android | Accounting | Docs only |
| FreshBooks | Paid from $23 per month (Lite, listed price; 5 billable clients; intro offer shown at 80% off for 4 months) | Web, iOS, Android | Accounting | Docs only |
Independent comparison. Paid placements are labelled separately; editorial links earn no affiliate commissions. Learn more.
Good fit if
- Free invoicing with a hosted dashboard (Wave is the pick)
- Free bookkeeping shared with an accountant (Zoho Books is the pick)
- Complete double-entry books on your own computer (GnuCash is the pick)
- A free desktop ledger with no usage limits (Manager is the pick)
- Invoices and time tracking only (Invoice Ninja is the pick)
Not ideal if
- You rely on Xero features or integrations that these tools do not replicate
Xero today: Paid from $27 per month (Early plan, no per-user license fees) (Xero pricing, checked 2026-10-22).
Why people look for Xero alternatives
Xero's cheapest plan, Early, is capped at 20 invoices and 5 bills, and the invoice cap applies to approving as well as sending. Growing removes those caps but leaves out multiple currencies, expense claims and project time tracking, which arrive only on Established. Regular prices are $27, $59 and $97 per month, and the 90% off first six months offer on the page ends November 2, 2026. Auto-reconcile is a $5 monthly add-on on Early, and payroll is a separate add-on at $36 a month plus $6 per employee or contractor.
Wave
Compared with Xero: Wave is the closest free hosted swap for a small US or Canadian business: Starter is $0 for invoices, estimates, bills and bookkeeping records, against Xero's $27 Early plan. Card payments cost 2.9% + $0.60 a transaction, so free is not zero if you take payments there.
Price: Free (Starter plan at $0 for invoices, estimates, bills and bookkeeping records; card payments cost 2.9% + $0.60 a transaction); paid from $19 per month, billed monthly (Pro; $190 billed annually) (Wave pricing, checked 2026-10-22).
Platforms and license: Web. Proprietary.
Best for: Freelancers and tiny businesses that mostly invoice.
Worth knowing: Pricing is shown in USD and CAD; online payment processing is for US customers and needs approval.
Zoho Books
Compared with Xero: Zoho Books has a free plan while annual revenue stays under $50K, with 1 user plus 1 accountant and up to 1,000 invoices a year. Standard is $15 a month billed annually, below Xero's $27 Early. Once revenue crosses the line, you must pay.
Price: Free (Free plan while annual revenue stays under $50K: 1 user plus 1 accountant and up to 1,000 invoices a year); paid from $15 per organization/month, billed annually (Standard; $20 billed monthly) (Zoho Books pricing, checked 2026-10-22).
Platforms and license: Web, iOS, Android. Proprietary.
Best for: Small businesses with an outside accountant.
GnuCash
Compared with Xero: GnuCash is a free GPL double-entry desktop program for Windows, macOS and Linux. It replaces Xero's ledger without the online parts: it has no bank feeds, online client invoicing or mobile apps. Best for tidy, solo books.
Price: Free (double-entry accounting program with no price on its site) (GnuCash pricing, checked 2026-10-22).
Platforms and license: Windows, macOS, Linux. GNU GPL (open source).
Best for: People who keep their own books on one computer.
Worth knowing: It is a desktop program, so it has no built-in bank feeds or online invoicing.
Manager
Compared with Xero: Manager's desktop edition is free with no time or usage limits, runs on Windows, macOS and Linux, and is single-user. Unlike Xero, multi-user and remote access need its cloud edition, which the download page says is not free.
Price: Free (Desktop edition with no time or usage limits but single-user) (Manager pricing, checked 2026-10-22).
Platforms and license: Windows, macOS, Linux. License not stated on the download page.
Best for: Sole traders who want full bookkeeping without a subscription.
Invoice Ninja
Compared with Xero: Invoice Ninja replaces Xero's invoicing, not its books: hosted use is free for up to 5 clients, with source-available code under the Elastic License. Pair it with a ledger tool such as GnuCash if you need accounts and reports.
Price: Free (hosted plan for up to 5 clients, described as free forever) (Invoice Ninja pricing, checked 2026-10-22).
Platforms and license: Web, Self-hosted. Elastic License (source-available, not OSI open source).
Best for: Freelancers who need invoices, quotes and time tracking.
Other popular options (paid)
QuickBooks Online
Compared with Xero: Simple Start is $38 per month at list price (the page shows 50% off for 3 months), compared with Xero's $27 Early plan, and QuickBooks also lists a free plan at $0. The ecosystem is larger, but base prices run higher.
Price: Free (Free plan listed at $0 per month, no credit card required); paid from $38 per month (Simple Start, list price; page shows 50% off for 3 months) (QuickBooks Online pricing, checked 2026-10-22).
FreshBooks
Compared with Xero: Lite is $23 per month on monthly billing for 5 billable clients, cheaper than Xero's $27 Early plan, with a 30-day trial. Plus ($43) covers 50 clients and Premium ($70) is unlimited.
Price: Paid from $23 per month (Lite, listed price; 5 billable clients; intro offer shown at 80% off for 4 months) (FreshBooks pricing, checked 2026-10-25).
Which one to pick
- Free invoicing with a hosted dashboard: Wave
- Free bookkeeping shared with an accountant: Zoho Books
- Complete double-entry books on your own computer: GnuCash
- A free desktop ledger with no usage limits: Manager
- Invoices and time tracking only: Invoice Ninja
Limits of this review
Docs-only for Wave, Zoho Books, GnuCash, Manager, Invoice Ninja: we did not install or run them, so feature claims come from vendor pages and we did not test import from Xero. Vendor prices and free limits change; confirm on the linked pricing page before you buy or migrate.
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Kevin Fan
Kevin Fan is a SaaS founder. He runs Free Instead Of, which tracks free and open-source alternatives to paid software and checks each price and free-plan limit against the vendor's own pages.
Methodology
Based on official pricing and product pages checked between 2026-10-22 and 2026-10-25: Xero, Wave, Zoho Books, GnuCash, Manager, Invoice Ninja, QuickBooks Online, FreshBooks. Prices, free limits and licenses are the figures shown on those pages on those dates. No tool on this page was installed or run. No accounts were created.