Overview
ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price
Expensify
Score 9.0 out of 10
N/A
Expensify automates the entire spend management process. Scan receipts, track mileage, submit and approve expenses, manage corporate cards, reimburse employees, pay bills, send invoices, and book travel. Built for individuals and companies of all sizes, anywhere in the world.
$5
per month per user
Xero
Score 8.2 out of 10
N/A
Xero is an online accounting software product for small businesses and personal finance. Its features beyond general ledger and double-bookkeeping include quotable invoicing, bank reconciliation, purchase order and expense management, and tax management. Third party apps can extend its features further.
$13
per month
Pricing
ExpensifyXero
Editions & Modules
Collect
$5
per month per user
Control
$9
per month per user
Early
$13
per month
Growing
$37
per month
Established
$70
per month
Offerings
Pricing Offerings
ExpensifyXero
Free Trial
YesYes
Free/Freemium Version
NoNo
Premium Consulting/Integration Services
NoNo
Entry-level Setup FeeNo setup feeNo setup fee
Additional DetailsPrices in table are in USD and just apply to the US - other markets & prices are listed below: Canada - Starter $18 CAD/month, Standard $45 CAD/month, Premium 5 $58 CAD/month UK - Starter £14/month, Standard £28/month, Premium £36/month AU - Starter $29 AUD/month, Standard $59 AUD/month, Premium 5 $76 AUD/month NZ - Starter $31 NZD/month, Standard $66 NZD/month, Premium $84 NZD/month
More Pricing Information
Community Pulse
ExpensifyXero
Considered Both Products
Expensify
Chose Expensify
A dedicated app like Expensify does better than a combined platform at the main use case - expense tracking, reporting, and reimbursement. Bigger, wider-scope platforms take more effort or have other features that can occasionally get in the way. We prefer Expensify's simpler, …
Xero
Chose Xero
SAP Concur is very heavyweight, and is appropriate for a large enterprise Expensify scales to whatever size the business is. In my opinion, Xero is only appropriate for a very small company
Chose Xero
Expensify was more than we needed. The free version is fine, but we were getting close to needing the fee paying version, which isn't inexpensive
Chose Xero
Xero is much simpler and similarly cheaper. It is able to accomplish both quote generation as well as expense management.
Chose Xero
The main reason for switching to Xero was the ability for it to handle multiple currencies as well as the integrations available to streamline our bookkeeping.
Chose Xero
  • Xero is easier for new businesses that need cloud-based accounting software.
  • Xero has functional integration with other applications that our clients need.
  • Gusto is a great payroll application that is now used by all our clients with their Xero software.
Chose Xero
I started with Xero in 2014 and they seemed to be the leader in online small business accounting. They seemed to have already ironed out a lot of issues and made it very easy to get started. And they quickly ramped up and ironed out solutions to problems. Plus they were …
Chose Xero
Previously exclusively a desktop QuickBooks "shop". Hate the version control issues and need to collect and transfer data files to get source documents. Auto bank downloads clunky and not as intuitive as Xero bank recon features. Few clients use FreshBooks - nice customer …
Chose Xero
Free Agent was more user-friendly and had *much* better customer support but is really designed for freelancers &/or small companies with regular needs. We used Xero in the end because our accounting firm provided it as part of the service. We were then fairly tied into it due …
Features
ExpensifyXero
Expense Management
Comparison of Expense Management features of Product A and Product B
Expensify
9.7
149 Ratings
16% above category average
Xero
-
Ratings
Employee Expense Reporting9.8148 Ratings00 Ratings
Corporate Card Reconciliation9.563 Ratings00 Ratings
Payment Management
Comparison of Payment Management features of Product A and Product B
Expensify
9.3
136 Ratings
15% above category average
Xero
-
Ratings
Customizable Approval Policies9.295 Ratings00 Ratings
Financial Document Management9.299 Ratings00 Ratings
Payment Status Tracking9.7110 Ratings00 Ratings
Payment Audit Trail9.888 Ratings00 Ratings
Duplicate Bill Detection8.9112 Ratings00 Ratings
Advanced OCR8.991 Ratings00 Ratings
Electronic Funds Transfer9.577 Ratings00 Ratings
Payroll Management
Comparison of Payroll Management features of Product A and Product B
Expensify
-
Ratings
Xero
7.5
73 Ratings
1% below category average
Pay calculation00 Ratings8.065 Ratings
Benefit plan administration00 Ratings8.023 Ratings
Direct deposit files00 Ratings7.249 Ratings
Salary revision and increment management00 Ratings7.141 Ratings
Reimbursement management00 Ratings7.054 Ratings
Customization
Comparison of Customization features of Product A and Product B
Expensify
-
Ratings
Xero
8.2
160 Ratings
7% above category average
API for custom integration00 Ratings7.979 Ratings
Plug-ins00 Ratings8.5147 Ratings
Security
Comparison of Security features of Product A and Product B
Expensify
-
Ratings
Xero
7.2
202 Ratings
13% below category average
Single sign-on capability00 Ratings5.572 Ratings
Role-based user permissions00 Ratings8.8200 Ratings
Reporting & Analytics
Comparison of Reporting & Analytics features of Product A and Product B
Expensify
-
Ratings
Xero
8.5
229 Ratings
9% above category average
Dashboards00 Ratings8.5225 Ratings
Standard reports00 Ratings8.9227 Ratings
Custom reports00 Ratings8.1201 Ratings
General Ledger and Configurable Accounting
Comparison of General Ledger and Configurable Accounting features of Product A and Product B
Expensify
-
Ratings
Xero
8.6
239 Ratings
12% above category average
Accounts payable00 Ratings8.5217 Ratings
Accounts receivable00 Ratings8.8222 Ratings
Cash management00 Ratings8.1206 Ratings
Bank reconciliation00 Ratings8.7232 Ratings
Expense management00 Ratings8.4212 Ratings
Time tracking00 Ratings7.579 Ratings
Fixed asset management00 Ratings8.3144 Ratings
Multi-currency support00 Ratings7.7140 Ratings
Multi-division support00 Ratings8.3122 Ratings
Regulations compliance00 Ratings8.2123 Ratings
Electronic tax filing00 Ratings9.2126 Ratings
Self-service portal00 Ratings8.2143 Ratings
Global Financial Support00 Ratings7.578 Ratings
Primary and Secondary Ledgers00 Ratings8.574 Ratings
Intercompany Accounting00 Ratings9.940 Ratings
Localizations00 Ratings10.039 Ratings
Journals and Reconciliations00 Ratings10.090 Ratings
Enterprise Accounting00 Ratings9.933 Ratings
Configurable Accounting00 Ratings9.959 Ratings
Centralized Rules Framework00 Ratings6.033 Ratings
Standardized Processes00 Ratings8.059 Ratings
Inventory Management
Comparison of Inventory Management features of Product A and Product B
Expensify
-
Ratings
Xero
6.5
111 Ratings
14% below category average
Inventory tracking00 Ratings8.3107 Ratings
Automatic reordering00 Ratings6.224 Ratings
Location management00 Ratings6.229 Ratings
Manufacturing module00 Ratings6.016 Ratings
Order Management
Comparison of Order Management features of Product A and Product B
Expensify
-
Ratings
Xero
7.2
89 Ratings
5% below category average
Pricing00 Ratings10.062 Ratings
Order entry00 Ratings10.056 Ratings
Credit card processing00 Ratings6.358 Ratings
Cost of goods sold00 Ratings6.366 Ratings
Order Orchestration00 Ratings6.121 Ratings
End-to-end order visibility00 Ratings6.124 Ratings
Order exception Resolution00 Ratings6.117 Ratings
Best Alternatives
ExpensifyXero
Small Businesses
Dext
Dext
Score 9.6 out of 10
QuickBooks Self-Employed (discontinued)
QuickBooks Self-Employed (discontinued)
Score 7.0 out of 10
Medium-sized Companies
Precoro
Precoro
Score 9.4 out of 10
Zoho Books
Zoho Books
Score 9.2 out of 10
Enterprises
Emburse Chrome River
Emburse Chrome River
Score 7.9 out of 10
SAP S/4HANA Cloud
SAP S/4HANA Cloud
Score 8.5 out of 10
All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
User Ratings
ExpensifyXero
Likelihood to Recommend
9.6
(239 ratings)
8.1
(247 ratings)
Likelihood to Renew
10.0
(14 ratings)
6.5
(37 ratings)
Usability
9.6
(140 ratings)
8.2
(174 ratings)
Availability
-
(0 ratings)
9.1
(11 ratings)
Performance
-
(0 ratings)
9.1
(9 ratings)
Support Rating
8.5
(45 ratings)
5.2
(39 ratings)
In-Person Training
-
(0 ratings)
9.1
(1 ratings)
Online Training
-
(0 ratings)
10.0
(5 ratings)
Implementation Rating
9.5
(2 ratings)
7.0
(12 ratings)
Configurability
-
(0 ratings)
8.2
(2 ratings)
Ease of integration
-
(0 ratings)
7.3
(132 ratings)
Product Scalability
-
(0 ratings)
8.2
(7 ratings)
Vendor post-sale
-
(0 ratings)
4.5
(3 ratings)
Vendor pre-sale
-
(0 ratings)
4.5
(3 ratings)
User Testimonials
ExpensifyXero
Likelihood to Recommend
Expensify
I think it's really good for small businesses. At least in the way we use it. It's very good for keeping an eye on employee spending in nearly real time. I'm not sure how it works for larger companies when there is a larger number of people to keep track of.
Read full review
Xero
I am a massage and physical therapist. We are not a fancy business but business admin can take a lot of time and effort. Xero came recommended to me by colleagues in the sector. You raise invoices, you get paid. and you pay your bills. These are all daily scenarios for most businesses and Xero does this particularly well. Since my accountant can query my records directly, this greatly saves on bookkeeping time when it is time to do the company returns.
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Pros
Expensify
  • Easy to access online portal whether using a mobile device or desktop app
  • Receipts can be uploaded in a breeze and automatically categorized
  • Expense Reports are submitted monthly on autopilot
  • Expenses for gas is calculated on the app by entering the starting/ending destinations.
Read full review
Xero
  • Repeating invoices (most of my business is monthly recurring invoices) - it does these very well.
  • Reporting - particularly being able to dig into the different lines of the P&L statement.
  • Tracking categories - I assign a category to every line of every invoice so it's easy to see how much has been sold of each type of service every month and year, and compare them to previous periods.
Read full review
Cons
Expensify
  • I wish that I could sync accounts on the back end kind of like with banking software, so that Expensify would automatically port over receipts for recurring expenses as soon as they're available
  • It would be nice to one-click submit an expense all the way through instead of having to attach it to a report
  • Wackier profile icons? :) Not a big deal. This software is pretty much amazing as it is now, and typically the urge to update and modify very good software leads to poor outcomes!
Read full review
Xero
  • Having different email addresses for different parts of a customer's business (eg invoices and statements to different places)
  • Easily seeing the text of emails that have been sent through Xero
  • More easily archiving old pay items. Our HR software updates rates when awards are updated which means a lot of old pay rates are in the system and they have multiple clicks to archive each one. Clicking the ones to archive in bulk and then just click archive for all would be much more efficient.
Read full review
Likelihood to Renew
Expensify
We like using the tool and we receive positive feedback from employees and management who use the tool. It saves time and helps us concentrate on the value adding activities so we are very likely to keep using Expensify in the future
Read full review
Xero
In addition to the matters covered in this review, my reason for renewing this product is that Xero's functionality and the constant updates that the company provides, makes the software even more business friendly. The software therefore builds a brand loyalty among customers.
Read full review
Usability
Expensify
My rating of 8 out of 10 for Expensify's overall usability reflects its strong performance in empowering individual users and streamlining core expense processes, while acknowledging that there are specific areas, particularly on the administrative or enterprise side, where the user experience could be further refined. Exceptional End-User Experience (for basic tasks).Automation & Time-Saving Features.Clear Workflow for Approvers. Why it's not a perfect 10 (areas for improvement that dock points): Limited corporate bank to choose from, limited multi-currency to pay to ( for instance, as a foreign corporatio,n i cannot pay with my US account to Israeli employees, or pay to our UK employees)
Read full review
Xero
As a standalone software, it allows users to fulfill most of the basic functions (e.g. transaction input and report generation) simply and conveniently. It also allows for multiple APIs to help augment various tasks that accounting-adjacent (e.g. claims processing). The cloud based model and portability to mobile devices allows tasks to be carried out in a more convenient way.
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Reliability and Availability
Expensify
No answers on this topic
Xero
We have been actively using and 100% Xero based for our ecommerce accounting practice for over 4 years. There has on been one real outage for more than 5 minutes. Xero was open and transparent about the outage, what they were doing to resolve the issue, and provided 15 minute updates. Showing how they care about their customers and partners. Plus, showing that their customers care too, were understanding, and went surfing or in our case took a nap. Couldn't run our business without Xero as a partner.
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Performance
Expensify
No answers on this topic
Xero
On a good day, things worked but after upgrades, things began to slow and or not work at all at times. I coined the moving circle while I waited as the "Xero Wheel of Death". Sometimes it never stopped and force quitting was necessary.
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Support Rating
Expensify
Our rep has been amazing. He has built custom reports for us that have been very time consuming and difficult. Our reps are also currently looking into new submission solutions for us that we are excited about. They came up with this and recommended it on their own without me complaining about an issue. They are about our success and are very excited about the product they offer.
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Xero
Always respond and keep issues open until you are satisfied with the result. Generally good responses, in the past, I had some support responses that were really basic and really annoying. They type where "have your tried restarting your computer" style of answers. Well, of course, I went through all the basics before contacting them. Duh, but I suppose not everyone does. Otherwise, it would be a 10. The last year has shown a marked improvement in the support responses however.
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In-Person Training
Expensify
No answers on this topic
Xero
The format was great; someone was there to ask questions or help if you were stuck.
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Online Training
Expensify
No answers on this topic
Xero
All of Xero's training is online and available for anyone (business owner or accountants) to learn and become experts in their system. There is a range of content from product training to real world webinars from their partners. Xero is beautiful accounting software and their training is the same.
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Implementation Rating
Expensify
The implementation process went rather smoothly, linking it to the bank and cards was handled easily. without too many unnecessary steps. Getting the accounts setup did take some time, but that would be true with any organization. All in all things went smoothly and I was very pleased with the setup and implementation process
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Xero
If it can be done, time the implementation near a new fiscal year so you can start clean. Otherwise, you have to go back and do historical data from the beginning of the fiscal year, which can be brain draining.
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Alternatives Considered
Expensify
It is definitely 10 times better than using an Excel spreadsheet. We are talking a digitized with AI type capabilities to do the work for you. It’s honestly a lifesaver. This beats manual calculations and data entry any day. Scanning 100 receipts and saving them to pdf files not only takes space on your storage but it is an extra unnecessary step
Read full review
Xero
Each of the products I listed had their own list of drawbacks, but the one thing they all had in common, which was right on top of that list of drawbacks, was ease of use. I struggled to get myself accustomed to each system and struggled, but when it came to getting a client to even try and use it was when the true struggle started. Just found it easier to make use of Xero from the very beginning.
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Scalability
Expensify
No answers on this topic
Xero
I have yet to fully stress test the product given the size of the company where I am using it. I am sure as we scale to more customers, more vendors and more reporting requirements, I will have a better understanding of what it is capable of in terms of bandwidth and processing
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Return on Investment
Expensify
  • We went from paying credit card fees with no approval process to a no fees and complex approval processes.
  • I personally save time in not having to develop a spend report I just have my admin assistent fill in the details of the auto generated report and it is done. Went from an hour long process to 5- 10 minutes max to prepare a high quality audit ready report.
Read full review
Xero
  • Xero is a basic accounting system that performs basic accounting tasks easily and accurately. For that, it provides a positive impact on our day to day accounting operations.
  • Because of Xero's basic structure, I feel it lacks some of the sophistication that some users want and need. The ability to create unique custom reports would enhance the impact Xero would have on meeting business objectives by providing current and useful accounting information.
  • In my opinion, Xero's lack of focus on their customers - their users - is a real issue with me. In my opinion, those of us that are in the trenches that work with the system on a daily basis have to deal with the shortcomings of the system with the knowledge that Xero support refuses to address the operational issues that make their user's lives difficult. I feel if Xero would focus on truly making their software better from a users point of view, it has the potential to be a great system.
Read full review
ScreenShots

Expensify Screenshots

Screenshot of the dashboard used to manage expenses, book travel, reimburse employees, and create expense reports.Screenshot of corporate cards. The Expensify Card offers cash back on every US purchase.

Xero Screenshots

Screenshot of Screenshot of Screenshot of Screenshot of Screenshot of Screenshot of