Xero vs MYOB: How to Decide, and What Moving Across Involves

Xero or MYOB: neither wins for every business

Neither Xero nor MYOB is the right choice for every business. A business with clean, working books can also stay where it is.

Xero tends to fit a business that relies on many connected apps, or wants every plan to run on Windows PC and Mac. MYOB tends to fit a business watching the monthly cost of a small payroll, or one that wants job tracking on a lower plan.

Xero and MYOB each publish a comparison page, and each page favours its publisher. This guide uses those pages for what each product includes and costs, not for which is better. All prices were checked on 4 November 2026 and can change.

This is general information. The right package depends on your circumstances, so tax and business activity statement (BAS) questions belong with a registered tax or BAS agent.

Side by side: the differences that change the decision

The differences the vendors list are mostly plan limits. The table below comes from each vendor's own Australian pages, so treat it as what they state, not as independent testing.

If one row is a hard requirement, such as multiple currencies or job tracking on a lower plan, that row can settle the decision before price does.

Which is cheaper? It depends on headcount and add-ons

MYOB's lowest listed figure sits below Xero's at every headcount in the table below, but the plans are not like for like and the two sets of prices may not be on the same goods and services tax (GST) basis. The table uses each vendor's price after its introductory offer, because both were running discounts when checked. MYOB's Lite and Pro figures include payroll at $5 a month per employee, and the Lite figure spreads its listed $315 a year across 12 months.

Three things can change the comparison:

• GST. Xero says its prices include GST. MYOB's terms say GST is added to a fee not stated as GST inclusive, and its pricing and AccountRight Premier pages do not label the Lite, Pro, Plus or Premier prices. If GST is added, the 20-person row flips (Plus $181.50, Pro $187, Xero $180) and the 5-person gap narrows to $104.50 against $107, so confirm the amount at checkout.
• Features. Xero Comprehensive includes multiple currencies, which on MYOB needs AccountRight Premier, listed at $210 a month after its offer. AccountRight Plus includes unlimited inventory, and unlimited payroll at no extra cost, which is why its figure stays at $165.
• Usage charges. Xero lists $5 per additional expense user and $0.35 per additional online bill payment, and says more charges may apply above the included people paid. MYOB lists $22 a month for unlimited inventory on Lite and Pro.

The downsides each vendor's pages show are mostly plan limits

On the vendors' own pages, the main downsides of Xero and MYOB are limits on the lower plans and costs that grow with use. Those pages do not test how well either product works.

Xero's downsides, on its own pages:

• Project tracking is on Ultimate plans only.
• Payroll is bundled by plan, and additional charges may apply above the included number of people paid.
• Cancelling takes one month's notice.

MYOB's downsides, on its own pages:

• Lite connects up to 2 bank accounts.
• Multiple currencies are on AccountRight Premier only.
• Billing customers by time needs AccountRight Plus or Premier.
• AccountRight is designed for Windows, according to MYOB. Online files open in a web browser on a Mac, but multi-currency and time billing are not available in the browser.
• MYOB counts 300+ app integrations, against Xero's count of more than 1000. That gap only matters if an app you rely on is on one list and not the other, so check the apps you already use by name.

What moves across in a conversion, and what does not

A conversion moves your setup and recent history, not necessarily everything in the old file. Xero points customers to Jet Convert, which it describes as a third-party conversion specialist, and MYOB uses MMC Convert as its migration partner. The table compares what each page lists, and MYOB says the full list is on its partner's website.

What may not come across

• Older transactions. Jet Convert's Standard package covers the current plus previous financial year, and more years cost extra. Monthly comparatives, an optional Jet Convert extra, are summary data by month, not transactions.
• Closed years in desktop files. Jet Convert says history in .MYO desktop files is limited by the financial years still open, and that once a year is closed it cannot extract the transactions. It also warns not to roll a file back, because that corrupts the data.
• Certain files altogether. Jet Convert does not convert old MYOB Essentials, multi-currency or multi-location files, or files with negative inventory. Its list also names files using WET/WEG, without explaining those letters, so ask it if they appear in your file.
• Attachments. None of the pages read for this guide mention attached documents, so ask the conversion provider before relying on them moving.

Keep access to the old file, and ask your tax agent how long it needs to stay readable.

What a conversion costs depends on history and extras

A conversion from MYOB to Xero can cost nothing or several hundred dollars, depending mainly on how much history you want. Jet Convert's Australian price list shows its Standard package at $0, down from $250 and fully subsidised by Xero, and its home page says eligible conversions are subsidised by $250. Xero's conversion terms limit the program to new subscribers or trial sign-ups, say not all platforms are supported, and say the subsidy is not available with any other offer, such as a discount or promo code, so check it against any introductory price you plan to use. Jet Convert's Accelerate package is $470 with the subsidy, and takes the history to the current plus 3 previous financial years.

Standard's listed extras are bank account mapping ($75), monthly comparatives ($75), changing the chart of accounts ($150) and additional years up to 2 ($150 per year). So the same four years of transactions cost about $300 as Standard plus two years, or $470 as Accelerate, which also adds monthly comparatives and bank account types and takes payroll up to 200 employees.

Going from Xero to MYOB, MYOB says it covers the cost of the current and previous financial years, and fees apply beyond that. Ask MMC Convert to confirm the price for your own file.

Skipping preparation can add cost too, because Jet Convert says a reconversion charge may apply when its essential preparation has not been done.

Prepare the old file before any move starts

The conversion pages from Jet Convert and MYOB both ask for a clean file and a firm cut-off, because work done after the cut-off does not carry over. Jet Convert says data entered in an online MYOB file after extraction needs to be re-entered, and that changes during a conversion restart the turnaround time. MYOB says transactions entered after the migration date must be added manually, and that anything entered in MYOB before the migration finishes will be lost. Agree the cut-off date with whoever prepares your BAS.

The checks below combine the two lists:

• Reconcile bank and credit card accounts, and clear duplicates and unreconciled items.
• Match reconciled balances to bank statements, and aged receivables and payables to the trial balance.
• Reconcile clearing accounts to nil.
• Deal with bills or invoices that will never be paid.
• Check contact details and employee leave records.
• Adjust any negative stock.
• Set the correct GST accounting basis in the old file.
• Turn off bank feeds and disable add-ons.
• Create a backup.

Jet Convert quotes up to 3 business days for desktop files and up to 5 for online software, counted from when it has your package choice and access. MYOB quotes ten business days for its partner's migration.

MYOB itself says to get advice on first reports after a move

Xero plans can automate bill entry, and MYOB says you do not need to be an accountant to use MYOB. Even so, MYOB's migration page tells customers to seek advice from a BAS agent or accountant when running their first reports for BAS, pay as you go (PAYG) and super. One reason is that payroll history arrives as General Journals, so MYOB's BAS link does not pick up figures from that history.

Whether what the software produces suits your tax return, or your activity statement, depends on your circumstances, so ask a registered tax or BAS agent. The bookkeeper, BAS agent and accountant guide sets out who can do what.

Whether accountants prefer Xero is harder to answer. Xero says 250,000 accountants and bookkeepers build their practice with Xero, without saying how many are Australian, and MYOB runs a partner program too, but vendor figures do not show preference, and this guide has no independent survey to cite. A better question for your own accountant is which package they work in daily, and whether they support the other one.

Next steps

Start by listing the people you pay, the apps you rely on and the oldest year you need in detail. Those three answers narrow the choice and scope any move.

Lomandra Accounting lists cloud accounting support for both Xero and MYOB, including conversions and workflow training, and works online with phone, video and email support wherever you are based in Australia. It is registered with the Tax Practitioners Board. See the services page for the full list, or the business accountant page for the Sunshine Coast if you want local context. The Sunshine Coast accountant page and the Kawana Waters page touch on moving to the cloud more briefly.

If you are also weighing up who should run the books, read the bookkeeper, BAS agent and accountant comparison and what an accountant costs a small business. To talk through your own file, ask for a quick scoping call.