Xero has four plans in Australia: Ignite at $35/month, Grow at $75, Comprehensive at $100, and Ultimate starting at $130. All include GST, payroll and automated super. But the monthly subscription is only part of the real Xero cost - add-on charges, employee overages and plan limits change what you actually pay
We work in Xero across hundreds of client files. We've moved businesses between plans more times than we can count, and the pattern is almost always the same: someone starts on Ignite because it's the cheapest option, outgrows it within a quarter, then jumps to Grow and wonders why they didn't start there. This is the guide we'd give you across the table before you sign up
All prices below are sourced from xero.com/au/pricing-plans as at April 2026, in AUD including GST. Xero typically updates pricing once a year (usually July) and has increased prices every year since 2021, so check their pricing page directly if you're reading this later
How much does Xero cost in Australia?
Xero subscription costs range from $35 to $130+ per month depending on which plan you choose. Here's how the four plans compare:
| Plan | Monthly cost | Payroll | Cashflow forecast | Who it suits |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ignite | $35 | 1 person | 30 days | Sole traders, side businesses, very early stage |
| Grow | $75 | 2 people | 30 days | Most small businesses under $3M turnover |
| Comprehensive | $100 | 5 people | 90 days | Multi-currency, growing teams, deeper analytics |
| Ultimate 10 | $130 | 10 people | 180 days | Project tracking, larger payroll, advanced KPIs |
Ultimate also comes in 20, 50 and 100 employee tiers for bigger payroll counts. Same features, higher Xero price as the headcount scales. If you're comparing Xero against MYOB or QuickBooks, the payroll inclusion across all plans is a significant difference - MYOB charges payroll separately on most plans
Ignite ($35/month) - where most people start and shouldn't stay
Ignite covers the basics: invoicing, quotes, bank reconciliation, GST tracking, BAS lodgement to the ATO, Hubdoc for receipt capture, and payroll for one person. For a sole trader paying themselves through a company structure, it works
The problem is the caps. Ignite limits you to 20 invoices per month, and bill entry is capped too. The invoice limit applies to both sending and approving, and transactions from connected apps count toward it. A growing business hits those limits faster than you'd expect. We had a client last year ring us confused because Xero wouldn't let them approve an invoice. They'd hit the cap on the 8th of the month
You also won't find Ignite on the main pricing comparison anymore. Xero's pricing page defaults to showing Grow, Comprehensive and Ultimate under the "Small business" tab. You need to switch to "Self employed" to see Ignite. That tells you where Xero thinks this plan sits
Grow ($75/month) - the plan most Australian businesses should be on
Grow removes the caps. Unlimited invoices, unlimited bills, payroll for two people, 30-day cashflow forecasting, performance dashboards, and Xero Expenses for one user. It also includes Xero's auto-reconciliation feature (currently in beta on all plans from Grow up), which suggests matches for your bank transactions automatically. If you're coming from MYOB, our migration guide covers the transition
The jump from $35 to $75 feels significant. But for a business doing $500K+ in turnover, the difference between software that constrains your workflow and software that supports it is worth $40 a month. We move more clients from Ignite to Grow than any other plan change. It's rarely the other direction
Two people on payroll covers the common scenario of a business owner plus one employee. The moment you hire a third person, you'll need Comprehensive
Comprehensive ($100/month) - when you need multi-currency or a bigger team
Comprehensive adds three things specific businesses need, and one that everyone benefits from
Multi-currency. If you invoice in anything other than AUD, or pay overseas suppliers in their local currency, you need Comprehensive. There's no way to enable multi-currency on Ignite or Grow. We see this most with professional services firms billing international clients, and businesses importing stock or materials
Payroll for five people. This is the practical reason most businesses upgrade. Grow covers two. If you have three, four or five employees, Comprehensive is the right plan regardless of multi-currency. Paying for additional payroll employees as an add-on on Grow costs more than the $25 plan upgrade
90-day cashflow forecast. Three months of forward visibility rather than one. That's the difference between seeing a quiet period coming and being surprised by it. We use the 90-day view with clients during cashflow forecasting sessions
Tailored financial health scorecards. This is new. Xero generates a scorecard based on your actual numbers - profitability ratios, liquidity, operating performance. Grow doesn't have this. It's not the reason to upgrade, but it's a genuine addition if you're already on Comprehensive for other reasons
Ultimate ($130+/month) - who actually needs it
Ultimate 10 at $130/month is the starting tier. It adds Xero Projects, advanced KPI and ratio analysis, and 180-day cashflow forecasting on top of everything in Comprehensive. Payroll covers 10 people
Xero Projects is the main reason to move up. If you run a services business and need to track time and costs against individual jobs, then measure profitability per project, this is where it lives. Consultancies, agencies and professional services firms without a dedicated project management tool get genuine value here
Trades businesses using SimPro, ServiceM8 or similar job management software typically don't need Xero Projects. The job costing happens in the external app and syncs across. Check our Xero add-ons guide for how these integrations work
The 180-day forecast and KPI analysis are useful, but most businesses we work with in the $1-5M range don't go deep enough into Xero's native analytics to justify Ultimate on that basis alone. If you're already using Syft Analytics or Fathom for reporting, you have those capabilities outside the Xero plan. Don't pay twice for the same view of your numbers
The costs that show up on your first bill
Your Xero subscription is the base. These are the extras that surprise people:
Additional payroll employees are the big one. Each plan includes a set number of people on payroll. Exceed it and you pay per extra employee per month. A cafe with 12 casual staff on Ultimate 10 is paying overage on two employees every month. Check your headcount - including casuals - before choosing a plan
Extra Xero Expenses users at $5/month each. Grow includes one. Comprehensive includes five. If you have a team of 15 people submitting expense claims, the add-on fees stack up fast
Xero Projects user fees at $7/month each on Ultimate. The plan includes 10 users. Beyond that, you pay per head
Online invoice payment fees. The "Pay Now" button on invoices connects through Stripe or GoCardless. The payment processing fee (typically 1.7-2.9% per transaction) comes from the payment provider, not Xero, but it exists because of Xero and it shows up on your margins
Multi-org subscriptions. If you run a trust and a company, or multiple entities, each needs its own Xero subscription. Xero offers a discount when the same subscriber email is used across organisations in the same country edition. Different country editions require contacting Xero support to apply the discount manually
Payroll is included now - but the limits matter
Since mid-2025, payroll and auto super are built into all Xero business plans. Before that, payroll was a separate add-on. The consolidation simplified billing and made Xero more competitive on price, particularly for businesses running Single Touch Payroll reporting for even a small team
The catch is the employee cap per plan. Ignite: 1. Grow: 2. Comprehensive: 5. Ultimate 10: 10. If you have 7 employees on Comprehensive, you're paying add-on fees for two extra people. At that point, check whether Ultimate 10 at $130 is cheaper than Comprehensive at $100 plus the overages
With Payday Super starting July 2026, having auto super built into the plan rather than bolted on is important. Super must be paid with every pay run from that date, and having it automated inside Xero reduces the risk of a missed payment triggering the super guarantee charge. Xero's AI features, including JAX, are also being rolled out across all plans - not locked behind Ultimate
How to choose the right plan
Three questions decide it:
How many people are on your payroll? Count everyone including casuals. 1 = Ignite (if the invoice and bill caps work for your volume). 2 = Grow. 3-5 = Comprehensive. 6-10 = Ultimate 10. This drives more plan decisions than any other factor
Do you invoice or pay in foreign currencies? If yes, Comprehensive minimum. Multi-currency isn't available on Ignite or Grow. No workaround
Do you need to track profitability per project? If yes, and you don't already have dedicated job management software, you need Ultimate
If none of those push you past Grow, stay on Grow. It handles the needs of most Australian businesses under $3M turnover with a small team. Don't pay for features you might use later. Upgrading takes five minutes in Xero's billing settings. Downgrading has a one-month cooling period after upgrading, but you're not locked in
About the promotional pricing
Xero regularly offers steep discounts for new subscribers - typically 75-95% off for the first three to six months. The Grow plan at promotional pricing looks almost free. But when the offer ends, it jumps to $75/month. Check the Xero pricing page for whatever offer is currently running
Choose your plan based on the full monthly price, not the promotional one. If Comprehensive at $100/month doesn't work for your budget, don't sign up during a discount period and hope the economics change when it expires. They won't. Budget for the real number from the start
Not-for-profit discount
If your organisation is a registered not-for-profit, Xero offers a 25% discount on any plan. It's not automatic - you need to sign up to a plan first, then contact Xero support with proof of your NFP status (charity registration number, government confirmation letter, or similar). They apply the discount manually and it stays on your subscription
When to ask for help
If you're unsure which plan fits, or suspect you're overpaying, a Xero review takes the guesswork out. We look at your file, check which features you're actually using, compare your payroll count against your plan limits, and tell you straight whether you need to move up, move down, or stay put. If you need help with initial Xero setup, that's a separate conversation - plan selection and configuration are different jobs
As a Xero Platinum Partner in the Xero Partner Programme, we also have access to partner pricing that can reduce the Xero cost for clients on managed bookkeeping. If you're already working with us, your Xero subscription is something we manage as part of the service
The right Xero plan is the cheapest one that doesn't limit your business. Nothing more
