Accounting software compared

QuickBooks Online, MYOB Business, Xero and Accountants.contact — what each one costs in Australia, what's included, and where each falls short. Prices checked 10 July 2026.

Disclosure: Accountants.contact is operated by WWW.DIRECTORY.COM.AU PTY LTD — the same company that operates Directory.com.au. We have an obvious interest in it. So this page states plainly where it is behind its rivals: it has no live bank feeds and cannot yet lodge BAS or STP directly with the ATO. QuickBooks, MYOB and Xero all can.

Pricing

Each price is shown exactly as the vendor publishes it, including their GST basis — vendors differ, and restating them risks getting it wrong. Promotional rates for new customers are excluded; these are the ongoing prices.

QuickBooks Online

by Intuit

From A$33inc GST

Global heavyweight with a deep app marketplace. In Australia payroll is not in the base subscription — it is added on via Employment Hero.

Check current pricing

MYOB Business

by MYOB

From A$99per year, Solo

The long-standing Australian incumbent. Strong on inventory and the desktop-lineage AccountRight range; payroll is an add-on on the lower plans.

Check current pricing

Xero

by Xero

From A$35ex GST

The Australian small-business default, with the largest local ecosystem of apps and advisors. Payroll and automated super are included across the business plans.

Check current pricing

Our product

Accountants.contact

by WWW.DIRECTORY.COM.AU PTY LTD

From A$9.95basis not stated

A newer Australian-built double-entry ledger with flat pricing and unlimited users on the Business plan. It does not yet lodge directly with the ATO or connect live bank feeds.

Check current pricing

QuickBooks Online plans

Plan	Price	GST basis	Notes
Simple Start	A$33/mo	inc GST	1 user
Essentials	A$55/mo	inc GST	3 users
Plus	—	inc GST	5 users

Published Plus pricing could not be confirmed from a single authoritative source at the date checked — sources disagreed. Confirm with Intuit.

MYOB Business plans

Plan	Price	GST basis	Notes
Solo	A$99/yr	basis not stated	Mobile, 1 user
Business Lite	A$315/yr	basis not stated	Payroll +A$3/employee/mo
Business Pro	A$70/mo	basis not stated	Payroll +A$3/employee/mo
AccountRight Plus	A$165/mo	basis not stated	Payroll included
AccountRight Premier	—	basis not stated	Adds multi-currency

Prices are the "after offer period" figures published by MYOB. MYOB's pricing page does not state whether GST is included.

Xero plans

Plan	Price	GST basis	Notes
Ignite	A$35/mo	ex GST	Entry plan
Grow	A$75/mo	ex GST
Comprehensive	A$100/mo	ex GST
Ultimate 10	A$130/mo	ex GST	Adds multi-currency

Xero renamed its Australian plans (previously Starter/Standard/Premium). Payroll and automated superannuation were folded into the business plans from 1 June 2025.

Accountants.contact plans

Plan	Price	GST basis	Notes
Starter	A$9.95/mo	basis not stated	1 user
Business	A$39/mo	basis not stated	Unlimited users
Practice	Custom	—	For accounting firms

Operated by the same company as Directory.com.au — see the disclosure above.

Features side by side

included Add-on costs extra not included Not yet on the roadmap — varies by plan / not confirmed

Feature	QuickBooks Online	MYOB Business	Xero	Accountants.contact
Double-entry general ledger	Included	Included	Included	Included
Invoices & quotes	Included	Included	Included	Included
Bills / accounts payable	Included	Included	Included	Included
Bank reconciliation	Included	Included	Included	Included
Live bank feeds	Included	Included	Included	Not yet
Accountants.contact imports CSV/OFX; live feeds are on its roadmap.
GST tracking & BAS preparation	Included	Included	Included	Included
Lodge BAS directly to the ATO	Included	Included	Included	Not yet
Accountants.contact prepares the BAS and records the lodgement reference; you lodge via the ATO portal or your agent.
Payroll calculation	Add-on	Add-on	Included	Included
QuickBooks adds payroll via Employment Hero. MYOB charges +A$3/employee/mo on Lite & Pro; AccountRight includes it. Xero includes payroll in its business plans.
Lodge Single Touch Payroll (STP) to the ATO	Included	Included	Included	Not yet
Accountants.contact structures STP pay events but does not transmit them; lodge through a registered agent.
SuperStream super payments	Included	Included	Included	Not yet
On the Accountants.contact roadmap.
Inventory	—	Included	—	Included
Plan-dependent on QuickBooks and Xero.
Fixed-asset register	—	—	—	Included
Not confirmed on the vendor pricing pages at the date checked — this does not mean they lack it.
Multi-currency	—	—	—	Included
Xero on Ultimate; MYOB on AccountRight Premier; QuickBooks plan-dependent.
Unlimited users on the main plan	Not included	Included	Included	Included
QuickBooks caps users by plan (1 / 3 / 5).

Which one should you choose?

XeroIf you want the Australian default. The biggest local ecosystem of advisors and apps, and payroll plus automated super are in the business plans rather than bolted on.

MYOBIf you need serious inventory or you already run AccountRight. The lower plans look cheap until you add payroll per employee.

QuickBooksIf you want the deepest third-party app marketplace, or you already use Intuit tools. Remember payroll is a separate add-on and users are capped by plan.

Accountants.contactIf flat pricing and unlimited users matter more than automation, and you (or your agent) are comfortable lodging BAS and STP outside the software and importing bank statements yourself.

Do not choose Accountants.contact if you need live bank feeds, in-software BAS lodgement, in-software STP lodgement, or SuperStream. Those are the reasons to pay more for Xero, MYOB or QuickBooks today.

Common questions

Which accounting software is cheapest in Australia?

On published entry pricing at 10 July 2026, Accountants.contact Starter is the lowest at A$9.95/month, followed by QuickBooks Simple Start at A$33/month (inc GST) and Xero Ignite at A$35/month (ex GST). MYOB's cheapest is Solo at A$99/year. Cheapest is not the same as best value — check whether payroll and the number of users you need are included, because add-ons change the real cost.

Do all of them handle GST and BAS?

All four track GST and prepare a BAS. The difference is lodgement: Xero, MYOB and QuickBooks can lodge your BAS directly with the ATO from inside the software. Accountants.contact prepares the BAS and records the lodgement reference, but you lodge it through the ATO portal or your registered agent.

Is payroll included in the price?

Not always. Xero includes payroll and automated super in its business plans. MYOB charges roughly A$3 per employee per month on Business Lite and Pro, and includes payroll on AccountRight. QuickBooks does not include payroll in the base subscription — it is added on via Employment Hero. Accountants.contact includes payroll on its Business plan.

Can Accountants.contact lodge Single Touch Payroll?

Not yet. It calculates pay runs and structures STP Phase 2 pay events, but it does not transmit them to the ATO — you lodge through a registered agent. Xero, MYOB and QuickBooks are established STP lodgers. If in-software STP lodgement is essential to you, choose one of those three.

What about live bank feeds?

Xero, MYOB and QuickBooks all connect live bank feeds. Accountants.contact currently imports bank transactions by CSV or OFX file and reconciles them; live feeds are on its roadmap. For a high-transaction business this is a meaningful day-to-day difference.

Do these prices include GST?

They are shown exactly as each vendor publishes them, because vendors differ. Xero publishes ex-GST prices, QuickBooks publishes inc-GST prices, and MYOB's pricing page does not state a basis. Always compare on the same basis before deciding, and remember that if you are GST-registered you generally claim the GST back.

How often do these prices change?

Frequently. All four run promotional rates for new customers, and Xero repriced its Australian plans in July 2025. The figures here were checked on 10 July 2026 against the vendors' own pricing pages. Confirm the current price on the vendor's site before you switch.

Is this comparison independent?

It is honest but not independent: Accountants.contact is operated by WWW.DIRECTORY.COM.AU PTY LTD, the same company that operates Directory.com.au. We disclose that at the top of the page, and we show where Accountants.contact falls short of its rivals — notably live bank feeds and direct ATO lodgement.

How we compiled this

Checked 10 July 2026. Plans and prices change often and every vendor runs promotional rates. Confirm on the vendor's own page before switching.
Prices are shown as published, with each vendor's GST basis labelled. We do not convert between ex- and inc-GST, because a mis-stated basis would make the comparison wrong.
Where a figure could not be confirmed from the vendor at the date checked, we show "—" rather than guess. QuickBooks' Plus price and MYOB's AccountRight Premier price are unresolved.
We publish our own product's gaps. Accountants.contact has no live bank feeds and cannot lodge BAS or STP directly with the ATO. Those rows are marked "not yet".
No ratings or review counts are shown, because we have not run a methodologically sound survey. We would rather show nothing than invent a score.

Sources: QuickBooks Online · MYOB Business · Xero · Accountants.contact. Also see our ERP software comparison — an accounting package and an ERP are not the same purchase. This page is general information, not accounting, tax or financial advice — talk to a registered agent about your circumstances.

QuickBooks and Intuit are trademarks of Intuit Inc. MYOB is a trademark of MYOB Group Pty Ltd. Xero is a trademark of Xero Limited. Directory.com.au is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by any of them. Trademarks are used only to identify the products compared.

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