Compare
Bookfolio vs Xero
A detailed comparison between Bookfolio and Xero accounting software.
Updated 1 September 2026
What you get
Bookfolio
Xero
An accountant, included
Xero: support →A UK accountant in the price
Included with every book
Ask a question or have a return checked before you approve it, inside the product where the figures are. Having us take care of the accounting itself is an agreed service, with the work and costs agreed with you.
Not included
Xero is the software alone: you find and pay an accountant separately, through its advisor directory or your own.
How you reach support
Message the team in the product
One place for a software question and a bookkeeping one.
Online only
Free, unlimited online support, and Xero can call you back — but it has no inbound support phone line.
Inviting your own accountant
Invite them at no extra cost
They see the same figures you do, with each transaction's history behind it.
Invite them at no extra cost
Xero's plans carry no per-user licence fees.
MTD and HMRC filing
Xero: Making Tax Digital →Where it files
The United Kingdom
Built top to bottom for UK filings and UK rules.
Worldwide
Serving customers in more than 180 countries, with regional editions and local tax handling.
MTD for VAT
Filed from your books
Reconcile the quarter, read the box-by-box breakdown, then send it to HMRC.
Included with its UK plans
Xero is recognised by HMRC for Making Tax Digital for VAT.
MTD for Income Tax
Quarterly updates and the final declaration
Your trade and each property sit in one Self Assessment book.
Covered by its UK plans
Xero lists Making Tax Digital for Income Tax across its UK range.
Payroll reported to HMRC
Run from the same book
Pay your team and send the RTI submission without a separate payroll product.
Charged per person paid
£1 to £1.50 a person a month on top of the plan, with an allowance included on the higher plans.
Corporation Tax return and statutory accounts
As an agreed service
The software prepares CT-ready figures and does not file the CT600. Our accountants can prepare your annual accounts and Corporation Tax return, with the work and costs agreed with you.
A paid add-on
Company Accounts and Tax is an optional add-on at £120 a year, excluding VAT, that submits certain accounts and tax documents to HMRC and Companies House.
Everyday bookkeeping
Xero: plans and features →Bank feeds and imports
Direct bank feeds and CSV import
Included with every book, with duplicate detection across imports.
Bank feeds on every plan
At no extra cost for most customers, though Xero passes on the fees some UK banks charge.
Invoices and bills each month
No monthly caps
Raise as many invoices and enter as many bills as the book needs.
Capped on the entry plan
Ignite allows 20 invoices and 10 bills a month; the higher plans remove the caps.
More than one currency
Foreign currency built in
Foreign-currency accounts and spending come in at daily market rates, into books kept in sterling, with gains and losses tracked.
From its Comprehensive plan up
Multi-currency is included on the £55 plan and above.
Third-party app marketplace
No app marketplace
What a UK book needs is in the product itself rather than bought around it.
A large app store
Hundreds of connected apps for stock, time tracking, expenses, and more.
Pricing model
Xero: pricing plans →What a price covers
Software and an accountant
One price per active book, with UK accountants on hand included — not billed on top.
Software only
Five plans by feature level; an accountant is a separate cost on top.
People on the account
No per-seat fees
Everyone who needs the book can have it.
No per-user licence fees
Its Expenses and Projects features are charged per extra user beyond each plan's allowance.
Starting price
£12 a month, excluding VAT
For a sole trader, property, or Self Assessment book. Free for the first 30 days.
From £7 a month, excluding VAT
Its Simple plan is for non-VAT registered businesses; new customers are currently offered 90% off their first six months, then the published rate.
Accurate as of 1 September 2026, checked against Xero's published pricing and plans.
Bookfolio is an independent UK company. It is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or connected to Xero, and Xero's name is used here only to identify the product being compared.
Pricing
What you would pay
Bookfolio
One monthly price per active book, with UK accountants on hand included. No per-seat fees and no transaction fees.
Sole Trader / Property / Self Assessment
£12 / month
per active book / month
Limited Company
£24 / month
per active company book / month
UK accountants on hand — in the price, not on top of it.
Prices exclude VAT. Free for 30 days, no card required.
See full Bookfolio pricing →Xero
Five UK plans priced by feature level, with payroll charged per person paid — plus the accountant you hire alongside it.
Simple
£7 / month
For non-VAT registered businesses. 10 invoices a month, and no VAT returns.
Ignite
£18 / month
20 invoices and 10 bills a month. Payroll £1.50 a person paid.
Grow
£39 / month
No invoice or bill caps. One person's payroll included.
Comprehensive
£55 / month
Adds multiple currencies. Payroll for five people included.
Ultimate
£70 / month
Payroll for ten people included, alongside its widest feature set.
An accountant, on top
£50–£400 / month typical
Unbiased's published guide puts a sole trader at £50 to £150 a month and a limited company at £200 to £400. What you pay depends on your accountant and your workload.
Prices exclude VAT. New customers are currently offered 90% off for their first six months, after which the published rate applies.
Xero: pricing plans →Xero plan names, prices, and inclusions read from Xero's published UK pricing page on 1 September 2026; typical accountant fees are indicative UK ranges from published fee guides. Bookfolio's prices are the ones on our own pricing page. On either product, a limited company's statutory accounts and CT600 sit with an accountant at year end — your own, or Bookfolio's under a separately agreed service.
Honest fit
Which one suits you
When Bookfolio fits best
You run a UK sole trade, a property business, or a limited company, and everything you file goes to HMRC.
You want the accountant included in the price — to ask a question or check a return — rather than hired on top, with the option of handing the accounting over as an agreed service.
You want MTD for VAT, MTD for Income Tax, and payroll filed from the same book, after you have read the figures.
You want one published price per book, with no per-seat fees and nothing to bolt on later.
When Xero may suit you better
You trade in more than one country, or need to file outside the UK.
You invoice customers in foreign currencies — Bookfolio records foreign-currency accounts and spending, but issues invoices in sterling.
You depend on particular third-party apps — stock, time tracking, or industry tools — from Xero's app store.
Your accountant runs their whole practice on Xero and wants your books alongside their other clients.
Why people move
What Bookfolio does differently.
≡
One country, done properly
Every workflow follows UK rules — VAT schemes, MTD quarters, RTI payroll, and the Self Assessment year. There is no country setting to get wrong and no feature written for somewhere else.
✓
The accountant is in the price
Ask a UK accountant a question inside your books, or have a return checked before you approve it — included, not invoiced separately. If you'd like us to take care of the accounting itself, we'll agree the services and costs with you. You approve every figure before anything is filed, either way.
£
One price per book
A published monthly price for each active book, whatever that book does. No per-seat fees, no transaction fees, and no accountant's bill just to keep the books moving.
Switching
Moving from Xero
Do I still need my own accountant?
UK accountants are on hand in Bookfolio for questions and return reviews. If you'd like us to take care of the accounting, we'll agree the services and costs with you — including annual accounts and the Corporation Tax return for a limited company. You can also invite your own accountant to the book at no extra cost.
Can I bring my Xero data across?
Yes. Export your contacts, chart of accounts, and transactions from Xero as CSV files, then import them into a new Bookfolio book. Your Xero data stays yours — take your exports before you close the subscription.
What happens to VAT returns I have already filed?
They stay filed. HMRC holds every return you have submitted, whichever software sent it. Bookfolio picks up from your first open period, and you keep your Xero records for the periods it filed.
Will I lose my HMRC connection?
No. You authorise Bookfolio through HMRC's own sign-in, separately from any other software. You can see which software has authority in your HMRC account, and remove any of it whenever you want.
When is the best time to move?
Most people move at the start of a VAT quarter or a tax year, because the opening balances are simplest then. Moving mid-period works too; it just means entering a little more history.
Can my accountant work in Bookfolio?
Yes. Invite them to the book at no extra cost. They see the same figures you do, with each transaction's history behind it.
Can I get my data out again later?
Yes. The full audit trail of every change exports to CSV whenever you ask for it — your records are yours, and we would rather you could leave than feel stuck.
Read the detail before you decide
The filing regimes, who Bookfolio is built for, and what it costs.
MTD for Income Tax
Quarterly updates and the final declaration for sole traders and landlords, filed from your books.Read more →
MTD for VAT
Digital VAT records, a box-by-box return that builds as you reconcile, and filing straight to HMRC.Read more →
For sole traders
One book for your trade, your expenses, and the Self Assessment figures behind them.Read more →
For landlords
Every property as its own income source, with shared costs split fairly across them.Read more →
For limited companies
Company books kept clean all year, VAT filed to HMRC, and payroll run for your team.Read more →
Pricing
One monthly price per active book, published in full, with 30 days free to begin with.See pricing →
Try Bookfolio next to your current books.
30 days free, no card required. Import your last quarter, reconcile it, and watch the VAT return build — then decide which one you would rather file from.