This is part of our Getting Started with Xero series (Chapter 1 of the Xero tutorial hub):

• Lesson 1: Choosing the Right Xero Plan for Your Central Coast Business
• Lesson 2: Setting Up Your Xero Organisation: A Step by Step Guide
• Lesson 3: Building a Chart of Accounts for Your Trade or Service Business in Xero
• Lesson 4: Entering Opening Balances When You Switch to Xero
• Lesson 5: Getting to Know Your Xero Dashboard
• Lesson 6: Using the Xero Accounting App On the Job Site

If you are looking at Xero for the first time, the plan names alone can be confusing. Here is what each one actually gets you, in plain terms, so you can pick the right fit instead of guessing.

1. The current Xero plans

As of the current pricing, Xero offers four main plans for Australian businesses: Grow, Comprehensive and Ultimate. Each step up adds more included payroll employees and extra features like multi-currency and project tracking. Since 1 June 2025, payroll and automated superannuation are included in every plan at no extra cost, which used to be a paid add-on.

2. What actually changes between plans

The core bookkeeping features, invoicing, bank feeds, reporting, are available across all plans. The main differences come down to how many payroll employees are included before you start paying a small per-person fee, and whether you need extras like multi-currency accounting or project costing.

3. Which plan usually fits a tradie or small local business

Most sole traders and small trade businesses with one or two staff do well starting on the entry-level plan and moving up only if their payroll headcount grows. If you are running a small team, a mid-tier plan that includes a few payroll employees usually works out cheaper than paying per person on the entry plan.

4. Getting the setup right from day one

Picking the wrong plan is not the end of the world since you can change later, but getting your chart of accounts and initial setup right from the start saves a lot of cleanup down the track. This is exactly the kind of thing worth checking with a registered BAS agent before you commit.

For a visual walkthrough of the different plans, Xero’s official YouTube channel has current comparison videos worth watching before you sign up: youtube.com/@xero.