Keeper vs Xero Comparison 2026
Keeper is bought once a year, $199 or $399 per filing, and spends the months between hunting for deductions in the accounts it connects to before a tax professional signs the return. Xero is a monthly subscription, from $25 a month, for the bookkeeping a creator actually does day to day: invoices, bank reconciliation, contractor payments and the reports an accountant asks for. The axis is what you actually need: a once-a-year filing with deductions found automatically, or real books kept all year that a filing gets built from.
Tax filing that hunts for freelance write-offs
Accounting a freelancer can run without help
At a glance
- Xero starts cheaper, at $25.
- Neither has a free tier.
Side by side
Keeper | Xero | |
|---|---|---|
| Starting price (they differ) | From $199 | From $25 |
| Pricing model (they differ) | One-time purchase | Paid subscription |
| Free tier | No | No |
| Billing (they differ) | One-time purchase | Monthly or annual |
| Free trial | Not stated | Not stated |
| API | Not stated | Not stated |
Keeper
Tax filing that hunts for freelance write-offs
Keeper connects to the accounts a freelancer actually spends from and proposes deductions transaction by transaction, then files the return at the end of it. A tax professional reviews and signs what gets sent. The pricing is per filing rather than per month, so it is bought once a year and the deduction hunting is what you are paying for in between.
Our note
Priced per filing rather than per month, which is the whole comparison against Wave or FreeAgent. Two hundred dollars once a year suits anybody whose Schedule C is the only return they file. It is poor value for somebody who also needs the books kept in between, and that is a different purchase.
Xero
Accounting a freelancer can run without help
Xero covers the parts of bookkeeping a creator actually meets: invoices, bank reconciliation, expenses and the reports an accountant asks for in January. Nothing in it assumes you have taken an accounting class. There is no free plan, and the cheapest tier stops at twenty invoices a month, which a busy freelancer clears by the third week.
Why people weigh these two
- Xero instead of Keeper
- Xero is full accounting software a freelancer runs themselves from $25, year-round bookkeeping rather than Keeper's once-a-year filing with deductions found for you.
- Keeper instead of Xero
- Keeper is a one-time $199 tax filing tool that hunts for freelance write-offs, built for filing season rather than Xero's ongoing monthly invoicing and reconciliation.
Which one should you pick
Choose Keeper if a Schedule C is the only return you file and keeping books all year is more machinery than the job needs, since $199 buys federal e-filing, itemised deductions and a professional's review once. It is a poor fit for anybody who also needs invoices sent and contractors paid throughout the year, which is a different purchase.
Choose Xero if income has outgrown a spreadsheet and you pay other people, since invoices, bank reconciliation and 1099 handling all live in one place for $25 a month at the entry tier. The 20-invoice cap on Early is the number a busy freelancer clears by the third week, so count last year's invoices before picking it.
Common questions
- Do I need both Keeper and Xero?
- Possibly, if the business has real bookkeeping needs beyond a single Schedule C: Xero handles invoices and reconciliation all year, and Keeper handles the annual filing itself. Somebody with a straightforward freelance return and no contractors may only need Keeper.
- Which one is billed monthly?
- Xero is, from $25 a month at the entry tier. Keeper is priced per filing instead, $199 or $399 once a year, with no monthly subscription at all.
- Does either one actually file a tax return?
- Keeper does, with a tax professional reviewing and signing what gets sent. Xero produces the reports an accountant needs, profit and loss, balance sheet and trial balance, but does not itself file a return.
- Which one is cheaper for someone with a simple freelance return?
- Keeper, at $199 once a year against Xero's $25 a month, which is $300 a year before counting any promotional pricing. Keeper is built exactly for that simpler case; Xero is the better buy once real bookkeeping and contractor payments enter the picture.
Ratings are the average of reviews readers left. The facts are stated by each tool’s own listing and are not verified by CloutStack. How we make money.