Comparison
Marchant vs Xero
Xero is the global benchmark for small-business accounting. Here's where it wins, where Marchant wins, and how the two compare for a UK business filing MTD VAT.
Our honest take
Xero is an excellent product if you run a UK-only business and value a mature integration ecosystem or polished native mobile apps. The 1,000+ app marketplace and global accountant community are genuine advantages that take years to build.
Marchant is the stronger fit if you want UK payroll without a per-employee fee, multi-currency without upgrading to a premium tier, or a published price you can evaluate without a sales call. Both file MTD VAT; neither files in France or Germany today.
The key differentiator is cross-border compliance. Xero has no native French DGFiP or German ELSTER filing — businesses expanding into Paris or Berlin end up running Xero alongside a country-specific tool, doubling their costs and data entry.
Most people searching for a Xero alternative are not unhappy with the software — they are unhappy with what it adds up to. If you are comparing Marchant vs Xero because payroll is billed per employee, multi-currency sits behind Premium, or you want to see the price before you talk to anyone, this page is written for you.
Xero is one of the most polished small-business accounting products in the world. It wins on the breadth of its integration marketplace, the quality of its mobile apps, and the depth of its UK accountant community. But it is fundamentally a single-country platform — UK VAT and MTD are excellent; French DGFiP TVA and German ELSTER VAT simply do not exist inside the product.
Below you will find an honest split of strengths on each side, a detailed feature comparison table, a pricing snapshot, a step-by-step migration guide from Xero to Marchant, and answers to the questions we hear most before teams switch.
Xero
Where Xero genuinely wins
- ✓1,000+ app integrations via the Xero Marketplace — the deepest ecosystem of any SME accounting platform.
- ✓Mature UK MTD VAT filing: reliable, accountant-trusted, and well-documented for contractors and sole traders.
- ✓Full-featured native iOS and Android apps today — receipt capture, invoice approval, and bank reconciliation on the move.
- ✓Huge global accountant community: most UK practices know Xero, making onboarding and advisor handoffs frictionless.
- ✓Simple, transparent pricing at the lower tiers — easy to evaluate without a sales call.
Where Xero is weaker for cross-border teams
- ✗No native French TVA (DGFiP) or German ELSTER VAT filing — expansion into Paris or Berlin means a second accounting tool.
- ✗Multi-currency invoicing is reserved for Xero's upper tiers; on the entry plan you are limited to your base currency.
- ✗No native French or German payroll — cross-border payroll requires additional SaaS integrations and separate contracts.
- ✗The entry Ignite plan caps you at 20 invoices and 10 bills per month — fine for evaluation, but businesses grow past this quickly.
Marchant
Why Marchant is the stronger fit when you cross borders
- ✓Multi-currency invoicing across 50+ currencies with daily FX rates is available on all plans — no premium tier required.
- ✓Open banking (coming soon) across 2,400+ UK and EU institutions with daily sync, so German and French accounts sit next to UK ones.
- ✓Full English, French and German UI — one workspace for international finance teams without parallel ledgers.
Where Marchant is still catching up
- ~Marchant is a UK product until the French and German launches in 2028 — if you need filing in either market now, neither Marchant nor Xero's UK plan covers it.
- ~Mobile apps are rolling out — if polished iOS and Android apps are a hard requirement today, Xero currently has the edge.
- ~Our integration marketplace is younger than Xero's — if you rely on a niche UK connector, validate it before you move.
- ~Xero's global brand and accountant community depth takes years to build — if your advisor network is Xero-only, factor in the transition.
Feature comparison
| Feature | Marchant | Xero |
|---|---|---|
| Starting price | From £15/mo — MTD filing on every plan | From £16/mo Ignite (capped at 20 invoices & 10 bills/mo); Grow, Comprehensive and Ultimate above it |
| UK VAT (MTD) | All plans — direct MTD submission | All plans — direct MTD submission |
| French TVA (DGFiP) | Planned — French launch 2028 | Not supported — third-party workaround required |
| German VAT (ELSTER) | Planned — German launch 2028 | Not supported — third-party workaround required |
| UK Payroll | BrightPay sync (coming soon) | Add-on (£5/mo + £1 per employee) — not bundled |
| French Payroll (DSN) | Planned — French launch 2028 | Not supported |
| German Payroll (DATEV) | Planned — German launch 2028 | Not supported |
| Open banking | 2,400+ UK & EU banks — daily sync (coming soon) | UK & EU banks via third-party consent — daily sync |
| Multi-currency invoicing | 50+ currencies with daily FX rates on all plans | Upper tiers only — not on the entry Ignite plan |
| SEPA batch payments | Coming soon — not available yet | Not a core feature |
| Third-party integrations | Growing marketplace | 1,000+ apps via Xero Marketplace |
| Fixed assets & depreciation | Coming soon | Yes — fixed asset register included |
| Mobile app | iOS + Android (coming soon) | iOS + Android — full-featured |
| Free trial | 30 days — no card required | 30 days — no card required |
| Accountant access | Included on all plans | Xero HQ for practice partners — included |
Pricing comparison (verify before you buy)
Retail prices change with promotions and plan updates. Use this table as a planning snapshot, then confirm live numbers on each website. The important question is not just headline monthly cost — it is what you pay once you add multi-currency, country compliance, and payroll.
| What you are comparing | Marchant | Xero |
|---|---|---|
| Typical entry price (public list, UK) | Starter from £15/mo — MTD filing included on every plan | Ignite from £16/mo (20 invoices, 10 bills per month); Grow, Comprehensive and Ultimate above it — check xero.com for current tier prices |
| Multi-currency invoicing | Included on all plans — no upgrade required | Upper tiers only |
| French + German compliance in the same product | Planned for 2028 — UK MTD and CIS today | Not available — requires separate country-specific tools |
| Accountant access | Included on every plan | Xero HQ — practice-side access included |
| Free trial | 30 days, card not required | 30 days, card not required |
Xero's plan limits and prices have changed several times — always verify on xero.com before budgeting. Xero retired the Starter, Standard and Premium plans for new customers in September 2024, and has announced a UK price increase from 1 September 2026, so re-check before you budget.
Switching from Xero to Marchant
Migration ships in 2027. The steps below are how the move will work when it does — the rest of Marchant is live today.
Xero exports are clean and well-structured, which makes migration straightforward. Most companies complete the move in an afternoon if the chart of accounts is tidy. Run both systems in parallel for one VAT period if your accountant prefers a soft cutover.
Export a trial balance and chart of accounts from Xero
In Xero, go to Accounting > Reports and export a Trial Balance and Profit & Loss for the current period. Download a CSV of your chart of accounts separately. Your Marchant onboarding checklist will tell you exactly which ledgers to map; keep your fixed asset register and payroll scheme codes for your own records until those arrive in Marchant (coming soon).
Move open invoices, bills, and contacts
Export customers, suppliers, unpaid invoices and bills to CSV from Xero's Accounting menu. Marchant's import templates align to Xero's export columns to minimise manual re-mapping. If you use Xero Projects, export cost allocations now — we map these to Marchant cost centres.
Reconnect bank feeds in Marchant
Import the last 90 days of statements from each UK and EU account as CSV to give yourself a clean reconciliation window before you cut over completely. Open banking feeds are coming soon.
Recreate payroll and tax settings
HMRC PAYE references, VAT registration numbers, and scheme dates should match exactly — your accountant can review in a shared workspace. French or German registrations stay with your current provider until Marchant’s 2028 launches.
Parallel run one return, then cut over
Many teams file one more MTD return from Xero while reconciling in Marchant, then switch filing credentials after that period closes. This approach gives your accountant a comparison check before you decommission the old platform.
Need help? Marchant support can review your Xero export package before import — send anonymised samples if your data policy requires it. The goal is zero surprises on VAT or payroll deadlines.
Common questions: Marchant vs Xero
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