MYOB vs Zoho Books — Australia 2026
MYOB vs Zoho Books compared for AU businesses. Pricing, BAS lodgement, Modern Award payroll, data hosting & GST compliance reviewed.
Quick Verdict
MYOB for full AU compliance, Zoho Books to save money
Zoho Books undercuts MYOB on price and offers a free tier, but MYOB provides deeper AU compliance with native Modern Award interpretation, STP Phase 2, and phone support from an AU-based team. Zoho Books handles basic GST and BAS but lacks integrated payroll with award rates. Pick Zoho Books if you're a sole trader watching costs; pick MYOB if you have employees.
Feature Comparison
| Feature | MYOB | Zoho Books |
|---|---|---|
| Headquarters | Melbourne, VIC | Chennai, India |
| Entry Price | $35/mo inc GST | Free |
| BAS Lodgement | Official plan comparison: Lite, Pro and AccountRight Plus list Track GST and lodge BAS. Solo is Track GST only. AI BAS is a beta add-on on Lite/Pro, not the lodgement channel itself. | Zoho Books AU help: generate a BAS report, then mark it as filed after you file on the ATO portal. That is export/prepare + portal lodgement, not in-product SBR lodgement. |
| STP Phase 2 | compliant | via_third_party |
| Payday Super | ready | not_ready |
| Modern Awards | MYOB still does not document native auto award interpretation on the pages opened this check. Award-rate libraries and employee pay items are configured by the employer; deep penalty-rate automation is a third-party marketplace add-on (QuokkaWorks) in prior copy. Do not treat that add-on as a MYOB certification. | No Australian payroll features — Modern Award interpretation is not available natively. Requires third-party payroll integration (CloudPayroll, Employment Hero) for award compliance. |
| Bank Feeds | Big 4 + 130+ banks | Big 4 + growing banks |
| Data Hosting | AU | AU |
| AU Support Hours | Mon-Fri 7am-7pm AEST | 24x5 (24 hours, Monday-Friday) |
| Phone Support | Yes | Yes |
| Integrations | 350+ apps | 67+ apps |
Pricing Comparison (AUD, Mar 2026)
MYOB Plans
Lite
$35/mo
AUD inc GST
- ✓Invoices: unlimited
- ✓Bills: basic
- ✓Bank Reconciliation: Yes
- ✓Bank Accounts: 2
- ✓Users: unlimited
Most Popular
Pro
$70/mo
AUD inc GST
- ✓Invoices: unlimited
- ✓Bills: unlimited
- ✓Bank Reconciliation: Yes
- ✓Bank Accounts: unlimited
- ✓Users: unlimited
AccountRight Plus
$165/mo
AUD inc GST
- ✓Invoices: unlimited
- ✓Bills: unlimited
- ✓Bank Reconciliation: Yes
- ✓Inventory: Yes
- ✓Time Billing: Yes
- ✓Users: unlimited
AccountRight Premier
$210/mo
AUD inc GST
- ✓Invoices: unlimited
- ✓Bills: unlimited
- ✓Bank Reconciliation: Yes
- ✓Inventory: Yes
- ✓Multi Currency: Yes
- ✓Users: unlimited
Zoho Books Plans
Free
Free
AUD inc GST
- ✓Revenue Cap: 50000
- ✓Invoices Per Year: 1000
- ✓Bills Per Year: 1000
- ✓Bank Reconciliation: Yes
- ✓Users: 1
- ✓Accountant: 1
Most Popular
Standard
$19.8/mo
AUD inc GST
- ✓Invoices Per Year: 5000
- ✓Bills Per Year: 5000
- ✓Bank Reconciliation: Yes
- ✓Users: 3
Professional
$39.6/mo
AUD inc GST
- ✓Invoices Per Year: 10000
- ✓Bills Per Year: 10000
- ✓Bank Reconciliation: Yes
- ✓Purchase Orders: Yes
- ✓Users: 5
Premium
$59.4/mo
AUD inc GST
- ✓Invoices Per Year: 25000
- ✓Bills Per Year: 25000
- ✓Bank Reconciliation: Yes
- ✓Purchase Orders: Yes
- ✓Custom Domain: Yes
- ✓Users: 10
Elite
$220/mo
AUD inc GST
- ✓Invoices Per Year: 100000
- ✓Users: 10
Ultimate
$385/mo
AUD inc GST
- ✓Invoices Per Year: 100000
- ✓Users: 15
AU Compliance Scores
How we scoreScores are out of 5 and reflect depth of compliance support, ease of setup, and ongoing reliability for Australian businesses. Assessed March 2026.
MYOB
BAS Lodgement5/5
STP Phase 25/5
Payday Super5/5
Modern Awards3/5
GST Handling5/5
Bank Feeds5/5
Zoho Books
BAS Lodgement3/5
STP Phase 22/5
Payday Super1/5
Modern Awards1/5
GST Handling4/5
Bank Feeds3/5
Pros & Cons
MYOB
Pros
- Australian phone support at 1300 555 666 (Mon-Fri 7am-7pm AEST) — Xero doesn't offer this
- Share Lite/Pro/Plus with an advisor, accountant or bookkeeper at no extra cost
- Unlimited quotes and invoices on Lite, Pro and Plus
- Track GST and lodge BAS on Lite, Pro and Plus
- Cloud platforms hosted in Australia on Azure and AWS (MYOB security practices page)
- Pro connects unlimited bank accounts (Lite is capped at two)
- 14-day free trial on Pro and AccountRight Plus
- Annual billing on Lite ($315/year after offer = $26.25/mo equivalent)
Cons
- Pro does not include payroll — $3/employee/month extra (max 2 employees on Lite)
- Smaller app marketplace (350+ vs Xero's 1,000+)
- Modern Award interpretation still needs a third-party add-on for full automation
- AccountRight Plus is $165/mo; Premier $210/mo for multi-currency
- UI feels less modern than Xero
- Shorter free trial on some paths (14 days vs Xero's 30 days)
- Public cancel path is conflicting: pricing FAQ copy vs 10-day terms notice vs help that says call 1300 940 281; in-app cancel was not opened
Zoho Books
Pros
- Genuinely free plan for businesses under $50K revenue — not just a trial, actually free with bank reconciliation and GST tracking
- Cheapest paid plans among major platforms — Standard from $16.50/mo (annual), dramatically less than Xero ($75/mo) or MYOB ($70/mo)
- Australian data centres in Sydney and Melbourne — genuine AU data sovereignty with SOC 2 Type II and ISO 27001 certification
- Part of the Zoho ecosystem — native integration with Zoho CRM, Projects, Inventory, and 40+ Zoho products
- Strong GST handling with automatic calculations, BAS report generation, and ABN validation
- 24x5 support with Australian phone number (+61 1800 911076)
- 6 pricing tiers from Free to Ultimate — scales from micro business to larger operations
Cons
- No native Australian payroll — STP Phase 2, Payday Super, and Modern Awards require third-party integration (CloudPayroll, Employment Hero)
- No direct BAS lodgement to ATO — BAS reports are export-only, requiring manual lodgement
- Invoice/bill limits on all plans (1,000/yr on Free, 5,000/yr on Standard, 10,000/yr on Professional) — not truly unlimited
- Fewer Australian bank feed connections than Xero (50+) or MYOB (130+) — relies on Yodlee aggregator
- Smaller integration ecosystem in Australia compared to Xero (1,000+ apps) — mainly Zoho-ecosystem focused
- No Payday Super support — depends entirely on third-party payroll integrations
Who Should Choose MYOB
MYOB is best suited for businesses that need employer with payroll, phone support needed, au owned preference.
Choose MYOB if you are:
- Employer With Payroll
- Phone Support Needed
- Au Owned Preference
- Hospitality
- Retail
Who Should Choose Zoho Books
Zoho Books is best suited for businesses that need micro business budget, sole trader under 50k, zoho ecosystem user.
Choose Zoho Books if you are:
- Micro Business Budget
- Sole Trader Under 50k
- Zoho Ecosystem User
- Startup
- Au Data Sovereignty Budget