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.

Last verified 2026-03-10

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	Free
BAS Lodgement	Direct BAS lodgement to the ATO via Standard Business Reporting (SBR). Prepare, review, and lodge BAS within MYOB. Supports quarterly and monthly BAS reporting.	Zoho Books generates BAS-ready reports with GST breakdowns, but does not support direct electronic lodgement to the ATO. You export the BAS report and lodge it manually via the ATO portal, MyGov, or through your accountant.
STP Phase 2	compliant	via_third_party
Payday Super	ready	not_ready
Modern Awards	MYOB updates award libraries when Fair Work changes rates, but changes must be manually re-applied to employee setup. Deep award interpretation (auto-calculation of penalty rates, overtime, and allowances) requires third-party add-on like QuokkaWorks Award Interpreter from the MYOB marketplace.	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

Zoho Books Plans

Free

AUD inc GST

✓Revenue Cap: 50000
✓Invoices Per Year: 1000
✓Bills Per Year: 1000
✓Bank Reconciliation: Yes
✓Users: 1

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 Lodgement

5/5

STP Phase 2

5/5

Payday Super

5/5

Modern Awards

3/5

GST Handling

5/5

Bank Feeds

5/5

Zoho Books

BAS Lodgement

3/5

STP Phase 2

2/5

Payday Super

1/5

Modern Awards

1/5

GST Handling

4/5

Bank Feeds

3/5

Pros & Cons

MYOB

Pros

Australian phone support at 1300 555 666 (Mon-Fri 7am-7pm AEST) — Xero doesn't offer this
Payroll for unlimited employees included in Pro plan ($70/mo) — no per-employee add-on cost
130+ Australian bank feed connections — one of the broadest coverages available
Direct BAS lodgement to ATO via Standard Business Reporting (SBR)
Payday Super already available to switch on ahead of the July 2026 deadline
Genuinely Australian-owned, Australian-hosted, Australian-supported
14-day free trial to test before committing
Annual billing discount available (e.g., Pro drops from $70 to $52.50/mo)

Cons

Smaller app marketplace (350+ vs Xero's 1,000+) — fewer third-party integrations
Modern Award interpretation requires third-party add-on (QuokkaWorks) for full automation
AccountRight Plus is expensive at $165/mo for multi-currency and inventory features
UI feels less modern and polished compared to Xero
Market share declining — now approximately 20-25% vs Xero's dominant position
Shorter free trial (14 days vs Xero's 30 days)

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