Xero vs MYOB — Australia 2026
Xero vs MYOB payroll-specific comparison for AU businesses. Modern Award interpretation, STP Phase 2, Payday Super readiness & super clearing.
Quick Verdict
Xero includes payroll in AU plans; MYOB Pro does not
Xero AU plans include payroll with people-paid caps (Ignite 1 / Grow 2 / Comprehensive 5 / Ultimate 10) at $37 / $78 / $107 / $143 incl. GST from 1 July 2026. MYOB Pro does not include payroll — it is $3/employee/month; included payroll starts at AccountRight Plus $165. Neither product documents native auto award interpretation on the pages opened this check (Xero points award questions to Fair Work; MYOB uses manual pay items / a marketplace add-on). Both vendor-claim STP and a Payday Super payment path (Xero Auto Super; MYOB Pay Super). MYOB still wins on inbound AU phone support. The old copy that MYOB Pro included payroll and scored 5/5 on awards, or that Xero charged a $13 payroll add-on, is false on 8 Sep 2026.
Feature Comparison
| Feature | Xero | MYOB |
|---|---|---|
| Headquarters | Wellington, NZ (AU operations in Melbourne) | Melbourne, VIC |
| Entry Price | $37/mo inc GST | $35/mo inc GST |
| BAS Lodgement | AU plan pages list Track GST and lodge BAS, and the Ignite page says lodge BAS securely to the ATO from Xero. That is in-product lodgement, not a separate ATO-portal-only export. SBR is the usual channel; this check used the public plan pages, not an ATO software-product register extract. | 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. |
| STP Phase 2 | compliant | compliant |
| Payday Super | ready | ready |
| Modern Awards | Xero AU payroll FAQ: it calculates pay and tax and is STP-compliant; for specific award obligations it tells readers to check a payroll specialist or the Fair Work Ombudsman. That is not auto award interpretation. Employment Hero or KeyPay remain the add-on path for penalty-rate automation. | 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. |
| Bank Feeds | Big 4 + 50+ banks | Big 4 + 130+ banks |
| Data Hosting | unclear | AU |
| AU Support Hours | 24/7 online support | Mon-Fri 7am-7pm AEST |
| Phone Support | No | Yes |
| Integrations | 1000+ apps | 350+ apps |
Pricing Comparison (AUD, Mar 2026)
Xero Plans
Ignite
$37/mo
AUD inc GST
- ✓Invoices: 20
- ✓Bills: 5
- ✓Bank Reconciliation: Yes
Most Popular
Grow
$78/mo
AUD inc GST
- ✓Invoices: unlimited
- ✓Bills: unlimited
- ✓Bank Reconciliation: Yes
Comprehensive
$107/mo
AUD inc GST
- ✓Invoices: unlimited
- ✓Bills: unlimited
- ✓Bank Reconciliation: Yes
- ✓Multi Currency: Yes
Ultimate 10
$143/mo
AUD inc GST
- ✓Invoices: unlimited
- ✓Bills: unlimited
- ✓Bank Reconciliation: Yes
- ✓Multi Currency: Yes
- ✓Projects: Yes
- ✓Analytics Plus: Yes
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
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.
Xero
BAS Lodgement5/5
STP Phase 25/5
Payday Super5/5
Modern Awards3/5
GST Handling5/5
Bank Feeds5/5
MYOB
BAS Lodgement5/5
STP Phase 25/5
Payday Super5/5
Modern Awards3/5
GST Handling5/5
Bank Feeds5/5
Pros & Cons
Xero
Pros
- Australia's most widely-used accounting platform — your accountant almost certainly knows it
- Bank reconciliation and bank connections on every AU plan checked
- In-product BAS lodgement to the ATO listed on Ignite through Ultimate 10
- Largest app marketplace with 1,000+ integrations (Deputy, ServiceM8, Employment Hero, Shopify, etc.)
- ISO/IEC 27001:2022 and SOC 2 Type II on Xero's security pages
- Auto Super listed as included in AU plans for Payday Super workflows
- Payroll included in listed AU plans, with people-paid caps by tier
- 24/7 online support with callback service
Cons
- Most expensive of the major accounting platforms — Grow is $78/mo standard from 1 July 2026
- Ignite limited to 20 invoices per month, pushing most invoicing businesses to Grow
- No inbound phone support — callback service only
- Public docs do not confirm Australian data residency for AU organisations
- Repeated price rises; Ignite/Grow/Comprehensive/Ultimate 10 all increased again on 1 July 2026
- No annual billing discount on the pages opened — subscriptions auto-renew monthly
- Public AU pages advertised both 90% off first 3 months and a one-month-free CTA; checkout was not started so the applied offer is unresolved
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
Who Should Choose Xero
Xero is best suited for businesses that need small business, sole trader, accountant managed.
Choose Xero if you are:
- Small Business
- Sole Trader
- Accountant Managed
- Growing Business
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