Zoho Books vs Xero in Singapore: Price, GST and InvoiceNow

Zoho Books vs Xero: quick comparison

Prices and features from Zoho Books' Singapore pricing page and Xero's Singapore pricing with its price-change notice. Approximate, as of October 2026.

Note the tax difference when comparing: Zoho says its prices exclude local taxes, so add 9% GST; Xero's Singapore prices already include GST.

Price: what each plan costs in Singapore

For a business sending more than 20 invoices a month, the realistic comparison is Zoho Standard at about S$16 to S$20 with GST against Xero Standard at S$77 from November. Over a year that gap is several hundred dollars, so the question is whether Xero's compliance features and ecosystem save you that much time or accounting fees.

GST F5 filing: direct vs export and file

Both handle Singapore GST codes and produce the F5 figures. The difference is the last step.

• Zoho Books: its GST F5 help page says you generate the return, review and adjust it, export it, and submit it manually to IRAS through myTax, then mark it as filed in Zoho.
• Xero: prepares the GST F5 from your transactions and files it to IRAS from inside Xero, per its help article on filing a GST F5 return.

Manual filing is not hard: it means retyping the boxes into myTax each quarter. The risk is a typo or a version mismatch between what is in the books and what was filed. If you are not GST-registered, this difference does not matter. Our Xero GST F5 checklist shows what to check before any filing.

InvoiceNow readiness: the bigger difference

IRAS is bringing all GST-registered businesses into the GST InvoiceNow requirement in phases. It already applies to new voluntary GST registrants from 1 April 2026, and existing GST-registered businesses are scheduled to follow in bands from 2028 to 2031. In scope, you must send invoice data to IRAS through an InvoiceNow-ready solution.

IMDA publishes a list of InvoiceNow-Ready Solution Providers. In the version updated 12 October 2026, Xero is listed and Zoho Books is not. Zoho publishes InvoiceNow explainers for Singapore, but we could not find it on IMDA's list.

Our guide to InvoiceNow (Peppol) set-up for SMEs explains the requirement, dates and grants.

Bank feeds, apps and accountants

Bank feeds. Xero documents direct feeds for DBS, OCBC and UOB; see our guide to Xero bank feeds. Zoho's pricing page lists bank feeds from the Standard plan up; check whether your specific bank account connects directly or needs statement imports.

Apps. Xero's Singapore app store has connectors for most payment, e-commerce, payroll and expense tools used locally; our guide to connecting Shopify, Stripe and HitPay to Xero shows how they reconcile. Zoho's advantage is its own suite: if you already run Zoho CRM, Inventory or Desk, Zoho Books shares the same customer and product data without a connector.

Accountants. Many Singapore bookkeepers and accounting firms work mainly in Xero. Ask yours before choosing; if they would have to learn Zoho Books, your savings may come back as fees.

Which should a small Singapore business choose?

If you are moving between systems, our guide to switching from QuickBooks to Xero covers cut-over dates, conversion balances and record keeping; the same steps apply when moving from Zoho Books.

Do it yourself or get help?

Both are easy to start on your own: sign up, set your GST details and import contacts. The work that takes time is connecting bank feeds, payment apps and invoice templates, and getting InvoiceNow working if it applies to you.

Our Xero / QuickBooks Integration (S$390) connects bank feeds and payment and store apps and sets up invoice templates and reminders. If InvoiceNow applies to you, our InvoiceNow (Peppol) Setup (S$190) registers your Peppol ID through an IMDA-accredited access point, connects it to your accounting software and sends a test e-invoice. Your accountant remains responsible for the GST figures.