Head to head
Sage Accounting vs Xero
Both products assessed against the same checklist, with ratings drawn from 798 verified reviews.
Sage Accounting
Accounting Software
4.2
412 verified reviews
R220
per month, from, excl VAT
- Rating gap
- 0.1
- Reviews behind this
- 798
- Monthly price gap
- R110
- Features they share
- 4
Side by side
How they compare
Ratings computed from published reviews, and the specifications that change what a product costs to run. The washed column is the higher rated of the two.
| Compared on | Sage Group plc | Higher rated overall |
|---|---|---|
| What reviewers say | ||
| Overall rating | 4.2 | 4.3, higher |
| Ease of use | 4.0 | 4.3, higher |
| Value for money | 4.1 | 4.2, higher |
| Customer service | 3.9 | 4.1, higher |
| Functionality | 4.1 | 4.3, higher |
| Verified reviews | 412 | 386 |
| What it costs | ||
| Starting price | R220per month, from | R330per month, from |
| VAT basis | Excl VAT | Excl VAT |
| Free trial | Yes | Yes |
| Free plan | No | No |
| Published plans | 3 | 4 |
| Vendor and support | ||
| Vendor | Sage Group plc | Xero Limited |
| Founded | 1981 | 2006 |
| Support channels | Telephone, Email, Live chat, Knowledge base, Partner network | Email, Online support ticket, Knowledge base, Advisor network |
| Integrations listed | 10 | 12 |
| Local bank feeds | 7 | 5 |
The local yardstick
South African compliance
Amber marks a gap rather than a feature. This is usually where the decision is actually made.
Sage Accounting
- VAT201 at 15%
- SARS eFiling transfer
- Zero rated and exempt supply handling
- IT14SD supporting schedules
- POPIA operator agreement
- CIPC annual return support via accountant
Xero
- VAT201 at 15%
- Zero rated and exempt supply handling
- Manual eFiling capture, no direct SARS transfer
- POPIA operator agreement
- Data hosted outside South Africa
What they cost
Pricing, compared properly
Check the VAT basis on each. Vendors are not consistent, and the difference is 15%.
Sage Accounting
Listed excluding VAT
- R220/mo
Start
1 user
- R495/mo
StandardPopular
Up to 3 users
- R735/mo
Premium
Up to 10 users
Sage publishes South African list prices excluding VAT. Add 15% for the figure that lands on your invoice.
Xero
Listed excluding VAT
- R330/mo
Ignite
Unlimited users
- R560/mo
GrowPopular
Unlimited users
- R760/mo
Comprehensive
Unlimited users
- R950/mo
Ultimate
Unlimited users
Xero quotes South African prices in rand excluding VAT. The Ignite plan caps invoices, bills and quotes, so most businesses start on Grow.
Capability
The full feature matrix
Every feature either product offers, and whether the other one has it.
| Compared on | Sage Group plc | Higher rated overall |
|---|---|---|
| 25 features across both products | ||
| Age analysis | Included | Not included |
| Audit trail on every transaction | Included | Not included |
| Bank feeds and automatic matching | Included | Not included |
| Bank reconciliation with rule learning | Not included | Included |
| Basic inventory | Included | Not included |
| Budgeting and cash flow forecasts | Included | Not included |
| Cash flow forecasting | Not included | Included |
| Custom report builder | Not included | Included |
| Customer and supplier ledgers | Included | Not included |
| Expense claims | Not included | Included |
| Fixed asset register | Included | Included |
| Free accountant and auditor access | Included | Not included |
| Inventory tracking | Not included | Included |
| Invoicing and quoting | Included | Not included |
| Invoicing, quoting and online payment links | Not included | Included |
| Mobile app for iOS and Android | Included | Included |
| Multi currency invoicing | Included | Not included |
| Multi currency with automatic rates | Not included | Included |
| Project and job costing | Included | Included |
| Purchase orders | Included | Included |
| Recurring invoices and debit orders | Included | Not included |
| Two factor authentication as standard | Not included | Included |
| Unlimited users on all plans | Not included | Included |
| VAT201 and VAT reconciliation | Included | Not included |
| VAT201 reporting at 15% | Not included | Included |
Our verdict
Which one you should buy
We name a winner. Listing differences and leaving the decision to the reader is not a verdict.
These two are close enough that the deciding factor is rarely the software. Sage Accounting transfers VAT201 figures straight into SARS eFiling and has the broadest bank feed coverage in the market, including Capitec. Xero has the better daily experience by a clear margin, unlimited users on every plan, and stronger multi currency handling.
Our recommendation splits on two questions. If you file more than a handful of VAT returns, or your accountant is a Sage practice, take Sage. If your finance team lives in the system every day, you invoice in more than one currency, or you want several people in the file without paying per seat, take Xero and accept fifteen minutes of manual capture every two months.
On price, Sage Standard at R495 excluding VAT against Xero Grow at R560 excluding VAT is close enough to ignore. Xero's unlimited users usually make it cheaper in practice for a team of four or more.
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