Which is better for freelancers and consultants in the US? It depends on what you care about, so here are both answers and the arithmetic under them.
QuickBooks and Stripe takes three of the four lenses and Xero and PayPal none, and one is too close to call. They rate within a point of each other on every measure, so the choice comes down to cost and to how each one feels to work in.
| If you care most about | QuickBooks and Stripe | Xero and PayPal |
|---|---|---|
| Best all-rounderQuickBooks and Stripe by 4 | 73 | 69 |
| Best on a budgetToo close to call | 60 | 60 |
| Easiest to startQuickBooks and Stripe by 3 | 77 | 74 |
| Best as you growQuickBooks and Stripe by 6 | 79 | 73 |
QuickBooks and Stripe splits the work across QuickBooks Online and Stripe. Xero and PayPal splits the work across Xero and PayPal.
| Category | QuickBooks and Stripe | Xero and PayPal |
|---|---|---|
| Accounting | ||
| Accounting |  QuickBooks Online |  Xero |
| Invoicing | ||
| Invoicing | QuickBooks Online | Xero |
| Taking payments | ||
| Taking payments |  Stripe |  PayPal |
Greyed-out rows use the same tool on both sides. A category is one job a stack has to do; a tool is one product you sign up for.
The price to actually launch, the catches that come with it, and what you give up by picking one over the other.
The books most accountants know, with low card fees. QuickBooks handles the accounts and invoices; Stripe takes the payments.
Anyone whose accountant asked for QuickBooks.
The same books, with the payment method most clients already have. Clients pay the PayPal link on a Xero invoice without signing up for anything.
PayPal costs more per payment than Stripe everywhere but Canada, where the two are level.
Working with clients who expect to pay by PayPal, or who pay from abroad.