Customers often ponder upon picking out Xero vs Odoo integration when they visit our online store. Nonetheless, we believe that both Xero and Odoo are amazing accounting platforms. Sometimes, the question we advise customers to ask is not about which is better than which, but about which is more suitable for their businesses.
As we are in the business of creating the best software extensions for our customers, we would like to provide you with more insights on whether Xero or Odoo works best for your online store. If you are still unclear on what to choose, please read through this article. Do feel free to contact us any time through our e-mail below if you still have questions!
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Xero vs Odoo: A Brief Overview
In general, if we look at numbers, we can clearly see the number of subscribers of Odoo nearly triples that one of Xero (Over 2 million vs just 700,000). Not only that, Odoo’s total number of apps makes Xero’s number of add-ons modestly disappointing (7,300 apps vs 400+ add-ons). But Xero has an edge in terms of partners. Xero’s 16,000 partners are still a testament to its popularity. In contrast, Odoo, being an open-source software utilized in over 120 countries, has just merely 730 partners.
As mentioned previously, Odoo is open-source software. In contrast, the developers of Xero decided that it should only be available through SaaS (software as a service) offer. In scope, we can also observe that Odoo offers more than just accounting like Xero. Odoo’s large user base is also the result of its array of applications, in addition to its open-source nature. You can view Odoo as something like an Apple iMac: All-in-one, covers everything from website/e-Commerce, billing, accounting, manufacturing, warehouse to and project management, and inventory. Meanwhile, Xero resembles an IBM supercomputer intended to run a specific purpose, in this case, strictly accounting.
When you visit our online store and look for an accounting solution for your marketplace, these details may be the first for you to bear in mind before purchasing our Xero or Odoo extensions.
Xero vs Odoo: In Specific Details
Now that we have an overall understanding of what these two platforms are, let’s take a closer look at features: how they work and what they cover. Remember that do not take any single comparison factor as a means to make your choice. Every factor can be interdependent, so it’s best if you understand thoroughly well what your business needs the most before deciding.
Xero vs Odoo: Pricing
If it’s just about accounting, Odoo can be a better-starting choice for startups because its accounting app is free, albeit with no support. Xero on the other hand offers users a Standard $30/month package that includes everything: free trial, free updates, maintenance, and full support. This cost can vary, however, as you may find yourself in need of another currency, in which case the price might go up. In addition, Xero only offers 6-month contracts, while Odoo does not provide any information about contract duration. Xero also provides users with the option of a free 30-day trial and offers a starter pack at just $9/month.
Nevertheless, Xero’s monthly $30 price can actually be more viable in the long run, since follow-up support is always necessary. Odoo’s support options are pretty much limited, as you need to purchase other apps alongside the accounting one to receive further support. Furthermore, each app in Odoo has its own individual pricing. Bear in mind, though, that Odoo also charges $25 per user (Enterprise package). While this seems appealing to some, they still need to pay for other apps to get general support for all. So in terms of pricing, it really boils down to whether you are aiming for short-term or long-term cost, just accounting alone or all-in-one. For short-term and all-in-one management, Odoo is better. For long-term accounting, Xero is better (Remember, we are only talking about price here).
Xero vs Odoo: Features
The Xero vs Odoo argument can have some sense of consensus here, at last. Before you can decide which software to integrate into your marketplace, dig into what features both these platforms share, what features that are missing from one but not the other, etc. Since both platforms have a lot of features in common, in this part we will give you information on the ones that Xero has but Odoo doesn’t, and vice versa:
Xero-unique features:
- Contact History.
- Customizable Reporting.
- Document Storage.
- Drag & Drop Interface, E-mail Integration.
- Goal Setting/Tracking.
- Mobile Integration.
- Receiving.
Odoo-unique features:
- Activity Tracking.
- Automatic Notifications.
- Custom Fields.
- Opportunity Management.
- Pipeline Management.
- Pipeline Reports.
- Sales Forecasting.
- Task Scheduling.
These are the features that distinguish Xero from Odoo. For other features, both platforms offer the same and possess the same. Each feature can affect the original Standard package pricing of both Xero and Odoo, however (as mentioned earlier). For instance, if Xero users need to utilize the multi-currency feature, the cost can go up to $70 a month. Meanwhile, the original $25/user price of Odoo can also fluctuate depending on how many apps and features users use.
Basically speaking, both Xero and Odoo offer amazing common features to all your accounting needs, but the above unique features are the catch to help you pick either of them (and the price, too!). Do not expect everything to be free but with good quality, however.
Xero vs Odoo: User Interface (UI) and supported platforms
Xero vs Odoo ties here. Both platforms have a robust, good-looking website with smooth animations, albeit different themes. Xero uses a predominantly light blue color scheme, while Odoo UI seems to be more colorful with the primary scheme being purple. All functionalities are easily accessible on the web, as well as on mobile apps.
Choosing which over which at this point largely depends on each person’s aesthetic taste, in addition to price and features. Example: Xero’s dashboard seems to be more traditionally laid out, while Odoo’s dashboard resembles sticky notes on your desktop screen. Or Odoo’s home screen on mobile devices looks like typical home screens of most operating systems, while Xero’s home screen has a straightforward layout that can be more familiar to some. Pick your favorite.
In terms of supported platforms, Xero supports more than Odoo does. Both are available on the web and on Android-based mobile devices, but Xero is also available on iOS-based devices as well. This makes Xero friendlier towards more hardcore Apple fans, yet, able to satisfy Android fans at the same time. So, Xero fairly wins in this aspect. We are still trying to grasp Odoo’s decision to not support iOS devices, but it seems they finally realized the importance of this platform and released an app on iTunes at last near the end of 2016.
Both Xero and Odoo are still not supporting Windows Phones, though. Maybe someday, who knows?
Xero vs Odoo: Other factors to consider
One interesting fact is that Xero integrates well with other applications such as PayPal, MailChimp, Zapier, Workato, and so on. The number of applications and platforms that can be integrated with Xero (including Magento and Magento 2) reaches 463. In stark contrast, there are only 5 Odoo’s integrations into other applications/platforms so far, Magento 2 included. We will get to the bottom of this soon, but obviously Xero wins again in this one.
Oddly enough, despite offering free accounting app for companies, Odoo’s user base are primarily large enterprises, each with 201-1000 employees. Xero’s most popular users are entry-level startups with dozens of employees, or SMEs. There is an explanation for this, however. Odoo’s nature as an open source, all-in-one management software makes it more convenient for larger firms to handle multitasking. Xero on the other hand seems to be the essential cost-effective accounting tool for startups, but cannot fulfill other purposes. In the perspective of a large company, having Odoo can be more beneficial because of its versatility. Why so? If they pick Xero for accounting purposes then they will need to purchase other apps to integrate into their online stores. Hence, Odoo wins here.
Conclusion
At Magenest, we always hope that our customers make the best decision when purchasing our extensions. Therefore, we hope that with this article, you will have a better understanding of these two amazing accounting platforms, and pick the right one from our store to integrate into your marketplace.
You can check out our extensions for both Xero and Odoo here.
If you still have any questions, contact us at support@magenest.com or send us a message at contact us. Cheers and happy shopping!
