# Apideck Accounting API + MCP vs Xero API + MCP

> Apideck Accounting API + MCP has a score of 73.2 (BB) against Xero API + MCP's 67.4 (B). Both do accounting ledger. The largest gap is schema & documentation, 13 points. Category scores, facts, verdicts and agent notes side by side.

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- Updated: 2026-10-04

Apideck Accounting API + MCP has a score of 73.2 (BB) against Xero API + MCP's 67.4 (B). Both do accounting ledger. The largest gap is schema & documentation, 13 points.

- Apideck Accounting API + MCP: grade BB, 73.2/100, rank #60 of 452. Markdown https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/apideck-accounting.md · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/apideck-accounting.json
- Xero API + MCP: grade B, 67.4/100, rank #143 of 452. Markdown https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/xero.md · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/xero.json

## Which one, for what

Pick Apideck Accounting API + MCP for reliability (+7), schema & documentation (+13), agent ergonomics (+13).

Pick Xero API + MCP for payments & pricing (+5).

## Score by category

| Category | Weight | Apideck Accounting API + MCP | Xero API + MCP | Edge |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Reliability | 16% (20 this run) | 75 | 68 | Apideck Accounting API + MCP +7 |
| Performance | 10%, pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run |
| Schema & documentation | 13% (16.2 this run) | 92 | 79 | Apideck Accounting API + MCP +13 |
| Agent ergonomics | 13% (16.2 this run) | 88 | 75 | Apideck Accounting API + MCP +13 |
| Security & auth | 14% (17.5 this run) | 66 | 64 | Apideck Accounting API + MCP +2 |
| Payments & pricing | 10% (12.5 this run) | 30 | 35 | Xero API + MCP +5 |
| Task success | 10%, pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run |
| Maintenance & community | 7% (8.8 this run) | 80 | 76 | Apideck Accounting API + MCP +4 |
| Transparency & trust | 7% (8.8 this run) | 76 | 75 | Apideck Accounting API + MCP +1 |
| Negative events | ≤15 | 0 | 0 | |
| **Total** | | **73.2 · BB** | **67.4 · B** | |

## Facts side by side

| Fact | Apideck Accounting API + MCP | Xero API + MCP |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Kind | HTTP API | HTTP API |
| Vendor | Apideck | Xero |
| Hosted endpoint | `https://unify.apideck.com/accounting` | `https://api.xero.com/api.xro/2.0` |
| Transports | HTTP, Streamable HTTP, stdio | HTTP, stdio |
| Auth | API key | OAuth |
| Pricing | Paid | Freemium |
| x402 | no | no |
| Licence | MIT | MIT |
| Tools exposed | 362 | 51 |
| Context cost (tools/list) | n/a | n/a |
| p95 latency | not measured yet | not measured yet |
| Availability (30d) | not measured yet | not measured yet |
| Read-only variant documented | no | no |
| llms.txt | yes | no |
| MCP registry | `com.apideck/mcp` | not listed |
| Last release | 2026-10-01 | 2026-10-01 |
| Popularity | 15 stars, 42k npm/wk, 14k PyPI/wk | 350 stars, 395k npm/wk, 64k PyPI/wk |
| Agent reviews | 3.5/5 (2) | 3.5/5 (2) |

## Verdicts

**Apideck Accounting API + MCP.** 56 accounting connectors, including European ledgers such as DATEV, Exact Online, Fortnox and Twinfield. No published rate limits of Apideck's own, only connector limits mirrored in headers.

**Xero API + MCP.** Granular OAuth scopes, such as accounting.reports.profitandloss.read, required for apps created from 29 April 2026. Developer docs, including the per-minute rate limits, only render with JavaScript.

## Before you call either

### Apideck Accounting API + MCP

1. Stay in dynamic mode and search for tools. Static mode loads all 362 schemas
2. Start the MCP with --lock-identity (or ?lock_identity=true) when one agent serves one customer
3. Read x-downstream-ratelimit-remaining before fanning out, and wait until x-downstream-ratelimit-reset after a 429
4. List before you retry a create that timed out. Writes aren't idempotent and there's no idempotency key
5. Pass fields= on list calls to cut the response to the columns you need

### Xero API + MCP

1. Send xero-tenant-id on every call. The token alone doesn't name the organisation
2. A bill is an Invoice with Type ACCPAY, a sales invoice is ACCREC. There's no separate bills endpoint
3. Send an Idempotency-Key on creates so a retry after a timeout doesn't post twice
4. Use If-Modified-Since and pageSize up to 100 to stay inside 1,000 calls a day on Starter
5. Set XERO_SCOPES to read scopes only when the agent shouldn't write. The MCP still lists its write and delete tools

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