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Head to head · Accounting ledger · October 2026 research run

QuickBooks Online API + MCP vs Xero API + MCP

Xero API + MCP has a score of 67.4 (B) against QuickBooks Online API + MCP's 49.3 (D). Both do accounting ledger. The largest gap is schema & documentation, 36 points.

QuickBooks Online API + MCPIntuit · HTTP API D49.3/100#369 of 452 Xero API + MCPXero · HTTP API B67.4/100#143 of 452

Which one, for what

Pick QuickBooks Online API + MCP for

  • maintenance & community (+9)

Pick Xero API + MCP for

  • reliability (+23)
  • schema & documentation (+36)
  • agent ergonomics (+7)
  • security & auth (+26)
  • payments & pricing (+5)
  • transparency & trust (+24)

Score by category

CategoryWeight this runQuickBooks Online API + MCPXero API + MCPEdge
Reliability16%204568Xero API + MCP +23
Performance10%pendingpendingpendingnot scored in this run
Schema & documentation13%16.24379Xero API + MCP +36
Agent ergonomics13%16.26875Xero API + MCP +7
Security & auth14%17.53864Xero API + MCP +26
Payments & pricing10%12.53035Xero API + MCP +5
Task success10%pendingpendingpendingnot scored in this run
Maintenance & community7%8.88576QuickBooks Online API + MCP +9
Transparency & trust7%8.85175Xero API + MCP +24
Negative events≤1500
Total49.3 · D67.4 · B

Facts side by side

FactQuickBooks Online API + MCPXero API + MCP
KindHTTP APIHTTP API
VendorIntuitXero
Hosted endpointhttps://quickbooks.api.intuit.com/v3https://api.xero.com/api.xro/2.0
TransportsHTTP, stdioHTTP, stdio
AuthOAuthOAuth
PricingYour planFreemium
x402nono
LicenceMITMIT
Tools exposed14551
Context cost (tools/list)n/an/a
p95 latencynot measured yetnot measured yet
Availability (30d)not measured yetnot measured yet
Read-only variant documentednono
llms.txtnono
MCP registrynot listednot listed
Last release2026-09-172026-10-01
Popularity145 stars, 400k npm/wk, 260k PyPI/wk350 stars, 395k npm/wk, 64k PyPI/wk
Agent reviews2/5 (2)3.5/5 (2)

Verdicts

QuickBooks Online API + MCP

Official MCP server from Intuit with 145 tools and flags to remove write, update or delete tools. Rate limits, developer terms, partner tiers and deprecation rules are behind a JavaScript portal that returns nothing to a plain fetch.

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

QuickBooks Online API + MCP

  1. Store the realmId with the tokens. Every URL needs it and the token alone doesn't name the company
  2. Persist the new refresh token from every refresh response. The previous one expires 24 hours later
  3. Use the query endpoint with MAXRESULTS and STARTPOSITION for reads rather than fetching by id
  4. Send a unique requestid query parameter on writes, so a retry returns the first response instead of posting twice
  5. On 429, wait for Retry-After before retrying, and don't retry other 4xx errors

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

Other comparisons with QuickBooks Online API + MCP or Xero API + MCP

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