Xero Accounting API
Xero Accounting API is a developer API for connecting a Xero organisation or partner practice with other products and programs.
What Xero Accounting API is
Xero Accounting API is a developer API for connecting a Xero organisation or partner practice with other products and programs. Its Contacts endpoint retrieves, adds, and updates organisation contacts. The Payments endpoint retrieves and reverses payments, and can apply them to approved accounts receivable and payable invoices. Third-party access uses OAuth 2.0, with users authorizing each integration rather than sharing their Xero password. The API works with all Xero plans, though available features vary; the Payroll API requires a Payroll plan. Core costs A$35 a month and includes 50 connections and 5,000 API calls per day per organisation; higher tiers include larger connection allowances. Calls and data transfer are subject to tier-specific limits. Xero lists developer tools including API Explorer and a developer dashboard. Its developer FAQ prohibits using API data to train or contribute to AI or machine-learning models.
Good
- Contacts can be retrieved, added, and updated.
- Payments can be retrieved, applied, and reversed.
- OAuth 2.0 authorization avoids sharing Xero passwords.
- Works with all Xero plans.
- Includes a free plan.
Watch out
- Feature availability varies by Xero plan.
- Payroll API requires a Payroll plan.
- Journals starts at Advanced and requires assessment and approval.
- API data cannot be used to train AI models.
Who it suits
It suits developers building integrations between Xero and other products, especially those needing contact or payment operations. Users should check tier limits and plan-specific feature availability before choosing an integration approach.
Verdict
Xero Accounting API provides contact and payment operations for developers connecting Xero with other products. Its tier limits, plan dependencies, and AI data-use restriction are important considerations.
Plans and prices
From Xero Accounting API's own pricing page, checked 30 Sep 2026.
| Plan | Price | What it gives you |
|---|---|---|
| Core | A$35 a month | 50 connections · 5,000 API calls per day per organisation · Unlimited monthly ingress · 10 GB monthly egress · Monthly tier fee; pricing is tax exclusive |
| Plus | A$245 a month | 1,000 connections · 5,000 API calls per day per organisation · Unlimited monthly ingress · 50 GB monthly egress · Monthly tier fee; pricing is tax exclusive |
| Advanced | A$1,445 a month | 10,000 connections · 5,000 API calls per day per organisation · Unlimited monthly ingress · 250 GB monthly egress · Journals endpoint subject to security assessment and use case approval · Monthly tier fee; pricing is tax exclusive |
| Enterprise | Priced on request | No limit on connections · 5,000 API calls per day per organisation · Unlimited monthly ingress · Egress volume on application · Monthly tier fee; pricing is tax exclusive |
| Starter | — | 5 connections · 1,000 API calls per day per organisation · Unlimited monthly ingress · Egress not applicable · Monthly tier fee |
The facts
Each one read from Xero Accounting API's own pages, with the date it was checked.
What it does
- AI data use
- Xero’s developer FAQ says data obtained through its APIs may not be used to train or contribute to creating AI or machine learning models.checked 30 Sep 2026
- Contacts
- The Contacts endpoint lets apps retrieve, add, and update contacts in a Xero organisation.checked 30 Sep 2026
- Integrations
- Xero says its platform integrates with hundreds of apps, including Stripe, Square, Shopify, GoCardless, and PayPal.checked 30 Sep 2026
- Journals endpoint
- The Journals endpoint is available starting at the Advanced tier and requires an initial and annual security assessment plus use case approval.checked 30 Sep 2026
- OAuth authorization
- Xero uses OAuth 2.0 to authorize third-party API access without sharing a Xero password, and users must authorize each third-party integration.checked 30 Sep 2026
- Payments
- The Payments endpoint can retrieve payments, apply payments to approved accounts receivable and payable invoices, and reverse payments.checked 30 Sep 2026
- Purpose
- The Xero API lets developers create custom integrations between a Xero organisation or partner practice and other products or programs.checked 30 Sep 2026
- Rate limits
- The developer FAQ states limits of five concurrent calls, 60 calls per minute per tenant, and 10,000 calls per minute across an app, alongside tier-specific daily limits.checked 30 Sep 2026
- Security
- Xero’s API consumer security standard requires OAuth 2.0, TLS 1.2 with AES 256 or higher and SHA-256 in transit, and encryption at rest for repositories holding sensitive information.checked 30 Sep 2026
- Support and resources
- The developer pricing page lists API Explorer, Postman, Insomnia, Linx, a developer dashboard, and an AI toolkit among developer tools and resources.checked 30 Sep 2026
The company
- Founded
- 2006checked 28 Sep 2026
- Headquarters
- Wellington, New Zealandchecked 28 Sep 2026
Money
- Plan compatibility
- The API can be used with all Xero plans, but not all features are available on every plan; the Payroll API requires a Payroll plan.checked 30 Sep 2026
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