Side-by-side comparison · Legal, Finance & HR
Deel vs Teal vs Xero
Everything that matters when choosing between them, in one place: our rating, what each can do, what they cost, and the trade-offs.
Comparing 3 tools, the maximum.
At a glance
Pick it if: Businesses hiring contractors or staff in other countries, from a first overseas freelancer to a fully remote team.
Pick it if: Job seekers applying for lots of roles who want a tailored resume for each one and a tidy way to track applications.
Pick it if: Small businesses, sole traders and their accountants, especially in Australia, New Zealand and the UK.
Overview
| Attribute | Deel | Teal | Xero |
|---|---|---|---|
| In one line | Hire and pay contractors or staff in other countries without setting up a company there. | AI resume builder and job tracker that tailors your resume to each job you apply for. | Online accounting for small businesses, with an AI helper, JAX, that does the busywork. |
| Pricing model | Paid | Freemium | Paid |
| Starting price | From $14/worker/mo | $0 | $27/mo |
| Free plan | No | Yes | No |
| Works with Claude Code | Yes | No | Yes |
Rating breakdown
Our scores out of 5. The higher bar in each row is highlighted.
| Attribute | Deel | Teal | Xero |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall rating | 3.8 | 4.0 | 4.0 |
| Ease of useHow quickly someone non-technical gets value from it. | 4.0 | 4.5 | 4.0 |
| FeaturesHow completely it covers its own job, and how well the pieces fit together. | 4.5 | 4.0 | 4.5 |
| Output qualityHow good the results are before you fix them. | 4.0 | 3.5 | 4.0 |
| Value for moneyWhat you get for the price, including the free plan. | 3.0 | 4.0 | 3.5 |
| Speed & reliabilityHow fast it is and how often it falls over. | 3.5 | 4.0 | 4.0 |
Feature comparison
A tick means it does this today. A dash means we haven't checked.
| Attribute | Deel | Teal | Xero |
|---|---|---|---|
| Access & platform | |||
| Free plan | No | Yes | No |
| Mobile app | Yes | No | Yes |
| Desktop app | No | No | No |
| Browser extension | No | Yes | No |
| API access | Yes | No | Yes |
| Teams & business | |||
| Team workspace | Yes | No | Yes |
| Enterprise plan or SSO | Yes | No | No |
| Connects to other apps | Yes | No | Yes |
| Open source or self-hosted | No | No | No |
| AI abilities | |||
| Works with your files | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Understands images | – | – | Yes |
| Makes images | No | No | No |
| Makes video | No | No | No |
| Writes code | No | No | No |
| Runs agents or automations | Yes | No | Yes |
| Learns your brand or style | – | No | – |
| Works in many languages | Yes | No | No |
| Capabilities score | 8/ 17 | 3/ 17 | 7/ 17 |
Pricing
Plans as listed on each vendor's site when we last checked. Confirm before you buy.
| Attribute | Deel | Teal | Xero |
|---|---|---|---|
| Plans | Hire (recruiting) From $14/worker/mo Teams that want help finding candidates. | Free $0 Building a resume and tracking jobs. | Early (US) $27/mo New businesses with only a few invoices a month. |
ContractorsOur pick From $49/contractor/mo Businesses paying overseas freelancers and contractors. | Teal+Our pick $13/week, $29 per 30 days or $79 per 90 days An active job search with many applications. | Growing (US)Our pick $59/mo Most small businesses with regular sales and bills. | |
Contractor of Record From $325/contractor/mo When you want Deel to carry the risk of misclassifying a contractor. | Established (US) $97/mo Businesses with projects, staff expenses or overseas customers. | ||
US PEO From $125/employee/mo US companies that want better benefits for staff. | Australian plans From A$37/mo (Ignite) to A$250/mo (Ultimate 50) Australian businesses, priced by how many people you pay. | ||
Employer of Record From $599/employee/mo Hiring full-time staff in a country where you have no company. | |||
| Which plan to pick | Most small businesses start with Contractors for overseas freelancers. Move a person to Employer of Record when they're full-time and long-term, or when local rules mean they should be an employee. Pay is month to month, so you can change as the team changes. | Start free to build your resume and track jobs. When you're applying to several roles a week, take Teal+ for 30 days, or the 90-day option if you expect a longer search, and cancel once you land the job. | In the US, start on Growing unless you send fewer than 20 invoices a month. In Australia, pick the plan that covers the number of people on your payroll. New customers get a large discount for the first 3 months, so check the current offer before you buy. |
Key features
| Attribute | Deel | Teal | Xero |
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Pros and cons
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Who each one is for
| Attribute | Deel | Teal | Xero |
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Questions people ask
Which is better, Deel, Teal or Xero?
They tie on our overall rating (Deel 3.8/5, Teal 4.0/5 and Xero 4.0/5). Deel is best for paying overseas contractors on time in their currency and hiring a full-time employee in a country where you have no company. Teal is best for tailoring your resume to each job ad and finding the keywords a job ad is looking for. Xero is best for keeping your books up to date without a full-time bookkeeper and sending invoices and getting paid faster.
Which is cheaper, Deel, Teal or Xero?
Deel: There's no free plan. Paid plans start at From $14/worker/mo. Teal: There's a free plan, and paid plans start at $0. Xero: There's no free plan. Paid plans start at $27/mo.
Which is easier to use, Deel, Teal or Xero?
Teal rates highest for ease of use in our scores. Job seekers applying for lots of roles who want a tailored resume for each one and a tidy way to track applications.
How we compare
Ratings are our own, from using each tool, across ease of use, features, output quality, value for money, speed & reliability.
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