The short version: these three solve the same job-costing problem for three different kinds of firm. WorkflowMax is a dedicated NZD tool from $13.89 a user a month. Xero Projects isn't really a separate purchase, it only exists inside Xero Ultimate at NZD $125 a month for the whole subscription. Projectworks bills in USD with a 10-user floor, built for larger integrated operations. Which one fits comes down to what you're already running, more than what any feature grid shows.
Three different transactions
Buying WorkflowMax is a subscription decision on its own terms: pick a tier, run the 14-day trial, sync it to Xero or QuickBooks, and the worst case is a cancelled card. Buying Xero Projects works differently again: it's a plan upgrade, not a standalone purchase. Projects only comes bundled with Ultimate, so a firm on a cheaper Xero tier has to move its whole ledger, payroll and forecasting up a notch to get job tracking. Buying Projectworks means clearing a floor first: ten users on every tier before you've hired an eleventh person, billed in USD.
How each one is sold tells you who it's for. A tool that stands alone assumes your job costing is a separate decision from your accounting; a tool bolted to the top accounting tier assumes you're already there for other reasons.
The numbers side by side
| Tool | Price | Currency | Floor |
|---|---|---|---|
| WorkflowMax | $13.89 to $45 a user a month | NZD | None stated; built for teams of 3 to 25 |
| Xero Projects | $125 a month bundled (10 users), $7 a extra user | NZD, but only inside Xero Ultimate | Whole company must be on Ultimate |
| Projectworks | $17 to $41 a user a month, billed annually | USD by default; NZD not shown | 10 users on every tier |
A ten-person firm on WorkflowMax Advanced pays NZD $450 a month before any discount; the same ten people clear Projectworks' floor on Build for USD $170 a month, source: workflowmax.com/pricing and projectworks.com/pricing, both checked 22 September 2026.
Which one to pick
- Pick WorkflowMax if you want a dedicated, NZD-priced job-costing tool that doesn't touch your accounting plan, and your team sits somewhere in the 3 to 25 range.
- Pick Xero Projects if you already need Ultimate for its payroll-for-10 and 180-day forecasting; the first 10 project users then ride along close to free.
- Pick Projectworks if you're at or past 10 staff, comfortable holding software costs in USD, and want Jira, HubSpot or payroll integrations working out of the box.
Or build the register on what you already pay for
For a firm already on Microsoft 365, the same job list, fee tracking and WIP view can be built directly on the licence already paid for: a project and fee register on Dataverse, NZ$32.40 a user a month, with Power BI Pro at NZ$22.60 for the two or three people who need the report. A build like that runs $8,000 to $18,000 with the accounting system joined, a one-off cost against any of the three tools' ongoing per-seat bill. It suits a firm that already leans on SharePoint and Teams for everything else; it doesn't suit one that wants job templates and a leads pipeline working the same afternoon it's switched on.
Common questions
Which is cheapest, WorkflowMax, Xero Projects or Projectworks?
On a like-for-like published number, WorkflowMax is the cheapest entry point: NZD $13.89 a user a month on Essentials, checked 22 September 2026. Xero Projects can look cheaper only if your firm already needs Xero Ultimate's payroll and forecasting, since the first 10 project users ride along inside the NZD $125 subscription. Projectworks is the most expensive in absolute terms and bills in USD, from $17 a user a month with a 10-user floor, so a small team pays for seats it isn't using.
Does any of these three publish a firm New Zealand dollar price?
WorkflowMax and Xero Projects both do, in NZD, on their own pricing pages, checked 22 September 2026. Projectworks doesn't: its published figures are USD by default, and while a currency toggle on the same page offers NZD among other options, the converted figure isn't shown in the page's own markup, so this comparison reports it as published rather than converting it.
Can I run project tracking on Microsoft 365 instead of buying any of these?
Yes, for the job list, fee tracking and WIP view specifically. A register built on Dataverse, NZ$32.40 a user a month, with Power BI Pro at NZ$22.60 for whoever reads the report, typically runs $8,000 to $18,000 to build with the accounting system joined. It's a one-off cost against an ongoing per-seat bill, and it doesn't replace Xero, MYOB or QuickBooks, which stay exactly where they are.
Or borrow a neutral eye
I don't sell any of the three, which makes this an easy call to give you. Book a free 30-minute call, bring your seat count and your Xero plan, and you'll leave knowing which one fits and what it should cost.