Comparison

Xero Verify vs Smartly

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

Xero Verify

Enhance your business's online security with this official authentication app. It adds an extra layer of protection to your account, preventing unauthorized access even if your password is compromised. Enjoy fast and secure logins with push notifications or offline verification codes.

Highlights
  • Push notification authentication
  • Generate offline verification codes
  • QR code setup
  • Secure Xero account logins
  • Multi-factor authentication
Features
Read full description

This is the official authentication app developed by Xero Ltd. It's free to use, and Xero will never charge you for it. At Xero, protecting your data is fundamental to everything we do. Just one easily guessed password can stop your business in its tracks. So Xero has put an extra deadbolt on the door to help keep your data secure. This is why Xero uses MFA to secure logins. It significantly reduces the risk of someone gaining access to your account, even if they've managed to obtain your email and password through a phishing attack or malware. The Xero Verify app is simple to use. You can receive push notifications for fast authentication, instead of having to open the app and enter a code into Xero when you login. Simply accept the notification on your device's home screen - it's that easy. Features: * Sign into your Xero account using push notifications on your device (if enabled). * Generate six digit verification codes, even if you don't have a network or mobile connection. * Use Xero Verify to authenticate your Xero account (it can't be used on other products outside Xero) * Easy set up using QR code Permission notice: Camera: Needed to add accounts using QR codes Push notifications: Accept to receive push notifications Follow Xero on Twitter: https://twitter.com/xero/ Join the Xero Facebook Fan page: https://www.facebook.com/Xero.Accounting Privacy policy: https://www.xero.com/about/legal/privacy/ Terms of use: https://www.xero.com/about/legal/terms/

About

Smartly

This app allows employees to manage their payroll information, including viewing payslips, applying for leave, and submitting timesheets. Employers must set up employee accounts for access. It simplifies payroll management for both employees and businesses.

Highlights
  • View payslips
  • Apply for leave
  • Submit timesheets
  • Track leave balances
  • Assign hours to jobs
  • Email PDF payslips
Features
Read full description

The Smartly mobile app is for employees who work for a business that uses Smartly to manage their payroll. As an employee you can check your pay history and apply for leave as well as submit timesheets. To login, your employer needs to set you up in the payroll site and give you your username. You’ll then get an email to create your password and you’ll be good to go! FEATURES Pay details - View your payslips (up to 3 months). - Email yourself a PDF version of your payslip. - See a countdown to your next pay. Managing leave requests - Apply for leave (including special leave types). - View any upcoming leave, plus leave history and balances. - Managers can add, edit, approveor decline leave requests for their team. - View future leave balances when applying for leave. Submitting timesheets - Enter time and rate per hour. - Create multiple time entries for each day. - Managers can add, edit, approve or decline time for their team. - Remembers the last timesheet entry and prefills the same hours. - Copy a previous weeks timesheet to save time. Labour costing - Assign hours worked to different jobs or departments. ABOUT SMARTLY We know that payroll can be a headache. So, at Smartly we make it simple for businesses to pay their people on time, accurately and in-line with regulation. Faff-free payroll, happy staff, no headaches. Too easy!

Screenshots

Xero Verify3 screens
Smartly4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: Smartly at 4.8 against Xero Verify's 1.4. Smartly also leads on review sentiment (32% vs 15%). Xero Verify's advantage is ratings volume (205 vs 35). On price, update cadence, ads and in-app purchases there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Smartly holds the better App Store score, 4.8 against 1.4. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Xero Verify has 205 ratings behind it against 35, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 15% of Xero Verify's written reviews are positive against 32% of Smartly's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Xero Verify ships an update every 3 weeks, Smartly monthly. The most recent releases landed on September 24, 2026 and September 21, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences · 7 level
Xero Verify versus Smartly: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterXero VerifySmartly
PriceFreeFree
Rating1.4 (205 ratings)4.8 (35 ratings) — better
Positive reviews14.7% of reviews31.9% of reviews — better
Number of ratings205 — better35
Update frequencyEvery 3 weeks — betterMonthly
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFreeFree
DevicesiPhone, iPodiPhone, iPod
Requires iOS15.0 — better15.1
Further details — not scored
Size10 MB24 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperXero LtdSmartPayroll

Customer experience

Xero Verify

All ratings205 ratings
Positive11.2%
Neutral0.5%
Negative88.3%
Written reviews252 reviews
Positive14.7%
Neutral2.0%
Negative83.3%

Smartly

All ratings35 ratings
Positive97.1%
Neutral0.0%
Negative2.9%
Written reviews69 reviews
Positive31.9%
Neutral14.5%
Negative53.6%

User reviews

Xero Verify

From 205 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Seamless integration
  • 🔒 Robust security
  • 👍 Easy to use
  • 🚀 Quick authentication

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Unreliable performance
  • 🔒 Forced MFA requirement
  • 📱 Unnecessary separate app
  • ⏱️ Time-consuming setup
  • 🔑 Difficult to recover from lost credentials

Smartly

From 35 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 👍 Easy to use
  • 👍 Intuitive design
  • 👍 Straightforward
  • 👍 Good for tracking shifts
  • 👍 Great for employees

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Constantly logs out
  • 🐛 Frequent login issues
  • 🐛 App crashes/freezes
  • 🐛 Slow performance
  • 🐛 Poor accessibility

Bugs and requests

Xero Verify

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • Codes not working
  • Repeated login issues
  • Sync problems between app and web

Requested features

3 requests
  • Option to use SMS/email for 2FA
  • Integrate with existing authenticator apps
  • Provide more flexible security settings

Smartly

Reported bugs

39 issues
  • Notifications don't work
  • App size increased
  • Biometrics enrollment repeated
  • Password reset issues
  • Login button unresponsive
Show 34 more
  • Keeps logging out
  • App crashes or freezes
  • Date selection hard
  • App crashes or freezes regularly
  • Issues with shifts past midnight
  • Cannot log in
  • App freezes when adding timesheet
  • Timesheet tab buffering
  • App doesn't function
  • Cannot approve timesheets
  • Randomly logs out users
  • App crashes every fortnight
  • Slow to respond to taps
  • App freezes on loading screen
  • Cannot add timesheet when logged in
  • Timesheet tab buffering and error
  • App won't function
  • Cannot approve timesheets
  • Randomly logs out
  • App crashes every fortnight
  • Slow to respond
  • App crashes
  • App crashes immediately
  • App hangs on white loading screen
  • Login issues
  • App doesn't remember login
  • Constant lag and freezing
  • Screens don't allow scrolling
  • New timesheet layout doesn't let you copy hours
  • App needs to be repeatedly reinstalled
  • App doesn't open
  • App crashes
  • App crashes immediately
  • App hangs on white loading screen

Requested features

10 requests
  • Ability to put in start time without finish time
  • Reminder for missing finish time
  • More detailed app
  • Web portal access for employees
  • Ability to handle working past midnight without two entries
Show 5 more
  • Export staff on leave to Outlook calendar
  • Ability to put time to time in lieu
  • Previous week preloaded
  • Auto-save start and finish times from previous day
  • Notifications

In-app purchases

None

Xero Verify

No in-app purchases

None

Smartly

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Xero Verify free?
Xero Verify is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Smartly free?
Smartly is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Xero Verify or Smartly?
Smartly is rated higher. Xero Verify averages 1.4 out of 5 from 205 ratings, while Smartly averages 4.8 from 35 ratings.
Do Xero Verify or Smartly have ads?
Neither Xero Verify nor Smartly shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Xero Verify or Smartly?
Xero Verify ships an update every 3 weeks, and Smartly monthly. Most recently, Xero Verify was updated on September 24, 2026 and Smartly on September 21, 2026.

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