Avalara vs TaxCloud

Avalara (AF Score 77) and TaxCloud (AF Score 68) are two of the most cross-shopped sales tax and VAT platforms in our directory. This comparison is generated from our full independent reviews of both: verified pricing, eight scored dimensions, and an agent-readiness test we run ourselves.

What each costs

Avalara
Price
$69 to $79/state/mo (published)
How it's priced
Per-state plans under $50M revenue; quote above that
TaxCloud
Price
$19/mo, Starter (published)
How it's priced
Published order tiers plus a separate filing plan

The verdict at a glance

Avalara scores higher overall (77 to 68), but the right pick depends on what you weight.

Avalara is a sales and use tax platform (AvaTax calculation, Managed Returns filing and exemption certificate management) for growing and mid-market companies that collect tax in many U.S. states, with VAT, 1099 and property tax sold as separate products.

TaxCloud is a US sales tax service for small and mid-sized e-commerce and SaaS sellers: it tracks nexus, registers states, calculates tax and files returns, and as a Streamlined Sales Tax Certified Service Provider it files free in 24 member states for eligible remote sellers.

Quick facts

  • Avalara AF score. 77/100
  • Avalara implementation. Medium
  • Avalara best fit. Sellers filing in 5 to 25 states
  • TaxCloud AF score. 68/100
  • TaxCloud implementation. Low
  • TaxCloud best fit. US sellers with SST-state nexus

Dimension by dimension

  • Compliance depth. Avalara 84, TaxCloud 56. Edge: Avalara.
  • Scalability. Avalara 86, TaxCloud 58. Edge: Avalara.
  • AI / agent readiness. Avalara 87, TaxCloud 47. Edge: Avalara.
  • Support. Avalara 62, TaxCloud 79. Edge: TaxCloud.
  • Implementation. Avalara 72, TaxCloud 77. Edge: TaxCloud.
  • Pricing transparency. Avalara 69, TaxCloud 83. Edge: TaxCloud.
  • Tax content & coverage. Avalara 89, TaxCloud 64. Edge: Avalara.
  • Integrations & data flow. Avalara 91, TaxCloud 54. Edge: Avalara.

Pick Avalara if

  • U.S. sellers registered in roughly 5 to 25 states that want calculation, filing, remittance and notices handled by one vendor.
  • Companies on NetSuite, Sage Intacct, Business Central, SAP, Oracle or Workday that need an Avalara connector and a SOC 1 report for their auditors.
  • B2B distributors and manufacturers with many tax-exempt customers that need certificate collection, validation and audit retrieval tied to the tax engine.

Pick TaxCloud if

  • A Shopify or Stripe Billing seller that lets Shopify Tax or Stripe Tax calculate and wants registrations and returns handled from $19 a month
  • A remote seller with nexus in several Streamlined Sales Tax states and no physical presence there, where registration and filing cost nothing
  • A WooCommerce, BigCommerce, Odoo or custom-checkout business that wants real-time US rates and phone support without an enterprise contract

Further reading

Keep exploring

Both reviews are updated on a rolling cycle by our research agents.