Comparison
TaxQL vs the leading providers
The leading sales-tax API charges $1,599/month for 50K lookups. TaxQL charges $799/month for the same volume — without flex fees, monthly caps, or tiered accuracy. Here's how we compare across the dimensions that affect your bottom line.
Coverage
50 states + DC
All U.S. sales-tax jurisdictions live today. Weekly-refreshed rates from state Department of Revenue sources.
Pricing model
Flat tiers, no surprises
No flex fees. Cap + grace window on every paid plan; you are never billed for grace-window traffic.
Pricing — apples to apples.
Each TaxQL tier is half the price for the same lookup volume. Figures reflect the leading provider's published Pro-ladder pricing.
| Volume | Leading provider | TaxQL | You save |
|---|---|---|---|
| ~2,500 lookups / mo | $1,199 / mo | $599 / mo (Business) | $600 / mo |
| ~5,000 lookups / mo | $1,599 / mo | $799 / mo (Pro) | $800 / mo |
| ~10,000 lookups / mo | $1,999 / mo | $999 / mo (Pro+) | $1,000 / mo |
Feature by feature.
Structural feature differences. Every TaxQL feature listed is available on every plan — the same answer on every tier.
| Feature | Leading provider | TaxQL |
|---|---|---|
| Flex fee surprise | Common — silent overage charges per-call past your tier | No Flat tier with cap + grace window; never billed for overage traffic |
| Per-call cost incentive to cache | High — customers of traditional tax APIs cache rates ≥30 days | None Flat fee → caching becomes optional. Delete the cache layer. |
| Weekly rate refresh | Often monthly or longer | Every Saturday from state DoR sources |
| Historical (`as_of`) rate lookup | Typically unavailable | Yes Retrieve the rate that was active on a specific past date |
| Confidence envelope on every response | Typically unavailable | Yes `zip5_estimate` vs `county_estimate` vs `zip4_boundary` |
| Transparent source pipeline | Typically unavailable | Yes `pipeline` block per call: source, period, drift state |
| Boundary-change audit trail | Typically unavailable | Yes TX live today; expandable to other states |
| Authoritative-source address verification | Trusts customer input | Yes Compares typed city against state GIS; flags input mismatches |
| Premium ZIP+9 geocoding on every tier | Typically gated to higher tiers | Yes Same geocoder on Trial through Enterprise — no tiered accuracy |
| AutoFile state-return filing | Sometimes bundled | Not yet Roadmap when first customers ask for it |
Half the price. Same data sources. No tiered accuracy.
14-day free trial. No card charge during trial.