Softwr

Accounting · head to head

Avalara vs Drip

Avalara logo

Avalara

Accounting

Tax compliance done right

From
$29/month
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Drip logo

Drip

E-Commerce

Ecommerce email marketing and automation priced purely on contact count

From
$39/month
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: Avalara pricing varies significantly based on products, integrations, transaction volume, and jurisdictions; Drip drip SMS is closed to new accounts and was US-only when it was open, so the multichannel positioning that competitors offer is not actually available to a new customer.
  • They diverge on capability: Avalara covers Tax calculation, Drip covers Ecommerce data sync.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Avalara and Drip actually diverge.

Attributes where Avalara and Drip differ
AttributeAvalaraDrip
Starting price$29/month$39/month
Pricing modelsubscriptionPer month by contact count
CategoryAccountingE-Commerce
Founded2004Unknown

Identical on both: free tier (No), platforms (Web, Api), user rating (Not yet rated).

What each one covers

Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.

Only in Avalara

  • Tax calculation
  • Returns filing
  • Exemption management
  • Document management
  • Real-time rates
  • QuickBooks
  • NetSuite
  • Shopify

Only in Drip

  • Ecommerce data sync
  • Visual workflow builder
  • Behavioural segmentation
  • Onsite forms and popups
  • Unlimited sends
  • No feature gating
  • Product recommendations
  • A/B testing

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

Avalara

  • Real-time sales tax calculation at checkoutnot Drip
  • Multi-state and multi-jurisdiction tax determinationnot Drip
  • VAT, lodging, communications and excise tax calculationnot Drip
  • Feeding tax results into an ERP or ecommerce platform through the APInot Drip

Drip

  • A Shopify retailer wants abandoned cart, winback and post-purchase automation without the tier-by-tier feature gating that makes Mailchimp and ActiveCampaign quotes unpredictable.not Avalara
  • A store with a mid-sized list finds Klaviyo expensive for the volume it sends and wants a comparable ecommerce data model at a lower monthly cost.not Avalara
  • A marketer needs onsite capture forms and popups included rather than paying separately for a popup tool alongside the email platform.not Avalara
  • A team sends high email volume to a modest list, such as daily deals or frequent restocks, where unlimited sends on a contact-based price is materially cheaper than send-metered plans.not Avalara

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

Avalara

  • Pricing varies significantly based on products, integrations, transaction volume, and jurisdictions
  • No free tier or trial period published
  • Enterprise sales model requires contacting sales specialists for customized quotes

Drip

  • Drip SMS is closed to new accounts and was US-only when it was open, so the multichannel positioning that competitors offer is not actually available to a new customer.
  • Pricing scales on total contacts regardless of engagement, so an unpruned list of lapsed subscribers costs the same as an active one and list hygiene becomes a direct budget item.
  • Analytics and revenue attribution are thinner than Klaviyo, with no predictive lifetime value or churn scoring, so a data-led ecommerce team hits the ceiling on measurement before it hits it on sending.
  • The integration catalogue is far smaller than Klaviyo or Mailchimp, and outside the main ecommerce platforms and Zapier you will often be writing against the API yourself.
  • It sits inside Leadpages rather than being an independent company, and as the smaller of the two products its roadmap is subject to a parent whose primary business is landing pages rather than ecommerce email.

Pricing, plan by plan

Avalara

$29/month
  • AvaTax$50/month
    • Tax calculation
    • Exemption certificates
    • Returns filing

Drip

$39/month
  • Up to 2,500 contacts$39/month
    • Unlimited email sends
    • All workflows and segmentation
    • Onsite forms and popups
  • Up to 5,000 contacts$89/month
    • Identical feature set
    • Unlimited email sends
  • Up to 10,000 contacts$154/month
    • Identical feature set
    • Unlimited email sends
    • Price continues to scale with contact count above this

Which should you pick?

Choose Avalara if

  • You need tax calculation.
  • You work on Web, Api.
  • You also want returns filing.
Avalara review

Choose Drip if

  • You need ecommerce data sync.
  • You work on Web, API.
  • You also want visual workflow builder.
Drip review

Questions people ask

Is Avalara or Drip better?
Neither clearly leads. Avalara starts at $29/month and Drip at $39/month, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Avalara or Drip?
Avalara starts at $29/month and Drip at $39/month.
Does Avalara or Drip run on more platforms?
Avalara runs on Web, Api. Drip runs on Web, API.
What is Avalara best used for?
Avalara is most often used for real-time sales tax calculation at checkout, multi-state and multi-jurisdiction tax determination, vat, lodging, communications and excise tax calculation, feeding tax results into an erp or ecommerce platform through the api. Of those, real-time sales tax calculation at checkout and multi-state and multi-jurisdiction tax determination are not what Drip is typically brought in for.
What can Avalara do that Drip cannot?
Avalara covers Tax calculation, Returns filing, Exemption management, Document management. Drip covers Ecommerce data sync, Visual workflow builder, Behavioural segmentation, Onsite forms and popups.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Avalara: What are the starting prices for Avalara services?

Avalara Tax Calculation and Returns Compliance Package starts at $699. License Guidance is available for as low as $119. Sales Tax Registration costs $403 per location.

Source
Drip: Does Drip do SMS?

Not for new customers. Drip SMS is closed to new accounts and was only ever available in the United States, so treat Drip as an email and onsite platform.

Avalara: How does Avalara's pricing scale?

Avalara uses volume-based pricing that varies based on the number of integrated business applications, volume of monthly sales transactions, number of states or jurisdictions for tax collection, and Streamlined Sales Tax enrollment. Pricing scales with business growth and transaction volume.

Source
Drip: How is Drip priced?

Entirely by contact count, from 39 US dollars a month for 2,500 contacts. Email sends are unlimited and no features are held back on lower tiers.

Drip: Who owns Drip?

Leadpages, which acquired it in 2016. Drip retains its own name, site and product.

Drip: How does it compare to Klaviyo?

Cheaper at small and mid list sizes with a similar ecommerce data model, but weaker on analytics, predictive segmentation and the breadth of its app ecosystem.

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