Is Avalara or FastSpring better?

Neither clearly leads. Avalara starts at $29/month and FastSpring at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.

Which is cheaper, Avalara or FastSpring?

Avalara starts at $29/month and FastSpring at On request.

Does Avalara or FastSpring run on more platforms?

Avalara runs on Web, Api. FastSpring 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 FastSpring is typically brought in for.

What can Avalara do that FastSpring cannot?

Avalara covers Tax calculation, Returns filing, Exemption management, Document management. FastSpring covers Global online payments, Subscription billing, Branded checkout, Tax compliance.

Accounting & Finance · head to head

Avalara vs FastSpring

Avalara

Accounting & Finance

Tax compliance done right

From: $29/month
Rated: -

Full review Website

FastSpring

E-commerce

Merchant-of-record commerce platform for global payments, subscriptions, and tax compliance

From: On request
Rated: -

Full review Website

The short version

Each has a real cost: Avalara plans start at $699 per state per year, so multi-state sellers multiply that figure rather than paying one subscription; FastSpring pricing is not published and requires contacting sales for a quote, making cost comparison difficult upfront.
They diverge on capability: Avalara covers Tax calculation, FastSpring covers Global online payments.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Avalara and FastSpring actually diverge.

Attributes where Avalara and FastSpring differ
Attribute	Avalara	FastSpring
Starting price	$29/month	On request
Pricing model	subscription	transaction
Category	Accounting & Finance	E-commerce
Founded	2004	2006

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 FastSpring

Global online payments
Subscription billing
Branded checkout
Tax compliance
Fraud prevention
Digital invoicing and quotes

What people use each for

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

Avalara

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

FastSpring

Selling software or SaaS internationally without a local tax entitynot Avalara
B2B invoicing and custom quotes for enterprise SaaS dealsnot Avalara
Recurring subscription billing for digital productsnot Avalara
Reducing fraud and chargebacks on digital purchasesnot Avalara

Where each one falls short

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

Avalara

Plans start at $699 per state per year, so multi-state sellers multiply that figure rather than paying one subscription
Billed by transaction, where one API call is one transaction, so cost tracks invoice volume
The free option is limited to the Streamlined Sales Tax programme, in up to 25 states and only for qualifying businesses

FastSpring

Pricing is not published and requires contacting sales for a quote, making cost comparison difficult upfront.
As a merchant-of-record, FastSpring takes on more control of the checkout and payment relationship than a pure payment gateway like Stripe.
Revenue share pricing can become more expensive than flat per-transaction gateway fees at very high volumes.
Primarily targeted at software/digital goods sellers, so it is less suited to physical product e-commerce.

Pricing, plan by plan

Avalara

$29/month

AvaTax$50/month
- Tax calculation
- Exemption certificates
- Returns filing

FastSpring

On request

Custom$undefined/mo
- All-in-one transaction-based pricing based on sales volume
- No subscription fees or per-feature charges
- Discounted rates for ACH and wire transfers

Which should you pick?

Choose Avalara if

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

Avalara review

Choose FastSpring if

You need global online payments.
You work on web, api.
You also want subscription billing.

FastSpring review

Questions people ask

Is Avalara or FastSpring better?: Neither clearly leads. Avalara starts at $29/month and FastSpring at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Avalara or FastSpring?: Avalara starts at $29/month and FastSpring at On request.
Does Avalara or FastSpring run on more platforms?: Avalara runs on Web, Api. FastSpring 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 FastSpring is typically brought in for.
What can Avalara do that FastSpring cannot?: Avalara covers Tax calculation, Returns filing, Exemption management, Document management. FastSpring covers Global online payments, Subscription billing, Branded checkout, Tax compliance.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

FastSpring: What does FastSpring cost?

FastSpring uses flat-rate, all-in-one pricing based on transaction volume, with fees withheld from payouts. There is no minimum volume or subscription fee, and pricing is typically quoted based on expected sales volume after contacting their sales team.

Source

FastSpring: Is there a free plan?

FastSpring does not offer a free plan; instead pricing is transaction-based with no upfront subscription cost, and merchants only pay a commission on completed sales.

Source

FastSpring: What does FastSpring integrate with or include compared to a payment gateway like Stripe?

FastSpring bundles international payments, subscription management, tax compliance, fraud prevention, reporting, and B2B invoicing into one price, whereas gateways like Stripe charge separately for many of these features.

Source

Avalara vs FastSpring

Avalara

FastSpring

The short version

Where they differ

What each one covers

Only in Avalara

Only in FastSpring

What people use each for

Avalara

FastSpring

Where each one falls short

Avalara

FastSpring

Pricing, plan by plan

Avalara

FastSpring

Which should you pick?

Choose Avalara if

Choose FastSpring if

Questions people ask

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Related pages

More on Avalara

More on FastSpring

Keep looking

Other head to heads