Softwr

Accounting · head to head

Avalara vs Medius

Avalara logo

Avalara

Accounting

Tax compliance done right

From
$29/month
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Medius logo

Medius

Accounting

Accounts payable automation and supplier payments for mid-market finance teams, Marlin Equity owned

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: Avalara pricing varies significantly based on products, integrations, transaction volume, and jurisdictions; Medius the sourcing, contract and procurement modules are considerably less developed than the AP core, so buying Medius as a full source-to-pay suite means accepting weak upstream tooling.
  • They diverge on capability: Avalara covers Tax calculation, Medius covers Invoice capture and coding.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Avalara and Medius actually diverge.

Attributes where Avalara and Medius differ
AttributeAvalaraMedius
Starting price$29/monthOn request
Pricing modelsubscriptionquote
PlatformsWeb, ApiWeb, iOS, Android
Founded2004Unknown

Identical on both: free tier (No), user rating (Not yet rated), category (Accounting).

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 Medius

  • Invoice capture and coding
  • Matching and exception handling
  • Fraud and anomaly detection
  • Supplier payments
  • Approval workflow
  • ERP integration

What people use each for

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

Avalara

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

Medius

  • A mid-market finance team where most spend arrives as an invoice with no purchase order to match againstnot Avalara
  • A group with several legal entities on different ERPs that wants one AP process across all of themnot Avalara
  • Reducing invoice fraud exposure with automated detection of supplier bank detail changesnot Avalara
  • Replacing a scanning bureau and a shared AP inbox with automated capture and exception-based reviewnot 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

Medius

  • The sourcing, contract and procurement modules are considerably less developed than the AP core, so buying Medius as a full source-to-pay suite means accepting weak upstream tooling.
  • Pricing is quote-only and driven by invoice volume, so a business with many low-value invoices pays disproportionately relative to the spend being controlled.
  • Payments are billed on transaction volume separately from the AP subscription, which is easy to omit from a cost comparison against a licence-only AP tool.
  • Private equity ownership since 2017 has produced an acquisition-driven product line, so payments and adjacent capability come from bought-in technology rather than the original platform.
  • ERP integration depth varies sharply by system, and organisations on less common or heavily customised ERPs face integration work that lengthens the implementation.

Pricing, plan by plan

Avalara

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

Medius

On request
  • Medius AP Automation$undefined/year
    • Two packaged AP automation tiers
    • Priced by invoice volume and entity count
    • Sourcing, contracts and procurement modules sold separately

Which should you pick?

Choose Avalara if

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

Choose Medius if

  • You need invoice capture and coding.
  • You work on Web, iOS, Android.
  • You also want matching and exception handling.
Medius review

Questions people ask

Is Avalara or Medius better?
Neither clearly leads. Avalara starts at $29/month and Medius at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Avalara or Medius?
Avalara starts at $29/month and Medius at On request.
Does Avalara or Medius run on more platforms?
Avalara runs on Web, Api. Medius runs on Web, iOS, Android.
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 Medius is typically brought in for.
What can Avalara do that Medius cannot?
Avalara covers Tax calculation, Returns filing, Exemption management, Document management. Medius covers Invoice capture and coding, Matching and exception handling, Fraud and anomaly detection, Supplier payments.

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
Medius: Is Medius a procurement suite or an AP tool?

Primarily an AP automation platform with procurement modules attached. If sourcing is your main requirement, look elsewhere.

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
Medius: Who owns Medius?

Marlin Equity Partners, which acquired it in 2017 and has funded several bolt-on acquisitions since.

Medius: How is it priced?

By quote, driven by invoice volume and entity count, with payments billed separately on transaction volume.

Medius: Does it replace our ERP?

No. It sits alongside the ERP and posts approved invoices into it.

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