Softwr

Accounting · head to head

Avalara vs Recurly

Avalara logo

Avalara

Accounting

Tax compliance done right

From
$29/month
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Recurly logo

Recurly

Accounting

The subscription management platform built for growth

From
$249/month
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: Avalara pricing varies significantly based on products, integrations, transaction volume, and jurisdictions; Recurly starter is $249 a month plus 0.9 percent of billing volume above the first $40K, so the cost rises with revenue rather than with usage
  • They diverge on capability: Avalara covers Tax calculation, Recurly covers Subscription billing.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 30 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Avalara and Recurly actually diverge.

Attributes where Avalara and Recurly differ
AttributeAvalaraRecurly
Starting price$29/month$249/month
Founded20042009

Identical on both: pricing model (subscription), free tier (No), platforms (Web, Api), 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 Recurly

  • Subscription billing
  • Revenue recovery
  • Payment gateway optimization
  • Analytics
  • API
  • Stripe
  • PayPal
  • Braintree

Both cover

  • SOC 2
  • Web support
  • Api support

What people use each for

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

Avalara

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

Recurly

  • Subscription billing and recurring invoicingnot Avalara
  • Dunning and failed payment recoverynot Avalara
  • Trials, plan changes and promotionsnot Avalara
  • Revenue recognition through the RevRec add-onnot Avalara
  • Shopify-native subscriptions with subscribe and savenot 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

Recurly

  • Starter is $249 a month plus 0.9 percent of billing volume above the first $40K, so the cost rises with revenue rather than with usage
  • All-Access is quoted at under 1 percent of billing volume with a $1M minimum, putting it out of reach of smaller merchants
  • Only one dunning campaign on Starter; multiple campaigns need All-Access
  • SSO, multicurrency and payments orchestration are All-Access only
  • Revenue recognition and the Engage churn tooling are separate add-ons at $850 and $1,600 a month

Pricing, plan by plan

Avalara

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

Recurly

$249/month
  • Starter$249/month
    • Automated global subscription billing
    • Flexible plans and static churn-prevention tools
    • 1 dunning campaign
  • All-Access$null/month
    • Everything in Starter plus AI-powered agents and analytics
    • Intelligent churn-prevention with multiple dunning campaigns
    • Advanced pricing and promotions
  • All-Access for Shopify$null/month
    • Intelligent churn-prevention and customized bundles
    • Subscribe and save, prepaid/gift subscriptions
    • Hybrid subscription support and cancel-save flows

Which should you pick?

Choose Avalara if

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

Choose Recurly if

  • You need subscription billing.
  • You work on Web, Api.
  • You also want revenue recovery.
Recurly review

Questions people ask

Is Avalara or Recurly better?
Neither clearly leads. Avalara starts at $29/month and Recurly at $249/month, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Avalara or Recurly?
Avalara starts at $29/month and Recurly at $249/month.
Does Avalara or Recurly run on more platforms?
Both run on Web, Api, so platform support will not decide this one for you.
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 Recurly is typically brought in for.
What can Avalara do that Recurly cannot?
Avalara covers Tax calculation, Returns filing, Exemption management, Document management. Recurly covers Subscription billing, Revenue recovery, Payment gateway optimization, Analytics. Both handle SOC 2, Web support, Api support.

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
Recurly: What does Recurly's Starter plan cost?

Recurly Starter plan costs 249 USD monthly plus 0.9 percent of billing volume, with the first 40000 USD monthly volume included in the base fee.

Source
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
Recurly: What is the minimum commitment for Recurly's All-Access plan?

All-Access plans require a minimum 1 million USD annual commitment, billed annually at less than 1 percent of billing volume.

Source
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