Softwr

Accounting · head to head

Avalara vs Redis

Avalara logo

Avalara

Accounting

Tax compliance done right

From
$29/month
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Redis logo

Redis

Technology

The real-time data platform

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only Redis has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: Avalara pricing varies significantly based on products, integrations, transaction volume, and jurisdictions; Redis licensing changed from BSD to AGPL in 2025, impacting open-source usage
  • They diverge on capability: Avalara covers Tax calculation, Redis covers In-memory data store.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Avalara and Redis actually diverge.

Attributes where Avalara and Redis differ
AttributeAvalaraRedis
Starting price$29/monthFree
Pricing modelsubscriptionUnknown
Free tierNoYes
PlatformsWeb, ApiLinux, macOS, Windows
CategoryAccountingTechnology
Founded20042009

Identical on both: 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 Redis

  • In-memory data store
  • Data structures
  • Pub/Sub messaging
  • Lua scripting
  • Transactions
  • Persistence options
  • Replication
  • Clustering

What people use each for

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

Avalara

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

Redis

  • Cachingnot Avalara
  • Session managementnot Avalara
  • Real-time analyticsnot Avalara
  • Message queuingnot Avalara
  • Leaderboardsnot 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

Redis

  • Licensing changed from BSD to AGPL in 2025, impacting open-source usage
  • All data must fit in memory, limiting scalability to available RAM
  • No built-in support for multi-tenancy
  • Limited transaction support compared to traditional databases

Pricing, plan by plan

Avalara

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

Redis

Free

No published plan breakdown. See the Redis review.

Which should you pick?

Choose Avalara if

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

Choose Redis if

  • You need in-memory data store.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Linux, macOS, Windows.
  • You also want data structures.
Redis review

Questions people ask

Is Avalara or Redis better?
Neither clearly leads. Avalara starts at $29/month and Redis at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Avalara or Redis?
Redis has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at $29/month for Avalara and Free for Redis.
Does Avalara or Redis run on more platforms?
Avalara runs on Web, Api. Redis runs on Linux, macOS, Windows.
Can I use Redis for free?
Yes. Redis has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Avalara starts at $29/month.
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 Redis is typically brought in for.
What can Avalara do that Redis cannot?
Avalara covers Tax calculation, Returns filing, Exemption management, Document management. Redis covers In-memory data store, Data structures, Pub/Sub messaging, Lua scripting.

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
Redis: Is Redis open source?

Redis was open source under the BSD license since its inception in 2009 and has remained open source. However, in 2024-2025, Redis Labs changed licensing to source-available and AGPL, prompting the creation of Valkey, a BSD-licensed open-source fork.

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
Redis: What is Redis used for?

Redis is an in-memory data structure store used primarily as a cache, database, and message broker. It provides high-speed data access for real-time applications, sessions, leaderboards, real-time analytics, and other use cases requiring fast data retrieval.

Source
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