OpenSalesTax vs ShipVAT
OpenSalesTax
github.comShipVAT
shipvat.comSide by side
| Figure | OpenSalesTax | ShipVAT |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | Free | $49/mo |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Free trial | — | Yes |
| Open source | Yes | — |
| Web | Yes | Yes |
| macOS | Yes | — |
| Linux | Yes | — |
| API | Yes | Yes |
| Self-hosted | Yes | — |
| Plans published | 2 | 3 |
| Spec score · Tax Engine Software | 8.7 (#3) | 8.7 (#4) |
| Coverage | The project says it has modules for 52 jurisdictions, with all 48 sales-taxing jurisdictions loaded into each published data dump. | Documented coverage includes 27 EU countries, the UK, all 50 US states plus DC, 13 Canadian provinces and Australia. |
| Data sources | The project uses Streamlined Sales Tax files and state Department of Revenue publications, and says it does not ingest paid tax data feeds. | ShipVAT says its tax data is curated from official sources including EU TEDB, HMRC, IRS, CRA, and ATO. |
| Maker identity | The repository identifies Eric Osterberg as the initial project maintainer responsible for direction and license decisions. | The public pages identify the product as ShipVAT and provide [email protected] as a contact address. |
| Purpose | OpenSalesTax calculates how much sales tax to charge on US transactions using public data and per-state modules. | ShipVAT provides an API for calculating VAT, sales tax, and GST across supported jurisdictions. |
| What it does | OpenSalesTax calculates destination-based U.S. sales tax through an open-source API using public Streamlined Sales Tax data and state-specific contributor modules. | ShipVAT provides a REST API for calculating VAT, sales tax and GST and for retrieving nexus thresholds. |
Plans
In their own words
OpenSalesTax
OpenSalesTax is a free, self-hosted API that calculates sales tax for US transactions using public data and per-state modules. The project says its modules cover 52 jurisdictions, while each published data dump includes all 48 jurisdictions that impose sales tax. The API calculates tax on line items and can break results down by state, county, city, or district. Documented item categories include general goods, clothing, groceries, prescription drugs, prepared food, and digital goods. Its data comes from Streamlined Sales Tax files and state Department of Revenue publications, rather than paid tax feeds. The engine can be installed from source or run with Docker; PostgreSQL is the default, with optional MariaDB support. Access defaults to open with per-IP rate limiting, or can use API keys with per-key limits and usage tracking. Release dumps reflect the SST quarterly file current at release, and the project documents loading newer data. It identifies incomplete sub-state tax stacking for Colorado home-rule cities and Louisiana parish-level collectors. The project says its calculations are not legal or tax advice and advises checking results with the relevant state Department of Revenue before remitting.
ShipVAT
ShipVAT provides an API for calculating VAT, sales tax, and GST across 93 jurisdictions. The maker lists the EU, UK, US, Canada, and Australia among supported regions, and describes economic nexus threshold intelligence for all 50 US states and beyond. API functions include tax calculations, rate and threshold lookup, transaction and customer management, VAT validation, compliance reports, webhooks, and address validation. ShipVAT says rates include a source URL, verification timestamp, and effective dates, with tax data curated from official sources. Developers can use a TypeScript SDK, OpenAPI 3.0, Swagger UI, and curl examples. Endpoints use Bearer-token authentication with test and live key formats. The API is described as working with Paddle, LemonSqueezy, PayPal, or any payment stack. The Free plan costs nothing and allows 100 API calls per month. Pro costs $49 a month for 50,000 calls; Enterprise pricing is custom and its listed call limit is unlimited.