ShipVAT

ShipVAT is a tax-calculation API for businesses handling VAT, sales tax, or GST across supported markets. It suits teams that want to build tax operations into a payment or commerce stack; its 100-call monthly free allowance is useful for a small integration, but too narrow for sustained production traffic.

Overview

ShipVAT covers 93 jurisdictions, with the maker naming the EU, UK, US, Canada, and Australia among its supported regions. Its data is curated from official sources including EU TEDB, HMRC, IRS, CRA, and ATO; each rate carries a source URL, verification timestamp, and effective dates. That provenance gives developers useful context for rates, though it does not replace a business’s own compliance review.

The API can calculate tax and manage rates, thresholds, transactions, customers, VAT validation, compliance reports, webhooks, and address validation. It supports Paddle, LemonSqueezy, PayPal, and other payment stacks. Economic nexus threshold intelligence covers all 50 US states and beyond, and exemption certificates are supported.

Key features

Developer materials include a TypeScript SDK, OpenAPI 3.0, Swagger UI, and curl examples. Endpoints use Bearer-token authentication, with separate test and live API key formats. The combination should help a development team evaluate and integrate the service without being tied to one payment provider.

ShipVAT’s breadth is most useful when tax calculation, address checks, customer and transaction records, and reporting need to sit behind one API. For teams seeking a service that also handles filing and remittance, the published capabilities do not establish that ShipVAT takes on those tasks.

Pricing

Free costs $0 forever and includes 100 API calls per month, tax calculation across supported jurisdictions, address validation, the TypeScript SDK, transaction recording, customer management, VAT ID validation, and compliance reports. Community support is included. This is a meaningful way to build or assess an integration, but the call cap makes it a poor fit for regular high-volume use.

Pro costs $49/month for 50,000 API calls per month, with batch operations, webhooks, and email support with a 24h SLA. It is the practical step up for a live service that needs a larger quota and those additional tools. A 3-day trial is offered.

Enterprise has custom pricing and unlimited API calls, dedicated support, a 99.99% SLA, and volume discounts. Custom integrations and export formats are included; the on-premise option is marked Coming Soon. It is aimed at organizations with higher-volume or support requirements, but requires a pricing discussion rather than a published fixed rate.

Platforms

ShipVAT is available as an API and on the web. That pairing serves teams building an integration as well as those configuring or reviewing the service through a browser.

Who it's for

ShipVAT is a strong fit for developers and commerce businesses that need tax calculations across many jurisdictions and want rate provenance, nexus intelligence, validation, and reporting in an API-oriented workflow. The free tier fits limited evaluation or low call volumes; Pro better suits a production integration under 50,000 monthly calls. Businesses that need unlimited volume, a 99.99% SLA, or dedicated support should consider Enterprise. It is less compelling for anyone looking for a clearly priced filing-and-remittance service.

Pros and cons

• Pro: Rate source URLs, verification timestamps, and effective dates make the basis and timing of rate data easier to inspect.
• Pro: The API spans calculation, validation, records, reporting, and webhooks, with SDK and OpenAPI resources for integration.
• Pro: Free includes more than calculation alone, including address validation, VAT ID validation, and compliance reports.
• Con: Free stops at 100 calls per month, so even modest ongoing use may require a paid plan.
• Con: Enterprise pricing is custom, and the on-premise option is not yet available.
• Con: Filing and remittance are not among the stated API capabilities, limiting its fit for buyers seeking outsourced compliance operations.

Alternatives

For a broader shortlist, browse Sales Tax Software or Tax Engine Software.

Yonda Tax is worth comparing if free nexus monitoring and worldwide tax-liability calculations, with tax advice and support, matter more than ShipVAT’s API feature set. Zamp may suit teams that want a 30-day sandbox before choosing a paid tax service. Kintsugi is another free option for global physical and economic nexus monitoring, exposure and historical liability auditing, and risk assessment.

CCH SureTax offers Standard Returns, File & Remit, and Fully Outsourced plans for buyers comparing tax technology with filing and remittance services. Sovos Sales & Use Tax targets growing organizations with straightforward sales-tax requirements and broad geographic footprints, including ecommerce retailers and smaller businesses. Sovos Tax Determination is an alternative for buyers prepared to contact Sovos for pricing.

Taxolio suits businesses seeking managed compliance priced per state, with a two-state plan shown at $99/month and additional states at $35/month. Vertex e-Invoicing is an alternative for teams evaluating e-invoicing, with country and jurisdiction coverage varying and VAT Compliance periodic reporting offered as an add-on.

Verdict

Choose ShipVAT if your team wants a developer-facing tax API with broad jurisdiction coverage, rate provenance, and useful validation and reporting tools, and can work within the applicable call limit. Look elsewhere if you need tax filing and remittance as part of the service, or if you want a fixed Enterprise price before engaging with a vendor.