Home / Compare / LookupTax Alternative
LookupTax Alternative — TaxID
LookupTax is built for companies that validate tax IDs globally — US EINs, Brazilian CNPJs, Australian ABNs and EU VAT through one API. If that is your use case, it is a strong product. If your scope is EU VAT only, you are paying for global coverage you don't use, and the premium is now substantial: LookupTax lists $49/month for 200 validations, $149 for 1,000 and $499 for 10,000. TaxID covers 1,000 at $19 and 10,000 at $49 — the same volume LookupTax charges $499 for. It also publishes a 100-validation free tier, where LookupTax offers a free tier without stating its allowance.
Disclosure: TaxID is our product. Competitor data is sourced from LookupTax's public pricing pages and documentation, last checked September 2026. We link to source pages where possible. Pricing may have changed since — always verify on the vendor's site.
Feature comparison
| Feature | TaxID | LookupTax |
|---|---|---|
| EU countries supported | 27 | 27 |
| VIES-backed validation | ||
| Response caching | Redis 24h | Yes |
| Free tier requests/mo | 100 | Unstated |
| Max paid requests/mo | 1,000,000 | 10,000 |
| Batch validation | — | |
| Webhook notifications | — | |
| SLA guarantee | — | |
| Company name in response | ||
| Cached response time | 10ms | 200ms |
| Starting price | $0/mo (Free) | $49/mo ↗ |
Why developers switch from LookupTax
LookupTax limitations
- Higher price point than EU-only alternatives
- Overkill if you only need EU VAT validation
- Free tier allowance not published
- More complex API surface area for EU-only use
TaxID advantages
- EU-specialized: faster and cheaper for EU-only use cases
- $19/month for 1,000 validations against LookupTax's $149 at that volume
- 100 free validations/month, published; LookupTax has a free tier but does not state its allowance
- Simpler API surface — one endpoint for EU VAT, no global routing logic
- Self-service signup: API key in 2 minutes, no onboarding call
When to choose LookupTax instead
LookupTax is the right choice if you need global tax ID validation beyond EU: US EINs, Australian ABNs, Brazilian CNPJs, or Canadian BNs. TaxID is EU-only and will not help you there. LookupTax also offers official SDKs (Node.js, Python, PHP), formal SLA agreements, batch validation, and webhooks — all features TaxID doesn't currently have. If your compliance team requires any of these, LookupTax is worth the premium. For EU-only validation at startup-to-growth scale with a developer-led team, TaxID is the leaner, cheaper option.
Switching from LookupTax to TaxID
The core change is the endpoint URL and authentication header. Both APIs return company_name, valid, and company address — no downstream code changes needed for the core validation logic.
GET https://api.lookuptax.com/v1/validate/EU-VAT/DE/DE123456789 (Header: Authorization: Bearer ltax_xxxxx)
GET https://taxid.dev/api/v1/validate/DE/DE123456789 (Header: Authorization: Bearer vat_xxxxx)
LookupTax uses /v1/validate/EU-VAT/DE/number path; TaxID uses /api/v1/validate/DE/number. LookupTax returns entity_name; TaxID returns company_name. Bearer auth token format is the same.
Start with TaxID free
100 validations/month free. No credit card. API key in two minutes.
Frequently asked questions
Does TaxID support global tax ID validation like LookupTax?
No. TaxID validates EU VAT numbers only — all 27 EU member states via the VIES system. If you need to validate US EINs, Australian ABNs, Brazilian CNPJs, or other non-EU identifiers, LookupTax (or a similar global provider) is the right tool. TaxID's EU specialization means it's faster and cheaper for EU-only workflows, but it is not a like-for-like replacement if you need global coverage.
Does TaxID have official SDKs like LookupTax?
Not currently. TaxID's API follows standard REST conventions (Bearer auth, JSON responses, HTTP status codes), so integrating with any HTTP client in any language takes under 10 lines of code. The documentation includes examples for Node.js, Python, PHP, and curl. If typed SDK wrappers are a requirement for your team's workflow, LookupTax has the advantage.
How does LookupTax's pricing compare to TaxID for EU-only use?
For EU VAT only, TaxID is now considerably cheaper at every published tier. LookupTax lists $49/month for 200 validations, $149 for 1,000 and $499 for 10,000. TaxID charges $19 for 1,000 and $49 for 10,000, with 100 a month free. An earlier version of this page said LookupTax started at $29/month for 10,000 validations and concluded it won on price at that tier; that pricing no longer exists and the conclusion no longer holds. What you pay the premium for is global coverage, SDKs, batch validation, webhooks and an SLA — not EU VAT throughput.
Does LookupTax have an SLA?
Yes — LookupTax offers SLA guarantees, which TaxID does not currently provide. If your enterprise procurement or compliance team requires a formal SLA, LookupTax is currently the better choice for that requirement.