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Vatstack Alternative — TaxID
Vatstack is a well-documented EU VAT validation API — probably the most developer-friendly option before TaxID existed. Its pricing has moved since we first wrote this page: the Launch plan now carries no monthly fee and includes 100 real validations, exactly matching TaxID's free tier, so the free allowance is no longer a reason to choose between them. The difference appears further up the curve. Vatstack charges $15/month for 500 validations and $150/month for 15,000; TaxID covers 1,000 at $19 and 100,000 at $149, with higher volumes on request. Here's what you get, and what you give up, with each.
Disclosure: TaxID is our product. Competitor data is sourced from Vatstack'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 | Vatstack |
|---|---|---|
| EU countries supported | 27 | 27 |
| VIES-backed validation | ||
| Response caching | Redis 24h | Unknown |
| Free tier requests/mo | 100 | 100 |
| Max paid requests/mo | 1,000,000 | 15,000 |
| Batch validation | — | |
| Webhook notifications | — | |
| SLA guarantee | — | — |
| Company name in response | ||
| Cached response time | 10ms | 300ms |
| Starting price | $0/mo (Free) | $15/mo ↗ |
Why developers switch from Vatstack
Vatstack limitations
- Published plans stop at 15,000 validations/month — higher volume needs a custom quote
- No SLA guarantee on free/starter plans
- VIES service unavailability not transparently communicated
- No batch validation endpoint on lower tiers
TaxID advantages
- Roughly 7× the validations per dollar at the top published tier: $149 covers 100,000 against Vatstack's 15,000 at $150
- Sub-10ms cached responses vs Vatstack's ~300ms
- Scales to 1M/month on request; Vatstack's highest published plan stops at 15,000/month
- Format validation before VIES call — saves quota on typos and invalid inputs
- Transparent VIES downtime errors with explicit service_unavailable status
When to choose Vatstack instead
Vatstack has genuine strengths TaxID doesn't match today. Its Launch plan bills nothing monthly and charges $0.09 per validation past the first 100, so for low or spiky volume you may never pay a subscription at all — TaxID has no pay-as-you-go equivalent, and its first paid tier is a flat $19. If your workflow depends on webhooks — async callbacks when a VAT status changes — Vatstack supports them natively and TaxID does not. If non-developers need a dashboard to review validation history, Vatstack's UI is stronger, and it is the more established vendor name for procurement. If none of that applies — no webhooks, developer-only integration, steady volume above a few hundred a month — TaxID costs less per validation and responds faster.
Switching from Vatstack 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.vatstack.com/v1/validations?query=DE123456789 (Header: X-API-KEY)
GET https://taxid.dev/api/v1/validate/DE/DE123456789 (Header: Authorization: Bearer)
Both return company_name — no downstream code changes needed for the core field. Vatstack uses X-API-KEY header; TaxID uses Bearer token.
Start with TaxID free
100 validations/month free. No credit card. API key in two minutes.
Frequently asked questions
Does TaxID support Vatstack webhooks?
Not currently. TaxID is a synchronous REST API — each validation request returns a result immediately. If your workflow depends on async webhook callbacks when VAT status changes, Vatstack's webhook feature is currently unique to them. This is an honest limitation of TaxID today.
How do I migrate from Vatstack to TaxID?
Change the endpoint from api.vatstack.com/v1/validations?query=DE123456789 to taxid.dev/api/v1/validate/DE/DE123456789. Change the auth header from X-API-KEY to Authorization: Bearer. Both APIs return company_name and valid status — field names are compatible with minimal code changes.
How does TaxID handle VIES downtime vs Vatstack?
TaxID returns an explicit service_unavailable status when VIES is unreachable, with a boolean valid: false. This is documented in the error reference. We recommend building a fallback that allows the transaction when status is service_unavailable, rather than hard-failing customers during EU maintenance windows.
Vatstack vs TaxID pricing: what's the real cost at scale?
Both start at 100 free validations a month, so the comparison is about what happens above that. Vatstack charges $15/month for 500 validations and $150/month for 15,000, its highest published tier. TaxID charges $19 for 1,000 and $149 for 100,000, with custom plans beyond. Below roughly 500 validations a month Vatstack is cheaper, and its $0.09-per-validation Launch plan is cheaper still if your volume is spiky. Above that TaxID gives materially more headroom for the same money.