HTS Hero vs Avalara AvaTax Cross-Border
Avalara and HTS Hero solve different problems. Avalara estimates duty and tax at a store's checkout across many countries; HTS Hero tells a US importer exactly what each import owes, tariff by tariff, and how that changed over time.
No demo, no sales call, no contract. Last checked .
Which should you use?
Choose HTS Hero if
Our pick for most importers- You import into the US and need the exact duty on each entry
- You need every Chapter 99 tariff itemized, with exemptions
- You want to audit past entries and track your catalog's duty over time
- You want to start today on a free plan, with published prices
Choose Avalara AvaTax Cross-Border if
- You sell cross-border to consumers in many countries and need duty at checkout
- You already use Avalara for sales tax and want one vendor
HTS Hero and Avalara AvaTax Cross-Border, feature by feature
What each tool offers a US importer, from its public website.
| Feature | Our toolHTS HeroFree, then from $14.99/mo | Avalara AvaTax Cross-BorderContact Avalara |
|---|---|---|
| Free to tryYou can calculate a real duty without paying. | YesFree to start, no sign-up | PartlyDeveloper sandbox and trial; no public calculator |
| Start without a demo or sales callSign up and use every plan yourself, with no demo, contract or freight account. | YesEvery plan is self-serve, with no demo or contract | NoCross-border is enabled by Avalara, after a demo |
| Pricing publishedEvery paid plan's price is on the website. | Yes | No |
| Every Chapter 99 tariff, line by lineThe base rate plus Section 232, Section 301 and every other additional duty, each as its own line with exemptions applied. | YesEach tariff on its own line, with its Chapter 99 heading and legal note | NoOne import duty line in the API |
| Trade agreements and preference programsClaim USMCA, CAFTA-DR, KORUS and other programs and see the preferential rate. | YesUSMCA, CAFTA-DR, KORUS and every program on the line | Yes |
| Exemption questions that change the dutyAnswer the facts that unlock exemptions (metal content, generics, donations and more) and see the new total. | YesAnswer each question and see the new total | No |
| Audit past entries by dateCalculate the duty that applied on an entry date, to check what you paid. | YesEntry audits, with verified rates back to April 2026 | PartlyA date field in the API |
| Duty over timeSee how a product's duty changed across HTS revisions. | YesDuty Over Time, revision by revision | No |
| Alerts when a tariff change hits your productsLoad your catalog once and hear when a change affects it, with the duty impact on each product. | Paid planTariff Tracker alerts, with the cost to each product | NoTariff news by blog and webinar |
| Compare countries of originThe same product's duty from several countries, side by side. | Yes | No |
| Bulk upload (CSV)Add many products at once. | Paid planTariff Tracker | Customers onlyBy SFTP or API |
| HTS classification helpGuidance to find and document the right HTS code for a product. | Paid planHTS Hero Classify, with CROSS rulings | Customers onlyAI plus human review, up to 24 hours |
| API, MCP and ERP/TMS integrationGet tariff results inside your ERP, TMS, internal tools or AI assistant. | On requestAPI and MCP; plugs into ERP, TMS and internal tools | Customers onlyREST API and MCP servers, for customers |
| Public changelog of rate updatesA dated record of every change to the tool's tariff data. | Yes | No |
What actually sets them apart
Checkout estimates versus an importer's duty bill
Avalara's cross-border tools are designed to show a shopper the landed cost before they buy. A US importer of record needs something narrower and deeper: the base rate plus each Section 232, Section 301 and other Chapter 99 tariff that applies to a specific HTS code, country and entry date. That's what HTS Hero is built for.
Getting started
We didn't find published prices for Avalara's cross-border products. HTS Hero has a free plan and published monthly prices, and you can start in a couple of minutes.
What each one costs
Free, then from $14.99/mo
Free to start, no sign-up. Tariff Calculator $14.99/mo for unlimited calculations. Tariff Tracker from $49/mo for your product catalog. Classification from $39/mo. Monthly plans, no contract, 10% off annually.
Contact Avalara
We didn't find published prices for Avalara's cross-border products.
Plug HTS Hero into your ERP, TMS and internal systems
Get every tariff, exemption and fee for an import wherever you price, plan or file: in your ERP, your TMS, your own tools or an AI assistant. We'll set it up with you.
- Tariff results by API, for your ERP, TMS or internal tools
- An MCP server, so AI assistants can calculate duty
- The same line-by-line results as the calculator
Switching from Avalara AvaTax Cross-Border? Try HTS Hero free.
Enter an HTS code and a country of origin and see the full US duty: the base rate, every Chapter 99 tariff and the fees. When you need unlimited calculations, it's $14.99 a month.
- Free to start, no sign-up: every tariff on your import, line by line
- Published prices, monthly plans, no contract
- No demo, no sales call, no freight account
- Start in about a minute
Questions
Does Avalara calculate US Section 301 and 232 tariffs?
Avalara calculates customs duty for cross-border sales, but its public pages we reviewed don't detail how it itemizes US Chapter 99 tariffs such as Section 301 and 232. HTS Hero shows each of them as its own line with its legal source.
Compare HTS Hero with other tools
- The best US tariff calculators in 202612 tools, ranked and compared
- HTS Hero vs Flexport Tariff SimulatorFree calculator from a freight forwarder
- HTS Hero vs Zonos Landed CostLanded cost at checkout for cross-border ecommerce
- HTS Hero vs SimplyDutyGlobal duty calculator and API
- HTS Hero vs GingerControlFree calculator with paid compliance tools
- HTS Hero vs Gateway Tariff CalculatorFree calculator from a freight forwarder
- HTS Hero vs TariffsAPITariff API with a free calculator
- HTS Hero vs AMZ Prep Tariff CalculatorFree calculator from a 3PL
HTS Hero makes one of the tools on this page. We checked every claim about other tools against their public websites on October 6, 2026 and link our sources below. If something has changed, email [email protected] and we'll update it.
Sources
The official documents this article is based on