HTS Hero vs GingerControl
GingerControl packs a lot into its free calculator. HTS Hero goes further where the total depends on facts about your goods: it asks the exemption questions, lets you claim trade agreements on the free calculator, flags banned goods, and publishes its prices.
No demo, no sales call, no contract. Last checked .
Which should you use?
Choose HTS Hero if
Our pick for most importers- You want to claim USMCA or another trade agreement on the free calculator
- You want to answer the exemption questions that lower your duty
- You want every price on the website and monthly plans with no contract
- You want Duty Over Time to see how a product's duty changed
- You need goods banned from import flagged, not priced
- You want a public, dated changelog of every tariff data update
Choose GingerControl if
- You want a free AI classifier inside the calculator
- You want to compare more than three countries at once
HTS Hero and GingerControl, feature by feature
What each tool offers a US importer, from its public website.
| Feature | Our toolHTS HeroFree, then from $14.99/mo | GingerControlFree calculator; paid pricing not published |
|---|---|---|
| Free to tryYou can calculate a real duty without paying. | YesFree to start, no sign-up | YesNo login required |
| 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 | PartlyCalculator is self-serve; plan prices only after login |
| 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 | YesEach layer as its own line item |
| 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 | PartlyPaid area only; none on the free calculator |
| 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 | NoUncertain tariffs shown as "Potential" and left out of the total |
| 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 | Yes |
| Duty over timeSee how a product's duty changed across HTS revisions. | YesDuty Over Time, revision by revision | Partly |
| 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 | PartlyCompliance Radar, in private beta |
| Compare countries of originThe same product's duty from several countries, side by side. | Yes | Yes200+ countries |
| Bulk upload (CSV)Add many products at once. | Paid planTariff Tracker | Paid plan100 products per import |
| HTS classification helpGuidance to find and document the right HTS code for a product. | Paid planHTS Hero Classify, with CROSS rulings | YesAI classifier |
| 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 | On requestPrice not published |
| Public changelog of rate updatesA dated record of every change to the tool's tariff data. | Yes | No |
What actually sets them apart
Exemptions and trade agreements
A lot of duty savings come from facts about your goods: a USMCA claim, metal content, a generic drug, a donation. HTS Hero asks each question that could change the duty and recalculates, and lets you claim any trade program on the line. GingerControl's free calculator has no trade agreement option, and where a tariff depends on a fact it shows the line as "Potential" and leaves it out of the total.
Banned goods and freshness
From September 29, 2026, some Canadian alcohol, dairy and motorcycles can't be imported at all. HTS Hero flags them; we found no sign that GingerControl does. Its calculator banner also still said "Revision 10" on October 6, 2026. HTS Hero logs every revision it applies in a dated public changelog.
Price transparency
GingerControl's calculator is free, but its paid tools, including batch processing, the API and Compliance Radar, list no prices. HTS Hero publishes every plan's price, and you can start any of them yourself in a couple of minutes.
History
Both calculate duty for a past entry date. HTS Hero also charts it: Duty Over Time shows every change to a product's duty with the revision and heading that caused it.
Integrations
Both offer programmatic access. HTS Hero delivers tariff results by API and MCP for ERP, TMS, internal tools and AI assistants; book a call and we'll set it up with you.
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.
Free calculator; paid pricing not published
The calculator is free with no login. Enterprise batch processing, the API and Compliance Radar are listed without published prices.
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 GingerControl? 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
Is GingerControl's tariff calculator free?
Yes, the calculator is free with no login. Its paid tools, such as batch processing, the API and Compliance Radar, don't list prices on its website.
How is HTS Hero different from GingerControl?
HTS Hero asks the exemption questions that change the duty, lets you claim trade agreements on the free calculator, flags goods banned from import, charts Duty Over Time and publishes self-serve pricing.
Does GingerControl include exemptions?
Not as questions. When a tariff depends on a fact about your goods, GingerControl shows it as "Potential" and leaves it out of the total for you to self-report. HTS Hero asks the question and recalculates.
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 Avalara AvaTax Cross-BorderCross-border duty and tax API for ecommerce
- HTS Hero vs Zonos Landed CostLanded cost at checkout for cross-border ecommerce
- HTS Hero vs SimplyDutyGlobal duty calculator and API
- 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