Kintsugi vs. TaxJar: Which Sales Tax Automation Solution Delivers More?

When it comes to sales tax automation, not all platforms are created equal. Business owners need more than just accurate tax calculations—they need a solution that scales, supports, and streamlines every step of compliance.

While TaxJar may be the familiar name in the space, Kintsugi is quickly gaining traction for its hands-on support and user-first design. If you’re looking for peace of mind and a smoother path to compliance, it’s time to compare the two.

Customer Support

Customer support is often the dealbreaker for businesses relying on tax compliance software. A report by HubSpot, revealed that 93% of customers are likely to make repeat purchases with companies offering excellent customer service.

Unfortunately, TaxJar has fallen short in assisting users in times of need. One major recurring complaint from users is the lack of 24/7 support and long delays in getting any resolution.

One user said they had a hard time getting connected with customer support with their issues. The user claimed TaxJar had "bad customer support."

“I can’t get anyone to respond to questions/issues I have,” the TaxJar customer wrote.

Another user experienced the same, even calling TaxJar's support "non-existent."

“Unbelievably poor support once the sales transaction was complete,” the user wrote, adding, “absolutely no care or concern about it from anyone [including] the sales team.”

A different user said TaxJar had "very poor customer service." They were "very disappointed" because they chose TaxJar expecting assistance with their sales tax, but they didn't get any.

These aren’t isolated incidents. The screenshots clearly show the dissatisfaction users feel when support isn’t there during critical times, leading to costly delays.

Kintsugi fixes this problem with dedicated customer support, offering real-time communication so that clients never feel left in the dark. With this approach, users no longer have to rely on email tickets and wait days for a response.

Kintsugi users can talk to a support expert within minutes, ensuring that time-sensitive issues are resolved before they become expensive problems. Here’s what Kintsugi customers say about our customer support.

One said Kintsugi has “fantastic support.” “I’ve been able to reduce my workload significantly and focus on more important tasks,” Maryam Fabric wrote.

Another Kintsugi customer experienced the same white glove treatment. According to TechTrove.shop, “the support team is always available to answer questions.”

A third customer said Kintsugi “streamlined my sales tax management” and “the customer is top-notch.” They mentioned our support helped them set up the app, answered all their questions and even assisted them in navigating the “complex world of sales tax compliance.”

Kintsugi is dedicated to making the whole experience easy and convenient for all our customers. Kintsugi delivers based on feedback from its happy and satisfied clients.

Performance and Pricing

Pricing and performance are other factors to consider when paying for a service. Does the tool work as expected and is it worth the price?

Unfortunately, among the most frequent complaints customers have about TaxJar are the high cost and inconsistent performance.

One TaxJar customer said they did not have a great experience with the sales tax automation tool provider due to its inconsistent performance and high cost.

“I did not think TaxJar was very user-friendly. It was hard to understand how to make things work for my business. Whenever I tried to set it up, I just became more frustrated,” the TaxJar customer wrote.

One of Kintsugi’s standout features is its ability to offer affordable, scalable pricing, making it accessible to both small businesses and larger enterprises.

Kintsugi doesn’t penalize small users with high fees or excessive service charges, and users consistently report smooth, reliable performance without the server issues that often plague TaxJar users.

Kintsugi is determined to be of service. We even offer several free services, including the following:

• Free nexus monitoring
• Free address validation
• Free advanced CSV importing
• Dedicated customer support
• Free VDAs

And Kintsugi customers are happy and satisfied with our pricing. One even said, we offer “True automation at 1/10 cost.”

Features and Integrations

Sales tax automation software is designed to make sales tax compliance easy and convenient for you. You must consider the features each provider offers.

Do they allow integration with the current accounting or marketplace you use? Is the user interface intuitive? Are the features powerful enough to solve specific problems?

When comparing features, Kintsugi clearly offers functionality that TaxJar struggles to match, especially for businesses looking to streamline tax processes and save time.

Advanced CSV Importing

Several TaxJar users noted that the platform struggled with importing large or complex data sets, leading to more manual work.

Kintsugi solves this with advanced CSV importing, allowing users to upload complex files seamlessly without running into issues.

Free Address Validation (Voluntary Disclosure Agreements)

While TaxJar provides standard tax calculation tools, they often require premium add-ons for critical features, which drives up the cost. For example, address validation is only available when one avails its Professional plan.

Address validation is crucial in sales tax compliance because tax rates and rules often vary by exact location, not just by state or city. A validated address ensures that businesses apply the correct local, county, and state sales taxes, avoiding costly miscalculations that can lead to penalties, audits, or customer dissatisfaction.

In contrast, Kintsugi offers free address validation. This is among the free features Kintsugi offers and only one of the many like no-code integration, sales tax nexus calculations, sales tax liability calculations, exposure monitoring and more.

Integrations

Integration is another essential feature of sales tax automation software. This allows business owners or merchants like you to integrate your existing tools and platform into their software for a cohesive ecosystem – better data flow and organization.

If you are selling on Shopify, BigCommerce, Amazon, or eBay and using QuickBooks or NetSuite, it would be beneficial if your sales tax automation provider has integrations for these platforms.

While TaxJar allows integration, its customers have reported several integration-related issues using the tool.

One user said one of the things they didn’t like about TaxJar was “Integration with other services and systems.” It reportedly “works well with some not at all with Shopify.”

Another unsatisfied Taxjar client said they tried to integrate the tool with their system, but it did not work, and they were disappointed with the purchase.

“We did custom API work to get our order system integrated such that we could get all our data into it, only to find out that it was going to totally fall flat on its face,” the customer wrote.

Meanwhile, Kintsugi customers have nothing but positive experiences with our seamless integration process.

“Kintsugi integrates seamlessly with my Shopify site, Amazon, eBay and Etsy stores. It couldn’t be easier and their support team is awesome. Stop looking and get Kintsugi – you won’t regret it,” one said.

Another user said Kintsugi was better than Avalara. “[The] integration process was self-serve and it was easy to navigate and set everything up.”

Real Customer Stories: TaxJar vs Kintsugi

The actual pain points of TaxJar lie in user experiences. Take a look at these common complaints, which point to significant product quality issues:

Some TaxJar users have shared their challenges with incorrect tax rates and poor user experience. “We discovered the software was not calculating tax rates correctly, so we had to stop using it,” one customer said.

These problems are not just minor annoyances—they are business-critical issues that can lead to costly mistakes and compliance errors.

Kintsugi, on the other hand, offers streamlined, intuitive reporting and reliable tax rate calculations, ensuring that businesses don’t have to deal with such errors. Our clients enjoy an easy onboarding process and are confident with our tool because of our accurate tax calculations.

One Kintsugi user was overjoyed with our fast and easy onboarding. “Getting started was a piece of cake,” Arjun S. wrote. “Kintsugi was super easy to set up. It’s clear they’ve invested a ton in a good user experience.”

Another Kintsugi customer was pleased with how accurately our tool works. “It accurately calculates and files sales tax across multiple states, saving me hours or manual work each month,” Toyseepk wrote about its Kintsugi experience.

Kintsugi Beats TaxJar in True Customer Experience

After looking into the actual customer experiences with TaxJar, it’s abundantly clear that its customers encounter severe issues with tax calculations, customer support, pricing, performance, and core features. Whether customers are overcharged, deal with inefficient systems, or don’t get the help they need when they need it, these platforms fail to meet the needs of many businesses.

Kintsugi solves these problems with:

• 24-hour real-time support
• Affordable, scalable pricing
• Free address validation and CSV importing
• Reliable performance with no hidden fees

With Kintsugi, you get a platform that actually delivers on its promises – real-time support, transparent pricing, and reliable performance. Kintsugi is built to solve the problems that so many TaxJar users find frustrating.

Kintsugi is constantly innovating with new features that customers ask for so that all customers benefit from a better product. So, if you’re tired of tax compliance headaches and are looking for a better solution, it’s time to switch to Kintsugi.

Your business deserves a platform that works as hard as you do. Kintsugi is the sales tax management software you deserve.

So, book a demo now or sign up for free.