Avalara
The largest sales tax and indirect tax compliance vendor: calculation, returns, exemption certificates, e-invoicing and cross-border duties for more than 40,000 customers, taken private by Vista for $8.4bn in 2022 and preparing to return to the public market.
| Founded | 2004, Bainbridge Island, Washington; headquartered in Seattle |
|---|---|
| Founders | Scott McFarlane (CEO), Rory Rawlings, Jared Vogt |
| Ownership | Vista Equity Partners since 2022, US$8.4bn take-private; US$500m secondary led by BlackRock in November 2025; confidential IPO filing July 2025 |
| Revenue | Above US$1bn a year |
| Customers | More than 40,000 businesses and 1,200-plus integrations with ERPs, e-commerce and billing systems |
| What it does | Real-time tax calculation, returns filing and remittance, exemption certificate management, business licences, e-invoicing and cross-border customs duties |
| Recent moves | IPO preparation; AI agents for tax research and returns; e-invoicing mandates in Europe as a growth line |
| Pricing | Tiered by transaction volume and returns; from a few hundred dollars a month for small sellers to enterprise contracts |
| Markets | Global; US, Europe, Brazil, India |
| Peers | Vertex, Sovos, Anrok, Numeral, Fonoa |
Why it matters
Avalara is the incumbent every sales tax startup positions against, with 40,000 customers and more than $1 billion in revenue, and its planned return to the public market will put a price on the category. Its 1,200 integrations are the moat Anrok, Numeral and Sphere have to work around.
Updated September 2026.
Part of Accountio’s accounting technology coverage.
