Try Tidyflow
Get your firm organized.
Watch a 4-minute demo, or start a free trial. No credit card required.
Karbon is best suited to firms whose work runs through email: every plan includes email triage and team collaboration tools. TaxDome is best suited to tax-focused firms that want one client portal and app for intake, documents, signatures and payments. Karbon starts at $59 per user a month billed annually. TaxDome’s team plans start at $1,000 per seat a year, paid upfront with no refunds.
We checked every price and feature below on each company’s own website on 24 September 2026; the sources are at the end. We make Tidyflow, which is covered separately after the comparison.
Karbon vs TaxDome at a glance
| Karbon | TaxDome | |
|---|---|---|
| Best suited for | Teams whose work runs through email | Tax-focused firms that want one client portal and app |
| Primary focus | Shared inbox, team collaboration and workflow | Client portal, CRM and tax workflow automation |
| Email integration | Email triage on every plan, with comments and @mentions on emails | Integrated email, plus secure chat and SMS with clients |
| Client portal and app | Karbon for Clients: web and mobile app, with your logo and colors | Web portal and client app, rated 4.9 from 40,922 App Store ratings |
| Pricing | $59 (Team) or $89 (Business) per user a month billed annually; $79 or $99 monthly | $800 (Essentials, single user), $1,000 (Pro) or $1,200 (Business) per seat a year |
| Billing terms | Monthly or annual; monthly needs 4+ users | Paid upfront on 1-, 2- or 3-year terms; no refunds |
| E-signatures | Bought as credits, from 100 for $100 | Unlimited on every plan |
| Proposals and engagement letters | Yes (Karbon Engagements, every plan) | Yes (proposals and payments, every plan) |
| Client requests and intake | Client requests; automatic reminders on Business | Intake forms and organizers |
| IRS transcripts | Not listed | Pro and Business |
| AI (September 2026) | Email summaries and drafted replies; Kai coworker in early access | Document renaming and tagging; agent announced for fall 2026 |
| Security | SOC 2 Type 2 | SOC 2 Type II |
| How to try it | Book a demo | Book a demo |
Karbon vs TaxDome: pricing (September 2026)
Karbon, per user per month:
- Team: $59 billed annually, or $79 billed monthly
- Business: $89 billed annually, or $99 billed monthly
- Enterprise: custom pricing
- Monthly billing is only available to teams of 4 or more, and multi-year terms are also offered
TaxDome, per seat per year, billed upfront:
- One-year term: Essentials $800 (a single user only), Pro $1,000, Business $1,200
- Two-year term: $750, $950 and $1,150
- Three-year term: $700, $900 and $1,100
- Instalment plans are only offered when the invoice exceeds $9,000
TaxDome’s pricing page opens on the three-year prices, so check which term a quote is for.
Karbon vs TaxDome: what a 5-person firm pays
List prices for year one, before e-signature credits, add-ons and onboarding. TaxDome Essentials is left out because it covers a single user.
| Plan | Year one |
|---|---|
| Karbon Team, annual billing | $3,540 ($59 × 5 × 12) |
| Karbon Team, monthly billing | $4,740 ($79 × 5 × 12) |
| Karbon Business, annual billing | $5,340 ($89 × 5 × 12) |
| TaxDome Pro, one-year term | $5,000 ($1,000 × 5), paid upfront |
| TaxDome Business, one-year term | $6,000 ($1,200 × 5), paid upfront |
Karbon vs TaxDome: costs and terms to check
Karbon
- E-signatures are bought as credits: 100 for $100, 500 for $450, 1,000 for $800, 2,000 for $1,300 and 4,000 for $2,000. A request with identity checks uses two credits.
- Automatic client reminders, Tasklist Automators, client groups, user permissions and the API need the Business plan.
- Custom Reporting is a paid add-on on Business and Enterprise, and Email Insights is a paid add-on below Enterprise.
- Karbon offers group onboarding and guided implementation packages but doesn’t publish their prices.
TaxDome
- Plans are paid upfront, and TaxDome’s refund policy says it doesn’t give refunds or credits.
- Essentials covers a single user, so any team starts on Pro.
- A fully branded client app is a paid add-on. Self-serve onboarding is free, and paid onboarding starts at $999.
- Short-term staff: Pro firms can add monthly seats at $100 each; Business firms can add 4-month seasonal seats at $500.
Karbon vs TaxDome: email integration and workflow
Karbon is the stronger of the two on email. Every plan includes email triage and team collaboration: emails are linked to clients and work, can be assigned to teammates, and can be discussed with comments and @mentions. Capacity planning is included on every plan. Work templates and Tasklist Automators handle complex, multi-step processes, with automators on the Business plan. The Team plan is capped at 40 work templates, 1,000 contacts and 3 teams.
TaxDome centers communication on the client portal. Every plan includes integrated email, secure chat and SMS, plus ready-made automations for tax, bookkeeping and accounting workflows. Roles and permissions, a 30-day activity feed and AI-powered reporting come with Pro.
Karbon vs TaxDome: client portal and app
Both give clients a portal and a mobile app where they can upload documents, sign and pay.
- Adoption: TaxDome’s client app is rated 4.9 from 40,922 ratings on the US App Store. Karbon’s client app is newer, with 3 ratings so far.
- E-signatures: unlimited on every TaxDome plan; bought as credits on Karbon.
- Client support: TaxDome Business includes Client Care, where TaxDome’s support team answers your clients’ questions about using the platform.
- Branding: Karbon for Clients uses your logo and colors. TaxDome Pro adds a custom firm URL and branded emails, and a fully branded app is a paid add-on.
Karbon vs TaxDome: AI features in 2026
- Karbon: Karbon AI summarizes email threads and drafts replies. Kai, Karbon’s AI coworker, is in limited early access with a waitlist, and its AI notetaker is listed as coming soon.
- TaxDome: TaxDome AI renames and tags uploaded documents today, and Pro includes AI-powered reporting. TaxDome has announced its Atlas agent, Claude and ChatGPT connectors and a public API for fall 2026.
When to choose Karbon
- Your team’s work runs through email and you want it shared, assigned and discussed in one place
- You have 4 or more people and want the option to pay monthly
- You want deep workflow templates and automation, and you’ll use the Business plan
- You don’t need IRS transcripts
When to choose TaxDome
- You’re a tax-focused firm and want clients working in one portal and app
- You want unlimited e-signatures and proposals included in every plan
- You want IRS transcript downloads, which come with Pro
- You’re comfortable paying for a year or more upfront
Questions to ask on your demo
Both sell through a demo. Worth asking:
- Karbon: What will our e-signature volume cost in credits? Which of the features we need require Business? What does guided implementation cost?
- TaxDome: Which term is this quote for: one, two or three years? What happens if we need to leave early? Is the branded client app included?
Or Consider Tidyflow
If neither Karbon nor TaxDome is quite right (Karbon is email-first and TaxDome is annual-upfront), Tidyflow is the third option for growing firms.
Tidyflow is $39/user/month ($29/user/month billed annually), billed monthly or annually with no user minimum and no implementation fee. It includes job management, a client portal, invoicing with Stripe payments, proposals and engagement letters, unlimited standalone e-signatures, a shared inbox for Gmail, Microsoft 365 or IMAP, time tracking, and client requests with automated reminders. Ready-made tax organizers cover Forms 1040, 1120-S, 1065, 1120 and 1041. Pro adds conditional questions and document approvals; with connected online payments, an invoice-linked approval can block opening, downloading, approving or signing while payment is required. Compare the Pro plan when you need that handoff. Tidyflow Agent is included on every plan: an AI teammate you can assign a Job to or @mention in a comment, plus connectors so Claude, ChatGPT and other MCP tools can work inside your workspace. Tidyflow has no IRS transcript tools, and clients use its portal in a browser rather than an app.
| Feature | Karbon | TaxDome | Tidyflow |
|---|---|---|---|
| Starting price | $59/user/month billed annually ($79 monthly) | $800/user/year, annual upfront | $39/user/month ($29 billed annually) |
| Billing | Monthly needs 4+ users | Annual upfront, no refunds | Monthly or annual, no user minimum |
| Implementation fee | Packages; prices not published | Free self-serve, or paid from $999 | None |
| E-signatures | Credit-metered | Unlimited | Unlimited standalone signing |
| Proposals and engagement letters | Yes (Karbon Engagements) | Yes | Built in |
| Shared inbox | Triage (Gmail/Outlook), best in class | Yes | Gmail, Microsoft 365, IMAP (beta) |
| Tax organizers | Client requests | Organizers | 1040, 1120-S, 1065, 1120, 1041 included |
| Payment-locked document approvals | Not advertised | Yes | Yes |
| AI | Karbon AI; Kai in early access | Document tagging; agent announced | Tidyflow Agent on every plan |
| Free trial | Demo | Demo | 14 days, no credit card |
Best for: Growing accounting firms that want to run client work in one place, with monthly billing and setup in about a day, without the overhead of either Karbon or TaxDome. See the full Tidyflow vs Karbon and Tidyflow vs TaxDome comparisons, or TaxDome vs Canopy and Karbon vs Canopy.
Try Tidyflow free. No credit card required.
Frequently asked questions
Is Karbon or TaxDome cheaper?
For a 5-person firm on annual billing, Karbon Team costs $3,540 a year and TaxDome Pro costs $5,000, paid upfront. Karbon is cheaper on list price, but it sells e-signatures as credits, while TaxDome includes unlimited e-signatures on every plan. Prices were checked on each vendor’s site in September 2026.
Does TaxDome offer monthly billing?
No. TaxDome is priced per seat per year and billed upfront on one-, two- or three-year terms, and its refund policy says it does not give refunds. Firms on Pro can add monthly seats for short-term staff at $100 each.
Does Karbon include e-signatures?
Karbon includes e-signature sending, but you buy credits: 100 requests cost $100, down to 4,000 for $2,000. A request with identity checks uses two credits. Proposals and engagement letters sent through Karbon Engagements use none.
Which is better for a small firm, Karbon or TaxDome?
A solo practitioner can use TaxDome Essentials at $800 a year. Teams start on TaxDome Pro at $1,000 per seat a year. Karbon’s monthly billing needs at least four users. Email-heavy teams tend to suit Karbon, and portal-first tax firms tend to suit TaxDome.
Do Karbon and TaxDome have AI features?
Yes. As of September 2026, Karbon AI summarizes email threads and drafts replies, and its Kai coworker is in limited early access. TaxDome AI renames and tags uploaded documents, and TaxDome has announced an AI agent and Claude and ChatGPT connectors for fall 2026.
Can Karbon or TaxDome pull IRS transcripts?
TaxDome’s Pro and Business plans include an IRS integration that downloads transcripts to client accounts. Karbon has no IRS tools of its own; its TaxNow integration, a separate subscription, adds transcript checks and IRS notice alerts.
Do Karbon and TaxDome have mobile apps?
Yes. Karbon has iOS and Android apps on every plan, plus a client app. TaxDome has a firm app and a client app, and its client app is rated 4.9 from more than 40,000 ratings on the US App Store.
Sources
Checked on 24 September 2026:
- Karbon: pricing and plan comparison, implementation services, Kai, AI, client portal, security
- TaxDome: pricing (one-year tab), refund policy, TaxDome AI, onboarding
- App Store ratings: TaxDome client app, Karbon for Clients
