ClearBasis vs CoinTracking
Long-horizon traders with a decade of history who want to own their licence outright and pull data out programmatically. We are a different shape of product: narrower today, and built so that every number can be traced to the record it came from. Below is what they do better, where we differ, and a table where each figure is the one the vendor published, linked to the page it came from.
What CoinTracking does better
Starting anywhere else would waste your time.
- A public, documented read-only API returning trades, ledger and computed gains — the only genuine programmatic exit among the mainstream tools.
- Lifetime licences on every tier, which removes the risk of being locked out of historical years when a subscription lapses.
- Fourteen years of continuous operation and the most substantial, most transparently priced done-for-you service ($1,099–$2,799, or $439 per hour, stated as not outsourced).
Where we are different
Every figure carries its evidence. Every figure links to the row it came from — source file, row number, tx hash, price source. Rulesets are versioned and dated (2026.08-r1) and the methodology memos (M-001…) are published, not internal.
The answer is free; the paperwork is paid. Everything computed and visible — true gain, the blank-basis overstatement, per-lot detail in preview, gaps and decisions. Payment unlocks the documents (Form 8949, workpapers, exports); nothing about the answer is hidden to sell the answer.
Your basis is portable by design. Basis Passport: your full evidence-linked basis history as a signed, versioned JSON file, free from any saved scan even if you never pay. The spec is public and anyone — including these competitors — may implement it.
Dead platforms are the specialty. Dead-platform rebuild is the specialty: FTX, Celsius, Cryptopia, Mt. Gox and others, reconstructed from what survives, with the gaps shown rather than filled in.
Side by side
| ClearBasis | CoinTracking | |
|---|---|---|
| What you get without paying | Everything computed and visible — true gain, the blank-basis overstatement, per-lot detail in preview, gaps and decisions. Payment unlocks the documents (Form 8949, workpapers, exports); nothing about the answer is hidden to sell the answer. | Their pricing page says portfolio view only; their own support desk article says the free plan allows 200 transactions. The two vendor sources conflict — we report the conflict rather than pick one. |
| Price at ~1,000 transactions | $99 per tax-year bundle (≤1,000 tx) | $169/yr (Pro, ≤3,500 tx) — the tier below is $49/yr for 200 tx |
| Above that | $249 (≤5,000 tx) · $399 (≤15,000) · $649 (≤50,000) | $169/yr (Pro, ≤3,500) · $259 (20,000) · $349 (50,000) · $459 (100,000) · $899 (unlimited); lifetime licences from $249 to $7,199 |
| Connections | 13 auto-detected CSV formats today, including the 1099-DA itself and migration files from Koinly, CoinTracker, CoinLedger and CoinTracking. Read-only API and on-chain sync are not live yet — that is the honest gap. | Broad exchange and wallet coverage via API and CSV, plus a documented read-only API of their own. |
| Country depth | Three deep country guides (Latvia, Estonia, Lithuania) in five languages plus a global hub; US federal throughout. | Many jurisdictions with configurable methods; report styles vary by country. |
| Documents produced | Form 8949 (PDF + CSV), evidence workpapers, TurboTax CSV, TXF — opening with payments. | Form 8949 and a wide set of configurable reports; export formats are extensive. |
| Evidence behind each figure | Every figure links to the row it came from — source file, row number, tx hash, price source. Rulesets are versioned and dated (2026.08-r1) and the methodology memos (M-001…) are published, not internal. | Extensive reporting and a documented API, but no published methodology document, no versioned ruleset and no per-figure statutory citation. |
| Getting your data out | Basis Passport: your full evidence-linked basis history as a signed, versioned JSON file, free from any saved scan even if you never pay. The spec is public and anyone — including these competitors — may implement it. | The strongest programmatic export of the group, via their documented read-only API. |
| Dead platforms | Dead-platform rebuild is the specialty: FTX, Celsius, Cryptopia, Mt. Gox and others, reconstructed from what survives, with the gaps shown rather than filled in. | Not a stated specialty. |
| Support model | Self-serve; no sales calls. Practitioner tier (Workbench) is self-serve too. | Ticket support; done-for-you service at $1,099–$2,799 or $439/hour. |
CoinTracking figures from their own pricing page, checked 2026-08-23.
Which one should you actually use?
Choose CoinTracking if you need dozens of exchanges connected by API today, or a statutory form for a country we have not built yet. We would rather tell you that than take your money for a worse fit.
Choose ClearBasis if your problem is missing cost basis — transferred-in coins, a dead exchange, a decade of history, or a 1099-DA that reads your whole sale as profit — and you need every figure to survive a question from a tax authority, with the evidence attached.
Use both if it helps. Their export imports here directly, and our Basis Passport is an open format anyone can read — including them. Switching costs are a business model, not a law of nature.
Other comparisons
ClearBasis vs Koinly · ClearBasis vs CoinTracker · ClearBasis vs CoinLedger · ClearBasis vs Blockpit
compare-2026.1 · figures checked 2026-08-23 · CoinTracking are trademarks of their respective owners; ClearBasis is not affiliated with, endorsed by or sponsored by any of them. Competitor figures are what each vendor published on its own site on the date shown and change without notice — follow the links and check before deciding. Where a vendor does not publish a figure in machine-readable form we say so rather than estimate it. ClearBasis is tax software, not a law firm, accounting firm or tax preparer.