Disclosure First
We have affiliate relationships with both companies in this comparison. Koinly pays a commission of 20–40% plus a recurring share on renewals. CoinTracking pays 20% for the lifetime of a referred account. We earn whichever you choose, so the commission doesn’t decide which one we recommend — and for some readers, we’ll recommend neither.
Why Security Belongs in a Tax Software Review
Crypto tax software works by seeing everything: every exchange account, every wallet address, every trade, all tied to your real name. That’s what makes it useful. It also makes it one of the most sensitive accounts you will ever create.
A single wallet address is public, but anyone can see its balance. What’s valuable is the link between that address and you — and a tax tool holds that link for every address and account you own.
2026 showed why this matters. A breach at the French crypto tax service Waltio reportedly exposed data on about 50,000 users, in the same year investigators linked leaked holder data to a wave of physical attacks in France. Related: Your Data Is the Attack Surface: How Breaches, KYC and Tax Records Make You a Target Even email lists are targets: in December 2022, CoinTracker (a different company from CoinTracking) had the email addresses of more than 1.5 million customers exposed through a compromise at its email provider, SendGrid.
So this comparison covers price and features — and then what each company does with the most sensitive data you have.
At a Glance
| Koinly | CoinTracking | |
|---|---|---|
| Best for | Simplicity, many integrations, one tax year at a time | EU and Dutch users, catching up on several years, power users |
| Free plan | Tracks up to 10,000 transactions; no downloadable tax reports | Up to 200 transactions, including imports and exchange API |
| Entry plan | $49 per tax year (~100 transactions) | Starter: $49/year (200 transactions) |
| Mid plans | Hodler $99 (~1,000); Trader from $199 (~3,000) | Pro: $169/year (3,500) |
| Top plans | Add-ons up to 100,000 transactions | Expert S $259 (20,000), M $349 (50,000), L $459 (100,000); Unlimited $899 |
| How the licence works | You pay separately for each tax year you need reports for | 1-year, 2-year or lifetime licences; one licence covers every tax year in the account |
| Integrations | 1,000+ advertised | 400+ dedicated |
| Country coverage | 140+ countries | 22 country-specific tax reports |
| Netherlands report | None listed among specialised reports | Dedicated Netherlands report |
| DeFi and NFTs | Supported, plus margin trading | Supported |
| Certifications | SOC 2 and ISO 27001 | ISO/IEC 27001; GDPR requirements |
| Where data is hosted | Mostly AWS facilities in the US | EU servers |
| API connections | Read-only API and OAuth | Read-only; API secrets encrypted |
| Founded | 2019 | Germany, 2012 |
Source: Coin Bureau comparison, last updated 30 September 2026. Prices are in US dollars; local prices and plan names can differ. Check current terms on each company’s own site before buying.
Price: Watch the Multi-Year Trap
The biggest cost difference isn’t the headline price. It’s how each tool charges for multiple tax years.
- Koinly charges per tax year. If you need reports for 2024, 2025 and 2026, you pay for three years.
- CoinTracking licenses the account, and one licence covers every tax year in it.
Coin Bureau’s example: three years of roughly 1,000 transactions each cost $169 with CoinTracking Pro, against about $297 with Koinly.
This matters more than usual right now. DAC8 means EU tax authorities start receiving platform data in 2027, and many holders want to tidy up several past years at once. Related: The First DAC8 Reporting Year Closes in December — What EU Crypto Holders Need to Do Now If that’s you, CoinTracking’s licence model is usually cheaper.
If you only ever need the current year, the two cost about the same at the low end.
Count your transactions before you buy. DeFi activity, airdropped spam tokens and small staking rewards inflate counts quickly, and a plan that’s too small means an upgrade mid-filing. Both tools show your count once you’ve imported your data.
For Dutch and EU Users
The Netherlands
Dutch Box 3 taxes a deemed return on what you hold on 1 January, so the core requirement is simple: an accurate euro value for every holding on 1 January. Software becomes more valuable if you want to use the actual-return rule (tegenbewijsregeling), which needs a documented record of your real return over the whole year. Related: Crypto and Dutch Tax: How Box 3 Works — and Why 1 January Matters
- CoinTracking offers a dedicated Netherlands report.
- Koinly doesn’t list a Dutch report among its specialised reports, but provides balances and portfolio history you can use.
If you hold crypto on one exchange and don’t use DeFi, you may not need either. Your exchange’s 1 January statement may be all the Box 3 calculation requires. Pay for software when you have several platforms, self-custody wallets, staking or DeFi, or when you plan to claim the actual-return rule.
Elsewhere in the EU
Countries that tax realised gains need a calculation for every disposal, including crypto-to-crypto swaps. Here software is close to essential if you trade at all. CoinTracking’s 22 country-specific reports and Koinly’s broad country coverage both handle the common EU methods. Check that your country’s report exists before you pay.
Security: The Part Most Reviews Skip
What you hand over
Tax software needs your identity, your exchange accounts (by API key or file upload), and your wallet addresses. Together, these are a complete map of what you own and where it sits.
How the two compare
- Certifications: both hold ISO 27001, and Koinly also has SOC 2. These show that security processes have been audited. They don’t guarantee nothing will go wrong.
- Data location: CoinTracking keeps data on EU servers. Koinly’s data is mostly hosted in the US on AWS. Both should give you GDPR terms, so read them if this matters to you.
- Two-factor login: CoinTracking supports two-factor authentication natively. Coin Bureau’s comparison didn’t state Koinly’s position. Check your account security settings, and turn on two-factor login with an authenticator app whichever tool you use.
- Exchange connections: both use read-only connections. A read-only key can see your history but can’t trade or withdraw.
Rules whichever tool you pick
- Read-only API keys only. When you create a key on an exchange, tick “read” and nothing else. Never enable trading or withdrawal permissions for a tax tool.
- Restrict keys to IP addresses if your exchange supports it.
- Delete API keys for exchanges you no longer use, both on the exchange and in the tax tool.
- Use file uploads (CSV) for closed accounts instead of leaving a live connection.
- Use a dedicated email address and a unique password for the tax account, with two-factor login on an authenticator app, not SMS.
- Keep your own offline copies of exports and reports, so you’re not dependent on the service being available, or being honest about what’s stored.
- Close accounts you no longer need and ask for your data to be deleted under GDPR, once you have kept the records you need for the tax authorities.
If your tax tool is ever breached
- Expect targeted phishing: “your tax report needs verification”, “confirm your account to avoid penalties”.
- Revoke every API key the tool held, and create new ones if you continue.
- Treat your home address as exposed, and read Related: Crypto Has Gone Physical: Wrench Attacks, Home Invasions, and What European Holders Should Do.
Don’t confuse the names. CoinTracking, CoinTracker and CoinLedger are three different companies. Phishing sites rely on that confusion. Type the address yourself.
Features and Accuracy
Both tools handle the core jobs: importing from exchanges and wallets, matching transfers between your own accounts, and calculating gains under standard methods. Both support DeFi and NFTs, and Koinly also handles margin trading.
The integration numbers (Koinly’s 1,000+ against CoinTracking’s 400+) aren’t directly comparable, because each company counts differently. Check that the specific exchanges and chains you use are supported.
Accuracy depends on clean data, not the brand. The most common errors are the same in both:
- Transfers between your own wallets miscounted as sales
- Missing purchase prices, so a cost of zero inflates gains
- Duplicate imports from overlapping files and API connections
- Spam tokens assigned fake values
Budget time to review flagged transactions. Software does most of the work, but not all of it.
Which Should You Choose?
| Your situation | Our pick |
|---|---|
| Dutch resident: several platforms, or planning to use the actual-return rule | CoinTracking — Netherlands report, EU hosting, one licence for every year |
| Catching up on several past years before DAC8 data arrives | CoinTracking — usually cheaper across multiple years |
| Many platforms and chains; you want the simplest experience | Koinly — broad integrations, easy to use |
| Filing one year at a time in a country with realised-gains tax | Either — compare on your exchanges and transaction count |
| Dutch, one exchange, no DeFi | Possibly neither — your exchange’s 1 January statement may be enough |
Disclosure: TrueToCrypto earns a commission if you subscribe through these links, at no additional cost to you.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can tax software move my crypto?
Not with a read-only key, which only allows the tool to read your history. Never give a tax tool a key with trading or withdrawal rights.
Is the free plan enough?
Koinly’s free plan tracks up to 10,000 transactions but doesn’t let you download tax reports. CoinTracking’s free plan covers up to 200 transactions. Both let you see whether the tool handles your data before you pay.
Do I need tax software because of DAC8?
No — DAC8 obliges platforms to report, not you to buy software. But software makes it much easier to check your own records against what platforms report.
Can I switch tools later?
Yes. Both accept file imports, so keep your own exports and you can move between them.
Is my data safer with an EU-hosted service?
EU hosting puts your data under EU rules by default. Security still depends on the company’s practices, and on yours: dedicated email, two-factor login, read-only keys.
The Bottom Line
On price and features, the choice is fairly clear. CoinTracking suits Dutch and EU users and anyone catching up on several years. Koinly suits people who want the simplest experience and file one year at a time.
On security, the tool matters less than how you use it. Read-only keys only, a dedicated email, two-factor login on an authenticator app, offline copies of your records — and an account you close when you no longer need it.
And if you’re Dutch with a single exchange and no DeFi, check whether you need either before you pay.
Transparency: TrueToCrypto has affiliate relationships with both Koinly and CoinTracking and earns a commission if you subscribe through our links. This article is educational and is not tax advice. Confirm your obligations with your tax authority or a qualified adviser.
Contact: info@truetocrypto.com
Prices, features and certifications from Coin Bureau’s comparison, updated 30 September 2026; verify on each vendor’s site. CoinTracker breach details from Have I Been Pwned. Waltio breach from Cointelegraph reporting, August 2026. Verified October 2026.
