CoinLedger Review: The Simplest Crypto Tax Software for a US Filer With a Modest History
CoinLedger lets you import everything free and pay only for the report: $49 up to 100 transactions, $99 up to 1,000, $199 and up beyond. We check where the simple pitch holds and where DeFi breaks it.
The verdict
CoinLedger is the easiest crypto tax tool we reviewed for a US filer with a modest history. Importing is free, you pay only when you download a report, and Form 8949 exports go straight into TurboTax, H&R Block and TaxAct. It does not remove the hard work: DeFi, bridges and missing cost basis still need your attention. Heavy traders face $199 or more.
Best for US filers with a few hundred to a few thousand transactions and simple needs
Pros
- Free imports and portfolio tracking, so you see the gain before paying
- One-time price per tax year: $49, $99 or $199 and up by transaction count
- Produces IRS Form 8949, Schedule D and an audit trail report
- Exports to TurboTax, H&R Block, TaxAct and TaxSlayer
- 14 day money back guarantee and chat support on every plan
Cons
- The $49 plan stops at 100 transactions, which an active trader passes in a month
- Heavy DeFi, liquidity pools and bridges still get mislabelled and need manual fixes
- Cost is higher than some rivals once you pass 1,000 transactions
- It prepares reports but does not file your return or give tax advice
- Non-US coverage is narrower than tools built for several countries
Crypto tax software sells one promise: the pile of exports on your hard drive turns into a form your accountant will accept. CoinLedger keeps that promise better than most for a certain kind of reader, and fails at it in a predictable place. We spent our time on both.
Pay at the end, not at the start
The pricing model is the best thing about CoinLedger. Connecting exchanges and wallets is free, the portfolio view is free and you can see your gains and losses before you pay a cent. You only pay to download the report, and it is a one-time purchase per tax year, not a subscription.
On the pricing page the three tiers are Hobbyist at $49 for up to 100 transactions, Investor at $99 for up to 1,000 and Pro from $199 for 3,000 or more. Every paid plan includes the same features, so the only question is how many transactions you have. All plans also carry a 14 day money back guarantee.
Count carefully before you pick. A hundred transactions disappear fast: a monthly recurring buy on two exchanges, a few swaps and some staking rewards can pass it. Some third-party reviews quote different bands, so rely on the page itself, which is what we used here.
What comes out
The paid report set covers the IRS Form 8949, Schedule D, an income report and an audit trail, with a tax loss harvesting report and cost basis breakdown on the report page. The audit trail is what an accountant will want, since it shows the numbers used at each step. Cost basis methods include FIFO, LIFO and adjusted cost.
Exports go to TurboTax, H&R Block, TaxAct and TaxSlayer, and the homepage advertises an Official TurboTax Partner badge. For a US reader the path is short: import, review, export, upload. The UK, Canada, Australia and New Zealand are covered too, though the product is clearly built around US forms first.
There is a free calculator too, useful for a rough estimate of a single trade's tax before you commit.
Where the simple story gets complicated
Importing from a major exchange via API or CSV is the easy part. The trouble starts with anything on-chain. The DeFi page claims support for hundreds of blockchains and protocols and says the software "detects missing cost basis and transaction errors automatically". We believe the detection works: it flags gaps rather than quietly assuming zero. But detection is not correction.
Independent comparisons agree on the pattern. One summary notes that neither CoinLedger nor CoinTracker fully automates DeFi: liquidity pools, staking and bridged tokens get mislabelled and change your tax if left uncorrected. The error reconciliation tool shows what needs fixing, but you still decide what a bridge transfer was. Someone who has lived in DeFi for two years should budget hours, not minutes, whatever the tool says.
The homepage calls the process "done in minutes", and for an account with one exchange and no on-chain activity that is fair. For anything else, read it as "started in minutes".
How it compares
Against Koinly and CoinTracker, which we have also reviewed, CoinLedger wins on straight US simplicity and on telling you early that data is missing. It does not win on price at the high end, where $199 and up is a lot for a hobby. Koinly suits readers who file in several countries. CoinTracker suits those who want a tracker they use every day. CoinLedger suits those who open it once a year.
Support is chat-based and the site shows a rating of 4.7 from more than 1,200 reviews, with Trustpilot coverage in the same range. Review sites of this kind skew positive, so take the number as a floor for service, not proof of accuracy.
Verdict
Choose CoinLedger if you are a US filer with a modest history, mostly on centralized exchanges, who wants a clear price, a free preview and a form your preparer will take. Look elsewhere if you have hundreds of DeFi positions, file in several countries or trade so often that the plan ceiling hits you. None of this is tax advice: the tool prepares reports, and you or a qualified preparer remain responsible for the return.
Specifications
- Maker
- CoinLedger
- Free tier
- Unlimited wallet and exchange syncs, portfolio tracking
- Hobbyist
- $49 per tax year, up to 100 transactions
- Investor
- $99 per tax year, up to 1,000 transactions
- Pro
- $199+ per tax year, 3,000+ transactions
- Integrations
- 1,000+ exchanges, wallets and chains; 20,000+ coins
- Reports
- IRS Form 8949, Schedule D, income report, audit trail, tax loss harvesting
- Cost basis methods
- FIFO, LIFO, adjusted cost and others
- Countries
- US, UK, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and more
- Refund
- 14 day money back guarantee
As published by CoinLedger when we tested it.
