# Abstract API alternative: Veriport and Abstract API compared on price, evidence and VIES outages

Source: https://veriport.io/alternatives/abstract (published 2026-10-28)

Abstract API is a utility-API catalogue where VAT validation is one product among many; this page is for the developer who needs the same VIES validation at a lower or irregular volume, wants prepaid calls instead of a subscription, or wants the degraded path (dated cached answers when a member state is down) explicit in the response. Abstract API’s entry paid plan is Standard $99/mo; Veriport starts at 100 free calls a month, then $9 for 2,000 prepaid calls. Prices as published on 2026-10-28; check the vendor’s page before deciding.

- Abstract API: Standard $99/mo; $19.80 if the 60,000 requests are per year as one block says, $1.65 if per month as the other says per 1,000; free tier: 100 requests at 1 request a second.
- Abstract API when VIES is down: Not stated; VIES named as the primary source, « supplemented with additional data ». Data residency: Not stated (« global architecture », SOC 2 Type II).
- Veriport: 100 calls a month with a key, 20 a day without, no card, no expiry; $4.50 (2,000 pack) → $3.00 (plan) → $2.90 (10,000 pack); tax included; Yes: `requester` → `consultationNumber` on the paid tiers, live answers only.
- Veriport when VIES is down: The answer of the last 30 days, dated and marked `stale`; else a 503 that is not counted; a public per-member-state record. Functions and database in Paris, France (EU); publisher in the US.

## Price per 1,000 validations

Prices are what each vendor’s public page said on 2026-10-28 (linked in the sources); they exclude VAT where the vendor says so, and Veriport’s include it. Per-1,000 figures assume full use of the included volume. Nothing here is benchmarked: uptime, latency and support are not measured by us.

| Offer | Price | Included | Per 1,000 | Billing |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Abstract Free | $0 | 100 requests, 1 request/s | — | No card |
| Abstract Standard | $99 / month | 60,000 requests per year (or per month: the page shows both), 3 requests/s | $19.80 (per year) · $1.65 (per month) | Subscription, paid annually |
| Abstract Enterprise | custom | 99.99 % SLA, SSO, onboarding | — | Contract |
| **Veriport** free tier | $0 | 100 calls a month, 20 a day without a key | — | No card |
| **Veriport** 2,000 pack | $9 once | 2,000 calls, 12 months | $4.50 | Prepaid, no renewal |
| **Veriport** 10,000 pack | $29 once | 10,000 calls, 12 months | $2.90 | Prepaid, no renewal |
| **Veriport** monthly plan | $15 / month | 5,000 calls + bulk | $3.00 | Subscription, cancel any time |

## What is different, honestly

**Abstract API has more:** a catalogue of adjacent APIs under one key (e-mail, phone, IP, exchange rates), SOC 2 Type II, and an Enterprise tier with SSO and an account manager. **Veriport has less, on purpose:** deterministic endpoints, an OpenAPI document, prepaid calls that do not renew, and a response that states its own provenance (`live`, `cache` with `stale`, `structure_only`) so your code decides. The VAT rates table, the IBAN check and the French company registry come in the same call budget, which matters to a billing system that needs all of them. **What neither can do:** make VIES available. When a member state is down, Abstract API’s page says: not stated; VIES named as the primary source, « supplemented with additional data ». Veriport serves the answer it obtained for the same number in the last 30 days, dated and marked stale, never attaches a consultation number it did not obtain live, and publishes the [per-member-state record](/vies-status).

## Consultation numbers and evidence

Abstract API: not mentioned. Veriport: pass your own VAT number as `requester` on a prepaid pack or the plan and the live answer carries `consultationNumber`, the reference tax administrations ask for; every answer carries `requestDate`, `source.kind` and `source.checkedAt`, so a stored row says what was checked, when, and against what.

## When to pick which

Pick **Abstract API** when you want several utility APIs from one vendor with an enterprise contract, or your legal team needs the SOC 2 report more than the provenance of each answer. Pick **Veriport** when you want to pay for what you use (a few hundred validations a quarter is the common case for a small SaaS), need rates, IBAN and French company data in the same call budget, or want the degraded path explicit and documented. The [roundup](/alternatives/eu-vat-validation-apis-compared) puts Vatstack, vatlayer (apilayer), VATSense, vatcheckapi, VIES API (viesapi.eu), Stripe Tax in the same table.

## Questions

### Is migrating from Abstract API hard?

The response shapes differ; the fields you use (valid, name, address, the consultation number where the vendor returns one) exist in both. Budget an hour for a small integration. Keep your history: consultation numbers are evidence regardless of who obtained them.

### Where do these prices come from?

Abstract API’s public page on 2026-10-28, linked in the sources below, and our own price table. We do not resell or benchmark their uptime; the VIES availability we publish is the Commission’s own status, measured by us.

### Which is cheaper?

Below 100 checks a month, both are free. Between a few hundred and 2,000 a month, a prepaid pack is cheaper than any subscription that renews whether you use it or not. Above 10,000 a month every month, compare Abstract API’s larger tiers with the monthly plan; the roundup has the figures.

## Read next

- [EU VAT validation APIs compared (2026)](https://veriport.io/alternatives/eu-vat-validation-apis-compared)
- [EU VAT number validation API (VIES)](https://veriport.io/vat-validation-api)
- [Reference: GET /vat/validate](https://veriport.io/docs/vat-validation)
- [Is VIES down? Availability by member state](https://veriport.io/vies-status)
- [Vatstack alternative](https://veriport.io/alternatives/vatstack)
- [vatlayer (apilayer) alternative](https://veriport.io/alternatives/vatlayer)
- [VATSense alternative](https://veriport.io/alternatives/vatsense)

## Sources

- Abstract API — VAT Validation & Rates API: Free 100 requests (1 request/s), Standard $99/month (3 requests/s; the quota is shown as 60,000 per year in one block and 60,000 per month in another), Enterprise custom (99.99 % SLA); VIES as primary source; no consultation number, hosting region not stated — https://www.abstractapi.com/vat-validation-rates-api (2026-10-28)
- VIES REST API — check-vat-number, check-status (technical information) — https://ec.europa.eu/taxation_customs/vies/#/technical-information (2026-10-24)
- VIES — help page: what the consultation number proves, member-state availability — https://ec.europa.eu/taxation_customs/vies/#/help (2026-10-24)