Days in State vs TaxDay: Which State Tracking App Is Better?

If you split your time between multiple states, tracking your days of presence is essential for tax compliance. Two of the most prominent apps in this space are Days in State and TaxDay. Both use GPS to log which states you visit each day, but they take very different approaches to privacy, pricing, and feature sets.

This is a transparent comparison. We built Days in State, so we obviously have a bias. But we also believe in giving people the information they need to make the right choice for their situation. We'll cover where Days in State wins, where TaxDay wins, and where it comes down to personal preference.

1. Overview

Days in State is an iOS app built by Best Day Labs that automatically tracks which US states you visit each day using GPS. It's designed around a privacy-first architecture: all location data stays on your device. The app also offers a suite of six free web-based tax calculators and tools.

TaxDay is a cross-platform state tracking app that's been on the market longer and has earned press coverage from outlets including the Wall Street Journal and Forbes. It uses cloud-based syncing to provide access across devices, including a web dashboard. TaxDay is available on iOS, Android, and the web.

2. Privacy & Data Storage

This is the biggest philosophical difference between the two apps.

Days in State processes and stores all location data on your iPhone. Your GPS coordinates, state crossing history, and day counts never leave your device. There's no cloud server holding your travel patterns, no account to hack, and no data to subpoena. If you lose your phone, your data goes with it (which is a tradeoff, but one that eliminates a class of privacy risk entirely).

TaxDay syncs location data to cloud servers. This enables useful features like multi-device access and a web dashboard where you can review your history from a computer. But it means your detailed travel history lives on external servers, subject to that company's data retention and security practices.

Winner: Days in State for privacy. TaxDay's cloud approach is a reasonable tradeoff if you value multi-device sync, but for users who prioritize keeping sensitive location data under their own control, the on-device approach is clearly stronger.

3. Pricing

Both apps use a subscription model, but the price points differ significantly:

Plan	Days in State	TaxDay
Monthly	$4.99/mo	$9.99/mo
Annual	$19.99/yr	$79.99/yr
Lifetime	$39.99 one-time	Not available

Days in State is roughly 50% cheaper on monthly plans and 75% cheaper annually. The lifetime option at $39.99 is particularly compelling for long-term users: it pays for itself after 8 months compared to the monthly plan and costs less than a single year of TaxDay's annual subscription.

Winner: Days in State on pricing. The gap is substantial at every tier, and the lifetime purchase option eliminates subscription fatigue for users who know they'll need tracking for years to come.

4. Features & Free Tools

Both apps cover the core use case well: automatic GPS-based state tracking with daily presence logs and running day counts. Beyond that core, the apps diverge.

Days in State Exclusive Features

• Free tools suite: Six web-based calculators available to everyone at no cost, including a State Residency Day Calculator, 183-Day Threshold Tracker, Audit Risk Assessment, Tax Savings Calculator, Snowbird Day Calculator, and State Residency Rules Lookup
• On-device processing: No network dependency for core tracking
• Educational blog: In-depth guides on multi-state tax topics like the 183-day rule and proving state residency

TaxDay Exclusive Features

• Web dashboard: Review your data from a computer browser
• Multi-device sync: Access your history across phones, tablets, and desktop
• PDF reports: Generate reports formatted for tax professionals
• Manual day editing: Override GPS-detected days for corrections

Both apps handle the fundamentals. The difference is in the extras: Days in State gives you free tools and resources outside the app; TaxDay gives you cross-device access and reporting features.

Winner: Tie. It depends on whether you value free tools and educational resources (Days in State) or cross-device sync and PDF reporting (TaxDay).

5. Platform Support

This is where TaxDay has a clear advantage.

TaxDay is available on iOS, Android, and the web. If you use an Android phone, or if you want to check your day counts from a laptop, TaxDay supports that workflow out of the box.

Days in State is currently iOS only. It requires an iPhone running iOS 17.0 or later. There's no Android app and no web dashboard.

Winner: TaxDay. If you're an iPhone user, this doesn't matter. If you use Android or need multi-device access, TaxDay is the only option of the two.

6. Brand & Reputation

TaxDay has been on the market longer and has earned media coverage from notable publications including the Wall Street Journal and Forbes. This established presence gives it credibility that newer apps haven't yet matched, and it means TaxDay has a larger user base with more historical reviews.

Days in State is a newer entrant from Best Day Labs. While it's building a strong reputation through its free tools and privacy-first approach, it doesn't yet have the media profile that TaxDay has developed over time.

Winner: TaxDay on established reputation. This advantage will naturally diminish as Days in State matures, but for users who want the reassurance of an established brand, TaxDay has the edge today.

7. Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature	Days in State	TaxDay
GPS Auto-Tracking	Yes	Yes
Data Storage	On-device only More Private	Cloud-based
Monthly Price	$4.99/mo Lower	$9.99/mo
Annual Price	$19.99/yr Lower	$79.99/yr
Lifetime Option	$39.99 Available	Not offered
Free Tax Tools	6 calculators Included	None
iOS Support	Yes	Yes
Android Support	No	Yes Available
Web Dashboard	No	Yes Available
Multi-Device Sync	No	Yes Available
Press Coverage	Growing	WSJ, Forbes Established

8. The Bottom Line

Choose Days in State if:

• Privacy is a top priority and you want location data to stay on your device
• You want to pay less (up to 75% less annually)
• You prefer a one-time lifetime purchase over recurring subscriptions
• You'd benefit from free tax calculators and educational resources
• You use an iPhone

Choose TaxDay if:

• You use an Android phone
• You need to access your data from multiple devices or a web browser
• You want an app with established press coverage and a longer track record
• You need PDF report generation for your tax professional

Both apps solve the same fundamental problem: making sure you have an accurate, automated record of which states you've been in. The right choice depends on which tradeoffs matter most to you. For iPhone users who care about privacy and value, Days in State is the stronger option. For Android users or people who need cross-device workflows, TaxDay is the way to go.