vatfree.com vs Kaedo
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
vatfree.com
This app helps international travelers claim Value Added Tax (VAT) refunds on their purchases within the European Union. It simplifies the process, aims to secure the highest possible refund, and ensures you receive money you're entitled to.
- Claim VAT refunds on EU shopping
- Maximize refund amount
- Simplified refund process
- Online shopping VAT refund
- Tax-free shopping guide
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Thanks to a special EU-regulation, international travelers can claim the Value Added Tax paid over goods they have bought in the EU. We will help you get a VAT refund on your shopping in the European Union, even if you shop online. We make it easy, we ensure you get the highest refund possible and are here to help you claim what’s yours. We think it’s a shame that millions of euro are left unclaimed each year. Money which could be reinvested in yourself, in others or in the world. Why Vatfree.com? The Highest Refund Keep your receipts and save up to 25% on your shopping made in the EU. Rates differ per country. Refund of VAT is only possible when shopping at partner- and participating shops as EU regulation does not legally obligate shops to participate. Find a full list of participating stores in our taxfree shopping guide or in the vatfree.com mobile app. The Most Transparent We offer an inclusive service, every merchant or shop is welcome to join. Offering our tax-free shopping service next to other refund partners will give you more choice as we are the fastest growing mobile option with the highest refund guaranteed to the most diverse traveler groups. The most common feedback we get from travelers is that they feel uncomfortable being subjected to high fees for claiming back Value Added Tax they are entitled to. Especially after having to go through so much effort to arrange the refund. We get that. The regulation states that when exporting goods to a non-EU country, you do not have to pay VAT. For travelers to claim back the initial paid VAT, they have to stand in line at Customs, before flying back home, to get proof of the export. Quite stressful, time-consuming and sometimes leads to missing out if queues are long and you have to catch a plane. Once the stamp is collected, the only way to claim back VAT is to contact the shop. If the shop is unwilling to cooperate, charges high fees (with or without a tax-free partner) or just takes a long time to process it all, disappointing to say at least. Traditional tax-free companies charge fees varying from 35% to 60% of the VAT amount and are only an option if shops are affiliated. We decided to use modern technology to create an open platform for all shops to easily join, without necessary contracts, and to minimize costs so that we can continue to offer the highest possible refund. Our service fee starts at €2,50 per receipt with a maximum of €80. With this, we help travelers ánd stores as we believe a happy customer is a customer for life. Our mission is to help travelers easily shop tax-free at stores and brands that love them back. The Best in Mobile With airports requesting travelers to show up at least three hours before their flight, and safety procedures taking up a lot of time, most travelers have little time left to arrange to get a Customs validation stamp on their receipts. Standing in line at Customs may take up to half an hour or more. Being required to then stand in line at a desk for a cash refund, can increase the time of this entire process to an hour or more. Time is sparse so we built the first-ever tax-free shopping app in 2016, so travelers can finalize refund claims once they find a spare moment, on the plane home or in the comfort of their own house. The Most Diverse We are the first and only tax-free shopping service founded by travelers, specifically for travelers, with the main focus on travelers’ needs. Our service, therefore, ranges from helping a range of travelers from tourists, cruise passengers, military staff, expats and international students. We also are able to help travelers get back VAT over shopping made online, offline, cross-border, over purchases charged with low as well as high VAT rates at shops that are either listed in our shopping guide as well as not listed and new to us.
Kaedo
Coordinate group trips seamlessly by picking dates, managing RSVPs, and splitting costs. This app centralizes all trip details, from plans and packing lists to photos and polls, making group organization effortless.
- Group date selection
- RSVP management
- Cost splitting and receipt scanning
- Centralized trip planning
- Packing lists and gear claiming
- Polls and inspiration boards
- Shared photo album
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Kaedo is where the whole crew plans the trip together. Fantasy league weekend, bachelor party, lake trip, birthday dinner — someone always ends up herding everyone. Kaedo is their tool, and it makes the whole group better at showing up. PICK A DATE PEOPLE CAN ACTUALLY MAKE Offer a few dates (or whole weekends) and let everyone paint their availability — works, maybe, can't, or "part of it." Lock the winner and RSVPs open automatically. KNOW WHO'S IN RSVPs that stay honest, a roster that shows who's arriving late or leaving early, and gentle reminders for the crew members who never answer the group text. You pick the tone — polite, passive-aggressive, or feral. SPLIT COSTS WITHOUT BEING WEIRD ABOUT IT Add what things cost and Kaedo does the math to the penny. Snap a receipt and it reads the line items so everyone can tap what they had. When it's time to settle up, Kaedo opens Venmo, Cash App, or PayPal with the details filled in — money moves in the apps you already use, never through Kaedo. ONE PLACE FOR THE TRIP The plan (with real places, directions, and the weather for your dates), the packing list, group gear claiming, polls for the decisions that need deciding, an inspiration board so everyone shows up dressed right, and a shared photo album so the good shots don't die in the group chat. FIND THE GOOD STUFF Browse the trip's city — restaurants, nightlife, parks, and live events with real ratings and showtimes — and drop anything into the plan with one tap. A GROUP CHAT THAT PULLS ITS WEIGHT Reactions, replies, photos — and the trip narrates itself into the conversation as costs land and plans firm up. THEN IT'S A WRAP After the trip, Kaedo wraps it: the crew, the damage, the photos. Invite anyone with a link — friends without the app can RSVP, vote on dates, and claim their receipt items right from the browser. Organizing the crew is a thankless job. Kaedo at least makes it an easy one.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is review sentiment: Kaedo at 100% against vatfree.com's 43%. Kaedo also leads on update cadence (every 2 days vs every 2 months) and monetization model (free vs free with in-app purchases). vatfree.com's advantage is ratings volume (887 vs 3). On price, ads, in-app purchases and device support there is nothing between them.
Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS
Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
Kaedo holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.7. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: vatfree.com has 887 ratings behind it against 3, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 43% of vatfree.com's written reviews are positive against 100% of Kaedo's.
vatfree.com ships an update every 2 months, Kaedo every 2 days. The most recent releases landed on October 23, 2026 and October 21, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | vatfree.com | Kaedo |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.7 (887 ratings) | 5.0 (3 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 42.9% of reviews | 100.0% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 887 — better | 3 |
| Update frequency | Every 2 months | Every 2 days — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free — better |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better | iPhone, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 15.0 | 15.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 27 MB | 62 MB |
| Age rating | 17+ | 4+ |
| Developer | VATfree NL B.V. | Tyler Garvin |
Customer experience
vatfree.com
Kaedo
Bugs and requests
vatfree.com
Reported bugs
3 issues- App crashes when trying to upload photos
- Receipts get rejected for minor issues
- Unable to complete the refund process
Requested features
4 requests- Debit/credit card refund option
- Improved app stability and performance
- Faster processing and payout times
- More transparent fee structure
Kaedo
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
vatfree.com
No in-app purchases
Kaedo
No in-app purchases









