# Stretch vs TaxBird

> TaxBird counts US state, province and NYC residency days at $39.99 a year. Stretch counts visa and tax days for every country, free underneath. Aug 2026.

Source: https://doastretch.com/compare/stretch-vs-taxbird/

Comparison · Tax-residency day trackers · 2026

TaxBird is the snowbird's residency tracker — US states, Canadian provinces, New York City — at $4.99 a month or $39.99 a year. Stretch counts visa days and tax days for every country on your passports, with no account and a free counter underneath. Here is how I would choose.

By David Toniolo, Do a Stretch · Updated 2026-08-29 · Prices and facts checked 2026-08-17 · 8 min read

## Who each one is for

Pick TaxBird if your year is two homes in North America and the number that matters is 183 — days in Florida against days in New York. Pick Stretch if you cross a border with a day limit on it, because there is a visa clock running next to the tax clock and TaxBird does not count it.

**Start with [how tax-residency days are counted →](https://doastretch.com/tax-days/).** Both apps count days; neither decides where you are resident.

## TL;DR

| Feature | Stretch | TaxBird | Winner |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| What it counts | Visa days and tax days, every country | Days present, per country, state or province | **Stretch** |
| States and provinces | Countries only | US states, Canadian provinces, New York City | TaxBird |
| Price | Free counter; Stretch+ $49.99/yr or $149 once | $4.99/mo or $39.99/yr; no free tier | Split |
| Account and server | None at all | Email account; history on their servers | **Stretch** |
| Auto-logging | On-device GPS; you confirm each border | Background "Always" location | **Stretch** |
| Where the rules come from | Source and checked date on every rule | You type the thresholds in | **Stretch** |
| Documents | E-visas on the stay they cover | Not a documents app | **Stretch** |
| Platforms | iPhone and Android | iPhone and Android | Tie |

TaxBird has done one job since 2017 and does it well. If your life is Naples in winter and Long Island in summer, at $39.99 a year it is the right buy, $10 cheaper than Stretch+. What it will never tell you is that you also have 90 Schengen days and an e-visa running out in Vietnam.

## Quick verdict

| If you want… | Choose |
| --- | --- |
| US state, NYC or province days against a threshold | TaxBird |
| A yearly report for a state audit | TaxBird |
| Visa days and tax days from one log | **Stretch** |
| A counter and reminders free, forever | **Stretch** |
| No account, no server | **Stretch** |
| A source and checked date on every rule | **Stretch** |

## TaxBird at a glance

**What it is.** A residency day tracker from ware2now LLC in Newtown, Connecticut, on both stores since 2017. Add your residences, give it "Always" location permission, and it counts your days per country, US state, Canadian province and New York City. You set the threshold — a maximum ("stay under 183 in New York") or a reversed count ("reach 183 in Florida") — and it pushes and emails you as you approach it. Days the phone missed you fill in by hand, a layover can be struck out, planned days project the year, and a yearly report goes to your accountant. Any presence counts as a full day, so a travel day counts in both places. Its homepage: "Two homes? Don't wing it".

**Price.** $4.99 a month or $39.99 a year on both stores, after a 30-day free trial. When the trial ends, location history, alerts and reporting lock: "TaxBird is primarily designed as a subscription-based app". There is no free tier.

**Platforms.** iPhone and Android.

**Rating.** 3.9★ from 239 ratings on the US App Store and 3.9★ from 113 reviews on Google Play, where it has 10K+ downloads. Reviews split between "just set it and forget it" and "continually misses my location".

## Stretch at a glance

**The app.** Log the day you land — two taps — and Stretch shows the days you have left, the date you must be out, and reminds you at 14, 7, 3 and 1 days and on the day, for every country on your passports rather than one. It keeps your e-visas on the stay they cover, and every rule shows its source and the date it was last checked; I publish them at [doastretch.com/visa](https://doastretch.com/visa/). All of that is free, forever: a lapsed card must never be the reason someone overstays.

**Stretch+.** $49.99 a year, or $149 once for life. It adds Explore (entry stamps for every destination on your passports), on-device GPS logging, tax-day tallies, multi-leg planning, travel-history PDFs, calendar sync, and the Visa Desk — the Visa Desk prepares your tourist-visa and entry-declaration forms with you; you review, pay the government and submit. iPhone and Android, with no account, no server, no ads and no analytics.

## Feature comparison

### What gets counted

TaxBird counts presence: a day you touched a place is a day in that place, against a number you typed in. That is the right model for state residency. Stretch counts two clocks at once — the visa clock, with limits that reset when you leave and the rolling 180-day window behind [Schengen's 90-in-180](https://doastretch.com/tools/schengen-90-180-calculator/), and the tax clock, tallied in Stretch+ from the same log. TaxBird projects a yearly total; Stretch+ plans a multi-leg trip against both clocks.

Winner Stretch — TaxBird counts where you were; Stretch also counts how long you may stay.

### States and provinces

TaxBird counts countries worldwide, US states, Canadian provinces and New York City. Stretch counts every destination on your passports, but at country level: no US states, no Canadian provinces. For a Florida–New York snowbird that is the whole game.

Winner TaxBird — for sub-national residency it is the deeper tool, and I say so.

### Alerts, the exit date and your documents

TaxBird pushes and emails you as you approach the threshold you set. Stretch sets the must-exit date the moment you log an entry, from the rule for your passport rather than a number you had to know. TaxBird holds no documents either; Stretch keeps e-visas on the stay they cover, and links the arrival cards you must fill in before you fly.

Winner Stretch — the limit comes from the rulebook, not from memory.

### Automatic logging

This is TaxBird's whole product, nine years in, with a card for the days the phone did not report in — which, judging by its own battery-settings troubleshooting, is often. From Google Play on 30 December 2025: "Continually misses my location even with location in app set on 'allow all the time' and on 5G network. It's tracking is inconsistent at best." Stretch's GPS logging is paid too, but it runs on the device and asks you to confirm every border.

Winner Stretch — a border you confirmed is worth more at a desk than a silent ping.

### Reports, platforms and support

TaxBird's yearly report, days per location with exact dates, is a good accountant document. Stretch+ tallies 183-day windows and country tests from the same log, and exports border-proof travel-history PDFs. One is built for a US state audit, the other for a country one. Both ship on iPhone and Android, and TaxBird's support reviews run from "excellent customer service and a quick response" to "couldn't help me nor would they be able to refund my money".

Winner Tie — TaxBird for a state audit, Stretch for a country one and the maker answering himself.

### Accounts, servers and where the rules come from

TaxBird needs an account and backs your history up "on our servers"; its App Store privacy label lists precise location, contact info and identifiers as data linked to you. Its most-helpful Play review, with 17 people behind it: "A simple day tracking app SHOULD NOT require an online account, this is a major red flag." Stretch has no account and no server. TaxBird has no rules to source, either — you type your own thresholds in, fine for 183 in a state you know, useless for a Vietnamese e-visa. Stretch shows every rule's source, checked date and trust label.

Winner Stretch — nobody holds your year, and every rule comes with receipts.

### Price

TaxBird is cheaper at the top: $4.99 a month or $39.99 a year, against Stretch+ at $49.99 a year or $149 once. On the sticker price TaxBird wins, plainly. The difference is the floor. TaxBird's is a 30-day trial, after which history, alerts and reports lock. Stretch's floor — counter, exit date, reminders, documents, pre-arrival checklist — is free forever.

Winner Split — TaxBird is $10 a year cheaper at the ceiling; Stretch has a floor that never drops out.

## Choose TaxBird if you…

- need US state, New York City or Canadian province days counted against a threshold;
- want a reversed-count target for *establishing* residency and a report for a state audit;
- never cross a border with a day limit attached, and want the cheaper subscription;
- are happy with an account, a server and "Always" location in the background.

## Choose Stretch if you…

- **cross borders** — Schengen, Thailand, Mexico, Japan — and want the visa clock and the [tax clock](https://doastretch.com/tax-days/) from one log;
- **want the counter, the reminders and your documents free, forever**;
- **want no account and no server**, and location that stays on the phone;
- **want to see where every rule came from** before you trust it.

## How we evaluated

- What each app counts, and whether one log serves every rule you are under
- Which jurisdictions it reaches, and how deep
- Whether it tells you your exit date or waits to be asked
- Auto-logging accuracy, accounts, servers and privacy labels
- Price by published tier, and what the reviews complain about — read on 17 August 2026

## Frequently asked questions

**Is Stretch better than TaxBird?**

Yes, for anyone who crosses a border: Stretch counts visa days for every country and tax days from the same log, needs no account or server, and keeps the counter free forever — for $10 a year more. TaxBird is better if you need US state, NYC or Canadian province residency counted.

**Is TaxBird free?**

No. There is a 30-day trial, after which location history, alerts and reporting lock; the subscription is $4.99 a month or $39.99 a year on both stores (checked 17 August 2026). Stretch's counter, reminders and documents are free forever.

**What is the best TaxBird alternative?**

Stretch, if you cross a border — the visa clock and the tax clock from one log, with a free counter under both. The wider list is in [the best TaxBird alternatives](https://doastretch.com/alternatives/best-taxbird-alternatives/).

**Does Stretch track US states and Canadian provinces?**

No. Stretch counts days per country — visa rules for every destination on your passports, and tax-day tallies at country level. If state or province residency is your problem, TaxBird is the deeper tool.

**Does TaxBird require an account?**

Yes — an email-and-password account, with your history on its servers and a separate account recommended per spouse. Stretch has no account and no server.

## Sources

- TaxBird on the US App Store — prices, 30-day trial, 3.9★ (239 ratings), version 3.1.4 of 11 August 2026, privacy label: [apps.apple.com](https://apps.apple.com/us/app/taxbird/id1238166926) (checked 2026-08-17)
- TaxBird on Google Play — 3.9★ (113 reviews), 10K+ downloads, and the reviews quoted: [play.google.com](https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.ware2now.taxbird) (checked 2026-08-17)
- TaxBird FAQ — pricing, what locks after the trial, server backup, thresholds: [taxbird.com/faq](https://www.taxbird.com/faq/) (checked 2026-08-17)
- TaxBird homepage — "Two homes? Don't wing it": [taxbird.com](https://www.taxbird.com/) (checked 2026-08-17)
- Stretch's rules, with source and checked date: [doastretch.com/visa](https://doastretch.com/visa/)
- Stretch pricing and the free tier: [doastretch.com](https://doastretch.com/#plus)

Count it, don't carry it

## Do a stretch. Don't snap.

The counter, the alerts and your documents are free, forever. Coming to the App Store and Google Play — one email when it lands.

## Recommended reads

- [Stretch vs Country Days Tracker: $34.99 a year, or a counter that's free forever \[2026\]](https://doastretch.com/compare/stretch-vs-country-days-tracker/)
- [Stretch vs Domicile365: $240 a year of forensic pings, or $49.99 with the counter free \[2026\]](https://doastretch.com/compare/stretch-vs-domicile365/)
- [8 best TaxBird alternatives in 2026 (for tax residency and travel days)](https://doastretch.com/alternatives/best-taxbird-alternatives/)

Prices, ratings and features are as published by each product on the date shown; they change — check the store listing before you buy. Stretch is a tracker, not legal advice.
