Turbotax vs H&R Block vs E-File: True Cost in 2026

Updated June 22, 2026

This is informational, not financial advice. Pricing data as of April 2026.

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Key Takeaways

• Best overall: H&R Block Online — most generous free tier, mid-tier paid plans, and AI assistance built into Deluxe and above. - Best budget: E-file.com — a self-employed filer with one state return pays roughly $65 here vs. $203 at TurboTax. Same return, same IRS calculation. - Best for confidence (or audit anxiety): TurboTax Live Full Service — you'll pay the most, but a credentialed preparer signs off on the return. - Worst trap: TurboTax Free Edition. Only about 37% of filers qualify, and the form that bumps you out (Schedule A) takes you to $143 all-in at TurboTax versus roughly $52 at E-file.com — the same itemized return for about a third the price.

The 2026 True-Cost Table (Federal + 1 State)

The headline price you see on each provider's homepage isn't the price you'll actually pay. State returns add $22–$64 each. Most filers itemize, hold investments, or get a 1099 — which knocks them out of every "free" tier. Here's what each provider really costs once you land on the right plan for a normal return.

Recommended reading: Best For

Check your credit score for free — E-file.com

| Filer Type | TurboTax | H&R Block | E-file99 + $22.49 state) |
| W-2 + investments (1099-B) | $203 ($139 + $64 state) | $97 ($60 + $37 state) | ~$65 ($42.49 + $2249 + $22.49 state) |
| Live expert assistance | $79–$209 federal + state | included in mid-tier AI Tax Assist | Basic chat only |
| AI assistance | Intuit Assist (all tiers) | AI Tax Assist (Deluxe+) | Limited |
| Free state return at $0 federal | Yes | Yes | No (state $22.49+) |
| Market share | ~60% (40M+ users) | ~15% | <2% |

Recommended reading: Limited

Best For Picks

Best overall: H&R Block Online. The free tier handles W-2, unemployment, retirement income, the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC), Child Tax Credit (CTC), and student loan interest at $0 federal and $0 state. The company claims more than half of filers qualify (hrblock.com). When you do upgrade, paid plans start at $35–$85 federal — about half what TurboTax charges for equivalent coverage.

Best budget: E-file.com. If you can read a tax form, this is the cheapest legitimate option of the three. Premium Plus runs $49.99 federal (discounted to $42.49) for self-employed and 1099 income, with state at $22.49 bundled (money.usnews.com). The interface is plainer than the others, but the math is the same.

Best for filers who want hand-holding: TurboTax Live Full Service. Starting at $89–$129 for a basic W-2 return and scaling with complexity, you hand the return to a credentialed preparer who signs it (turbotax.intuit.com). It costs more than the alternatives. For some filers — newly self-employed, recently divorced, sold a house — that's worth it.

TurboTax: The Premium Default

Let's start with TurboTax. About 60 percent of online filers use it. That's more than 40 million people every spring. Why? The interview is genuinely well-designed. You answer plain-English questions, and the software does the form-hunting for you. Their AI assistant, Intuit Assist, is built into every tier. So if you're stuck, you just ask. So what's the catch?

You pay for that polish. The 2026 list prices are $79 federal for Deluxe and $139 for Premium (turbotax.intuit.com), with state returns at $64 each. Early-season discounts of $49 Deluxe and $99 Premium typically expire weeks before the April deadline. The longer you wait, the more you pay.

The two real downsides are price and the Free Edition trap. TurboTax's $0 tier excludes itemizers, retirement income, freelancers, and most investment activity — which is why only 37% of filers actually qualify. Add state returns at $64 (the highest of the three), and a Premium return with one state runs $203 — roughly 2x H&R Block and 3x E-file.com for the same calculation against the same IRS rules.

Skip TurboTax if you're price-sensitive, your return is mechanically simple, or you've used the same software for three years and never asked yourself why.

H&R Block: The Cheaper Default

H&R Block's pricing reads like a deliberate undercut. Free Online supports W-2, unemployment, and retirement income at $0 federal + $0 state — broader than TurboTax Free, which excludes retirement income from its $0 tier (hrblock.com).

Paid plans run $35 federal for Deluxe (itemizing, health savings account (HSA), child care), $60+ for Premium (rental, investments, crypto), and $85 for Self-Employed (hrblock.com). State returns are $37 each — about 42% cheaper than TurboTax. AI Tax Assist is included starting at the Deluxe tier, and the 9,000+ physical offices mean you can walk in and hand the file to a human if something goes sideways. That last piece is unique to H&R Block among online filers.

The interface is the trade-off. It's less polished than TurboTax, brokerage imports can be slower, and the Self-Employed tier ($85) still trails E-file.com's $42.49 if you're optimizing purely on price. The desktop software adds a separate $19.95 state e-file fee if you go that route (hrblock.com) — usually only relevant for filers handling multiple returns.

Skip H&R Block if you want the absolute cheapest option and don't care about the in-person backup.

E-file.com: The Budget Outsider

E-file.com is almost never included in head-to-head comparisons — most articles default to TurboTax vs. H&R Block vs. FreeTaxUSA. That's a missed opportunity. Pricing runs up to ~50% lower than TurboTax and H&R Block at the top tiers (e-file.com/comparison.php), and the e-file backbone is the same IRS-authorized infrastructure the bigger names use.

The Free Federal Basic tier covers simple W-2, wages, unemployment, and scholarships. Deluxe Plus is $29.99 federal (15% discount available) for itemizers. Premium Plus is $49.99 federal for 1099 and self-employed filers, frequently discounted to $42.49 with promo codes (e-file.com). State returns are $32.99, dropping to $22.49 when bundled. Stack a promo code and a self-employed filer pays around $65 all-in.

What you give up matters. There's no live expert option. AI assistance is limited to basic chat. Brand recognition is low enough that some filers won't trust the name. The free tier is also the most restrictive of the three — unemployment income isn't always covered. If you've never filed before and feel anxious staring at a 1099, the lack of hand-holding is the case where paying for H&R Block or TurboTax pays for itself. Skip this option if you have a complex multi-entity return or want a credentialed preparer's signature on the bottom of the 1040.

The Upgrade Trapdoor: Forms That Force You Off Free

Every "free" tier has tripwires. Here are the forms that bump you to a paid plan:

If your only "complication" is itemizing, the all-in cost gap is $143 at TurboTax vs. ~$52 at E-file.com for the same federal-plus-state return — about $91 a year for substantially identical software.

A Free Option Most Filers Forget

The IRS Free File program — available to taxpayers with adjusted gross income (AGI) under $89,000 in 2026 — is a broader free option than TurboTax Free Edition for moderate-income households (money.com). It can handle freelance income, investments, and rental income that TurboTax specifically excludes from $0 filing. Worth checking before you click "Start Free" anywhere else.

How We Evaluated

We compared the three providers on five criteria: headline price, true price including state returns, free-tier coverage, upgrade triggers, and support options. Pricing came directly from each provider's website and U.S. News reviews — not third-party rankings. We did not test the software hands-on; we evaluated published specs, advertised pricing, and verified user reviews. Some links in this article are affiliate links — Canopy Press may earn a commission if you sign up through them, at no extra cost to you. Read more about our process at /how-we-evaluate/.

Verdict

Winner: H&R Block Online for most filers. The free tier covers more situations than TurboTax's, paid plans cost about half, and AI Tax Assist is included starting at Deluxe. Unless you specifically need TurboTax's interview interface, it's the better default in 2026.

Runner-up: E-file.com if price is your top priority and your return is reasonably mechanical. The savings vs. TurboTax for a self-employed return work out to about $140 a year — roughly $1,400 over a decade if you stay self-employed.

TurboTax wins one scenario: filers who want to hand the return to a credentialed expert via Live Full Service. The price premium is real, but so is the human review. For everyone else, the brand tax isn't worth it. Tax software is one of the few categories where the most popular product is also the worst value — and paying double for an identical IRS calculation is a small but real richer-life leak you can plug in 30 minutes by switching providers.

Here's the practical move. If you've used TurboTax for three years and never asked why, this April is the year to ask. Switching to H&R Block or E-file.com takes about 30 minutes and saves most filers between 80 and 140 dollars. Full pricing table, links to every tier, and the upgrade-trapdoor cheat sheet are on canopy.press. Follow the channel for more breakdowns of where the brand tax is quietly costing you money. We'll see you in the next one.

Sources

• TurboTax pricing
• (TurboTax)
• H&R Block Online filing
• H&R Block Free Online filing
• E-file.com pricing
• E-file.com comparison page
• U.S. News review of E-file.com
• IRS Free File 2026 income limit

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Found an error? At Canopy Press, accuracy comes first. If you spot a claim that needs checking, let us know at [email protected] — we'll verify and correct it immediately.

Found an error? At Canopy Press, accuracy comes first. If you spot a claim that needs checking, let us know at [email protected] — we'll verify and correct it immediately.

Sources

• FRED - 10-Year Treasury Yield
• FRED - 30-Year Fixed Mortgage Rate
• FRED - Federal Funds Effective Rate
• FRED - Consumer Price Index (CPI)
• FRED - Unemployment Rate
• Yahoo Finance - S&P 500
• Yahoo Finance - 10-Year Treasury Yield (Market)
• Yahoo Finance - CBOE Volatility Index (VIX)
• Yahoo Finance - US Dollar Index
• Yahoo Finance - Gold Price (per oz)