Drake Tax vs UltraTax CS: Which Is Better in 2026?

At a glance

	Drake Tax	UltraTax CS
Best for	Independent preparers and small to mid-size firms	Large CPA firms with complex returns
Starting price	$299.99 (Drake Tax Online, pay-per-return); Pro unlimited $3,145 before December 1	Custom pricing by forms, states, and licenses
Free plan or trial	Free trial with sample clients and test returns	No free trial; quote and demo
Deployment	Desktop, plus a Drake Tax Online edition	Desktop, with hosted access through Virtual Office CS
Pricing model	Published packages: unlimited or pay-per-return	Quoted by modules, forms, states, and licenses
Return types	Individual and business returns, federal and state	Individual, business, fiduciary, and exempt organization returns
Connected products	Drake Documents; Drake Portals sold separately	Practice CS, Fixed Assets CS, and other CS Professional Suite tools
Document automation	Works with GruntWorx	Integrates with SurePrep
Ideal firm size	Solo to mid-size practices	Mid-size to large CPA firms

Drake Tax is the better fit for independent preparers and small to mid-size firms that want unlimited returns at a published price, while UltraTax CS suits larger CPA firms that prepare complex returns and want tax connected to a wider practice suite. Both are mature desktop programs that e-file federal and state returns. The choice usually comes down to your return mix, how many preparers and reviewers you have, and whether the rest of your firm already runs on Thomson Reuters products.

Here is how they compare on the points that matter most to tax firms. For the other options, including Lacerte, CCH Axcess Tax, ProConnect Tax, and ATX, see our ranked list of the best tax software for accountants.

Pricing and total cost

Drake publishes its prices, which is rare in this category. Drake Tax Pro covers unlimited individual and business returns for $3,145 when bought before December 1, and $3,295 after that date. Lower-volume offices can start with Pay-Per-Return at $379.99, which includes 10 individual returns, or Drake Tax Online at $299.99 on a pay-per-return model.

UltraTax CS has no published pricing. Thomson Reuters quotes based on the forms, states, and licenses your firm needs, and hosting through Virtual Office CS adds to the cost. It costs more than most programs in this category, and a small practice pays for depth it may never use.

A quick example shows why volume matters. A firm filing 300 returns a season on Drake Tax Pro, bought before December 1, pays about $10.50 per return in software cost. At 600 returns, that falls to about $5.25. On a quoted suite, your per-return cost depends on the modules and states you license, so ask Thomson Reuters to price the same 300 or 600 returns with your actual entity mix.

Winner: Drake Tax. You can budget for Drake before talking to anyone, and its unlimited package is hard to beat on cost per return. UltraTax CS can still be worth the money for firms that use its depth, but get a written quote that lists every state and module.

Forms coverage and complex returns

This is where UltraTax CS earns its price. It covers individual, business, fiduciary, and exempt organization returns, and it is built for firms filing a high volume of complex work: partnerships with many K-1s, multi-state allocations, trusts, and nonprofits. Its review diagnostics are designed for firms where one reviewer signs off on several preparers’ work.

Drake Tax covers individual and business returns at federal and state level, and the unlimited package includes both. It handles the work most small and mid-size practices see every season. Firms with heavy fiduciary or exempt organization volume should test those returns specifically during the trial.

Winner: UltraTax CS. For complex, high-volume return work, its depth and review tools are the reason large firms choose it.

Suite connections and workflow

UltraTax CS is part of the CS Professional Suite. It shares data with Practice CS for time and billing and with Fixed Assets CS for depreciation, so information flows between tax, assets, and billing without re-entry. It also integrates with SurePrep for source document automation. If your firm already uses other CS products, UltraTax CS fits in naturally.

Drake keeps things simpler. Drake Documents stores client files, and Drake Portals, sold separately, adds a secure client file exchange with questionnaires, messaging, Drake Pay invoicing, and remote e-signatures through Drake E-Sign Online. GruntWorx works with Drake Tax for document organization and data entry. Popular practice management platforms such as TaxDome also list integrations with both Drake and UltraTax CS.

Winner: UltraTax CS for firms that want a full suite from one vendor. Drake Tax is the better choice for firms that prefer to pick their own practice tools.

Ease of use

Drake’s keyboard-driven entry screens are fast for experienced preparers who know where everything is, but they feel dated to staff raised on cloud apps. The free trial includes sample clients and test returns, so new hires can practice before season.

UltraTax CS has more depth to learn, which suits firms with formal training and a review hierarchy. A small office with one or two preparers may find it heavier than the work requires. Ask during the demo to see a reviewer clear diagnostics on a multi-state partnership return, since that workflow shows the difference better than any feature list.

Winner: Drake Tax for small teams that need people productive quickly. Large firms with training programs will absorb the UltraTax CS learning curve without much trouble.

Remote work and hosting

Both are desktop programs at heart. Remote staff need a hosted environment or a remote connection to the office. Thomson Reuters offers hosted access to UltraTax CS through Virtual Office CS, which keeps hosting with the same vendor. Drake offers a separate Drake Tax Online edition for preparers who want to work in a browser, and many firms run the desktop edition through a third-party host.

Whichever you pick, your firm still needs a written information security plan and multi-factor authentication under the FTC Safeguards Rule, so ask each vendor how their hosted option supports those controls.

Winner: tie. UltraTax CS offers one-vendor hosting, while Drake offers a lower-cost online edition. Your preference for vendor consolidation decides it.

Trials and evaluation

Drake makes evaluation easy with a free trial that includes sample clients and test returns. UltraTax CS has no free trial, so evaluation runs through a Thomson Reuters demo and quote. Ask for a demo that uses your own complex return types, not a generic walkthrough, and ask how prior-year data converts from your current program.

Winner: Drake Tax. A self-serve trial lets you test real returns before you spend anything.

Switching between them

Firms move in both directions. A practice that outgrows its review process may move from Drake to UltraTax CS, while a firm that wants to cut costs may move from UltraTax CS to Drake. Drake lists UltraTax among the programs its free data converter tools support, with most conversions covering the 1040, 1041, 1065, 1120, and 1120-S. Thomson Reuters also publishes conversion guidance for firms moving to UltraTax CS from other programs.

Either way, convert in the fall, not in January. Run the conversion on a copy of your data, then compare a sample of converted clients against last year’s filed returns. Focus on depreciation schedules, carryforwards, and multi-state clients, since those are where conversion gaps cause the most rework. Train staff on the new program with real converted clients, and keep read-only access to the old program for at least one season so you can look up prior-year details.

Which should you choose?

Choose Drake Tax if you are an independent preparer or a small to mid-size firm that wants unlimited returns, a published price, and a free trial. Choose UltraTax CS if you run a larger CPA firm with complex business, trust, and nonprofit returns, several layers of review, and other CS Professional Suite products already in place. If you are on the fence, price your actual return mix on Drake and ask Thomson Reuters for a quote covering the same work, then compare the two totals over three seasons, not one.

Pros and cons

Drake Tax

UltraTax CS

Which should you choose?

Frequently asked questions