How to Choose the Right Tariff Calculator

Type the same HTS code into three tariff calculators and you can get three different answers. Usually none of them is broken. They are answering different questions. One prices the base rate and the Section 301 duty but says nothing about antidumping orders. One adds the Merchandise Processing Fee and another leaves it out. One prices today while your goods will be entered next quarter. Choosing the right calculator mostly comes down to knowing which question you need answered.

That matters more in 2026 than it ever has. The Supreme Court struck down the IEEPA tariffs in February. A 10% surcharge under Section 122 applied to goods entered from February 24 until it expired on July 24, and a Section 301 forced-labor duty on 60 economies took its place the same day. Section 232 now charges up to 50% on steel, aluminum and copper, on the full customs value, and also covers vehicles and parts, wood products and drones. Section 338 duties on goods from Canada began in August. A calculator that lags the Federal Register by a few weeks will give you a precise number that is wrong.

Disclosure: Gateway Lines publishes Gatewaylines.org and builds the Gateway Tariff Calculator, which we rank first below. We checked all five tools on October 20, 2026, and we list Gateway's limits as plainly as everyone else's.

Seven questions that decide which calculator fits

Answer these before you compare features. Most importers only need three or four of them, and the answers point different businesses to different tools.

1. Where are the goods going? Four of the five tools below price U.S. imports only. If you also ship into Europe, the United Kingdom, Canada or Australia, that narrows the field to one.
2. Which entry date are you pricing? Duty follows the date the goods are entered, not the date you run the numbers. Planning a future shipment and auditing a past one call for different tools, because not every calculator can go backward.
3. Could an antidumping or countervailing duty order cover the product? AD/CVD deposits are set by exporter and can exceed the value of the goods, so they are the most expensive line a calculator can miss. Some tools price them, some flag them and some leave them out without saying so.
4. Are you deciding where to buy? If the choice is China, Vietnam or Mexico, you want the same code priced from several origins side by side, not one lookup at a time.
5. How many products? A handful of SKUs works in any tool. A catalog needs a bulk upload or an API.
6. Do you need freight in the total? Duty plus entry fees is not landed cost, and most calculators stop before the ocean freight.
7. Can you see what changed? A public change log shows when a rate moved and why, which is how you know a number you priced last month still stands.

The five calculators, ranked

We ranked them for a U.S. business importer who needs a number that holds up at entry. Here is how each one answers the seven questions.

	Gateway	Flexport	Wove	GingerControl	Expeditors
Destinations	U.S.	U.S.	U.S. plus 7 more	U.S.	U.S.
Entry date	Today or a future date	Past and future, back to January 1, 2025	Entry date and date of loading	Entry date and date of loading	Entry date
AD/CVD	Priced and marked partial	Flagged	Not stated	Not included	Not included
MPF and HMF	Yes, fiscal 2027 limits	Yes	Yes	Yes	Not included
Compare origins	Up to 13 in one calculation	Pro, with a Flexport client account	Paid platform	200+ origins	Yes
Many products	Bulk file: 5 rows free, 500 for customers	Bulk uploads in Pro	Paid platform	One code at a time	Not stated
Freight	Dated spot rate and a firm quote	Not included	Not included	Not stated	Not included
Change log	Public, with email alerts	Public; alerts in Pro	Change notes on code pages	Policy briefings	Not stated
Price	Free, no paid tier	Free to try; Pro price not published	Free to start; price not published	$150 a month for 300 credits	EXP.O NOW account; price not published

1. Gateway Tariff Calculator: the most complete free answer for U.S. imports

The Gateway Tariff Calculator ranks first because it answers more of the seven questions than any other tool here, and it does so for free. It is also the only one that carries a single estimate from the base rate through AD/CVD and the entry fees to the ocean freight.

You can start from a product description or an HTS code. Pick the origin, value and entry date, and the result lists each duty on its own line. There is the base rate. There is Section 301: the China lists and their 2024 increases on goods such as semiconductors, solar cells and electric vehicles, the 25% duty on Brazil and the forced-labor duty. There is Section 232 on metals, vehicles and parts, wood products and drones. And there is Section 338 on Canada, including the import bans that took effect on September 29. For goods from Canada or Mexico it shows the total with a USMCA claim next to the total without one, so you can see what the preference is worth before you count on it. For China, it warns when a product falls in a sector the Department of Homeland Security has named a high priority for Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act enforcement.

Its handling of AD/CVD is the clearest reason it leads. Where an order may apply, Gateway names it by case number, adds the published cash deposit rate and marks the estimate partial until two facts are confirmed: who the supplier is, and whether the product falls within the order's written scope. The Commerce Department defines that scope in words, and the HTS numbers in an order are listed for convenience, so an exact code match can overstate the duty just as a silent tool understates it. A flagged estimate you can check beats a clean number that leaves the deposit out.

The rest of the stack is just as practical. The Merchandise Processing Fee uses the fiscal 2027 limits that took effect on October 1, and the Harbor Maintenance Fee is added on ocean shipments. The compare view prices one code from up to 13 origins and counts as one calculation. When Gateway has a recent read for the lane, the result shows the spot market rate for a 40-foot container with the date it was read, and a button to ask its freight team for a firm all-in quote. The bulk upload takes a CSV, an Excel file or rows pasted from a spreadsheet, and any result can be emailed as a PDF report.

Around the calculator sit the public Tariff Radar, which logs every rule change and sends alerts by email, 1,350 HTS line pages and 330 worked examples priced live from the same engine, and an MCP server that lets Claude or ChatGPT query it directly. There is no subscription. Gateway Lines is a freight company and the calculator is how importers find it, so the pitch you will see is an offer to quote your shipment.

Choose it when

• You import into the U.S. and want every duty layer, AD/CVD included, in one estimate
• You are comparing origins and want up to 13 priced in a single calculation
• You want the entry fees and a dated freight rate next to the duty
• You would rather not create an account to get started

Watch for

• 5 calculations per rolling 7 days without an account, or 10 with an email address; unlimited only for Gateway Lines customers
• Today or future entry dates only, with no date-of-loading field, so it cannot price a past entry
• U.S. imports only, from an origin menu of 26 major sourcing countries
• Bulk files are capped at 5 rows unless you ship with Gateway, where the cap is 500

2. Flexport Tariff Simulator: the one to use for a past entry

Flexport's Tariff Simulator is the strongest alternative and the clear choice when the entry is already behind you. It takes a product name or HTS code, the value, origin and mode, and both an entry date and a date of loading. Its FAQ says rates are applied by entry date, with history back to January 1, 2025, which makes it the best tool here for checking what an old entry should have cost or sizing a refund claim.

The result itemizes MPF and HMF when they apply and flags codes that may fall under AD/CVD orders, though it does not price them. Flexport says it updates the simulator within 48 hours of an official tariff change and logs each update publicly, and the same suite includes an AI classification tool, an IEEPA refund calculator and a customs broker audit. Flexport also says the suite was named one of TIME's Best Inventions of 2026.

Access is the constraint. The FAQ says you can look up as many as 10 HTS codes without an account; when we tested it on October 20, it stopped after five free searches and asked us to log in or sign up. Side-by-side country comparison, bulk HTS uploads and email alerts belong to Tariff Simulator Pro, which comes with a Flexport client account at a price Flexport does not publish. Its own note says freight, insurance and customs brokerage are not part of the estimate.

Choose it when

• You need a past entry date, back to January 1, 2025
• The date of loading matters for your rate
• You already ship with Flexport and can use Pro

Watch for

• Five free searches in our test before a login or sign-up
• AD/CVD is flagged, not priced
• Comparison, bulk uploads and alerts need a Flexport client account
• No freight in the number, and U.S. imports only

3. Wove: the pick when the U.S. is not your only market

Wove's free tariff calculator comes from a company that builds AI software for freight forwarders and customs brokers, and it is the only tool of the five that prices destinations other than the U.S.: the European Union, the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, Mexico, Malaysia and Singapore. For a U.S. entry it asks for the entry date, the date of loading and the mode, accepts potential exclusion codes and asks for the metal content of Section 232 goods. Its landed cost summary shows customs value, duties and fees, MPF and HMF included, and you can download it as a PDF or share it by email. A tariff assistant chat, an IEEPA refund tool and a duty API covering more than 180 countries sit alongside it.

Some things are left open. Wove does not publish how many free lookups you get before it asks you to sign in, which is free, or what the subscription for unlimited calculations costs. Its pages do not say it calculates AD/CVD, the landed cost has no freight line, and its footer says results should not be used as the basis for filing entry documentation. Origin comparison is described as part of its paid platform rather than the free calculator.

Choose it when

• You import into the EU, UK, Canada, Australia, Mexico, Malaysia or Singapore as well as the U.S.
• You want exclusion codes and metal content taken into account
• You need a PDF or an email to share the breakdown

Watch for

• The free lookup limit and the subscription price are not published
• No mention of AD/CVD, and no freight line
• Origin comparison sits in the paid platform

4. GingerControl: a paid tool built around one sourcing question

GingerControl's Tariff Calculator is built to answer where you should buy. Enter one HTS code, a value, the origins you are weighing and the entry date, and it ranks total duty and total cost for each origin, cheapest first, across more than 200 origins. Its product page is the most explicit of the five about the 2026 rules. It cites the Federal Register for the forced-labor duty, applies Section 122 only to goods entered from February 24 through July 23, 2026, and for Section 232 goods asks where the metal was melted and poured and what share of the weight it makes up. MPF and HMF are included.

It is the only tool here with a published price and no free tier for the calculator: its FAQ puts the app at $150 a month for 300 credits, with credits used on each calculation. It does not compute AD/CVD, it shows free trade agreement rates without applying them to the total, and it takes one HTS code at a time. The company was founded in Austin in 2025, and it also offers free single-purpose tools for customs bonds, MPF and HMF, protest deadlines, IEEPA refunds and foreign-trade zone savings.

Choose it when

• Your main question is which of many origins is cheapest
• You want the Section 232 metal rules asked for explicitly
• A monthly subscription fits your budget

Watch for

• $150 a month for 300 credits, with no free tier for the calculator
• No AD/CVD, and free trade agreement rates are not applied to the total
• One HTS code at a time, and freight is not mentioned

5. Expeditors Tariff Calculator: for teams already on EXP.O NOW

The Expeditors Tariff Calculator runs inside EXP.O NOW, the portal Expeditors customers already use, with a large customs operation behind it: Expeditors cites more than 3,000 customs employees worldwide. You enter an HS code and a country of origin, adjust defaults such as shipment value and entry date, and use advanced options for automotive, semiconductor and civil aircraft rules. A materials list breaks the duty out by material, the tool compares duty impact by country of origin, and its FAQ says it is generally updated within 48 hours of a formal regulatory announcement.

The same FAQ is direct about the limits. It is not a landed cost calculator, so MPF, HMF and AD/CVD are not included. It prices the rates in place on the chosen date regardless of their legality and does not account for refunds. It does not classify products or support downloading, exporting or sharing results, and you need an EXP.O NOW account to use it.

Choose it when

• You already have an EXP.O NOW account
• Your products need the automotive, semiconductor or civil aircraft options, or duty broken out by material

Watch for

• No MPF, HMF or AD/CVD
• No export or sharing, and no classification help
• Pricing is not published, and it covers U.S. imports only

Five mistakes that make any calculator wrong

The best tool still gives a bad answer when the inputs are off. These are the errors that cost importers the most.

1. The wrong HTS code. The duty follows the HTS code, and two plausible codes for the same product can differ by ten percentage points or more, or one can fall under an AD/CVD order while the other does not. Classification is the importer's responsibility, so have a licensed customs broker confirm the code before you file.
2. Pricing the wrong day. When a change is scheduled, the rate today is not the rate your goods will pay. The Section 232 increases on upholstered wooden furniture, from 25% to 30%, and on kitchen cabinets and vanities, from 25% to 50%, take effect on January 1, 2027, so price the date the goods will be entered.
3. Reading silence as zero. A calculator that shows no AD/CVD line has not told you the product is clear. Check the Commerce Department's orders, or use a tool that prices them, before you commit to a supplier.
4. Assuming a trade agreement applies. USMCA and other preferences apply only to goods that qualify, and only when you claim them. Price the total without the claim as well as with it.
5. Treating duty as landed cost. The Merchandise Processing Fee is 0.3464% of the entered value, with a minimum of $34.58 and a maximum of $670.86 from October 1, 2026, and the Harbor Maintenance Fee adds 0.125% on ocean cargo. Freight, insurance, the customs bond and the broker's fee come on top of both.

Which one to use

• Pricing a U.S. import from the base rate to the freight, for free: the Gateway Tariff Calculator.
• Checking a past entry or preparing a refund claim: Flexport's Tariff Simulator.
• Shipping into the EU, UK, Canada, Australia, Mexico, Malaysia or Singapore: Wove.
• Paying to rank 200+ origins for one product: GingerControl.
• Already an Expeditors customer: the calculator in your EXP.O NOW portal.

Whichever you choose, the result is a planning estimate. The importer of record answers for the classification, value and origin declared on the entry, and U.S. Customs and Border Protection sets the final duty.

How we checked

We read each tool's own pages on October 20, 2026, and ran the calculators that are open to the public: Gateway, Flexport and Wove. GingerControl and Expeditors work inside paid or customer accounts, so their entries come from their published product pages and FAQs. We did not test any tool's math against a customs broker's entry, and limits and prices change, so check each tool before you rely on it. Flexport, Wove, GingerControl and Expeditors are trademarks of their owners, none of whom reviewed or sponsored this guide.