Mediaboss Marketing

MongoDB (MDB) is a database software company which is benefiting from the growth in unstructured data and leading the growth in non-relational databases. Despite MongoDB's recent rise in share price, its current valuation is modest given its strong position in a large and attractive market.

There has been an explosion in the growth of data in recent years with this growth being dominated by unstructured data. Unstructured data is currently growing at a rate of 26.8% annually compared to structured data which is growing at rate of 19.6% annually.

Figure 1: Growth in Data

(source: m-files)

Unstructured data refers to any data which despite possibly having internal structure is not structured via pre-defined data models or schema. Unstructured data includes formats like audio, video and social media postings and is often stored in non-relational database like NoSQL. Structured data is suitable for storage in a traditional database (rows and columns) and is normally stored in relational databases.

Mature analytics tools exist for structured data, but analytics tools for mining unstructured data are nascent. Improved data analytics tools for unstructured data will help to increase the value of this data and encourage companies to ensure they are collecting and storing as much of it as possible. Unstructured data analytics tools are designed to analyze information that doesn't have a pre-defined model and include tools like natural language processing.

Table 1: Structured Data Versus Unstructured Data

(source: Adapted by author from igneous)

Unstructured data is typically stored in NoSQL databases which can take a variety of forms, including:

Unstructured data can also be stored in multimodel databases which incorporate multiple database structures in the one package.

Figure 2: Multimodel Database

(source: Created by author)

Some of the potential advantages of NoSQL databases include:

Common use-cases for NoSQL databases include web-scale, IoT, mobile applications, DevOps, social networking, shopping carts and recommendation engines.

Relational databases have historically dominated the database market, but they were not built to handle the volume, variety and velocity of data being generated today nor were they built to take advantage of the commodity storage and processing power available today. Common applications of relational databases include ERP, CRM and ecommerce. Relational databases are tabular, highly dependent on pre-defined data definitions and usually scale vertically (a single server has to host the entire database to ensure acceptable performance). As a result, relational databases can be expensive, difficult to scale and have a relatively small number of failure points. The solution to support rapidly growing applications is to scale horizontally, by adding servers instead of concentrating more capacity in a single server. Organizations are now turning to scale-out architectures using open software technologies, commodity servers and cloud computing instead of large monolithic servers and storage infrastructure.

Figure 3: Data Structure and Database Type

(source: Created by author)

According to IDC, the worldwide database software market, which it refers to as structured data management software, was $44.6 billion in 2016 and is expected to grow to $61.3 billion in 2020, representing an 8% compound annual growth rate. Despite the rapid growth in unstructured data and the increasing importance of non-relational databases, IDC forecasts that relational databases will still account for 80% of the total operational database market in 2022.

Database management systems (DBMS) cloud services were 23.3% of the DBMS market in 2018, excluding DBMS licenses hosted in the cloud. In 2017 cloud DBMS accounted for 68% of the DBMS market growth with Amazon Web Services (AMZN) and Microsoft (MSFT) accounting for 75% of the growth.

MongoDB provides document databases using open source software and is one of the leading providers of NoSQL databases to address the requirements of unstructured data. MongoDB's software was downloaded 30 million times between 2009 and 2017 with 10 million downloads in 2017 and is frequently used for mobile apps, content management, real-time analytics and applications involving the Internet of Things, but can be a good choice for any application where there is no clear schema definition.

Figure 4: MongoDB downloads

(source: MongoDB)

MongoDB has a number of offerings, including:

Figure 5: MongoDB Platform

(source: MongoDB)

Functionality of the software includes:

MongoDB's platform offers high performance, horizontal scalability, flexible data schema and reliability through advanced security features and fault-tolerance. These features are helping to attract users of relational databases with approximately 30% of MongoDB's new business in 2017 resulting from the migration of applications from relational databases.

MongoDB generates revenue through term licenses and hosted as-a-service solutions. Most contracts are 1 year in length invoiced upfront with revenue recognized ratably over the term of the contract although a growing number of customers are entering multiyear subscriptions. Revenue from hosted as-a-service solutions is primarily generated on a usage basis and is billed either in arrears or paid up front. Services revenue is comprised of consulting and training services which generally result in losses and are primarily used to drive customer retention and expansion.

MongoDB's open source business model has allowed the company to scale rapidly and they now have over 16,800 customers, including half of the Global Fortune 100 in 2017. Their open source business model uses the community version as a pipeline for potential future subscribers and relies on customers converting to a paid model once they require premium support and tools.

Figure 6: Prominent MongoDB Customers

(source: Created by author using data from MongoDB)

MongoDB's growth is driven largely by its ability to expand revenue from existing customers. This is shown by the expansion of Annual Recurring Revenue (ARR) overtime, where ARR is defined as the subscription revenue contractually expected from customers over the following 12 months assuming no increases or reductions in their subscriptions. ARR excludes MongoDB Atlas, professional services and other self-service products. The fiscal year 2013 cohort increased their initial ARR from $5.3 million to $22.1 million in fiscal year 2017, representing a multiple of 4.1x.

Figure 7: MongoDB Cohort ARR

(source: MongoDB)

Although MongoDB continues to incur significant operating losses the contribution margin of new customers quickly becomes positive, indicating that as MongoDB's growth rate slows the company will become profitable. Contribution margin is defined as the ARR of subscription commitments from the customer cohort at the end of a period less the associated cost of subscription revenue and estimated allocated sales and marketing expense.

Figure 8: MongoDB 2015 Cohort Contribution Margin

(source: MongoDB)

MongoDB continues to achieve rapid revenue growth driven by an increasing number of customers and increased revenue per customer. Revenue growth has shown little sign of decline which is not surprising given the size of MongoDB's market opportunity. Revenue per customer is modest and MongoDB still has significant potential to expand the number of Global Fortune 100 customers.

Figure 9: MongoDB Revenue

(source: Created by author using data from MongoDB)

Figure 10: MongoDB Customer Numbers

(source: Created by author using data from MongoDB)

MongoDB's revenue growth has been higher than other listed database vendors since 2017 as a result of their expanding customer base and growing revenue per customer. The rise of cloud computing and non-relational databases has a large impact on relational database vendors with DBMS growth now dominated by cloud computing vendors and non-relational database vendors.

Figure 11: Database Vendor Revenue

(source: Created by author using data from company reports)

MongoDB's revenue growth is relatively high for its size when compared to other database vendors, but is likely to begin to decline in coming years.

Figure 12: Database Vendor Revenue Growth

(source: Created by author using data from company reports)

MongoDB's revenue is dominated by subscription revenue and this percentage has been increasing over time. This relatively stable source of income holds MongoDB in good stead for the future, particularly if customers can be converted to longer-term contracts.

Figure 13: MongoDB Subscription Revenue

(source: Created by author using data from MongoDB)

MongoDB generates reasonable gross profit margins for an enterprise software company from its subscription services, although these have begun to decline in recent periods. Likely as the result of the introduction of the entry level Atlas offering in 2016 and possibly also as a result of increasing competition.

Figure 14: MongoDB Gross Profit Margin

(source: Created by author using data from MongoDB)

MongoDB has exhibited a large amount of operating leverage in the past and is now approaching positive operating profitability. This is largely the result of declining sales and marketing and research and development costs relative to revenue. This trend is likely to continue as MongoDB expands, particularly as growth begins to decline and the burden of attracting new customers eases.

Figure 15: MongoDB Operating Profit Margin

(source: Created by author using data from MongoDB)

Figure 16: MongoDB Operating Expenses

(source: Created by author using data from MongoDB)

Although MongoDB's operating profitability is still negative it is in line with other database vendors and should become positive within the next few years. This is supported by the positive contribution margin of MongoDB's customers after their first year.

Figure 17: Database Vendor Operating Profit Margins

(source: Created by author using data from company reports)

MongoDB is yet to achieve consistently positive free cash flows, although appears to be on track as the business scales. This should be expected based on the high margin nature of the business and the low capital requirements. Current negative free cash flow is largely a result of expenditures in support of future growth in the form of sales and marketing and research and development.

Figure 18: MongoDB Free Cash Flow

(source: Created by author using data from MongoDB)

Competitors in the database vendor market can be broken into incumbents, cloud platforms and challengers. Incumbents are the current dominant players in the market, like Oracle (ORCL), who offer relational databases. Cloud platforms are cloud computing vendors like Amazon and Microsoft that also offer database software and services. Challengers are pure play database vendors who offer a range of non-relational database software and services.

Table 2: Database Vendors

(source: Created by author)

Incumbents

Incumbents offer proven technology with large set of features which may be important for mission critical transactional applications. This gives incumbents a strong position, particularly as relational databases are expected to continue to retain the lion's share of the database market in coming years. Incumbent players that lack a strong infrastructure-as-a-service platform though are poorly positioned to capture new applications and likely to be losers in the long run. This trend is evidenced by Teradata's (TDC) struggles since the advent of cloud computing and non-relational databases.

Cloud Platforms

Cloud service providers are able to offer a suite of SaaS solutions in addition to cloud computing, creating a compelling value proposition for customers. In exchange for reducing the number of vendors required and gaining access to applications designed to run together, database customers run the risk of being locked into a cloud vendor and paying significantly more for services which could potentially be inferior.

Challengers

Dedicated database vendors can offer best in breed technology, low costs and multi-cloud portability which helps to prevent cloud vendor lock-in.

The DBMS is typically broken into operational and analytical markets. The operational DBMS market refers to databases that are tied to a live application whereas the analytical market refers to the processing and analyzing of data imported from various sources.

Figure 19: Database Market Competitive Landscape

(source: Created by author)

Gartner assesses MongoDB as a challenger in the operational database systems market due primarily to a lack of completeness of vision. The leaders are generally large companies which offer a broader range of database types in addition to cloud computing services. MongoDB's ability to succeed against these companies will be dependent on them being able to offer best in class services and/or lower cost services.

Read the original:
MongoDB: Riding The Data Wave - Seeking Alpha

Goa has always seemed like the right location for an idyllic book village, like Hay-on-Wye in Wales. Even as book stores and libraries the world over have been struggling to stay open, literary events and spaces in Goa have been flourishing, perhaps due to the large number of writers and authors based in the state.

Over the past year, several new initiatives have been taking books to readers, with pop-up book stores at colleges and events, and online libraries. It can, for instance, be difficult to reach The Dogears Bookshop, Margao, given the lack of good transport, constant road work and unending traffic jams. So founders Leonard Fernandes and Queenie Rodrigues, who used to run an online store earlier, have started hosting pop-up stores through the year.

We go to many schools and colleges and try to take inexpensive books so that students can afford them. Students often pool in their money together to buy one book. Sometimes, they are even for 25-30 each," Fernandes says. Pop-ups are also held at literature festivals like the Goa Arts and Literature Festival or at stores across the state. Dogears also hosts regular talks, movie screenings and author meets to attract readers to the store.

Dogears started as a childrens book store but now has a large selection of popular fiction and non-fiction, used books and books on Goa that you usually cant find online. Sales have been good this festive season," he adds.

Fernandes and Rodrigues also run the Publishing Next conference, an event that addresses the changes in the publishing industry and the issues facing it.

Goas established book ventures, like the Broadway Book Centre in Panaji and Literati at Calangute, are going strong. There are around 149 state-run libraries across various talukas and villages. This does not include book stores, private libraries, college and university libraries, and those run by non-governmental organizations. Panajis Krishnadas Shama Goa State Central Library, for instance, has six floors of books, art and sculpture. Its free to visit and browse but you need a membership to borrow. Its a fascinating space where you can spend hours.

If you cant get to a book store or library, The Booktique may be the solution for you. Started in December 2018, this unique library is run mainly through Instagram and cycle power by college students Emmanuel Souza and Elijah DSouza, who are voracious readers. Buying books online was eating into their budget, so DSouza came up with the idea of an online library. Souza helped stock up on a selection of books. An Instagram account, a catalogue on Google Drive and some WhatsApp publicity fuelled interest across the state.

Interested customers contact the duo via Instagram. They are then sent a link to the catalogue and a form for contact details and titles of interest. The books are then packed in old newspaper. DSouza, an endurance cyclist, uses his cycle to deliver books across north Goa for free.

The Booktique keeps rental charges low ( 20 per book per week) to make reading cheaper and accessible. We have around 130 customers at the moment, with 1,200-plus books across all genres. We have started a childrens section as well that we are building steadily," says DSouza.

On World Book Day, in April 2018, journalist and publisher Frederick Noronha started a community library at his home in Saligo. I have gained from a village library that expat Saligokars (mainly those based in Mumbai) had donated to the Saligo Institute sometime in the 1970s. This is my way of giving back." The Sonarbhat library is based on the Open Source/Free Software" principles which have deeply influenced Noronha. This means we dont charge fees, we dont accept donations of cash (but welcome pre-owned books which can be recycled, especially childrens books)," he says.

The library wasnt meant to be children-focused but thats how it has turned out. My home is next to a school, and the kids discovered the library. We get about 20-40 kids a day. Its such a thrill watching young minds getting hooked on to reading, and growing with every book," he says.

The three booksellers/librarians have all had a positive experience with readers and reports of dwindling readership statistics dont bother them. Its great that our used books section gets a lot of traffic. People also come to us looking for offbeat books and unusual titles that you cant usually find online," says Noronha. Its amazing to see some children transform into avid readers and go through entire collections of books. A few have finished almost all I have for their age. I wish we could convince more people that recycled books can turn into precious pages, and find new readers," he says.

On your next trip to Goa, pack some pre-loved books along with your sunscreen, and send them to one of these book-lovers. What better way to give your books a new lease of life?

View post:
How to be a bookworm in Goa - Livemint

The more things change, the more they stay the same, the saying goes. That couldnt be more true for our review candidate today, Check Points ZoneAlarm Extreme Security. We reviewed this software nearly six years ago, and in that time the Windows interface has not changed.

Sure, some features have disappeared and others have taken their place, but overall its the same program with the same dated interface. Thats set to change, however. A Check Point spokesperson told us the company is planning a major interface and user experience overhaul for 2020.

When you start ZoneAlarm Extreme Security the first thing youll notice is that it looks a little fuzzy. It appears Check Point didnt update its app for high-resolution displays. We tested ZoneAlarm Extreme Security on a laptop with a 1080p display, and found that the menu items and tiles were noticeably lacking in sharpness.

The primary dashboard for ZoneAlarm Extreme Security.

The basic dashboard for Extreme Security has three tiles: Antivirus & Firewall, Web & Privacy, and Mobility & Data. There are also four menu items in the upper-left corner: Scan, Update, Tools, and Help.

Click on one of the tiles, and you end up on a secondary interface with three tabs that have the same names as the tiles from the previous screenmaking the first screen superfluous.

This secondary screen is where you have all the controls for your antivirus. You can start a manual scan, or turn on and off features such as Threat Emulation and Application Control. The former is a cloud-based feature to help prevent zero-day attacks, while Application Control prevents untrusted applications from running. In our tests, Application Control was a little too aggressive and wouldnt allow PCMark 10 to run its Extended test. That was a pain but easily solved by setting a higher trust level for all of the FutureMark components.

Easily solved, that is, for anyone who knows their way around Windows PCs. Regular users who need a set-it-and-forget-it solution will find it problematic if they happen to install a program that isnt on Check Points whitelist.

The two-way firewall allows for rule setting, permissions for VPN protocols, locking the hosts file, and so on. This section is best left alone for most users.

ZoneAlarms Mobility & Data section.

Then in the Mobility & Data section there is an anti-ransomware module, as well as identity protection. The latter checks a third-party database of recent breaches for your information such as email address, passwords, and so on.

Theres also a real-time monitor that scans for sensitive information trying to leave your PC. For the monitor to work, you need to add your information to a vault including PINs, addresses, bank cards, drivers license, passwords, mothers maiden name, passport number, phone, social security number, and so on. You can also choose to encrypt your vault.

In the settings, you can activate a game mode, set schedules for scans and updates, and view the apps logs.

Extreme Security has a number of key features youd expect in a deluxe security suite, but there are some noticeable gaps. It doesnt have parental controls any longer, for example. Its also missing items you usually find such as a password manager, a free VPN, or cloud storage.

The suite is also lacking PC tune-up tools, though we can hardly fault Check Point for that. We regularly note how these tools are not much of a benefit as they can easily be acquired for free from third parties, or are already built into Windows 10.

In addition to the desktop app, there are also apps for Android and iOS. Oddly, on Android at least, there is an automated VPN to protect your browsing while on open Wi-Fi.

ZoneAlarm Extreme Securitys Antivirus & Firewall controls.

AV-Test gave Check Points ZoneAlarm Pro a 100 percent rating in September and October for its zero-day and malware real-world tests, and its widespread and prevalent malware test. The former used 335 samples and the latter nearly 26,000.

SE Labs gave ZoneAlarm its highest rating, AAA, in the testing houses October-December 2019 report, but it didnt explain whether the suite missed anything. In the July-September SE Labs report, ZoneAlarm was also awarded a AAA rating, but it missed one public threat while stopping everything else, including targeted attacks.

For our in-house performance tests ZoneAlarm did fairly well. The test PCs performance took a hit of 74 points in the PC Mark 10 Extended test. In the file-transfer test it actually performed a little bit faster, by nearly two minutes, with ZoneAlarm running. Those were the only two tests where there was a notable difference.

By our reckoning, with ZoneAlarm installed you may see a bit of a hit with media rich applications, but overall it shouldnt get in your way too much.

ZoneAlarms Web & Privacy options.

ZoneAlarm Extreme Security has a promotional price of $45 for a year, covering five devices. The regular price is marked as $90. If you want to cover 10 devices it will cost $80 for the first year, and then $180 for each year after that.

Thats pretty good pricing for the first subscription period, but its way too high after that, based on the MSRPs CheckPoint displays on its website. Norton Security Premium, for example, is $120 per year for 10 devices at the non-promotional price.

Theres no doubt that ZoneAlarm Extreme Security offers good protection, but when youre looking at a paid product, thats not the only consideration. The desktop app is, I hate to say it, terrible. Its way too outdated, and it doesnt look good on high-resolution screens. That is set to change at some point this year, and were interested to try the new ZoneAlarm when it rolls out.

Extreme Security also has a single safe browsing extension that is only for Chrome. There are no considerations for Firefox or Edge, which isnt very extreme. Yes, there are tons of safe browsing extensions out there, but when youre trying to sell the complete package, it should be, well, complete. Chrome covers a lot of users, but its not what everyone uses.

Pricing is also a concern since its not as competitive after the first year is up.

To sum up, ZoneAlarm Extreme Security is good in terms of protection, but in terms of overall value its not on par with competing suites. That could in change in the coming months once the updated suite is released, but for now were not excited about it.

See the rest here:
ZoneAlarm Extreme Security review: Good protection in need of an overhaul - PCWorld

Mr. Ton-That, 31, grew up a long way from Silicon Valley. In his native Australia, he was raised on tales of his royal ancestors in Vietnam. In 2007, he dropped out of college and moved to San Francisco. The iPhone had just arrived, and his goal was to get in early on what he expected would be a vibrant market for social media apps. But his early ventures never gained real traction.

In 2009, Mr. Ton-That created a site that let people share links to videos with all the contacts in their instant messengers. Mr. Ton-That shut it down after it was branded a phishing scam. In 2015, he spun up Trump Hair, which added Mr. Trumps distinctive coif to people in a photo, and a photo-sharing program. Both fizzled.

Dispirited, Mr. Ton-That moved to New York in 2016. Tall and slender, with long black hair, he considered a modeling career, he said, but after one shoot he returned to trying to figure out the next big thing in tech. He started reading academic papers on artificial intelligence, image recognition and machine learning.

Mr. Schwartz and Mr. Ton-That met in 2016 at a book event at the Manhattan Institute, a conservative think tank. Mr. Schwartz, now 61, had amassed an impressive Rolodex working for Mr. Giuliani in the 1990s and serving as the editorial page editor of The New York Daily News in the early 2000s. The two soon decided to go into the facial recognition business together: Mr. Ton-That would build the app, and Mr. Schwartz would use his contacts to drum up commercial interest.

Police departments have had access to facial recognition tools for almost 20 years, but they have historically been limited to searching government-provided images, such as mug shots and drivers license photos. In recent years, facial recognition algorithms have improved in accuracy, and companies like Amazon offer products that can create a facial recognition program for any database of images.

Mr. Ton-That wanted to go way beyond that. He began in 2016 by recruiting a couple of engineers. One helped design a program that can automatically collect images of peoples faces from across the internet, such as employment sites, news sites, educational sites, and social networks including Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, Instagram and even Venmo. Representatives of those companies said their policies prohibit such scraping, and Twitter said it explicitly banned use of its data for facial recognition.

Original post:
The Secretive Company That Might End Privacy as We Know It - The New York Times

The best tax software:

Most Americans dread filing taxes. It can be costly, confusing, or just plain tedious ... but it has to be done.

The good news is that if you have a straightforward financial situation, there are simple and free tax filing options available online.

If your situation is more complex you have side jobs, own a business, live and work in different states, or earn income from a trust, for example you can expect to pay to file your federal income tax return, and probably your state return, too.

But where do you start? And who has the best tax software or online tax filing service for your situation?

Taxes are incredibly nuanced and it's naive to assume one person's filing experience will be like another's because they use the same tax preparer. That said, there are some companies that excel in certain niches, like helping small business owners navigate deductions or walking first-time filers through loads of tax jargon.

In order to determine the best tax software, we reviewed offerings from about a dozen online tax preparers, most of which are included in the IRS Free File Alliance, meaning they offer filers who earn up to $69,000 the ability to file their taxes for free.

We focused on a few important factors that we deem essential to any good filing experience: comparatively low cost, easy to use, good value, breadth of tax forms supported, ability to put off payment until the return is ready to file, easy W-2 or 1099 import or upload, an accuracy guarantee/liability, and optional audit support.

Below you'll find out picks for the best tax software.

BI

Why it stands out:TurboTax delivers in all areas of tax preparation with options aplenty. It offers $0 federal and state filing with no income limits for W-2 earners, plus a clear and structured question-and-answer format to help filers with more complicated financials e.g. a mortgage, investment income, education expenses, self-employment income, itemized deductions, etc. find the right paid product and make the most of every deduction available to them.

While its biggest competitor, H&R Block, is cheaper, TurboTax has at least two notable edges: It supports income from estates and trusts (Schedule K-1) and it offers QuickBooks integration for self-employed filers who track their business expenses all year long. Both tax preparers have excellent user interfaces the superior choice is usually a matter of personal preference.

Cost:

For nearly double the prices listed above, you can buy TurboTax Live, which gives you instant access to an expert who can review your tax return for accuracy before you submit, if that's important to you.

In addition to online filing services, TurboTax sells desktop software for a slight markup. Unless you need more hand holding and/or you want to be able to complete your tax return without internet connection, you probably don't need to splurge for the downloadable software.

What to look out for: One of the biggest complaints about TurboTax is the ease with which it attempts to upgrade users to the next-tier product, so beware of the upsell. You should also avoid paying your filing fee out of your refund, unless you're OK with an extra $40 processing fee tacked on to your total.

And a word to the wise: If you're looking for TurboTax's completely free filing service, don't go through the IRS Free File portal or you'll be met with a $36,000 income restriction.

BI

Why it stands out:H&R Block is part of the IRS Free File Alliance, which enables free filing for taxpayers with up to $69,000 in income, but you can file both your federal tax return and state tax return with H&R Block's free file edition regardless of how much you earned.

H&R Block's free file version supports W-2 income, interest income, dividend income, retirement distributions, the student loan interest deduction, and the Earned Income Tax Credit, which is more than TurboTax covers for free.

H&R Block is well-reviewed by novices and experts alike for its clear instructions, explanations of tax concepts, easy-to-use interface, and helpful customer service.

Cost:$0 federal return fee; $0 state return fee.

What to look out for: You can't itemize with H&R Block's free edition. Limitations exist for homeowners, freelancers, and business owners.

Similarly to TurboTax, if you want to use H&R Block's free edition, we recommend navigating directly to the website instead of going through the IRS Free File portal or you'll hit a landing page that enforces a $69,000 income limit.

BI

Why it stands out:1040.com works well for newbies and experienced filers alike. Like most of the online tax services, it uses a question-and-answer format to help filers navigate deductions and credits, but you can also jump directly to certain forms if you're well-versed.

Best of all, there are no price tiers or product comparisons just one flat fee that covers everything, and you don't have to pay until you're ready to submit your return. People with income beyond W-2 earnings typically pay a premium to file their taxes, but this service levies no upcharge for reporting self-employment income, business income, estate or trust income, or foreign earned income.

Plus, you can file multiple state returns at no extra cost.

Cost:$25 federal return fee; $0 state return fee.

What to look out for: If you choose to pay for 1040.com filing through your refund, you'll be charged an additional $25 processing fee. An outside audit protection service, which is included at no extra cost with the big tax preparers, will set you back $30.

BI

Why it stands out: If you know you're going to report business, trust, or complicated investment income, you can go straight to eFile.com's premium package, which is comparable to H&R Block's and TurboTax's self-employment options but offered at a fraction of the price. It may not feel as professional as the others, but eFile.com offers all the same important features.

This option is best for small business owners who generally know how business income tax filing works and don't need a ton of hand holding. If questions do arise, you have access to a "Taxpert," though reviews suggest you shouldn't expect quick answers. If your return is rejected by the IRS for any reason, you can refile at no extra charge.

Cost:

*Prices are rounded to the nearest dollar.

What to look out for:Don't get fooled into paying the online servicer out of your refund it'll be an extra cost of about $25.

BI

Why it stands out:First-time filers are generally younger and presumably cost-conscious. H&R Block is cheaper than TurboTax, but still provides more than enough hand holding for a novice. It also uses a question-and-answer format to guide you to the right online filing product and make sure you get every deduction or credit you qualify for.

H&R Block also has affordable options for those who would rather outsource the work to a tax professional through Tax Pro Go. Filing fees range from $49 for simple, W-2 earners to $249 for business owners (plus $39 state filing fees) and you don't ever have to step foot in an office.

Cost:

*Prices are rounded to the nearest dollar.

For an additional cost, you can get on-demand and unlimited help from an expert with H&R Block's Online Assist service, which includes screen-share capabilities and instant chat. There's also downloadable software if you want to work through your taxes on a desktop. It's cheaper than TurboTax, but again, just filing online is suitable in most cases.

What to look out for:It may sound easy to pay your filing fee directly out of your refund, but H&R Block will charge an extra $40 processing fee.

BI

Why it stands out:If you've filed many times over and feel confident navigating tax jargon, TaxAct is a good middle-of-the-road option: It's cheaper than the industry stalwarts and still gets the job done.

Each of its online filing options is a good bet, but independent contractors may find extra value with the self-employed option, which spends extra time identifying industry-specific deductions, whether you're a freelance writer, business consultant, teacher, or musician.

Filers can also import previous years' returns from another preparer to speed up the data-entry process. If questions arise along the way, TaxAct experts are available via email, chat, or phone.

Cost:

*Prices are rounded to the nearest dollar. All options are available to active duty military at no cost.

TaxAct also has downloadable software, but it's pricier than its online counterpart.

What to look out for:You won't get the moment-to-moment guidance and technical breakdowns that TaxAct's higher-end competitors are known for. If you need to file a return for estate or trust income, you'll need to buy a separate package for about $110, plus an additional $50 state return fee.

At Personal Finance Insider, we strive to help smart people make the best decisions with their money. Filing taxes can seem like a frustrating task for many of us and we want to help make the process easier and more affordable.

As previously mentioned, "best" is often subjective there's no single tax software or online tax filing service that will work for everyone. Not only are taxes highly personal, but there isn't one universal user experience. That's why we reviewed about a dozen of the most popular tax preparers to identify their top strengths and weaknesses.

We started with a list of tax preparers included in the IRS Free File Alliance, which offer filers who earn up to $69,000 the ability to file their taxes for free. (You can use the IRS Free File Lookup Tool to determine whether you qualify for free filing.)

All of these companies offer online tax filing services and a few, H&R Block and TurboTax included, also sell downloadable software for your computer, which you can use to fill out your tax return without an internet connection.

We also considered a few tax preparation companies not currently on the IRS Free File list, including 1040.com and Credit Karma.

We realize that if you're searching for the best tax software, you're probably either willing to spend time filing your own return or you're looking for a more affordable option than hiring a tax professional.

With that in mind, we weighted heavily the following factors: cost, ease of use, value, the breadth of tax forms supported, the ability to put off payment until the return is ready to file, easy W-2 or 1099 import or upload, an accuracy guarantee/liability, and optional audit support.

Finally, we consulted other experts, like Wirecutter and Nerdwallet, to make sure we weren't missing any major features or drawbacks of any of the services.

According to our research, TurboTax offers the widest selection of comprehensive tax software and online tax filing options on the market right now.

That said, every American who qualifies to file their taxes for free should be able to do so without deception. A 2019 investigation by ProPublica found that Intuit, TurboTax's parent company, and H&R Block were deliberately hiding their free filing services from Google and other search engines, which led the IRS to announce early this year that the companies would be prohibited from doing so going forward.

Despite this, we still feel TurboTax offers a valuable and honest product for filing your taxes. Also, as with any financial product, it's in your own best interest to stay vigilant.

TurboTax offers a very comprehensive online tax filing service for small business owners, but for a much cheaper option, try eFile.com. This option is best for business owners who generally know how business income tax filing works and don't need a ton of hand holding.

If you're easily overwhelmed by taxes, the best tax software is going to be one that does most of the work for you; H&R Block and TurboTax are wildly popular for this reason. All you have to do is upload the relevant tax forms and answer a few questions along the way to account for deductions and credits. These two tax preparers have multiple options for filers with any and every type of income, as well as individualized help from a CPA or enrolled agent for an additional fee, if you need it.

If your main objective is to save money on tax filing, check out the IRS Free File partners first. If your income is too high to qualify for free federal and/or state filing, consider budget options like TaxAct, eFile.com, 1040.com, and TaxSlayer. These companies offer tax software for a fraction of the price of H&R Block and TurboTax and still permit tax form uploads and provide a reasonable level of guidance throughout the process.

If getting a big tax refund is most important to you and you have time to spare, you may want to fill out a tax return with a few different online preparers. Each of the companies on our best tax software list allows you to begin a tax return for free and pay only when you're ready to submit the return (you will need to set up an account, though). Before payment is required, you should be able to see your tax refund amount and cancel any filing application that doesn't give you the biggest refund.

Tanza Loudenbackhas been writing about money every day for more than three years. She is an expert on strategies for building wealth and financial products that help people make the most of their money. She is in the process of becoming a licensed CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER (CFP).

Here is the original post:
Best tax software 2020: TurboTax, H&R Block, and more - Business Insider