The Best Shipping Software Platforms (2023 Guide)

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Choosing the right e-commerce shipping software for your business ensures access to the best discounts and carrier options. You can print your labels and ship your packages quickly and easily. This post will look at five of the best shipping software platforms on the market and the best for your needs.

What’s covered in this review

We will cover these services, pricing, carrier selection, and any additional features and unique qualities they bring to the table. At the end of each section, I’ll summarize a set of pros and cons. At the end of the review, I’ll make a couple of picks based on everything we’ve discussed. Let’s take a look at some of the best e-commerce shipping companies.

ADDITIONAL READING

Once you have an account somewhere, check out how you can get a low or no-cost Zebra thermal printer from UPS. 🤑

The Seller Journal’s Picks

I thought about this for a while and realized that I don’t think it’s possible to pick a single shipping service. We have a few different categories and offering levels that cater to different crowds and business sizes, so let’s break down my picks of the best shipping software platforms by how you might use them.

#1 Pick Overall

EasyShip

With a familiar interface and versatility to ship from all the major platforms, the price point for EasyShip makes it a top contender on this list. Seller Journal readers can also get an exclusive $10 shipping credit using code JLS637 when signing up.

Easyship homepage

Less than 25 packages/month

ShippingEasy

A versatile and easy-to-use shipping platform that integrates with many services and streamlines the shipping process for businesses selling products online. Get an extended 60-day free trial, a special for Seller Journal readers.

shippingeasy homepage 1

For small & medium e-commerce businesses

ShipStation

A powerhouse shipping service built for busy e-commerce businesses. Custom branding, a deep integration list, and powerful features make ShipStation a standout choice. Get an extended 60-day free trial when you use code SELLER60 at signup.

shipstation homepage

For personal & occasional use

PirateShip

A no-frills shipping platform, PirateShip is excellent if you’re only occasionally shipping packages and are okay with using UPS or USPS. Integrations are limited to a handful of the largest platforms (Shopify, Etsy, BigCommerce, eBay, etc.).

PirateShip

The Best Shipping Software

1. Easyship

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The Easyship homepage.

Easyship is another powerhouse shipping platform that’ll tie well into just about anything you have. WooCommerce, Amazon, Shopify, you name it; Easyship will probably hook up.

Here’s a neat trick that considers Easyship at the top of the stack: the fulfillment network. Easyship offers fulfillment services and warehouse locations worldwide, and all the relevant taxes and duties are factored in automatically. No surprises.

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The Easyship dashboard.

I’m always a fan of super slick and clean UIs. Creating a shipment is similar to the other platforms in that it’s a multi-step process. Like the other platforms, I imagine most shipments will be generated through the originating e-commerce platform rather than by hand, so this may not matter.

Easyship comes with all the shipping carriers you could ever imagine. All the rates are pre-negotiated, and the pricing is friendly, too. If there’s a particular carrier you’re interested in, Easyship has a handy search tool here.

EasyShip is free to start and comes with 100 shipments per month out of the box (no pun intended). Move up to the paid plan starting at $29/month and get your hands on 500 shipments a month and a branded tracking page for your customers, along with additional users and courier account integrations. The free plan lets you tie in one carrier account of your choosing.

EasyShip Pros

  • Covers all the major carriers
  • Pricing is competitive with the other paid multi-carrier options
  • The interface is full-featured and easy to understand
  • The free plan is more than enough to get started

EasyShip Cons

  • The Cost Estimator doesn’t cover all shipping options
  • Limited support for bringing your own shipping accounts on paid plans
FOR SELLER JOURNAL READERS đź’°

Seller Journal readers can get a 30-day free trial and an exclusive $10 credit toward shipping costs. Click this link and use the code JLS637 when signing up.


2. ShippingEasy

shippingeasy homepage
ShippingEasy’s integration with all of the popular platforms makes shipping simple.

I know a few business owners that use ShippingEasy for shipping their online orders, and they have nothing but good things to say. ShippingEasy provides the deepest discounts you can get from all the major carriers and integrates with just about every platform.

As a potential Easyship alternative, I think of ShippingEasy as the entry-level version of ShipStation (the same company, Auctane, makes them). However, that doesn’t mean they’re skimping on features. ShippingEasy integrates with Shopify, BigCommerce, Etsy, eBay, Amazon, WooCommerce, Walmart, Squarespace, PayPal, OpenCart, Quickbooks, and more platforms.

Plans start at FREE for 25 labels per month. Paid plans offer branded tracking pages and SMS messages, custom logos on shipping labels, incredibly detailed reporting, and more.

ShippingEasy Pros

  • Easy-to-understand interface
  • Pricing is competitive with the other paid multi-carrier options
  • Integrates with just about every other selling and inventory platform.
  • Branded tracking pages
  • A free plan to get started
  • An extra 30-days on the free trial for Seller Journal readers

ShippingEasy Cons

  • The Cost Estimator doesn’t cover all shipping options
FOR SELLER JOURNAL READERS đź’°

ShippingEasy is offering Seller Journal readers an extended 60-day free trial, doubling the free trial offered to the general public. Use this link when signing up.


3. ShipStation

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The ShipStation homepage.

When we start talking about big players, ShipStation is the first to come to mind. It’s as powerful as powerful can get, and the automatic UPS carrier discount is nice, too! (More on that in a bit) If you’re an e-commerce operator that has real volume, this is where I’d put my money and effort.

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The quote tool is super quick to load the rates from all the connected services.

ShipStation integrates with all the carriers and makes getting quotes incredibly easy. This is probably my favorite interface for shipping management software out of all the quoting tools each provider offers. The user interface and how it flows will also feel familiar if you spend time dealing with inventory management.

ShipStation starts at $9.99 a month, which is a great deal if you’re want this level of integration.

FOR SELLER JOURNAL READERS đź’°

ShipStation is offering Seller Journal readers an extended 60-day free trial, doubling the free trial offered to the general public. Use this link and code SELLER60 when signing up.

ShipStation Pros

  • The interface makes sense if you’ve ever used a shipping platform before.
  • Easy to create quotes and shipments.
  • Integrates with just about every other selling and inventory platform.
  • Branded tracking pages
  • An extra 30-days on the free trial for Seller Journal readers

ShipStation Cons

  • The interface may be a bit confusing for those who’ve never used a shipping platform before.
  • No free plan.

4. Pirate Ship

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The Pirate Ship homepage.

Pirate Ship was my first. When I needed to ship packages, this was the first service I used, and to this day, I still pull them up when the time is right.

Pirate Ship is good at being an interface for USPS commercial rate pricing and always giving you the cheapest possible options.

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The Pirate Ship interface.

The interface doesn’t have much to it, but it ties in well with eBay, Etsy, and Shopify, which is a massive plus for sellers. Bulk-create labels or do them one at a time by typing or pasting in an address. Pirate Ship will do its best to parse it out.

Enter what kind of packaging you’re using and its size, and presto-chango: pricing. Click another button, and boom, your label is ready to go.

Pirate Ship only provides two shipping carriers: The United States Postal Service (USPS) and UPS. Unlike some of the other shippers on this list, they do not charge any extra fees, so all you pay is the price for the shipping itself. This is the epitome of a “free shipping service.”  It’s as simple as that.

Pirate Ship vs. Stamps.com is also a no-brainer. I’m not sure I’ve ever thought Stamps.com to be a viable option as long as Pirate Ship is readily accessible.

Pirate Ship added UPS support in 2022, making them a lucrative option for those who want to send UPS packages without paying extra. Having your own UPS account is not required.

PirateShip Pros

  • Zero surcharges for shipping.
  • Commercial UPS and USPS pricing with no minimums
  • Integrates well with Shopify, eBay, and Etsy.
  • Supports shipping internationally.

PirateShip Cons

  • Pasting addresses can be a little wonky if the address is capitalized strangely.
  • No FedEx or DHL support.
  • Bulk printing is limited in customizability.
  • High-volume shippers and businesses may find the lack of flexibility frustrating.

Wrapping Up

Any of these services could fit a large cross-section of businesses and users. What matters most is the features you need for your business right now and as your business grows. The last thing you’ll want to do is change shipping platforms every six months because you’ve outgrown them or need different carrier support. Once you’ve found the platform that ticks all the boxes that matter most, settle in and grow your business. You’ll start to forget that they’re even there, and that’s a good thing.


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