ShipStation vs Shippo for a small online store

This comparison is for a small online store in the United States choosing between ShipStation and Shippo. Prices are US dollars before tax, read from each product's own pages on 29 October 2026. Sums marked as our arithmetic are calculated by us from those prices for stated examples; they are not averages of real stores and they exclude postage, insurance and extra users. We did not test either product and make no claim about savings on postage, sales or growth. Plans and facts are on the product pages: ShipStation and Shippo. For the European option and the built-in tools, see ShipStation alternatives; for how the fees are built, see shipping software pricing.

On list prices Shippo is the cheaper way in for a store with low or moderate volume, and it has a free plan for very small volume. ShipStation prices by shipments, includes no per-label fee and gives more users and carrier-account options on its Standard plan. The choice turns on whether you need your own carrier account on the entry plan, how many people use the account and whether you want a refund window, not on the headline price alone.

Volumes a month: 100, 500, 1,000 and 5,000. ShipStation counts shipments and Shippo counts labels, so the units are close but not identical. Each row uses the smallest published level that covers the volume. Brackets show the monthly equivalent when billed yearly; the Shippo equivalents are our arithmetic from the stated yearly amounts.

Our arithmetic: Shippo Pro is lower than ShipStation Starter by $10.99, $10.99, $25.99 and $35.99 a month at these four volumes, and lower than ShipStation Standard by $40.99, $60.99, $95.99 and $110.99. Starter does not allow your own carrier account, so the fair comparison for a store that does is ShipStation Standard.

• Own carrier account: ShipStation Starter does not allow it; Standard and Premium do. Shippo Pro allows it free, and Starter allows it for 5 cents a label.
• Users: ShipStation Starter includes 3 users and cannot add more; Standard includes 10 and lets you buy more. Shippo Starter has one login; Pro entry level has 5.
• Automation and returns: ShipStation lists unlimited automation rule types, branded tracking and returns analytics from Standard; both products offer return labels on their entry plans. Shippo adds pick lists, branded tracking and chat and phone support on Pro.
• Older ShipStation plans: plans registered before a date stated on its pricing page may carry carrier-connection fees.

ShipStation imports Shopify orders that contain physical products and can send tracking back after a label is created; some Shopify automatic discounts do not carry over as line items. For WooCommerce it uses the ShipStation plugin plus REST API credentials and needs a recent plugin and WordPress version. Shippo imports orders from both Shopify and WooCommerce and syncs tracking back; the pages do not say how the WooCommerce connection is built. Neither product's pages name a plan required for these connections.

• Choose Shippo if your volume is low or moderate, you want a free starting plan or a lower list price, and you can accept a short refund policy.
• Choose ShipStation Standard if you need your own carrier account, more users or the refund window, and are willing to pay the higher plan price.
• Start with ShipStation Starter only if you do not need your own carrier account and can work with a small number of users.

• Postage prices for any parcel.
• The price of extra ShipStation users.
• What ShipStation does when you pass the shipment level of your plan.
• How the Shippo WooCommerce connection is built.
• Whether either product changes its prices for other regions.