ShipStation vs Shippo (2026): Which Is Better for Sellers?

At 500 labels a month, the cheaper plan cannot be read from the two pricing pages alone. ShipStation prints a monthly price at that volume: Starter $39.99, Standard $89.99 and Premium $449.99, all billed monthly. Shippo's free plan stops at 30 labels, and its Pro plan starts at $17 a month, but its page prints no price for the 201 to 500 label band. Figures checked October 12, 2026.

Toolradar data: Toolradar's Best Shipping & Fulfillment ranking covers 43 tools, and it files ShipStation and Shippo under the same Shipping & Fulfillment category. Shortlisting two products from that group is a sensible first cut. The subscription price follows from the plan you choose, and postage on top of it follows from your parcels, so the two need separate checks.

The 500-label bill, plan by plan

Shipping software bills in two ways here. ShipStation sells three tiers whose price rises with shipment volume, and its pricing page prints each tier's monthly price at 500 shipments. Shippo sells a free tier capped at 30 labels, then one Pro plan with a starting price and a list of label bands. Neither subscription includes postage.

At 500 labels, the printed picture is clear on one side only. ShipStation gives you a monthly bill you can plan around at every tier. Shippo gives you a starting figure and a band table, so the fee at your exact volume has to come from Shippo itself.

What ShipStation charges at 500 shipments

ShipStation's pricing page prints a monthly price for each tier at 500 shipments. Starter costs $39.99 a month, Standard $89.99 and Premium $449.99. Billed monthly for a full year, those come to $479.88, $1,079.88 and $5,399.88, which is the monthly price times 12. The page's billing switch advertises 20% savings on annual billing, but it does not print the annual figures, so this page uses monthly prices only.

Starter is the cheapest tier at this volume, but it allows 3 users and only basic automations. Standard adds unlimited automations and 10 users, which is the tier a small team needs at 500 labels. Premium adds 15 users, and at about five times the Standard bill it only pays off if you need that seat count. The full profile of the product sits in our ShipStation review, and the ShipStation alternatives guide lists the other tools buyers compare against it.

The weak spot is the missing free tier. All three plans carry a price, and the only way to test the product without paying is the 30-day trial, which needs no credit card. A store that wants to pay nothing for its first 30 labels has to start somewhere else.

What Shippo charges, and where its price stops

Shippo's Starter plan costs nothing for one user and up to 30 labels a month. It includes discounted USPS, UPS, FedEx and DHL Express labels, unlimited store connections, automations, return labels and email support. Return labels and automations come with the free tier, so it is not a stripped-down trial. If you want the free route in full, our free shipping software comparison lists what the other tools give away.

Pro is where the 500-label question sits. The page lists label bands from 1 to 200 up to 5,001 to 10,000 a month, and it prints one Pro price, "Starts at $17/mo", with an annual option at $205 a year. Because no price appears for each band, a store shipping 500 labels cannot read its monthly fee from the page. Ask Shippo for the 201 to 500 price before you put a figure in the budget.

Pro brings 5 users, branded tracking pages, packing slips, chat and phone support, and AI-estimated delivery dates. It also makes your own carrier accounts free, where Starter charges 5 cents a label to use them. Above 10,000 labels a month, each extra label costs $0.08. Premier is quote-only, with unlimited shipments and 15 or more users.

The weak spot mirrors the strength. The free tier ends at 30 labels, and a store that grows past that moves onto a plan whose price at its own volume the page does not give. The budget step arrives before the quote does.

Where the answer flips

The missing Shippo price at 500 labels decides the subscription comparison, and it can land in one of three zones. If Shippo's 201 to 500 price comes in below ShipStation's Starter price, it undercuts the cheapest 500-label plan. If it lands between the Starter and Standard prices, Shippo is cheaper than Standard but dearer than Starter. Above the Standard price, Shippo's monthly subscription costs more than ShipStation's Standard at 500 labels, before you count features.

Postage works on the same scale. A $10 difference in the monthly subscription equals 2 cents a label at 500 labels, so a small gap in carrier rates can outweigh the plan fee. Neither vendor prints a postage rate, so run a week of your own parcels through both before you switch.

Which one to pick

Shippo if you ship 30 labels a month or fewer. Starter costs nothing, covers discounted FedEx and DHL Express labels, and includes return labels, so the question is carriers and features, not price.

ShipStation Standard if you ship around 500 labels with a team of up to 10 people and need unlimited automations. The printed page gives its 500-label price, so you can budget against it.

Get Shippo's quote first if you ship more than 30 labels a month and still want Shippo, because the page does not say which band its starting price covers at your volume. Stores that sell on Shopify can check Shopify pricing for the platform side of the bill, while Etsy and eBay sellers can compare the Etsy seller fees and eBay seller fees before adding shipping costs.

For a wider shortlist, the best shipping software ranking covers the field, and stores that still choose a platform can start with the best ecommerce platforms. If you ship only UPS or USPS and want to weigh a different pair, our Pirate Ship vs Shippo page compares that matchup.

What the printed figures do not show

Neither page names a currency. Both print dollar amounts with no currency code, so this page reads them as US dollars. Confirm each figure on the vendor page before you buy. Some comparison pages still list ShipStation plan names and prices that no longer appear on its current pricing page. The figures here come only from the two vendor pricing pages, read on October 12, 2026.

How we checked

We read ShipStation's pricing page and Shippo's pricing page on October 12, 2026. Every plan, price, user count, label cap and fee on this page comes from those pages as printed. Subscription totals are our arithmetic, the monthly price times 12, and they exclude postage and insurance. The Toolradar count is the directory's own figure from its Best Shipping & Fulfillment ranking, read the same day, and the product profiles behind it are on ShipStation on Toolradar and Shippo on Toolradar. We did not rank carriers by a number, because ShipStation's page does not print a carrier count.

Cite this: Retailpresso, "ShipStation vs Shippo (2026): Which Is Better for Sellers?", October 2026.

Disclosure: the Shippo links on this page are affiliate links, and we may earn a commission if you sign up through them.

Frequently asked questions

Is ShipStation or Shippo cheaper for 500 shipments a month?

ShipStation's printed monthly prices at 500 shipments are $39.99 for Starter, $89.99 for Standard and $449.99 for Premium. Shippo's Pro plan starts at $17 a month, but its page prints no price for the 201 to 500 label band, so the page alone cannot give a like-for-like total. Ask Shippo for a quote at 500 labels before you decide.

Is Shippo free?

Starter is free for one user and up to 30 labels a month, and it includes discounted USPS, UPS, FedEx and DHL Express labels. Above 30 labels you need Pro, which starts at $17 a month. The page also prints $205 a year and does not say which billing basis the starting price uses.

Does ShipStation have a free plan?

No. Its three plans all carry a monthly price. The page offers a 30-day free trial, and it needs no credit card to start.

How many users does each plan allow?

ShipStation allows 3 users on Starter, 10 on Standard and 15 on Premium. Shippo allows 1 user on Starter, up to 5 on Pro, and 15 or more on Premier, where you need a quote.

Which one connects to more carriers?

Shippo's pricing page says it gives discounted rates across 40+ carriers. ShipStation's pricing page prints no carrier count, so this page does not rank the two on carrier numbers. Check the carriers you ship with on each product before you choose.

Does either plan include postage?

No. Neither subscription covers postage, and neither vendor prints a postage rate. Compare total cost on a week of your own parcels, not on the plan fee alone.

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