4 Best ShipBob Competitors [+2 Alternatives]

ShipBob is an industry-leading third-party order fulfillment company. It delivers scalable services to startups and small and midsize businesses (SMBs) with affordable pricing, no monthly minimum, and a wide warehouse network to keep your shipping spend low.

However, ShipBob’s drawbacks may make it a less-than-perfect fit for certain businesses—including Amazon sellers, those with oversized or high-maintenance goods, and those seeking high levels of customer support. The company also received an influx of negative reviews recently, which may cause business owners to explore other options.

We evaluated dozens of providers to find the best ShipBob competitors for outsourcing fulfillment:

• ShipMonk: Best overall alternative to ShipBob
• Red Stag Fulfillment: Best for special-handling needs
• ShipHero: Best for hybrid fulfillment
• Fulfillment by Amazon: Best for Amazon sellers

If your business has not scaled to the point where outsourcing fulfillment is economically viable, or if you have unique product requirements for order fulfillment, one of these ShipBob alternatives could be a better fit:

• ShippingEasy: Best software for scaling in-house fulfillment
• WarehousingAndFulfillment.com: Best broker for finding providers that fit your needs

Not sure what you need? Read our guide to order fulfillment processes and strategies and our breakdown of in-house vs outsourced fulfillment.

ShipBob Competitors Compared

	Monthly Minimum	US Warehouse Locations	International Warehouse Locations	Shipping Carrier Options	Amazon Seller-Fulfilled Prime (SFP)	FBA Prep Service	Accuracy Rate
Visit ShipBob	None	23	6	FedEx, UPS, USPS, DHL, OSM, CDL Last Mile, UDS, LSO, OnTrac	✖	✔	99.95%
Visit ShipMonk	$250 in pick & pack fees	8	3	FedEx, UPS, USPS, DHL, DHL Express, Passport	✔	✔	99.99%
Visit Red Stag	~200 orders	2	None	FedEx, UPS, USPS, Amazon Logistics, OnTrac	✔	✖	99.98% with $50 payment guarantee for every error
Visit ShipHero	500 orders	5	2	UPS, USPS, FedEx, DHL, GLS	✖	✔	99.90%
Visit FBA	None	110	75	Amazon Logistics, UPS	✔	✔	Undisclosed

ShipBob at a Glance

ShipBob at a Glance

What We Like

• Excellent value: Free order management software and affordable fulfillment fees
• Two-day discounted ground shipping anywhere within the continental US and options for same-day delivery
• Wide fulfillment network: 23 US and six international warehouse locations

What's Missing

• High storage fees: Not ideal for slow-moving products or businesses with low sale-to-SKU ratios
• Cannot fulfill Amazon SFP (Seller-Fulfilled Prime) orders
• No refrigeration or frozen warehousing for cold chain compliance

Key Features

• Third-party fulfillment services
• No monthly minimum or maximum
• Affordable pricing
• B2B fulfillment with EDI compliance
• 23 US warehouse locations
• Six international warehouse locations
• Itemized billing format for transparency
• FDA-certified climate control and handling
• 99.95% accuracy rate
• Works with UPS, USPS, FedEx, DHL and smaller regional carriers
• FBA prep services

ShipBob Pricing

	Cost
Onboarding & Implementation	$975 Or Free on the Growth Plan
Inbound Shipping	Discounted rates available
Receiving	$25 first two hours, $40 per person-hour after that
Storage	$40 per pallet/month, $10 per shelf/month, or $5 per bin/month
Fulfillment Fee	Calculated per-package based on weight & shipping distance
Pick & Pack	Free up to four picks, 20 cents per additional item
Packaging Materials	Free
Promotional Inserts	20 cents
Shipping	Discounted rates available with major carriers
Returns	$3 per order
Special Projects	$45/person-hour

Looking for more information about ShipBob? Read our in-depth ShipBob review.

ShipMonk: Best Overall Alternative to ShipBob

ShipMonk

What We Like

• Best-in-class support from a dedicated customer service rep with client-specific training
• Advanced accuracy measures and warehouse automation
• Ample pre-built marketplace integrations

What's Missing

• Restrictive international fulfillment network
• Hidden costs in fine-print pricing details
• No climate control for temperature-sensitive goods like health products or grocery items

Where ShipMonk beats ShipBob

• In-house, US-based customer service team
• Amazon Seller-Fulfilled Prime eligibility
• Greater accuracy rate
• State-of-the-art warehouse automation
• Robust customization and branding options
• Takes a photo of packed orders before they’re shipped

ShipMonk is a fulfillment provider geared toward SMBs. Its tech-forward platform aims to reduce fulfillment costs and increase operational accuracy through robotic automation and advanced warehouse management systems (WMS) in its fulfillment centers.

The company prides itself on delivering best-in-class customer service to its clients. Each account is paired with a dedicated “Happiness Engineer” who is employed domestically and available five days a week.

ShipMonk is a top ShipBob alternative because the two companies offer many of the same features and benefits along with comparable pricing.

Both providers also share a focus on startups and non-traditional business models, like crowdfunding and subscription boxes. But unlike ShipBob, ShipMonk does not offer dropshipping services.

ShipMonk Pricing

In our in-depth comparison of ShipBob vs ShipMonk, we evaluated the costs of using each service for one month as a case-study startup ecommerce store. In the end, the total price associated with each company was strikingly close—although ShipBob was cheaper for multi-item orders.

ShipMonk Itemized Costs

What ShipMonk Users Think

ShipMonk’s total ratings scores are some of the highest when it comes to ShipBob competitors. Positive reviewers commend the company for its responsive customer service, simple pricing structure, robust software, and general ease of use.

But it’s important to note that all of the visible ShipMonk reviews from 2022 have so far been negative. The uptick in criticism includes reports of frequent mispicks, costly shipping errors, and thousands of dollars’ worth of lost inventory.

The company doubled its warehouse footprint in recent months, so it’s easy to imagine that clients are suffering the consequences of ShipMonk’s growing pains.

Reviews summary:

• Trustpilot: 4.2-star rating from 170+ reviews
• Capterra: 4.2-star rating from 100+ reviews

Red Stag Fulfillment: Best for Special-handling Needs

Red Stag Fulfillment

What We Like

• Excellent operational transparency and service guarantees
• Fast turnaround times with affordable shipping and handling for oversize items
• Low order minimums and no long-term contracts

What's Missing

• Restrictive warehouse network
• Dashboard and user interface are not user-friendly
• Pricing isn’t ideal for small, lightweight, and/or low-value products

Where Red Stag beats ShipBob

• 30-day risk-free trial
• Special-handling expertise
• Industry-leading service guarantee with payouts for errors
• Later cutoff times for processing same-day orders
• 48-hour guaranteed receiving and unloading turnaround time
• Greater accuracy rate
• Amazon Seller-fulfilled Prime eligibility
• Very highly rated

Red Stag’s unique approach focuses on special-handling needs to best accommodate oversized, heavy, high-value, or fragile products. This specialization makes fulfillment and logistics cost-effective by reducing spend on packing, shipping, and storing high-maintenance goods—as well as eliminating losses due to mishandling.

The company offers a 100% guarantee for receiving, inventory, order accuracy, and shipping accuracy, plus order speed and zero-shrink guarantees. If a mistake should occur, Red Stag will reimburse you for the cost plus a $50 penalty payment.

Unlike ShipBob, Red Stag doesn’t have an international warehouse network, batch fulfillment options (for product launches or crowdfunding ventures), or a plan for low-volume startups.

Red Stag Pricing

What Red Stag Users Think

Red Stag is a smaller company than many competitors, so few reviews are available. Most of the feedback you can find online was left by employees of the company, and reflects Red Stag’s working environment rather than its services.

But the available reviews from clients are exceptionally positive. Business owners cite the courtesy, promptness, and professionalism of the customer support team, and commend Red Stag for consistently living up to its guarantees.

• Google: 4.2-star rating from around 50 reviews
• WebRetailer: 4.9-star rating from about 10 reviews

ShipHero: Best for Hybrid Fulfillment

ShipHero

What We Like

• Flat-rate shipping costs: Closely control margins with ultra-predictable pricing
• Options for standalone software to support in-house fulfillment
• Automatic intelligent product distribution for optimized delivery

What's Missing

• Aggregated shipping costs: Not ideal for businesses that primarily ship to nearby zones
• Some basic features require qualification and approval
• 500-order minimum requirement makes

Where ShipHero beats ShipBob

• Shipping, inventory, and warehouse management software solutions for in-house fulfillment
• Automatic load-balancing across multiple warehouse locations for qualified clients
• Tax benefits and cost reductions for volume importers
• Flat-rate shipping prices
• Sustainability-focused

ShipHero is the only 3PL that provides solutions for in-house and outsourced fulfillment. In addition to traditional third-party services, businesses can use the company’s inventory management software, shipping software, and/or warehouse management software (WMS) to run their in-house operation efficiently.

These products are effective on their own, but can also be used to make the transition into third-party fulfillment as smooth as possible. Clients can also take a hybrid approach to fulfillment by splitting inventory between ShipHero’s warehouses and their own operation.

Similarly to ShipBob, ShipHero has a nationwide network of warehouses that it uses to distribute inventory for its customers—although not all businesses qualify for this feature. Its pricing structure is based on this optimized distribution, so shipping costs are charged at a flat rate for all clients.

Flat-rate shipping can be immensely helpful for businesses to accurately calculate and anticipate their fulfillment spend. This makes ShipHero a good choice for small businesses moving out of their previous in-house operation or retailers selling products with thin margins.

ShipHero Pricing

What ShipHero Users Think

Most of ShipHero’s user reviews are resoundingly positive. The majority of reviews mention friendly and effective customer service, and even commend specific employees by name.

A number of ShipHero’s negative reviews state that the service has just recently taken a turn for the worse. These users cite poor response times and ineffective issue resolution—although most of them appear to be companies enrolled in ShipHero’s warehouse management software.

• G2: 4.3-star rating from about 45 reviews
• Trustpilot: 4.8-star rating from around 340 reviews

Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA): Best for Amazon Sellers

Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA)

What We Like

• Prime shipping designation provides access to over 150 million Prime subscribers
• Fast turnaround and shipping times
• Hands-off return and refund management

What's Missing

• Highly expensive storage fees that fluctuate seasonally
• Low visibility into stock levels, plus pooling products between sellers, puts you at risk
• No common specialty services like kitting, assembly, or branded packaging

Where FBA Beats ShipBob

• 110 U.S. warehouse locations
• 75 International warehouse locations
• Automatic Prime designation on Amazon listings
• Later cutoff times for processing same-day orders
• Post-sale customer servicing and refund management included

Fulfillment by Amazon (commonly known as FBA) is a 3PL company that provides multichannel order fulfillment services geared toward Amazon sellers.

Using FBA for your Amazon sales provides post-sale servicing, automatic Prime designation, search engine optimization (SEO), and other benefits—which is why it’s used by 89% of the platform’s merchants.

However, FBA’s pricing and procedures are more complicated than many other fulfillment companies, particularly if you are not selling small or low-weight products. Additionally, its multichannel fulfillment services aren’t cost-effective, so it’s best for retailers who make the majority of their sales on Amazon.

FBA Pricing

What FBA Users Think

There aren’t many Fulfillment By Amazon reviews or ratings available. The majority of feedback you’ll find online is the entire Amazon marketplace platform rather than FBA itself.

FBA-focused reviews are largely positive, though. Reviewers cite an easy onboarding process and effective, hassle-free post-sale servicing.

In Amazon Services Seller Forums users report complications due to FBA’s labeling protocol, lost items and shipments, and difficulty with Amazon’s Seller Support.

• G2: 4.5-star rating from more than 10 reviews

ShipBob Alternatives

If neither ShipBob nor its competitors have what you’re looking for, consider these alternative fulfillment solutions for your business.

ShippingEasy: Best Shipping Software for Scaling In-house Fulfillment

When to Use ShippingEasy Scaling existing in-house fulfillment operations to meet increasing demand Refining your fulfillment workflow to reduce labor and shipping spend Planning an in-house fulfillment strategy for startups and growing businesses Equipping a hybrid fulfillment strategy to efficiently process any number of orders in-house

Key Features Order management and shipping software 30-day free trial Shipping rate comparison tool Discounted rates with major carriers Programmable automation rules Reporting and analytics tools Affordable customer marketing add-on including email marketing, reputation management, campaign management tools Advanced peripheral hardware connectivity Works with FedEx, UPS, USPS, DHL, DHL Express, OnTrac, and 10 more carriers Highly rated

ShippingEasy is a cloud-based order management and shipping software that integrates with ecommerce platforms and shopping cart applications. It enables you to sync, download and create orders, compare carrier rates, print labels, and automate tasks. Plus, ShippingEasy comes with inventory management features and customer marketing tools.

If you’re seeking an alternative to third-party fulfillment, this software is an effective tool to level-up your in-house fulfillment operation to meet demand. ShippingEasy has affordable plans for businesses shipping up to 10,000 monthly orders, and gives you deep discounts with major carriers.

ShippingEasy Pricing

ShippingEasy is available with a 30-day free trial. All plans come with an unlimited store allowance, so you can integrate all of the sales channels that you manage. Additional users can be added to any plan for $5/month.

	Shipments	# of Users	Monthly Cost
Starter	50	1	$5
Basic	500	2	$29
Plus	1,500	3	$49
Select	3,000	5	$69
Premium	6,000	Unlimited	$99
Enterprise	10,000	Unlimited	$159

What ShippingEasy Users Think

ShippingEasy is highly rated in hundreds of online reviews. Most users express satisfaction with the software’s pricing and features, as well as the level of customer support they receive.

Negative reviews for ShippingEasy criticize its user-friendliness and report technical connectivity issues. A number of users mention having trouble with integrations that resulted in the creation of duplicate orders.

• Capterra: 4.8 / 5 from 1,050+ reviews
• G2: 4.6-star rating from over 30 reviews

Read our ShippingEasy review to see more about what we think.

WarehousingAndFulfillment.com: Best for Finding Providers That Fit Your Needs

When to Use WarehousingAndFulfillment.com Discovering compatible providers for 3PL services Comparing quotes from multiple providers quickly Planning a fulfillment strategy for startups and growing businesses	Key Features Fulfillment company match-making services Recommendations tailored to your business needs Free to use Phone support Customized quotes No commitment required No spam guarantee Pre-screening, interview, and credit check process required for fulfillment companies to qualify Library of helpful online resources Works with a network of thousands of providers

Similar to a brokerage, WarehousingAndFulfillment.com collects information about your unique business needs and uses it to match you with compatible fulfillment providers. It draws from a network of thousands of 3PLs to recommend the best potential partners and solutions.

Using WarehousingAndFulfillment.com is a quick and risk-free way to discover fulfillment partners and receive fast quotes. Plus, there’s no obligation, so trying this service is a worthwhile step in your fulfillment research.

WarehousingAndFulfillment.com Pricing

WarehousingAndFulfillment.com is a completely free service to use. If you choose one of the providers recommended to you through the service, WarehousingAndFulfillment.com receives a $30 lead fee from the fulfillment company. When you enroll with a fulfillment partner through WarehousingAndFulfillment.com, the prices you pay don’t include any markups or broker fees.

What WarehousingAndFulfillment.com Users Think

There aren’t any reviews of this service posted on independent websites, but WarehousingAndFulfillment.com displays a number of promising testimonials. Customers mention finding great prices through the service and saving a significant amount of time.

Bottom Line

ShipBob tops our list of the best order fulfillment services for small businesses—but fulfillment isn’t a one-size-fits-all option. There are thousands of 3PLs to choose from, but only a small percentage serve small businesses. Your unique business needs will then narrow the selection further down. We recommend getting quotes from a range of providers to thoroughly explore your options before partnering with a fulfillment company.

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