Shippo Review: Simple, Beginner-friendly Shipping Software
Meaghan has provided content and guidance for indie retailers as the editor for a number of retail publications and a speaker at trade shows. She is Fit Small Business’s authority on retail and ecommerce.
Katie-Jay aims to put answers in the hands of small business owners by leveraging over 10 years of retail and hospitality experience. With a background in gemology, she specializes in jewelry and luxury ecommerce.
This article is part of a larger series on Retail Management.
Shippo is a multicarrier shipping software platform geared toward small ecommerce businesses. It’s designed to streamline order fulfillment and shipping through order management tools, integrated shipping services, and direct connectivity with popular ecommerce apps, platforms, and marketplaces.
In our evaluation of the best shipping software for small businesses, Shippo scored 3.59 out of 5. We found that it lacks certain important functionality such as peripheral hardware compatibility, inventory management features, and reliable customer support. But its user-friendly platform and helpful shipping features make it a popular choice.
Overall Score:
3.59 / 5
What We Like
- Simple, user-friendly interface
- Discounted shipping rates
- Wide range of paid plan options
What's Missing
- Per-label surcharges
- Inaccessible customer service and tech support
- Rudimentary features
- Limited peripheral hardware support and automation rules
When to Use
- Shipping beginners: Shippo’s simple interface is highly user-friendly.
- Sellers using a variety of other tools or apps: It features an extensive list of native integrations.
- Global sellers: Shippo offers helpful features for managing international orders.
When to Use an Alternative
- Growing in-house fulfillment: ShippingEasy offers better automation and peripheral hardware support.
- Sellers seeking a multipurpose tool: Shippo is a rudimentary shipping solution, while Ordoro has more features.
- Dropshippers: Ordoro delivers better functionality for managing dropshipped orders.
Shippo offers simple, straightforward functions on an extremely user-friendly interface, making it a good fit for shipping beginners and computer novices. It also boasts extensive connectivity with the leading ecommerce channels and tools, helping support users who rely on a variety of ecommerce apps. For international orders, Shippo offers unique convenience features such as prefilled customs documents and Paperless Trade options.
But Shippo is missing a few crucial features important to an efficient shipping workflow such as peripheral hardware compatibility, advanced automation rules, and accessible customer support. Because of this, growing in-house fulfillment operations should consider an alternative. It also doesn’t deliver much functionality outside the scope of shipping and lacks dropshipping features, so it’s a poor fit for sellers seeking a multipurpose tool.
Shippo Deciding Factors
Supported Business Types | Small to midsize businesses (SMBs), enterprise-level businesses, startups, ecommerce stores, retail stores, dropshippers, direct-to-consumer (DTC) sellers, business-to-business (B2B) sellers, resellers, and subscription-box services |
Standout Features |
|
Carrier Discounts | United States Postal Service (USPS) Commercial Base Pricing and discounted UPS and DHL Express rates |
Free Starter Plan | Unlimited shipments and a 5-cent per-label transaction fee |
Pricing | From $10 per month for 60 shipments to $200 per month for 10,000 shipments |
Contract Length | 1 month |
Peripheral Integrations | Supports basic printers |
Average Rating in User Reviews* | 4.47 out of 5 |
Customer Support | Via email or live chat from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. Pacific time Monday through Friday, and 6 a.m. to 2 p.m. Pacific time Saturday and Sunday |
*Aggregate rating based on total scores from Capterra, Shopify App Store, Trustpilot, and G2.
Shippo Alternatives
 |  |  |  |
|---|---|---|---|
Best for: Small-scale sellers and ecommerce beginners | Best for: Companies scaling to meet shipping demands | Best for: High-volume sellers seeking a multipurpose tool | Best for: Managing all aspects of a warehouse or in-house fulfillment operation |
Price: Free to $180 per month | Price: $9.99–$159.99 per month | Price: Free to $999 per month | Price: $1,850–$1,995 per month |
Shippo’s free starter plan isn’t technically free, and it incurs per-label surcharges, which knocked down its score in this category during our evaluation. But it earned points for its vast range of plan options as well as its helpful carrier discounts.
In addition to its starter plan, Shippo offers two levels of paid plans. The Professional plan has nine pricing options that provide different volumes of shipping labels. Each Shippo pricing tier in this level comes with the same features and functionality.
Plans | Pricing ($/Month) | Monthly Labels | Users |
|---|---|---|---|
Free Trial | 30-Day | ||
Starter | Free | Unlimited, but per-label surcharge may incur | 1 |
Professional | $10 $25 $35 $50 $75 $100 $125 $150 $200 | 60 200 450 750 1,750 3,500 5,000 7,500 10,000 | 5 (all Professional options) |
Premier | Custom pricing (contact Shippo) | 10,000-plus | 15 |
All accounts have an unlimited allowance of sales channels and integrations. Unlike our other shipping software picks, Shippo doesn’t have the option to add users to an account a la carte.
There’s no contract required to use Shippo, so plans can be changed or canceled at any time. However, discounts are available for users who prepay plan fees multiple months in advance.
The main differences between each plan level are the included features and shipping label surcharges as well as the cost for extras like insurance, address validation, and tracking options.
Here’s an overview of Shippo’s three plan options:
Shippo achieved a moderate score in this category, earning points for its cloud-based platform and unlimited channel allowance as well as its extensive integrations list. We also considered its automation capabilities but providers with better automation features scored higher.
It was docked for its lack of peripheral connectivity, which could be a substantial hurdle for businesses that rely on devices like scales and scanners.
Here are the contributing factors to Shippo’s overall functionality.
Software
Users at all levels of scale love Shippo’s web app interface and reliability. For this reason, the company receives a lot of converts from platforms, such as ShipStation, that have a steep learning curve.
Shippo’s user interface is easy to navigate and makes accomplishing tasks, such as connecting your ecommerce platform, very simple. (Source: Shippo)
The platform is also available from a RESTful API for use by developers. This option allows for greater customization and more automation capabilities. Shippo’s API capabilities appear to be more built-out than many competing providers, which makes it a good choice for businesses with an in-house dev staff.
Shippo’s platform boasts 99.9% uptime—a reliability feature that isn’t offered by other shipping software providers.
Customer Support
Shippo’s customer support team is listed as being reachable via email and live chat but hours of availability aren’t disclosed online.
From your Shippo dashboard, reaching a person isn’t as simple as it should be. There are multiple embedded “Contact Support” links as well as a floating “Help” icon in the bottom corner of the screen that looks deceptively similar to a live chat feature.
Each one of these elements links to the same request form, which appears to be the only way to receive support.
The request form on Shippo’s web app
Online Shippo reviews state that the sales team is highly accessible, informative, and knowledgeable but that’s where the human support ends. According to their accounts, customer service and tech support can take seven or more days to respond and are often ineffective.
This issue is one of the biggest reasons we recommend checking out OrderCup instead if you’re seeking a free shipping software solution. The company’s customer support is extremely accessible, effective, and highly rated.
Online Resources
Shippo has a wealth of well-developed resources to help sellers use its platform and generally succeed in the ecommerce space.
We found that its demos and tutorials are thorough and easy to understand. For new customers considering trying Shippo or having trouble getting started, a weekly panel called “Shippo Service Hours” is open to the public every Friday afternoon.
The meeting is hosted by multiple Shippo staff members from different teams. From my direct experience with these customer-facing employees, they are highly informed about the product and communicate its details straightforwardly.
These online resources are available through Shippo:
- YouTube channel with 50-plus videos
- 9 recorded webinars
- 19 e-books
- 9 case studies
- 13 tutorials
- Featured podcasts
- Weekly live Q&A session
- “Shippo 101” guide library
- “Shippopedia” collection
Peripheral Hardware
Shippo’s hardware connectivity is very limited. Users can connect printers, although not much information is available concerning compatible models.
This app can’t connect to USB scales or scanners, unlike all of our top picks for shipping software. If you use (or plan to use) one of these devices in your shipping workflow, we recommend trying ShippingEasy instead.
Integrations
The platform integrates with a variety of ecommerce tools, services, platforms, and marketplaces. This allows Shippo users to sync data and streamline processes.
Here’s a complete list of Shippo’s current direct integrations:
- Ecommerce platforms and carts: 3dcart, Arcadier, BigCommerce, ChannelAdvisor, Commerce7, Ecwid, ePages, GoDaddy, Magento, Reaction Commerce, Shopify, Spree, Square, Squarespace, Volusion, Webflow, Weebly, Wix, and WooCommerce
- Marketplaces: Amazon, Bump, Depop, eBay, Etsy, Mercari, OfferUp, Vinted, and Zibbet
- Order and inventory management: Boxstorm, Duoplane, Ecomdash, Fishbowl, Freestyle, Fulfil, Jetti, Orange Manager, Peoplevox, Picqer, Pulse Commerce, SKULabs, Selro, ShipHero, ShopMaster, SnapFulfil, and Soapbox
- Services: CartRover, CommentSold, DSync, DYK Post, DocketManager, Dsco, parcelLab, Return Magic, ReturnLogic, Returnly, ShipShape, Stitch, Truepill, and Zapier
- Finance and enterprise resource planning (ERP): Authorize.net, Avalara, CORESense, PacknShip, ParagonERP, Riskified, Shipsurance, Shipware, and WorldFirst
- Fulfillment and logistics: AMS.Ship, Baja, cahoot, Deliverr, Flexe, GrowthJet, Jetti, Mainfreight, ShipBob, ShipDaddy, ShipHero, Snap Ship, Soapbox, and Wizmo
Compatible Carriers
Shippo is compatible with a wider range of carriers than most competing providers. Plus, if you don’t see your carrier listed, Shippo accepts requests for new carrier connections.
Shippo users can ship parcels with the following carriers:
- Australia Post
- AxleHire
- CDL
- Canada Post
- CouriersPlease
- DHL
- DHL eCommerce
- Deutsche Post
- Fastway
- FedEx
- FedEx SmartPost
- General Logistics Systems (GLS) France
- GLS Germany
- GLS US
- Hermes
- Lone Star Overnight
- Newgistics
- OnTrac
- OrangeDS
- Purolator
- Sendle
- UPS
- UPS
- USPS
- ePost
- ePost Global
The platform works with these carriers and services for tracking purposes only:
- Aramex
- BorderGuru
- Boxberry
- Bring
- Collect
- Correos
- Courier Post
- Estafeta
- Gopher
- Hongkong Post
- NZ Post
- Nippon Express
- Parcel
- Posten Norge
- Posti
- SkyPostal
- Stuart
- Yodel
- DPD Germany
- DPD UK
- Russian Post
We found that Shippo can help sellers purchase labels and manage shipments aptly but competing platforms deliver better features.
Rather than providing the baked-in tools to handle important extras like dropshipping, inventory management, marketing, or customer relations, Shippo encourages users to integrate its platform with separate apps.
Here’s a look at the features Shippo has to offer.
Shipping Management Tools
Shippo works with a greater range of domestic and international carrier options than most of its competitors. It allows users to import orders from their sales channels, calculate shipping costs while comparing rates, purchase postage, and print labels directly from the app.
It also enables sellers to schedule pickups through USPS and DHL Express as well as process shipments in batches.
Shippo gives users the following tools to make and manage their shipments:
- Shipping calculator
- Rate comparison tool
- Discounted rates
- Label creation
- Pickup scheduling
- Tracking
- Return label creation
- Address validation
- CVS upload
- Branded packing slips and tracking pages
- Shipping notification emails
We found that Shippo’s rate comparison tool isn’t as robust as those of competitors, such as ShippingEasy, ShipStation, and OrderCup. More steps are required to get a comprehensive view of your options, and the layout isn’t as intuitive. Furthermore, some Starter plan users complain that it’s impossible to predict how much they’ll be charged before purchasing a label.
Discounted USPS and DHL Express rates are available on all Shippo plans. Plus, users are eligible to sign up for a discounted FedEx account through Shippo’s carrier partnership.
It should be noted that a number of online Shippo reviews express disappointment in Shippo’s discounts. Some users state that they compared the “discounted” prices against standard retail postage prices and found that they weren’t receiving any discount at all. Others claim that the discounted services are compromised as compared to what is included normally.
Automation
Automation is a time-saving feature that allows users to specify a set of conditions that trigger certain actions. For example, through Shippo, you can program the app to select a specific carrier and service automatically based on the customer’s delivery preferences chosen at checkout.
Shippo’s automation rules can assign package templates and assign carrier service levels based on the following conditions:
- Item name
- Item stock keeping unit (SKU)
- Order quantity
- Order weight
- Shipping destination: Domestic/international
- Shipping destination: State/province (US and Canada)
- Shipping destination: ZIP code (US and Canada)
These automation capabilities don’t stack up to those of competitors. Platforms like Ordoro and ShippingEasy allow users to set a much wider range of actions that can be triggered by more granular conditions and customize automation rules directly from the web app.
However, Shippo’s API allows for greater customization of automation rules, but it requires significant tech savvy.
Shippo was awarded points in this category for its user-friendly interface as well as the quality of online resources and documentation surrounding it. We also considered its user management options but providers that offer more granular control scored higher.
The platform’s ease of use is compromised by its hardware limitations and lackluster customer support, which brought its score down significantly.
Here’s an overview of the factors we considered:
- Customer service hours: Support is available from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. Pacific time Monday through Friday, and 6 a.m. to 2 p.m. Pacific time on weekends.
- Customer service accessibility: All users may receive support via email and live chat. Shippo’s customer service is very poorly rated.
- User interface: Shippo’s UI is easy to navigate and features a much friendlier learning curve than competing options.
- User management options: Paid plan subscribers with multiple user accounts can customize user permissions, although options are not as granular as some competitors. Unlike competing shipping solutions, Shippo doesn’t allow additional users to be added to any plan.
- Insurance: Shippo provides the option for discounted shipping insurance on domestic and international parcels through InsureShip.
- Returns: The platform includes returns management features and supports pay-on-use return (POUR) labels, which only trigger payment once they’re used.
The majority of Shippo’s points in this category came from its impressively easy-to-use software, a standout attribute compared to most competing options, which have a sizable learning curve.
But its popularity, features, and value have room for improvement, which is why it came in last place on our evaluation of the top small business shipping software.
While assessing user reviews of competitors like ShippingEasy and EasyShip, a common theme we noticed was reviewers stating that they switched over from Shippo. With so many users jumping ship and commending other software, it’s difficult to recommend Shippo as a solid, all-around option.
Shippo is also slightly more expensive than competing options, and its lackluster features don’t justify the cost. Ultimately, Shippo’s high usability makes it the best choice for shipping beginners and computer novices, but users seeking more functionality should look elsewhere.
What Users Say in Shippo Reviews
Shippo’s reviews are problematic, especially those left in the past 12 months. While the company has a high aggregate score on trusted sites like Capterra, many of its recent reviews on the Shopify App Store and G2 are deeply negative.
Satisfied users mention switching to Shippo from platforms with a steep learning curve. These sellers applaud Shippo’s interface and general ease of use. Others commend Shippo’s ability to stream their multichannel order flow smoothly, and its economical paid-plan pricing structure.
Negative reviews consistently mention trouble with customer service. Some of these users report having issues with bugs, glitches, or shipping mishaps that lead to significant losses, then having to wait many hours or days for support staff to respond to their requests.
Other problems reported in Shippo reviews include syncing issues and faulty batch functionality, forcing users to perform tedious tasks manually. A number of ratings describe issues with Shippo’s shipping rate discounts and per-label surcharges.
- Capterra: 4.9/5 from nearly 800 reviews
- Shopify App Store: 4/5 from 500-plus reviews
- G2: 3.9/5 from about 45 reviews
| PROS | CONS |
|---|---|
| Easy to get started | Poor customer service and tech support |
| Simple and usable interface | Frequent technical issues |
| Economical plan pricing structure | Costly surcharges |
| Effective multichannel management | Problematic or nonexistent rate discounts |
Methodology: How We Evaluated Shippo
To evaluate Shippo and other shipping software, we used a 28-point assessment that measures how well it meets small-business shipping needs. We researched the provider through third-party reviews, user ratings, relevant articles, and the company’s own content. Then, we personally assessed Shippo’s platform.
We look for high-performing functions, an intuitive interface, effective customer support, and additional features that go beyond the scope of shipping.
To find the best tool for small businesses, we prioritized economical pricing and factors that contribute to overall ease of use. Our ecommerce experts also weighed in with their assessments of each provider.
Click through the tabs below for our full evaluation criteria:
20%
Pricing
20%
Functionality
20%
Features
20%
Ease of Use
20%
Expert Score
20% of Overall Score
This criterion considers whether each provider offers a free starter plan and assesses the range of paid options available.
The contenders were graded on how competitively priced their plans are. We considered the features and benefits available at each pricing tier and docked points for limits on the functionality of lower-level options.
We only featured recommendations that support your own negotiated rates with UPS, FedEx, and DHL, and offer heavily discounted USPS Commercial Plus rates. The top-ranking providers on our list give users multicarrier discounts.
Shippo lost points here for its noncompetitive pricing and free starter plan, which isn’t technically free. But its vast range of plan options and deep shipping discounts helped it earn a score of 4.25 out of 5.
20% of Overall Score
We looked at the availability of key functions that maximize efficiency and accessibility for businesses of all sizes. This includes features like batch capabilities, label printing, comma-separated values (CSV) entry, and peripheral hardware compatibility.
Providers were also evaluated on the number of prebuilt integrations offered, access to an open API, sales channel allowance, and automation capabilities.
We gave Shippo points in this category for its cloud-based platform that handles all of the basic shipping tasks. It also earned points for its extensive list of integrations and unlimited sales channel allowance. But its automation capabilities aren’t as good as other providers, and it lacks peripheral connectivity, ultimately bringing its score down to 3.23 out of 5.
20% of Overall Score
This score considered the standard features of each shipping solution, including reporting and analytics, returns management, outbound email notifications, and user management options, and assessed how well they work. Shipping software with robust, well-developed features was awarded the most points.
The best shipping tools are multi-taskers that save you time and money by handling functions outside of shipping management, so we also evaluated each provider on their dropshipping, order management, inventory management, and marketing features.
Shippo’s order and inventory management features aren’t as powerful as competitors, which cost it points here. We found that its marketing and reporting and analytics tools are equally lacking. But it earned points for its international shipping features as well as its email and order entry options, achieving a score of 3.8 out of 5.
20% of Overall Score
We evaluated each company for its user interface by considering how intuitively it works, reported uptime, site speed, and the learning curve to start.
This factor also looked at the number of learning resources available from each company, including webinars, demo videos, blogs, frequently asked questions (FAQs), case studies, libraries, guides, calculator tools, and forum activity.
Lastly, customer service accessibility was weighted heavily to provide the best recommendation. We considered hours of availability, contact methods, location of support staff, and quality of service.
Shippo’s user-friendly interface helped it score in this category as well as its online resources. But it was docked for its poor customer service offerings and user management options, earning a final score of 3.25 out of 5.
20% of Overall Score
This score combined our ecommerce experts’ final evaluations of value, ease of use, and stand-out features with scores from real-world users. We combed through thousands of reviews to identify consistent pain points and high-performing features of each tool.
We gave Shippo an expert score of 3.44 out of 5— it lost points for its value, popularity, and features, but its usability helped bolster its final score.
*Percentages of overall score
Bottom Line
Shippo is a popular shipping software solution reportedly used by 10,000 businesses across the globe. However, it comes with inaccessible customer support and lackluster features, making it a poor fit for many small businesses.
One area where Shippo outperforms its competitors is the user-friendliness of its platform. This makes it a top choice for those who may be less tech-savvy or new to shipping.
We recommend exploring other shipping software options before signing up for Shippo. But thanks to its free starter plan and 30-day free trial on all paid plans, you can try Shippo with minimal risk.
