Comparisons
ShippingEasy vs ShipStation Comparison: Which is Best?
- Written by Rachael Pilcher
As a growing ecommerce brand, shipping and inventory management are two of the most critical puzzles in your business that you need to solve. But it’s a minefield of choices when you’re shopping for solutions. Choosing the wrong platform means you could be faced with a messy switch later on, and if you don’t pay attention to monthly software fees as your shipping volume increases, it can seriously restrict your growth.
In this article, we’re comparing ShippingEasy vs ShipStation to help you decide which one has the best shipping and inventory features. We’ll also show you how Veeqo stacks up against these two popular platforms in terms of features and price.
Table of contents
ShippingEasy overview
ShipStation overview
Should you choose Veeqo over ShippingEasy and ShipStation?
ShippingEasy overview
ShippingEasy is part of the Auctane family, and it has a good reputation as a cloud-based shipping software solution. It helps businesses of all sizes to print shipping labels, fulfill orders, manage inventory, and find discounted shipping options.
Key features of ShippingEasy
Workflow automations
Integrations
Customizable reports
API and EDI integrations
Bar code scanning
Shipping management
If you’ve been struggling to manage your shipping operations, ShippingEasy can help you deal with increased order volumes, set up rules-based shipping automations, and stay in touch with customers every step of the way from the central dashboard.
Multi-carrier shipping Customers can get access to a range of shipping options and rates, with USPS, UPS, FedEx, and DHL all supported on the ShippingEasy platform. There are also discounted insurance rates available, and commercial rates if you ship with USPS. The platform lets you automate shipping rules so you can select the most cost-effective shipping method based on predefined settings in relation to metrics like weight, destination, and order value.
Bulk label printing
If the ability to only print single labels is holding you back, ShippingEasy can help you generate your shipping labels in bulk. You can also automate this process to make it even speedier to get parcels out the door.
Inventory management
Many of ShippingEasy’s features are available to all users, but the inventory management features are restricted to their existing Inventory Management product subscribers.
These capabilities are fairly basic, but can help support smaller businesses as they begin to scale and need better inventory control features. They include:
Supplier management
Low stock and maximum available stock tracking
Purchase orders
Forecasting and reporting
On ShippingEasy’s product page, it states they are no longer supporting new Inventory Management subscribers, meaning there isn’t much help for new users who are looking for robust stock control tools.
ShippingEasy plans and pricing
You can choose from a variety of plans* to find one that matches your shipping volume and budget, and you can upgrade your plan when it’s time to scale.
Starter - this is a free plan with basic features that is ideal for new sellers, letting you send up to 25 parcels per month.
Growth - $19.99 per month lets you send up to 200 parcels, and you’ll get added features such as reporting.
Basic - $29.99 per month for up to 500 shipments, with the additional benefit of adding unlimited marketplaces to your dashboard.
Plus - $49.99 per month for up to 1,500 parcels.
Select - $69.99 per month for up to 3,000 shipments.
Premium - $99.99 per month up to 6,000 parcels.
Enterprise - $159.99 per month for up to 10,000 shipments.
ShippingEasy promotes transparency with its pricing, but like a lot of software out there, you need to check the fine print!
This platform notifies you if you’re about to exceed the volume on your selected plan, but you might be charged an additional upgrade fee, plus applicable taxes when this happens.
If you want to use your existing carrier accounts, ShippingEasy only allows this on specific plans. They charge an extra monthly fee for this service, which ranges from $5 a month to $80 a month depending on your base plan.
*Pricing last accessed March 2024
Pros of using ShippingEasy
Many user reviews state that they love the intuitive interface of the ShippingEasy dashboard, as well as the fact that it’s browser-based, easy to set up, and they can see available shipping discounts for their orders in the central dashboard.
One user comments that they love “the speed and ease at which you can create a shipment, review the postage options, purchase insurance/extras and then print the label as a PDF, page or using a thermal printer” which has saved them time having to enter details manually across different systems.
Cons of using ShippingEasy
Even though ShippingEasy has a wide selection of integrations, some reviewers wish it had more native integrations with platforms like TikTok and Stripe.
Customers also mention the downsides of shipping charges, such as getting charged extra to ship with their own external accounts, and the fact that ShippingEasy is more expensive than other similar shipping management software. There are also frequent reviews mentioning software bugs, difficulty operating the interface on Mac OS, and slow customer support.
ShipStation overview
ShipStation is a cloud-based shipping tool that’s similar to ShippingEasy, and within the same Auctane family. It’s widely used by ecommerce sellers and integrates with a range of carriers, ecommerce platforms, and marketplaces, letting sellers handle all of their shipping tasks from a central interface. Although it offers more flexibility and scalability than ShippingEasy, ShipStation has fairly steep monthly costs to use its software. So if you’re a growing business, you’ll need to do the math and see if these fees make sense for your bottom line.
Key features of ShipStation
Shipping management
Bulk label printing
Developer API
Customized branding
Shipping management
ShipStation’s order management features give you the ability to streamline your entire shipping process from the point of order to delivery.
Use scan-based workflows, bulk updates, and automation processes to help you save time processing daily shipments.
You can import orders from over 100 sales channels with shipping configurations automatically applied, and integrate the platform with your existing CRM, ERP, or IMS.
As a ShipStation user, you can access shipping discounts and compare rates from top carriers like UPS, DHL Express, and USPS. Once you’ve selected the best rate, you can either print labels individually, in bulk, or in batches.
Inventory management
If inventory management is top of mind, ShipStation offers some basic features, but it relies heavily on integrations with external inventory management apps so isn't a true all-in-one solution.
To view real-time stock counts, you’ll need to sync inventory from a third-party solution that integrates with ShipStation.
The built-in inventory features will only allow you to:
Set stock threshold alerts
Reserve inventory for orders awaiting shipment
Deallocate reserved stock to put it back in circulation
Keep track of inventory via desktop and mobile devices
Generate reports on low stock items, SKUs, and shipments created for out-of-stock orders
ShipStation plans and pricing
Like ShippingEasy, ShipStation offers a free plan for small businesses who send under 25 parcels a month. From there, the pricing plans scale based on shipping volume.
There are different monthly payment plans* depending on the country you’re in. Here’s an example of the monthly costs:
Starter - $9.99 USD a month for 1 user and up to 50 parcels per month.
Bronze - $29.99 USD a month for 1 user with up to 500 parcels per month.
Silver - $59.99 USD a month for up to 2 users and 1,000 parcels per month.
Gold - $99.99 USD a month for up to 3 users and 2,000 parcels per month.
Platinum - $149.99 USD a month for up to 5 users and 5,000 parcels per month.
Enterprise - $229.99 USD a month for up to 10 users and 7,500 parcels per month.
High-volume - If you’re shipping over 7,500 parcels each month, you’ll need to apply for this custom plan.
ShipStation charges you to connect your existing carrier accounts, so you’ll pay an extra fee between $5 and $95 a month, depending on your base plan. You’ll also need to pay additional fees if you need premium integrations to use third-party apps. ShipStation’s pricing can be challenging for sellers who are trying to scale, especially when there are more comprehensive shipping and inventory management solutions out there that you can use for free (like Veeqo!).
*Pricing last accessed March 2024
Pros of using ShipStation
Despite the steep costs, users say they love ShipStation because it helps them “make international shipments less tedious and more reliable”, it’s “a user friendly software that doesn't require much training”, and it can “easily link multiple sales channels to a single shipping platform”.
Cons of using ShipStation
Many reviewers mention that they wish ShipStation had “more robust inventory management tools - such as expiration dates/lot number tracking, and easier warehouse location set up”.
Other downsides users have mentioned about this platform include software glitches, a steep learning curve, and slow customer service.
Why choose Veeqo over ShippingEasy and ShipStation?
Veeqo's mission is to help growing ecommerce sellers stay a step ahead of the competition and lower their costs.
The comprehensive suite of shipping and inventory management tools have been built to be user-friendly, infinitely scalable, and totally free to use.
Veeqo doesn't charge an increasing amount of fees each month like ShippingEasy and ShipStation, and it provides all the features you’ll need to send thousands of parcels a month and manage multiple warehouses — without breaking a sweat.
So if your goal is to be the next global ecommerce sensation, Veeqo can help you get there!
Inventory management
Veeqo offers similar features to ShippingEasy and ShipStation, including bulk label printing, order management, carrier discounts, and shipping automations.
But where the software really shines is its suite of inventory management tools, which include digital picking and warehouse management for ecommerce sellers who are serious about scaling.
Veeqo also has a huge advantage over ShippingEasy and ShipStation, because it automatically syncs inventory across all of your connected stores, marketplaces, and websites. It even tracks your inventory across multiple warehouses and locations. For example, if an item runs out of stock on your Amazon store, it will immediately be marked as out of stock on your Shopify and Etsy stores too, saving you a bunch of admin time manually changing stock levels or apologizing to customers for stockouts.
With Veeqo, you have access to enterprise-grade inventory features such as product sales forecasting, advanced analytics and reporting, and the Veeqo Scanner which can help you pick, pack, and ship with lightning speed.
Shipping management
Business shipping can be challenging as you grow, but your customers will still be expecting low shipping rates and speedy delivery times, no matter what’s going on behind the scenes.
With Veeqo, you’ll be able to handle increasing order volumes easily. Create filtered views like ‘ship with UPS’ or ‘waiting for payment’, duplicate orders, manage returns, and process refunds like a pro — right from your dashboard. The rate-shopping feature will automatically find the lowest available shipping rate for every order, based on size and weight. Once you’ve selected these rates, you can bulk print up to 100 labels at once, saving you hours of admin time every week.
Using Veeqo’s advanced reporting, you’ll be able to see at a glance how many shipments you’ve sent, and how much your carriers are charging over a specific timeframe.
Plus you can generate customized reports about your sales, revenue, COGS, and more.
Lowest commercial shipping rates
As Veeqo is part of the Amazon family, you’ll also get access to Amazon’s pre-negotiated shipping rates, as well as Prime-speed delivery times.
You’ll also be able to access the lowest commercially available rates based on our pre-negotiated pricing from UPS, USPS, FedEx, and DHL with up to 5% back in Veeqo Credits.
And you won’t be charged a thing if you want to connect your existing UPS and FedEx accounts and use those instead.
Scalability
Veeqo was designed with growing retailers in mind. So if you’re still a small business, you’ll have everything you need on hand to expand when the time is right. And if you’re already at enterprise level? You’ll have a comprehensive tool suite ready to manage warehousing, pick and pack, and carry out your end-to-end shipping operations.
Veeqo plans and pricing
Unlike ShippingEasy and ShipStation, there aren’t any monthly costs to use Veeqo. There's only one plan, and it’s free for everyone!
This means you can add unlimited users, send unlimited orders, and print as many shipping labels as you like for a flat fee of zero dollars. Veeqo partners with shipping carriers to provide this free service, to help your business stay one step ahead.
Further reading
If you’re searching for a faster, easier way to manage shipping and inventory, it’s essential that you look ahead and plan for the business you want, not just the business you have today.
Tools like ShipStation and ShippingEasy lack essential features that can limit your scalability, and there are steep ongoing fees, which can be prohibitive when you’re trying to grow.
No matter your stage of business, Veeqo’s enterprise-grade software can solve all of your shipping and inventory management problems — for free!
Join 20,000+ sellers and discover how simple it is to grow your ecommerce business with Veeqo. Create your free account and start shipping today.
