Shipping software creates carrier labels, rates shipments, and tracks packages. It is not a warehouse robot and it is not the postage itself.
Every entry uses the same fields: published pricing, free plan or trial, what the fee buys, and the main limitation. The order is not a quality ranking. Public $0 / published price first, quote-led last. Each row is a distinct company.
Shipping software compared at a glance
| Provider | Published pricing | Meter | Best for | Visit |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pirate Ship | $0 software. No monthly fee. You pay USPS and UPS label rates. The company says it is paid by the carriers. | Label postage only | USPS and UPS labels without a software subscription | Visit β |
| Shippo | Starter Free, up to 30 labels/month, 1 user. Pro $17/month or $205/year. Premier is contact. Own-carrier labels are 5Β’ on Starter and free on Pro. | Labels per month | A store that may outgrow 30 labels | Visit β |
| EasyPost | Free Access: first 3,000 wallet labels/month free, then $0.08/label. BYOCA: $20/month plus $0.08/label. Enterprise custom. Postage extra. | Labels, plus rating and tracking overages | An API, or your own carrier account | Visit β |
| ShipStation | Starter from $14.99/month at 50 shipments. Standard from $29.99/month at 50. Premium from $349.99/month at 50. Bands rise with volume. Annual billing 20% off. No standing free plan on this view. | Shipments per month | A store that wants a subscription with shipment bands | Visit β |
Pricing checked on October 4, 2026. Pirate Ship, Shippo, and EasyPost figures are the morning read. ShipStation figures are the US plan bands on shipstation.com/pricing the same day. Free means a standing free plan or a stated $0 software fee, not a trial we inferred.
Four companies. A $0 software fee is not free postage.
How this market is priced
Some tools charge nothing for the software and earn on the label. Others meter labels or sell a monthly band of shipments. Pirate Ship, Shippo, and EasyPost publish a $0 start. ShipStation publishes a subscription floor and no free plan on the page we loaded, so it is last.
The 4 companies in detail
1. Pirate Ship
$0 SOFTWARE, PAY THE LABEL
Best for: USPS and UPS shippers who do not want a monthly software fee.
| Published pricing | $0 software. Support article: no markups, fees, or minimums; other than the labels you pay for, Pirate Ship is 100% free. |
| Free plan or trial | Standing free account. No credit card required, per the features page. |
| What the fee buys | USPS and UPS labels, rate compare, ecommerce import, pay-on-use return labels, unlimited users. You still pay postage. |
| Limitation | Carrier set on the pages we read is USPS and UPS, not a 40-carrier rate shop. |
- The features page says no monthly fees, markup, or hidden costs.
- Support says the company is paid by the carriers, not by a software subscription.
- Unlimited users are listed as always free.
2. Shippo
FREE TO 30 LABELS, THEN $17
Best for: a merchant app that may need more than 30 labels or more than one login.
| Published pricing | Starter Free, up to 30 labels/month, 1 user. Pro $17/month, or $205/year (page said 10% savings) for 1β200 labels/month and up to 5 users. Premier contact, 15+ users, unlimited shipments. |
| Free plan or trial | Standing Starter at $0, capped at 30 labels. |
| What the fee buys | Discounted USPS, UPS, FedEx, and DHL Express rates, store connections, returns, tracking. Own-carrier labels are 5Β’ on Starter and free on Pro. Pro adds branded tracking and chat or phone support. |
| Limitation | Overage on the comparison table was $0.08 per label beyond 10,000 labels/month. API calls that are not Shippo labels bill separately. |
- Shippoβs app page listed Starter as Free and Pro at $17 a month.
- Starter allows one user. Pro allows up to five.
- Premier is contact us, so it is not a list price.
3. EasyPost
3,000 FREE WALLET LABELS, THEN $0.08
Best for: a team that wants an API, or that already has carrier accounts.
| Published pricing | Support article: wallet labels free for the first 3,000 a month, then $0.08. BYOCA base cost $20 a month and $0.08 per label, no free label allowance. Enterprise custom. Marketing page: Free Access up to 3,000 labels; BYOCA $20 per month plus a per-label fee. |
| Free plan or trial | Free Access plan for wallet carriers, with a 3,000-label allowance. Not a time-limited trial. |
| What the fee buys | Labels, rating, address verification, tracking, insurance. Insurance listed at $1 per label up to $100 of coverage on the support page. Tracking API on the marketing page was $0.01β$0.03 per shipment. |
| Limitation | Postage is extra on wallet labels. Credit-card wallet loads carry a 3.75% convenience fee on the support page; ACH avoids it. |
- The billing article, updated in the help center, states the 3,000-label allowance and the $0.08 overage.
- BYOCA is $20 a month and does not include the free label allowance.
- The marketing pricing page still routes some products to contact sales.
4. ShipStation
FROM $14.99 A MONTH
Best for: a store that wants a subscription with shipment bands rather than postage-only software.
| Published pricing | US view on October 4, 2026: Starter from $14.99 per month at 50 shipments, then higher bands to $174.99 at 5,000. Standard from $29.99 per month at 50 shipments, up to $3,599.99 at 100,000. Premium from $349.99 per month at 50 shipments, up to $7,499.99 at 100,000. Annual billing was labeled 20% off. |
| Free plan or trial | No standing $0 plan on the pricing page we loaded. |
| What the fee buys | A monthly subscription tied to a shipment band. Starter at 50 shipments is the published floor. Higher bands raise the same plan name. |
| Limitation | The $14.99 figure is the 50-shipment Starter band, not an unlimited plan. Postage is separate. |
- Starter started at $14.99 per month for 50 shipments.
- Standard started at $29.99 and Premium at $349.99 on the 50-shipment band.
- The page offered annual billing at 20% off and did not show a standing free plan.
Kurums Match
We want no software subscription
Pirate Ship. The software fee is $0. You still pay USPS or UPS for the label.
We may outgrow 30 labels
Shippo Starter Free up to 30 labels a month, then Pro at $17 per month or $205 per year.
We want an API or our own carrier account
EasyPost Free Access for the first 3,000 wallet labels, then $0.08. BYOCA is $20 per month plus $0.08 per label.
We want a shipment-band subscription
ShipStation Starter from $14.99 per month at 50 shipments. The price steps up with the band.
Buying tip
Separate software from postage. Pirate Shipβs $0 is the software. ShipStationβs $14.99 is the 50-shipment band, and the label is still extra.
How this comparison was put together
We read Pirate Ship, Shippo, EasyPost, and ShipStation pages on October 4, 2026. Four distinct companies. No badges. No quality ranking.
FAQ
Is Pirate Ship actually free?
The features page and the support article say the software has no monthly fee. You still pay USPS or UPS for the label.
What does ShipStationβs $14.99 include?
On the US pricing page it was the Starter band at 50 shipments per month. Higher shipment counts use higher bands. Annual billing was 20% off. Postage is separate.
Does EasyPost stay free after 3,000 labels?
Free Access covers the first 3,000 wallet labels a month, then $0.08 per label. BYOCA is $20 per month plus $0.08 per label.
Why was ShipStation missing this morning?
The first run did not render plan prices from the pricing URL, so it dropped the company. The same-day page shows the bands above, so it is included.
Related comparisons
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Last updated October 4, 2026. Links to vendors use rel sponsored nofollow. This page has no Kurums Recommends, Top Pick, or Verified badge.
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