Best shipping software for small business: 5 options compared

The best shipping software for a small business is the cheapest one that covers your carriers, your sales channels and your volume. For many small sellers that means a free tool. This guide compares five realistic options and says who each one suits.

How we chose: We looked at tools a one-person or small-team shop can start using in a day, without a sales call. Prices and limits were checked on each company’s official website on November 13, 2026, for the United States. This guide is based on published plans and documentation, not on paid hands-on testing. Confirm current prices before you sign up.

Quick picks

Best for	Tool	Starting price
Free labels from the United States	Pirate Ship	Free
Starting small with several carriers	Shippo	Free up to 30 labels a month
Multichannel sellers with steady volume	ShipStation	$14.99 a month
Selling to customers abroad	Easyship	Free plan available
One store, low volume	Your store’s built-in labels	Included with your store

1. Pirate Ship: best free option in the United States

Pirate Ship charges no monthly fee and no markup. You pay for postage only.

• Carriers: USPS and UPS, with discounted rates including Priority Mail Cubic.
• Users: unlimited.
• Connections: Shopify, eBay, WooCommerce, Wix, Squarespace, BigCommerce, Square and others, plus spreadsheet import.
• Watch out for: only two carriers, UPS discounts only for shipments starting in the United States, and simpler automation than paid tools.

Choose it if you ship from the United States and USPS and UPS cover your needs.

2. Shippo: best for starting small with more carriers

Shippo’s free Starter plan covers up to 30 labels a month for one user. The Pro plan starts at $17 a month.

• Carriers: discounted USPS, UPS, FedEx and DHL Express labels.
• Free plan includes: unlimited store connections, spreadsheet import, automations and return labels, with email support.
• Pro adds: up to 10,000 labels a month, five users, branded tracking pages and emails, chat and phone support.
• Watch out for: the free plan is about one parcel a day, and using your own carrier account on it costs 5 cents a label.

Choose it if you need FedEx or DHL Express, or your volume is still small and unpredictable.

3. ShipStation: best for multichannel sellers

ShipStation is priced by monthly shipments. Starter costs $14.99 for 50 shipments, $29.99 for 100, $39.99 for 500 and $79.99 for 1,000. There is a 30-day free trial with no credit card.

• Carriers: USPS, UPS, FedEx, DHL and many others.
• Starter includes: 3 users, unlimited store connections, automated rate shopping and email support.
• Standard adds (from $29.99): 10 users, unlimited automation rules, your own carrier accounts, returns and phone support.
• Watch out for: it costs more than the others at every volume, and the fee climbs with your shipment count.

Choose it if you sell on several stores or marketplaces and want rules to handle orders automatically.

4. Easyship: best for international orders

Easyship is built around cross-border shipping. Its site advertises more than 550 courier services and automatic calculation of import taxes and duties.

• Free plan: described as “free forever”, with discounted rates, courier comparison and tax and duty calculation.
• Paid plans (Plus, Premier): add shipping rates at checkout, your own courier accounts, automatic order sync and, on Premier, taxes and duties shown at checkout.
• Watch out for: plan prices and shipment limits were not displayed on the public pricing page when we checked. Confirm them inside the sign-up flow before you rely on the free plan.

Choose it if a large share of your orders goes abroad and customs costs cause you support tickets. Our international shipping checklist explains what to prepare.

5. Your store’s built-in labels: best when you have one channel

Shopify, Etsy and eBay all sell discounted labels directly from the order screen. There is nothing to install and nothing extra to pay.

• Good: zero setup, orders and tracking stay in one place.
• Watch out for: you can only ship that channel’s orders, and you cannot compare as many carriers.

Choose it if you sell in one place and ship a few parcels a day. Move to a separate tool when you add a second channel.

Feature comparison

	Pirate Ship	Shippo	ShipStation	Easyship
Free plan	Yes, unlimited	Yes, 30 labels a month	Not on the pricing page	Yes
Lowest paid plan	None	From $17 a month	$14.99 a month	Not displayed
USPS and UPS	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
FedEx and DHL Express	No	Yes	Yes	Yes
Own carrier accounts	No	Yes	Standard plan and above	Paid plans
Duties and taxes at checkout	No	No	Not checked	Premier plan

How to pick

1. List your carriers. USPS and UPS only: start with Pirate Ship. More carriers: Shippo or ShipStation.
2. Count your monthly parcels. Under 30: Shippo’s free plan also works. A few hundred or more across channels: compare Shippo Pro and ShipStation.
3. Look at where parcels go. Mostly abroad: test Easyship next to the others.
4. Check the connections to your exact store platform and marketplaces.
5. Compare real postage. Enter five typical parcels in two tools and compare the totals, including surcharges.

For the three most compared tools in detail, read ShipStation vs Pirate Ship vs Shippo. To lower the postage itself, see the cheapest way to ship packages.

Common questions

Is there free shipping software for small business?

Yes. Pirate Ship is free with no label limit, Shippo is free up to 30 labels a month, and Easyship advertises a free plan. Store platforms also include label printing.

Do I need shipping software at all?

Not always. If you ship a handful of parcels a week from one store, the built-in labels are enough. Our guide on how to choose shipping software lists the signs that it is time.

Does shipping software make postage cheaper?

Usually, yes. These tools give small sellers commercial rates that are lower than the price at the counter, with no minimum volume.

Key takeaways

• Start with a free tool. Pay only when a specific missing feature costs you time or money.
• Pirate Ship is the simplest free choice for USPS and UPS from the United States.
• Shippo covers more carriers and stays free up to 30 labels a month.
• ShipStation is the strongest for multichannel order management, from $14.99 a month.
• Easyship focuses on international orders, with duties and taxes built in.
• Prices were checked on November 13, 2026. Confirm them before you buy.