AfterShip vs Shipup (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 13, 2026, AfterShip grades higher than Shipup: 2.2 against 1.8 out of 4.0.
Checked Oct 18, 2026 and Nov 13, 2026 · graded Oct 18, 2026 and Nov 13, 2026 by ToolGPA
AfterShip grades higher on value for money and the free plan. Shipup grades higher on features. They get the same grade on ease of use and platforms.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
AfterShip
Branded order tracking pages and delivery emails for online stores
Shipup
Post-purchase tracking, notifications and returns for online stores
Which one is for you
Pick AfterShip if
- Fits if your inbox fills up with "where is my order?" messages
- Works for Shopify brands that buy labels elsewhere and want one tracking page across carriers
Look elsewhere if
- Skip it if you need to buy labels, as it only tracks parcels and sells labels as a separate product
- Tight if you stay free, since Free sends no customer emails, has no branded page and stops at 50 shipments
- Pricey if you need the API, webhooks or your own domain, which start on Premium at $70 a month
- Watch out: each shipment over the quota costs $0.08 on Essentials or $0.12 on Premium, and the $1 first month then goes to $11
- Not for you if you want a phone or desktop app, as it runs on the web only
Pick Shipup if
- Fits if you are a mid-size retailer with a support team buried in where-is-my-order tickets
- Works for shops that want tracking, returns and claims from one vendor
Look elsewhere if
- Skip it if you are a small shop, as €299 a month and a 12-month commitment is a lot
- Pricey if you need Advanced: it is mandatory above set volume thresholds, even if you use few features
- Watch out: SMS and WhatsApp are billed per message, and delivery estimates and surveys per package
- Watch out: onboarding support is chargeable and the total monthly cost cannot be read from the page
How we grade them
| 2.2GPAAfterShipFair | 1.8GPAShipupWeak | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | CGraded against its listed rivals, on Shopify prices. Essentials is $108 a year for 100 shipments a month, and the other 100 of a 200-parcel month cost $0.08 each, $8 a month more. That's mid-pack against tools that mostly print the labels as well. | D€299 a month before the per-package charge, and Advanced is €599, against $19 in the middle. The per-package price is hidden until you pick a volume. |
| Free plan and trial | CFree tracks 50 shipments a month with a dashboard and carrier delivery dates, but no branded page and no customer emails, which are the reasons to buy it. Essentials has a 7-day trial and costs $1 for the first month. | FNo free plan and no trial are listed on the pricing page, so you pay before you see it. |
| Features | CIt does tracking fully: 1,100+ carriers, a branded page, email and text updates, delivery estimates and reports on late parcels. That's a smaller job than its listed rivals do, since they also buy the labels. The API and your own domain need Premium. | BTracking pages, SMS and WhatsApp notifications, returns portal, logistics dashboards and carrier claims. The gaps in the listing are about cost, not the core job. |
| Ease of use | CNo store rating on record. It installs from the Shopify App Store and pulls in shipments from your store, a CSV file or the API, then you style the tracking page. Ordinary setup. | CNo store rating on record. Retail integrations, carrier links and a returns flow have to be set up. |
| Platforms and integrations | BWeb only, with Shopify, Klaviyo, Gorgias, Zendesk, Attentive, ShipStation, Loox and Amazon Seller Central. The API and webhooks start at Premium, and there's no phone or desktop app listed. | BWeb with a browser extension, an API and partner integrations. No phone or desktop app is listed. |
| Best for | branded tracking pages and delivery emails | post-purchase tracking and returns for mid-size shops |
The GPA is the average of the five grades: an A is 4 points, an F is none. The full reasons are on each tool's page: AfterShip and Shipup. How we grade
Price against what you get
AfterShip starts at $11 a month and scores 2.3 out of 4 on features, ease of use and platforms. Shipup starts at about $334.04 a month and scores 2.7.
Shipup scores higher, and starts $323.04 a month higher: the question is whether the extra is worth that to you. Of the other shipping software on the chart, 5 score higher than AfterShip for less, and 3 score higher than Shipup for less.
Features, ease of use and platforms, averaged
What paid plans start at, a month (each step along is roughly double) →
- The best score at each price
- Has a free plan
- No free plan
Where they differ
- AfterShip also covers reports.
- Shipup also covers sMS marketing and whatsApp messaging.
At a glance
| AfterShip | Shipup | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free plan | Paid |
| Starts at | $11 per month for up to 100 shipments, billed monthly | €299 per month plus a per-package charge, one-year commitment |
| Free plan | 50 shipments a month (up to 500 on the first import), 1,100+ carriers, service-level tracking updates, an order tracking dashboard and carrier delivery estimates. | None |
| Free trial | 7-day free trial of Essentials | None listed |
| Web | ||
| Browser extension | ||
| Made by | AfterShip | Shipup |
| Price read from | apps.shopify.com | shipup.co |
| Checked | Oct 18, 2026 | Nov 13, 2026 |
Worth knowing
AfterShip
- It tracks parcels rather than buying labels; AfterShip sells labels and returns as separate products.
- Plans are billed per shipment tracked, and each shipment over the quota costs $0.08 on Essentials or $0.12 on Premium.
- The API, webhooks and a tracking page on your own domain need Premium at $70 a month.
- The Free plan has no branded tracking page or customer emails, so shoppers see only the carrier's own updates.
Shipup
- Prices are shown in euros, with a minimum 12-month commitment; longer terms of 24 or 36 months give preferential pricing.
- The per-package charge is not shown without choosing a volume, so the total monthly cost cannot be read from the page.
- SMS and WhatsApp are billed per message, and Smart Delivery Estimate and post-delivery surveys per package.
- Onboarding support is chargeable, and no free plan or trial is listed.
Key features
AfterShip
- Tracking across 1,100+ carriers
- Detects the carrier automatically on paid plans and follows each parcel, importing shipments from your store, a CSV file or the API.
- Branded tracking page
- Essentials adds a tracking page with your logo; Premium moves it onto your own domain and adds product recommendations.
- Email and SMS notifications
- Paid plans send automatic shipment updates by email and text, so customers do not have to ask where their order is.
- Estimated delivery dates
- Every plan shows the carrier's delivery estimate; Premium adds AI-predicted delivery dates for product and checkout pages.
- Dashboard and analytics
- A shipment dashboard flags exceptions and delays, with reports on Essentials and a full analytics suite on Premium.
- API and webhooks
- The Tracking API and webhooks start at Premium; Essentials users import shipments by app, CSV or hand instead.
Shipup
- Branded tracking page
- A custom tracking page that centralizes delivery information in the retailer's own branding, intended to cut delivery-related support tickets.
- Multi-channel notifications
- Delivery notifications by email, SMS, WhatsApp and Apple Wallet, with marketing offers that can be added to follow-up messages.
- Returns portal
- An e-commerce return portal for customers, offered as part of the unified post-purchase platform.
- Incident and logistics dashboards
- Dashboards flag delivery incidents and measure carrier performance, with automated carrier claims and a Chrome extension for support teams.
- Smart Delivery Estimate
- Shows an estimated delivery date throughout the buying journey; the pricing page lists it as an add-on billed per package.
Plans
AfterShip
Free$0
50 shipments a month, tracking dashboard and carrier delivery dates; no branded page or customer notifications.
Essentials$11
per month for up to 100 shipments, billed monthly
Branded tracking page with your logo, email and SMS notifications, reports. Extra shipments cost $0.08 each; first month $1.
Premium$70
per month for up to 500 shipments, billed monthly
Tracking page on your own domain, AI delivery estimates, product recommendations, full analytics, API and webhooks. $0.12 per extra shipment.
Shipup
Essential€299
per month, plus a per-package charge, one-year commitment
Fixed subscription plus a per-package price set by monthly volume; the page shows the per-package figure only after choosing a volume.
Advanced€599
per month, plus a per-package charge, one-year commitment
Marked as the most used plan. Becomes mandatory above set package-volume thresholds, even if not every feature is used.
Premium€999
per month, plus a per-package charge, one-year commitment
Uses a custom price per package rather than the standard volume rate.
Ways to pay less
AfterShip
- Annual discount
About 16 to 18% off with yearly billing
Essentials is $108 a year against $11 a month (save 18%), and Premium is $708 a year against $70 a month (save 16%).
- Other savings
First month for $1
Essentials and Premium cost $1 for the first month, then renew at the regular monthly price.
Shipup
No public discounts listed.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, AfterShip or Shipup?
As of Nov 13, 2026, AfterShip is cheaper to start with: $11 a month, against about $334.04 a month for Shipup. AfterShip starts at $11 per month for up to 100 shipments, billed monthly, and Shipup starts at €299 per month plus a per-package charge, one-year commitment.
Which has a free plan, AfterShip or Shipup?
As of Nov 13, 2026, only AfterShip has a free plan. Shipup does not.
Which platforms do AfterShip and Shipup run on?
As of Nov 13, 2026, only Shipup lists a browser extension. Both list a web app. A platform missing from a listing is one its maker's pages did not mention.
More comparisons
How this page was made
- The verdict at the top follows a fixed rule. When both tools are in the same category and either is in our top three for it, the verdict follows that ranking: the higher-placed tool is our pick. The top three weigh who each tool suits as well as its grades, so a pick can go against the GPA. Otherwise the page does not pick one and says which grades higher: the higher GPA first; on a tie, the one with a free plan, then the one that starts cheaper in dollars a month, counted the same way for both; if they are still level, what the choice depends on.
- The grades are our own, from each tool’s review or report card. The GPA is their average.
- Prices, plans and platforms come from each tool’s listing. The table above says where each price was read and when.
- The differences and the answers to the questions are worked out from those listings.