Linnworks vs ShipStation
We give Linnworks a 2.0 GPA and ShipStation a 2.6, out of 4.0. ShipStation grades higher on the free plan and ease of use. They get the same grade on value for money, features and platforms.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
Linnworks
Inventory and order management for high-volume multichannel sellers
ShipStation
Shipping software for online sellers, priced by shipments a month
How we grade them
| 2.0GPALinnworksFair | 2.6GPAShipStationGood | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | CNo prices are published: plans are quoted after a demo, tiered by monthly orders with overage charges, and listing tools and the warehouse system are priced on top. With no figure to compare, it sits in the middle, but expect a one-off onboarding fee as well. | C200 shipments a month means Starter's 500 step: $39.99 a month, or $383.90 a year paid yearly (about $32 a month). That's above the middle of this category, and your own carrier accounts and the Shipping API need Standard, from $29.99 for 50 shipments. |
| Free plan and trial | FNo free plan and no trial on record. The pricing page asks you to book a demo for a quote. | CNo free plan, but a 30-day trial with no credit card needed. Long enough to ship a month of real orders before you pay. |
| Features | BStock synced across 100+ channels every few minutes, a rules engine with unlimited routing rules, carrier selection and labels, purchase orders with low-stock alerts, pick lists and pack checks, and profit by SKU. The whole job for a multichannel seller. | BOrders pulled in from every major marketplace, rate shopping, LTL quotes, batch labels, return labels and automations, with inventory and barcode scanning. The whole job, though returns and exchanges, and your own carrier accounts, start on Standard. |
| Ease of use | CNo store rating on record. You'll connect channels and carriers and build routing rules, and the vendor recommends paying for onboarding, which says a lot about the setup. | BIts iPhone app averages 4.63 from about 6,200 App Store ratings. The web app still needs stores connected and automation rules set up before batch shipping pays off. |
| Platforms and integrations | BWeb only, with 100+ channels including Amazon, eBay, Walmart, Shopify, TikTok Shop, Temu and Wayfair, plus carriers, 3PLs and shipping aggregators. No desktop or phone app is listed. | BWeb and iPhone, with no Android app listed. It connects to Shopify, WooCommerce, BigCommerce, Etsy, Amazon, eBay, Walmart and TikTok Shop, and has a Shipping API on Standard and up. |
| Best for | high-volume sellers on many marketplaces | busy shops shipping from many sales channels |
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: Linnworks and ShipStation. How we grade
Where they differ
- Only ShipStation lists an iOS app.
- Linnworks also covers amazon selling.
- ShipStation also covers reports and barcode scanning.
At a glance
| Linnworks | ShipStation | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Paid | Free trial |
| Starts at | Not published | $14.99 per month for up to 50 shipments, billed monthly |
| Free plan | None | None |
| Free trial | None listed | 30-day free trial, no credit card required |
| Web | ||
| iOS | ||
| Made by | Linnworks | Auctane |
| Price read from | Not confirmed | shipstation.com |
| Checked | Oct 18, 2026 | Oct 18, 2026 |
Who each one suits
Linnworks
- Online retailers selling across several marketplaces and their own store
- Sellers whose order volume has outgrown manual stock updates
- UK and US sellers shipping from their own warehouse or through 3PLs
ShipStation
- Online sellers combining orders from several stores and marketplaces
- Growing shops that want automation rules to label orders in batches
- Businesses that ship pallets by LTL freight as well as parcels
Worth knowing
Linnworks
- No prices are published: plans are quoted after a demo, tiered by monthly orders, with overage charges above the tier.
- Listing tools, the WMS and SkuVault warehouse features are priced by order volume on top; forecasting is a flat fee.
- SkuVault Core, with quality control, serialization and 3PL client portals, is only sold in North America.
- Onboarding is a one-off fee set by the scope of the project, and the vendor recommends buying it.
ShipStation
- Every plan is priced by monthly shipments, and postage is paid on top of the subscription.
- There is no free plan; Starter caps out at 5,000 shipments a month and 3 users.
- Using your own carrier accounts and the Shipping API need Standard or higher.
- The mobile app is for iPhone and iPad only; no Android app is listed.
Key features
Linnworks
- Stock sync across 100+ channels
- Updates stock on Amazon, eBay, Walmart, Shopify, TikTok Shop and other channels every few minutes after each sale to prevent overselling.
- Rules-based order routing
- A rules engine with unlimited routing rules sorts, prioritizes and sends orders to the right warehouse or 3PL, with custom order views.
- Shipping and labels
- Connects to carriers and aggregators, prints labels with order and courier details, and picks carriers automatically by rule.
- Purchasing and forecasting
- Purchase orders and low-stock alerts, with Linnworks Forecasting sold as a flat-fee add-on that uses sales history and seasonal trends.
- Warehouse picking
- Pick lists and routes, replenishment from storage to the picking area, and pack checks before shipping; SkuVault Core adds more in North America.
- Spotlight AI and reporting
- Spotlight AI suggests automation rules for repetitive tasks, and dashboards report revenue and profit by SKU and channel.
ShipStation
- Rate shopping across carriers
- Compares discounted rates from carriers such as USPS, UPS, FedEx, DHL and GlobalPost. ShipStation says its carrier discounts reach 80% to 90%; that is the vendor's claim.
- Store and marketplace imports
- Unlimited store connections pull in orders from Shopify, WooCommerce, BigCommerce, Squarespace, Wix, Etsy, Amazon, eBay, Walmart and TikTok Shop.
- Automation rules and batches
- Rules batch, route and print labels automatically, with automated rate shopping. Starter has basic automations; Standard and Premium have no limit.
- LTL freight beside parcels
- Every plan can quote, book and compare LTL freight shipments in the same screens as parcels.
- Returns, tracking and inventory
- Return labels on every plan, plus customer tracking emails. Standard adds returns and exchanges, and Premium adds purchase orders, forecasting and pick-to-tote.
- Mobile app
- ShipStation Mobile for iPhone and iPad imports orders, scans barcodes to find them, prints labels and pick lists, and re-sends tracking emails.
Plans
Linnworks
Pricing could not be confirmed. See linnworks.com.
ShipStation
Starter$14.99
per month for up to 50 shipments, billed monthly
3 users, unlimited stores, rate shopping, LTL quotes, return labels and basic automations. Rises with volume: $29.99 at 100 shipments, $39.99 at 500, $174.99 at 5,000.
Standard$29.99
per month for up to 50 shipments, billed monthly
10 users, unlimited automations, your own carrier accounts, returns and exchanges, Shipping API, phone support. $449.99 a month at 10,000 shipments.
Premium$349.99
per month for up to 50 shipments, billed monthly
15 users, advanced inventory and warehouse tools, custom analytics and auto-routing. $1,099.99 a month at 10,000 shipments.
Ways to pay less
Linnworks
No public discounts listed.
ShipStation
- Annual discount
20% off with annual billing
Paying yearly saves 20%: Starter at 50 shipments is $143.90 a year instead of $14.99 a month.
