Pirate Ship vs PitneyShip
We give Pirate Ship a 3.0 GPA and PitneyShip a 2.4, out of 4.0. Pirate Ship grades higher on value for money and the free plan. PitneyShip 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.
Pirate Ship
Free web app for discounted USPS and UPS labels, with no monthly fee
PitneyShip
Pitney Bowes app for discounted labels, stamps and Certified Mail
How we grade them
| 3.0GPAPirate ShipVery good | 2.4GPAPitneyShipFair | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | AThe software costs $0, with unlimited users and no monthly fee, markup or minimum volume, so 200 parcels a month costs only the postage. Free and this substantial is an A in any category. | CPremium is $34.99 a month with no usage fee and 10 users. Pay-as-you-go costs nothing a month but adds 5% to every label, which adds up fast over 200 parcels. We graded the $34.99: above the dearer quarter of this category, short of its very dearest. |
| Free plan and trial | AFree outright: every feature and unlimited users, with no paid plan to upgrade to. You pay each label's postage by card or PayPal, and return labels are charged only when used. | CPay-as-you-go has no monthly fee, but 5% goes on every label, so it's never really free. Premium has a 30-day trial that rolls into $34.99 a month unless you cancel. |
| Features | CRates for every USPS and UPS service, batch labels from a spreadsheet or store, presets, custom tracking emails, reports, insurance and pay-on-use returns. The gap is carriers: no FedEx or DHL, and UPS discounts only for shipments from the US. | BDiscounted USPS, UPS and FedEx rates compared by price or delivery date, batch labels, orders pulled from Amazon, eBay, Shopify and Etsy, and tracking shared with recipients. Stamps and Certified Mail come on top, which few rivals here do. |
| Ease of use | CNo store rating on record. You sign up free and can buy a label straight away, but for a shop the work is connecting the store and saving package presets, which is the ordinary setup here. | CNo store rating on record for its iPhone and Android apps, so we go by the listing: you connect your stores and compare carriers, which is the ordinary setup for shipping software. |
| Platforms and integrations | BWeb only, with no mobile app listed, but orders come in from Shopify, Etsy, eBay, WooCommerce, Squarespace, BigCommerce, Square and Wix, or from CSV, Excel and ODS files. Web with integrations is a B. | BWeb, iPhone, iPad and Android, with orders from Amazon, eBay, Shopify and Etsy and your own DHL Express account. No desktop app is listed, and the API needs a quoted Enterprise plan. |
| Best for | free USPS and UPS labels | small US businesses mailing letters and parcels |
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: Pirate Ship and PitneyShip. How we grade
Price against what you get
Pirate Ship has no paid plan and scores 2.3 out of 4 on features, ease of use and platforms. PitneyShip starts at $34.99 a month and scores 2.7.
PitneyShip scores higher, and starts $34.99 a month higher: the question is whether the extra is worth that to you. Of the other shipping software on the chart, none scores higher than Pirate Ship for less, and 1 scores higher than PitneyShip 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
- Pirate Ship is free. PitneyShip starts at $34.99 per month (Premium), with no usage fee.
- Only PitneyShip lists iOS and Android apps.
- Pirate Ship also covers reports.
At a glance
| Pirate Ship | PitneyShip | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free | Free plan |
| Starts at | Free | $34.99 per month (Premium), with no usage fee |
| Free plan | The software is free with unlimited users and no monthly fee, markup or minimum volume. You pay for each label's postage with a card or PayPal. | Pay-as-you-go: no monthly fee, 1 user and 1 location, discounted USPS, UPS and FedEx rates, stamps and Certified Mail labels. A 5% usage fee is added to each label printed. |
| Free trial | None listed | 30-day free trial of Premium, which renews at $34.99 a month unless cancelled |
| Web | ||
| iOS | ||
| Android | ||
| Made by | Pirate Ship | Pitney Bowes Inc. |
| Price read from | pirateship.com | pitneybowes.com |
| Checked | Oct 18, 2026 | Oct 18, 2026 |
Who each one suits
Pirate Ship
- Small sellers and occasional shippers in the US who want no software fee
- Etsy, eBay and Shopify sellers shipping with USPS or UPS
- Subscription box and crowdfunding shippers printing labels from a spreadsheet
PitneyShip
- Small US businesses that send letters and Certified Mail as well as parcels
- Occasional shippers who want no monthly fee
- Offices with several users who need one bill across carriers
Worth knowing
Pirate Ship
- Only USPS and UPS are offered; there is no FedEx or DHL option.
- Postage is the only cost. The "up to 88%" savings figure is Pirate Ship's own comparison with retail rates.
- UPS discounts apply only to shipments that start in the US.
- It runs in a web browser only; the site lists no mobile app, and support is by chat and email.
PitneyShip
- The pay-as-you-go plan has no monthly fee but adds 5% to the price of every label printed.
- Postage, carrier charges and supplies are paid on top of any plan, and the discounted rates apply to shipping from the US only.
- Pitney Bowes's savings figures, such as $1.70 off a Priority Mail flat-rate envelope, are its own estimates.
- Single sign-on, API access and unlimited users need a quoted Enterprise plan.
Key features
Pirate Ship
- Discounted USPS and UPS rates
- Rate-shops every USPS and UPS service, including Priority Mail Cubic and Ground Saver. Pirate Ship says the discounts reach up to 88% off retail rates; that is its claim.
- Simple Export Rate
- An international service Pirate Ship says is exclusive to it, alongside USPS and UPS international services with electronic customs forms.
- Store and spreadsheet imports
- Imports orders from Shopify, Etsy, eBay, WooCommerce, Squarespace, BigCommerce, Square, Wix and others, or from CSV, Excel and ODS spreadsheets.
- Batch labels and presets
- Buy and print many identical labels at once from a spreadsheet or integration, and save presets for packages you ship often.
- Tracking emails and reports
- Customizable HTML tracking emails for recipients, plus tracking and accounting reports for your own records.
- Insurance and return labels
- Discounted shipping insurance is available, and return labels are pay-on-use, so you are charged only when one is used.
PitneyShip
- Discounted carrier rates
- Compares Pitney Bowes's negotiated USPS, UPS and FedEx rates by price or delivery date, with your own DHL account as an option and one bill across carriers.
- Stamps and Certified Mail
- Prints postage stamps and Certified Mail labels. Premium includes 50 Certified Mailings a month with electronic return receipt; extra receipts cost $0.15 each.
- Batch labels and pickups
- Print shipping labels in batches for many orders at once and schedule carrier pickups with the carriers.
- Store connections
- Pulls orders from online stores such as Amazon, eBay, Shopify and Etsy into one list to rate and label.
- Mobile app
- The PitneyShip app for iPhone, iPad and Android prints labels and stamps, schedules pickups and tracks shipments.
- Tracking and history
- Tracks every shipment, shares updates with recipients and keeps the full shipment history in one place.
Plans
Pirate Ship
Free account$0
Every feature and unlimited users at no charge; postage is paid per label at Pirate Ship's discounted rates.
PitneyShip
Pay-as-you-go$0
No monthly fee; a 5% usage fee is added to the price of each label. 1 user, 1 location, bring your own DHL account.
Premium$34.99
per month
No usage fee, up to 10 users, 50 Certified Mailings a month with electronic return receipt, rate shop calendar view.
EnterpriseCustom
Quoted plans with unlimited users and locations, single sign-on, API access and your own carrier accounts.
