Pirate Ship vs Shippo
We give Pirate Ship a 3.0 GPA and Shippo a 2.4, out of 4.0. Pirate Ship grades higher on value for money and the free plan. Shippo 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
Shippo
Multi-carrier shipping app and API, priced by labels a month
How we grade them
| 3.0GPAPirate ShipVery good | 2.4GPAShippoFair | |
|---|---|---|
| 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. | C200 labels a month means Pro: $17 a month billed yearly ($19 monthly), with no label fee listed on top. That's a little under the middle of what this category charges, but not in its cheapest quarter. It climbs with volume, to $179 a month at 10,000 labels. |
| 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. | CStarter is free for up to 30 labels a month and 1 user, with discounted rates, tracking and return labels. A shop that ships most days is past 30 well inside the month, and labels on your own carrier account cost 5¢ each. |
| 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. | BRates from 40+ carriers, orders pulled in from Shopify, Etsy, eBay, Amazon and more, bulk labels with shipping rules, customs forms, return labels and, on Pro, branded tracking emails and pick lists. That's the whole job, plus an API. |
| 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. It's a web app, and you connect your stores and set shipping rules before batch printing earns its keep. That's the ordinary amount of setup for this category. |
| 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 only, with no phone or desktop app listed, but it connects to Shopify, WooCommerce, Square, Wix, BigCommerce, Etsy, eBay and Amazon, and there's a shipping API. Web with integrations is a B here. |
| Best for | free USPS and UPS labels | multi-carrier labels for small online 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: Pirate Ship and Shippo. 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. Shippo starts at $17 a month and scores 2.7.
Shippo scores higher, and starts $17 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 Shippo 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. Shippo starts at $17 per month for up to 200 labels, billed annually ($19 billed monthly).
- Shippo also covers workflow automation.
At a glance
| Pirate Ship | Shippo | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free | Free plan |
| Starts at | Free | $17 per month for up to 200 labels, billed annually ($19 billed monthly) |
| 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. | Starter plan: up to 30 labels a month, 1 user, unlimited store connections, discounted carrier rates, tracking, returns and email support. Labels bought on your own carrier account cost 5¢ each. |
| Free trial | None listed | None listed |
| Web | ||
| Made by | Pirate Ship | Shippo |
| Price read from | pirateship.com | goshippo.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
Shippo
- Small online shops shipping from one or more storefronts
- Sellers who want to start free at low volume
- Developers adding labels and tracking to their own app
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.
Shippo
- Postage is paid on top of the plan for every label; the discounts are against carriers' retail rates.
- The free Starter plan stops at 30 labels a month and charges 5¢ a label on your own carrier account.
- Pro tops out at 10,000 labels a month; each label beyond that costs $0.08.
- Non-US address validation costs 6¢ to 9¢ each, and tracking or rating calls outside Shippo labels are billed at API rates.
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.
Shippo
- Discounted carrier rates
- Compares rates from 40+ carriers, including USPS, UPS, FedEx and DHL Express. Shippo says its discounts save up to 90% off retail rates; that is the vendor's claim.
- Store and marketplace connections
- Imports orders from Shopify, WooCommerce, Square, Wix, BigCommerce, Etsy, eBay, Amazon, Walmart and TikTok, or from a CSV file.
- Bulk labels and automations
- Edit and print labels for many orders at once, with shipping rules that fill in label settings. Customs forms and commercial invoices are generated for international orders.
- Tracking and returns
- Every plan tracks shipments and makes return labels. Pro adds branded tracking pages, notification emails and packing slips.
- Pick and pack
- Pro adds printed pick lists and scan-to-print, plus delivery date estimates that Shippo says are AI-powered.
- Shipping API
- A separate API lets developers buy labels, track parcels and validate addresses. API Starter gives 30 free labels a month, then 7¢ a label.
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.
Shippo
Starter$0
Up to 30 labels a month, 1 user and email support. Labels on your own carrier account cost 5¢ each.
Pro$17
per month for up to 200 labels, billed annually ($19 billed monthly)
Branded tracking pages and emails, pick lists, chat and phone support, 5+ users. Price rises with volume: $179 a month at 10,000 labels, billed annually.
PremierCustom
Unlimited shipments, 15+ users and a dedicated account manager, priced through sales.
Ways to pay less
Pirate Ship
No public discounts listed.
Shippo
- Annual discount
About 10% off Pro with yearly billing
Pro costs $205 a year for up to 200 labels a month against $19 a month billed monthly; Shippo calls it 10% savings.
