Pirate Ship vs ShipStation
We give Pirate Ship a 3.0 GPA and ShipStation a 2.6, out of 4.0. Pirate Ship grades higher on value for money and the free plan. ShipStation grades higher on features and ease of use. They get the same grade on 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
ShipStation
Shipping software for online sellers, priced by shipments a month
How we grade them
| 3.0GPAPirate ShipVery good | 2.6GPAShipStationGood | |
|---|---|---|
| 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 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 | 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. | 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 | 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. | 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 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. | 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 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 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 | free USPS and UPS labels | 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: Pirate Ship and ShipStation. 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. ShipStation starts at $14.99 a month and scores 3.0.
ShipStation scores higher, and starts $14.99 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 none scores higher than ShipStation 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. ShipStation starts at $14.99 per month for up to 50 shipments, billed monthly.
- Pirate Ship has a free plan. ShipStation does not, though it has a free trial.
- Only ShipStation lists an iOS app.
- ShipStation also covers workflow automation, inventory and barcode scanning.
At a glance
| Pirate Ship | ShipStation | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free | Free trial |
| Starts at | Free | $14.99 per month for up to 50 shipments, 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. | None |
| Free trial | None listed | 30-day free trial, no credit card required |
| Web | ||
| iOS | ||
| Made by | Pirate Ship | Auctane |
| Price read from | pirateship.com | shipstation.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
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
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.
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
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.
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
Pirate Ship
Free account$0
Every feature and unlimited users at no charge; postage is paid per label at Pirate Ship's discounted rates.
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
Pirate Ship
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.
