PitneyShip vs ShipStation
We give PitneyShip a 2.4 GPA and ShipStation a 2.6, out of 4.0. ShipStation grades higher on ease of use. They get the same grade on value for money, the free plan, features and platforms.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
PitneyShip
Pitney Bowes app for discounted labels, stamps and Certified Mail
ShipStation
Shipping software for online sellers, priced by shipments a month
How we grade them
| 2.4GPAPitneyShipFair | 2.6GPAShipStationGood | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | 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. | 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 | 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. | 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 | 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. | 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 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. | 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, 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. | 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 | small US businesses mailing letters and parcels | 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: PitneyShip and ShipStation. How we grade
Price against what you get
PitneyShip starts at $34.99 a month and scores 2.7 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 $20 a month lower. Of the other shipping software on the chart, 1 scores higher than PitneyShip 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
- PitneyShip starts at $34.99 per month (Premium), with no usage fee. ShipStation starts at $14.99 per month for up to 50 shipments, billed monthly.
- PitneyShip has a free plan. ShipStation does not, though it has a free trial.
- Only PitneyShip lists an Android app.
- ShipStation also covers workflow automation, reports, inventory and barcode scanning.
At a glance
| PitneyShip | ShipStation | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free plan | Free trial |
| Starts at | $34.99 per month (Premium), with no usage fee | $14.99 per month for up to 50 shipments, billed monthly |
| Free plan | 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. | None |
| Free trial | 30-day free trial of Premium, which renews at $34.99 a month unless cancelled | 30-day free trial, no credit card required |
| Web | ||
| iOS | ||
| Android | ||
| Made by | Pitney Bowes Inc. | Auctane |
| Price read from | pitneybowes.com | shipstation.com |
| Checked | Oct 18, 2026 | Oct 18, 2026 |
Who each one suits
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
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
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.
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
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.
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
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.
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
PitneyShip
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.
