ShipBob vs. ShipStation: Review, Comparison, and Pricing

Shipping softwares are designed to make the shipping process much easier, especially for direct-to-consumer (DTC) brands. With so many options on the market today, it can be hard to find the best shipping solution for your ecommerce business

Every software solution offers a different set of features, whether’s helping you find the best rates, generate shipping labels with ease, or automate the order tracking process— finding the right shipping solution can be a game changer.

Two of the most common solutions are ShipBob and ShipStation. Though both solutions simplify the shipping process, they are entirely different solutions. In some cases both are integrated to optimize the shipping strategy.

This guide provides a comparison of ShipBob vs. ShipStation, including capabilities, pricing and more. You’ll learn the pros and cons of each, plus how they work together to make shipping easier and less time-consuming.

ShipBob vs. ShipStation: What’s the difference?

ShipBob is a leading international 3PL that also provides standalone warehouse management software for brands with their own warehouse, whereas ShipStation is a web-based SaaS shipping software for online brands and offers multichannel capabilities.

If your business is small and fulfills orders in-house, ShipStation is a great standalone shipping software. But if you run your own warehouse or are looking to outsource fulfillment, partnering with a 3PL like ShipBob or using ShipBob’s warehouse management system is a better option for you.

However, both solutions can integrate directly together to streamline shipping.

ShipBob partners with ShipStation to support online brands that cannot directly integrate with ShipBob’s dashboard. The ShipBob and ShipStation integration can also be used to bridge all stores together and have all orders sync through one main portal, so you can import orders from all your selling channels into a single platform.

Below is a visual high-level overview displaying the differences between ShipBob and ShipStation.

Features	ShipBob	ShipStation
Fulfillment services	Yes.	No.
Warehouse management system (WMS) for in-house warehouse fulfillment	Yes.	No.
Label creation	ShipBob uses labels from a variety of sources.	ShipStation lets you compare rates from top carriers and print labels individually or in batches of up to 500.
Multi-carrier access	ShipBob has leading carriers across the globe pick up from its fulfillment centers, offering discounted rates for a variety of services.	ShipStation has integrations with dozens of shipping carriers, allowing you to connect your own carrier accounts.
Package tracking	ShipBob picks, packs, and ships orders, letting you automatically send a confirmation email and share tracking number and information with each customer.	ShipStation instantly updates tracking information to the selling channel and the customer once an order ships.
Integrations	ShipBob integrates with all leading ecommerce platforms, marketplaces, EDI solutions for B2B orders, and much more for an all-in-one fulfillment and logistics platform. Learn more here.	ShipStation connects to online stores, marketplaces, carriers, and ecommerce tools in seconds and seamlessly syncs your shipping. Learn more here.

The pros & cons of using ShipBob

Considering partnering with ShipBob? ShipBob is a best-in-class fulfillment provider for DTC and B2B brands. Here are some pros and cons to help you decide whether ShipBob is the right option for you. 

ShipBob order fulfillment: The pros

ShipBob operates an international logistics network powered by the same technology, SLAs, and premium customer support. With ShipBob, online brands are able to reduce shipping costs, increase transit times, and meet customer expectations all over the world.

ShipBob’s fulfillment center locations are located across the US, the UK, Europe, and Australia (check out all ShipBob’s locations here).

With a powerful distributed inventory network, ShipBob provides fast-growing brands the opportunity to offer customers 2-Day Express Shipping across 100% of the continental US while also making it easier to expand across the globe with access to international fulfillment locations.

No matter if you store inventory in one or multiple locations, ShipBob’s dashboard is intuitive and easy to use, plus it provides access to built-in inventory management tools, advanced data and analytics on fulfillment and shipping activity, the ability to easily update and manage SKUs, and more.

ShipBob also provides additional capabilities, including the ability to use custom packaging, add gift notes, kitting and assembly, and B2B solutions.

“When I was looking for a 3PL, we were a startup growing at a rapid pace and felt that ShipBob understood what that meant because they were also in the same stage. We were able to grow beside ShipBob and they scaled with us.”

Jason Ton, CFO of 100 Thieves

ShipBob WMS: The pros

ShipBob’s WMS is a robust software solution for brands that have their own warehouse. The ShipBob WMS is an all-in-one WMS, OMS, IMS, and reporting platform that lets you centralize real-time inventory, shipments, returns, and analytics across all online and offline sales channels.

Integrate all of your sales channels with ShipBob WMS using ShipBob’s integrations with all major online stores (e.g., Shopify, BigCommerce, Amazon, Walmart, etc.).

ShipBob’s automated B2B technology lets you fulfill wholesale, retail distribution, and retail dropshipping orders for everything from simple brick-and-mortar shipments to robust EDI capabilities.

Additionally, the ShipBob WMS lets you leverage ShipBob’s global fulfillment network – including dozens of warehouses across the United States, Europe, Australia, and Canada.

ShipBob order fulfillment: The cons

ShipBob isn’t the cheapest fulfillment solution on the market. As a premium service, ShipBob takes care of the fulfillment and shipping process, from warehousing to inventory management, to picking and packing, to shipping all over the world. 

To make the most of what ShipBob has to offer, its solutions are ideal for brands that are ready to make an investment in growth, such as storing inventory in multiple fulfillment center or expanding into multiple sales channels to maximize customer reach.

However, no matter what stage your brand is in currently, it’s never too soon to get started with a fulfillment provider to save time and money on the fulfillment process.

ShipBob WMS: The cons

ShipBob’s WMS is only available for brands with a warehouse in the US so far. It’s also not ideal for really small brands that are fulfilling orders in their own home. You also can’t use it if your products contain hazardous materials (HAZMAT).

ShipBob: The verdict

ShipBob is trusted by thousands of fast-growing ecommerce brands that have successfully expanded into new markets, saved on logistics costs, and have grown their business faster.

For a comprehensive ecommerce fulfillment solution or WMS, consider partnering with ShipBob.

“Touchland has been working with ShipBob since 2018 and there are several reasons why ShipBob has been the perfect partner. Overall, we have had a great experience having a ShipBob as a partner that can scale fast with us,”

Andrea Lisbona, Founder & CEO of Touchland

The pros & cons of using ShipStation

So how does ShipStation fit in to ShipBob’s fulfillment solution? There are several shipping solutions on the market. But if you’re looking for a comprehensive ecommerce fulfillment solution, the best option is to look for a shipping software that directly connects with a 3PL’s technology

ShipStation is a leading shipping solution that easily connects with ShipBob’s technology, allowing you to optimize both the shipping and fulfillment process. To ensure it’s the right fit for your business, here is overview of its pros and cons.

ShipStation: The pros

If you’re a multi-channel brand, ShipStation makes it easy to link together all your sales channels to funnel every new order to the ShipStation dashboard.

Some of the best features include the ability to choose carriers and compare rates, print labels in bulk, and automatically updates order tracking info once you a ship an order.

ShipStation is also ideal for brands that sell across channels. For instance, it offers a multi-channel feature that allows you to sell on multiple platforms (eBay, Amazon, etc.), and send tracking info directly back to the customer, no matter where the sale occurred.

Over all, ShipBob helps brands save time and money while offering the best shipping options for their customers.

ShipStation: The cons

Though ShipStation offers premium shipping features, ShipStation doesn’t stand alone as a full-suite fulfillment solution. It’s a great option for brands that need additional support in optimizing their shipping strategy by saving them time and simplifying the process. 

But if you need fulfillment support, you always have the option to integrate ShipStation with ShipBob’s proprietary technology. 

ShipStation: The verdict

ShipStation is one of the best shipping software solutions on the market.

It offers offers customizable automation rules that easily manage repetitive tasks, flexible workflows that increase order processing efficiency, user-level permissions and restrictions that give you full control, and it all works with your unique business requirements.

Since ShipStation is a partner of ShipBob, you can connect ShipStation with ShipBob to create an end-to-end ecommerce solution.

ShipBob vs. ShipStation: The conclusion

Here’s the lowdown:

• If you’re looking to simplify the shipping process while fulfilling orders in your own home, ShipStation is a great option for you.
• If you’re looking to outsource fulfillment, ShipBob continues to be the leading fulfillment solution for fast-growing online brands. ShipBob’s also a great option if you have your own warehouse in the United States.

ShipStation easily integrates with ShipBob’s technology so merchants can utilize its robust shipping API. With this integration, online businesses can automatically sync orders from all sales channels to ShipBob, select their shipping preferences, and have orders directly sent to the nearest ShipBob location to be picked, packed, and shipped.

With ShipBob, you can take advantage of a global fulfillment network, discounted carrier rates for international and domestic shipping, and a powerful technology with over 30 direct integrations and a user-friendly, intuitive dashboard. 

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