Shippo is free for up to 30 labels a month, while Stamps.com has no free plan: Basic costs $14.99 a month but caps you at 10 shipping labels and 25 stamps, and Professional from $29.99 a month removes the caps, as of October 2026. If you mostly ship parcels from an online store, Shippo is the cheaper tool at nearly every volume. Stamps.com is the better fit if you mail envelopes with Certified Mail or Registered Mail, need QuickBooks Online sync, or want three logins with phone support on a flat subscription. I am Trevor Fenner at Ecommerce Paradise, and I rebuilt this comparison from each company’s own pages.
Every figure below comes from Shippo’s and Stamps.com’s own pricing and product pages as of October 2026, and where a page did not show something I write “not shown.” I also corrected several claims in the earlier version of this article, most importantly that Stamps.com does not work with FedEx, which its own plan table contradicts. Some links in this guide are affiliate links, so Ecommerce Paradise may earn a commission if you sign up, at no extra cost to you.
Shippo vs Stamps.com at a Glance
Postage is billed on top of the software with both tools, so this table compares what the subscription and features cost and do, not the stamps or labels themselves.
| Factor | Shippo | Stamps.com |
|---|---|---|
| Software price | Starter free. Pro from $17 a month billed annually ($205 a year). Premier custom | Basic $14.99 a month. Professional from $29.99. Multi-Location from $49.99 |
| Monthly limits | 30 labels on Starter, up to 10,000 on Pro, unlimited on Premier | Basic: 10 shipping labels and 25 stamps. Professional and Multi-Location: unlimited |
| Carriers | Discounted USPS, UPS, FedEx and DHL Express labels, 40+ carriers | UPS, USPS and FedEx access on every plan. Its carrier page also lists DHL and GlobalPost. International carriers on Professional and up |
| Discount claims | “Up to 89% off Retail rates” on USPS. No plan-level percentages | “Up to 87%” off USPS and UPS on its homepage, “up to 90%” on its pricing page. Not tied to a plan |
| Certified and Registered Mail | Not shown | Professional and Multi-Location only |
| Logins | 1 on Starter, up to 5 on Pro, 15+ on Premier | 1 on Basic, 3 on Professional, 10 per location on Multi-Location |
| Support | Email on Starter, plus chat and phone on Pro | Chatbot and help center on Basic, plus live chat and phone on Professional |
| Accounting and store links | Unlimited store connections. Names Shopify, WooCommerce, Amazon, Etsy and others | QuickBooks Online on Professional and up. Store integrations not shown on the pages I read |
| Trial | None needed, Starter is free | 30 days risk-free, cancel any time |
| Best for | Online stores shipping parcels on several carriers | Offices mixing envelopes, Certified Mail and parcels |
Start With Shippo and Skip the Subscription
Shippo’s Starter plan is free for up to 30 labels a month, with discounted USPS, UPS, FedEx and DHL Express labels and unlimited store connections.
Is Shippo Cheaper Than Stamps.com?
For parcel shipping, yes. Shippo’s pricing page lists a free Starter plan for up to 30 labels a month and a Pro plan that starts at $17 a month billed annually, which is $205 a year. Stamps.com’s pricing page lists Basic at $14.99, Professional starting at $29.99 and Multi-Location starting at $49.99, and the cheapest plan stops at 10 shipping labels a month, so any real parcel volume pushes you to Professional.
| Labels per month | Shippo software cost | Stamps.com software cost | Yearly gap |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10 | $0 (Starter) | $14.99 a month (Basic), $179.88 a year | $179.88 |
| 30 | $0 (Starter) | $29.99 a month (Professional), $359.88 a year | $359.88 |
| 100 | $205 a year (Pro, annual billing) | $359.88 a year (Professional) | $154.88 |
| 200 | $205 a year (Pro, annual billing) | $359.88 a year (Professional) | $154.88 |
| 500 and up | Pro price for the band not shown on Shippo’s page | $359.88 a year (Professional, unlimited labels) | Not shown |
The arithmetic is $14.99 times 12 equals $179.88, $29.99 times 12 equals $359.88, and $359.88 minus $205 equals $154.88. Shippo’s Pro plan lists label bands up to 10,000 a month but the page text only shows the price of the first band, and its monthly-billing price is not shown, so check your band before you budget. Stamps.com’s Professional and Multi-Location prices are labeled “starts at,” which means the final quote can differ.
My earlier version of this article said you would pay Shippo “$2.50 a month” for 50 labels. That was wrong on two counts. Starter stops at 30 labels a month, so 50 labels needs Pro, and the 5 cents a label applies only when you connect your own carrier account on Starter, not to every label.
What Each Stamps.com Plan Includes
Stamps.com sells three tiers, and the features that matter change at the Professional line. Basic at $14.99 a month gives you one account user, up to 25 stamps and up to 10 shipping labels a month, UPS, USPS and FedEx access, free scheduled pickups, address verification and contact management. It does not include Certified Mail, Registered Mail or international carriers, and support is a chatbot and help center only.
Professional, which starts at $29.99, is the plan most businesses land on. It adds three account users, unlimited stamps and shipping labels, Certified Mail and Registered Mail support, multi-address batch printing, tracking and notification emails, print history and reports, international shipping, live chat and phone support, and QuickBooks Online integration. Multi-Location starts at $49.99 with 10 users per location, 2 office locations included, user roles and permissions, advanced reporting across locations and a dedicated enterprise account team.
All three plans list free postage and supplies on signup, but the terms are not shown on the pricing page, so ask before you count on a dollar value. The plan fee is also separate from postage, carrier services and optional add-ons, which Stamps.com’s FAQ says are billed on top.
Carriers and Discount Claims
This is where the earlier version of this article was wrong. It said Stamps.com is “primarily USPS” with UPS as an add-on and no FedEx or DHL, and that Stamps.com cannot print FedEx labels. Stamps.com’s own plan table lists “UPS, USPS, and FedEx access” on all three plans, and its shipping page lists USPS, UPS, DHL and GlobalPost as carriers. FedEx discounts are described as off standard list rates and cannot be combined with other offers. International carriers are a Professional-and-up feature.
Both companies publish “up to” discount claims, and none of them settle the question on their own. The Stamps.com homepage says up to 87% off USPS and 82% off UPS, and it adds 40% off package insurance for items valued over $200. Its pricing page says “up to 90%.” Shippo’s USPS page says “up to 89% off Retail rates,” and its pricing page gives no percentages. Neither company ties its figure to a plan or a baseline, and neither publishes a rate table by weight and zone.
My earlier version also said Shippo gives “USPS Commercial Plus rates up to 90 percent off retail.” Shippo’s pages do not say that. The 90% figure on its homepage is a general claim of potential savings on shipping labels, and it is not tied to USPS or to Commercial Plus. The practical test is to price the same five parcels in both tools with your real weights, box sizes and zones, then add the software fee to each side.
Certified Mail, Registered Mail and Envelopes
This is the real reason to choose Stamps.com. Its Professional plan lists Certified Mail and Registered Mail support, individual electronic return receipts for Certified Mail, and unlimited stamps, where Basic stops at 25. If you run an office that sends contracts, notices or legal mail alongside a few parcels, that is a feature set Shippo’s pricing page does not list. I did not see Certified Mail or printed stamps on Shippo’s plan comparison, so I list them as not shown.
The cost is the plan jump. Basic cannot send Certified Mail or Registered Mail, so you pay at least $29.99 a month, or $359.88 a year, for the privilege. If you send Certified Mail a few times a year, pricing those at the post office and keeping a free labels tool for parcels can come out cheaper. My Stamps.com pricing breakdown works through the break-even math in detail.
Integrations and API
Shippo lists unlimited store connections on every plan, and its homepage names Shopify, Square, WooCommerce, Wix, BigCommerce, Squarespace, Magento, Walmart and Amazon, plus Etsy and several resale marketplaces. Its pricing page also describes API calls billed separately at API Starter rates, and the company runs a separate API pricing page for developers. If you want shipping built into a custom checkout, that is a clear advantage.
The only integration Stamps.com’s pricing page names is QuickBooks Online, on Professional and up. Its plan table also lists address book integrations and multi-address batch label printing on Professional and Multi-Location, but I could not find a list of named store or marketplace connections on the Stamps.com pages I read, so I list those as not shown. My earlier version called Stamps.com strong on Shopify. I cannot back that up from its own pages, so I removed it. If you sell on an online platform, confirm in Stamps.com’s help center that your store connects before you subscribe.
Stamps.com Alternatives for Small Businesses and Occasional Mail
Many people reach this comparison searching for a Stamps.com alternative for low-volume or occasional business mail. The plan structure explains why. Basic is the cheapest tier, but 10 labels and 25 stamps a month is tight, and the Certified Mail features sit on Professional. If your mailing is occasional, a flat monthly subscription is hard to justify.
The cheapest alternative is a free tool. Shippo Starter costs $0 for up to 30 labels a month with discounted USPS, UPS, FedEx and DHL Express labels. Pirate Ship says it has no monthly fees at all, and I compare it against Shippo in my Shippo vs Pirate Ship guide. For a direct comparison of the free tool against Stamps.com’s subscription, read my Stamps.com vs Pirate Ship breakdown.
The trade-off is the mail side. Neither free tool’s pages list Certified Mail or printed stamps the way Stamps.com’s Professional plan does. My Stamps.com alternatives guide sorts the options by the reason you are paying the subscription, whether that is labels only, real stamps, Certified Mail, multiple users or QuickBooks sync. In my experience, most store owners who pay for Stamps.com are paying for a feature they could replace with a free tool, and it is worth listing exactly which feature you use before you renew.
Stamps.com vs ShipStation
People searching “Stamps.com vs ShipStation” are comparing two brands that share a parent. Stamps.com’s FAQ says it is part of Auctane, a company that also includes ShipStation, Metapack and Packlink, and its footer carries the Auctane copyright line. The prices overlap too. ShipStation’s pricing page lists Starter at $14.99 a month for 50 shipments with 3 users, Standard at $29.99 for 50 shipments with 10 users, and Premium from $349.99 with 15 users, all with a 30-day free trial. Stamps.com’s Basic is $14.99 for 10 labels and Professional starts at $29.99 with unlimited labels.
I keep ShipStation analysis in separate guides so this page stays a two-tool decision. If you want the full cost picture for that product, read my ShipStation pricing guide.
If you are leaving ShipStation, my roundup of ShipStation alternatives compares four replacements. My Shippo vs ShipStation comparison puts Shippo head to head with it.
USPS Holiday Price Change and What It Means Here
A temporary USPS price change affects postage with either tool. The USPS announcement says the temporary rates take effect at 12 a.m. CT on October 4 and run until 12 a.m. CT on January 17, 2027, for Priority Mail Express, Priority Mail, USPS Ground Advantage and Parcel Select. For Priority Mail in zones 1 to 4, the commercial increase is $0.40 for 0 to 3 pounds and $0.65 for 4 to 10 pounds, against $0.50 and $0.80 at retail.
My earlier version described this as a surcharge stacked on top of a separate 8 percent increase. USPS calls it a temporary price change, and the announcement page I read does not mention the 8 percent figure, so I removed it. Because both tools pass through carrier postage, the change lands on Shippo and Stamps.com users alike and does not change which tool is cheaper. Budget more for postage through mid-January and check your own weights and zones.
Who Shippo Is Better For
1. Online Stores Shipping Parcels
If most of your volume is boxes from a Shopify, WooCommerce, Amazon or Etsy store, Shippo fits the job. It names those channels, it includes four discounted carriers on its free plan, and it costs less than Stamps.com at nearly every volume in the table above.
2. Variable or Seasonal Volume
Stamps.com bills a monthly subscription whatever you ship. Shippo’s Starter plan costs nothing for up to 30 labels a month, and Pro offers a lower annual rate if you commit. For a seasonal store or one still finding its volume, free until 30 labels is easier to live with.
3. Developers and Custom Workflows
Shippo sells an API separately, and the pricing page points developers to a dedicated API pricing page. If you plan to embed shipping in your own checkout, that matters more than any plan feature on this page.
4. Teams That Need More Than Three Logins
Shippo’s Pro plan allows up to 5 logins and Premier allows 15 or more, against 3 on Stamps.com Professional. Stamps.com’s Multi-Location plan offers 10 per location, so it wins only if you run several offices.
Who Stamps.com Is Better For
If you run a traditional small business such as a law practice, real estate office, accounting firm or nonprofit that sends envelopes and Certified Mail alongside occasional parcels, Stamps.com is built for that mix. Professional gives you Certified Mail and Registered Mail support, three logins, batch printing, reports, phone support and QuickBooks Online integration for one flat monthly price.
It also suits businesses that prefer a predictable subscription to variable fees, and ones that want a 30-day risk-free trial before committing. Stamps.com says you can cancel any time during the trial. I could not verify claims from the earlier version about how long the company has operated or about any particular USPS authorization, because the pages I read do not state them, so I removed those claims and would rather you check them directly if they matter to your compliance needs.
Where Shipping Software Fits in a High-Ticket Dropshipping Store
High-ticket dropshipping changes the shipping question. When a supplier ships a $2,000 product straight to your customer, you do not print that label, so the tool you are comparing here only handles accessories, replacement parts, samples and returns. For most stores that volume is small, which keeps you on a free plan. I explain the full model in my complete guide to high-ticket dropshipping.
Your shipping setup is only as good as your suppliers, which my guide to finding high-ticket suppliers covers step by step. The high-ticket niches list helps you pick products where delivery is already solved.
Shipping tools are also a recurring business expense, so it helps to have the company set up properly first. My guide to business formation for high-ticket dropshipping explains why that matters before you start paying software subscriptions.
How to Decide
Run this short checklist. If three or more apply, Shippo is your fit: you run an online store with recurring parcel volume, you ship on several carriers or want the option to, you want a free plan while volume is low, you sell on Shopify, WooCommerce, Amazon or Etsy, and your business is shipping boxes rather than mailing envelopes.
If three or more of these apply, Stamps.com is your fit: you mail envelopes, Certified Mail or Registered Mail regularly, you want QuickBooks Online sync, you like a flat monthly subscription, you want phone support and three logins, and you want a 30-day trial before committing.
Whichever you choose, you are not locked in. Labels and tracking are carrier-issued, and Shippo says you can cancel or change your plan at any time. For the cheapest test, ship ten real orders through Shippo’s free plan while you run Stamps.com’s 30-day trial, then keep the one that costs less for the work you actually do.
Price Your Real Parcels Before You Pay a Subscription
Shippo’s free Starter plan lets you compare rates across USPS, UPS, FedEx and DHL Express on your own packages, with no monthly commitment.
Frequently Asked Questions: Shippo vs Stamps.com
Is Shippo cheaper than Stamps.com?
For parcel shipping, yes. Shippo is free for up to 30 labels a month and Pro starts at $17 a month billed annually ($205 a year), while Stamps.com Basic is $14.99 a month with a 10-label cap and Professional starts at $29.99 a month ($359.88 a year) for unlimited labels. At 100 labels a month that is a $154.88 yearly gap in Shippo’s favor, as of October 2026.
Does Stamps.com work with FedEx and DHL?
FedEx yes, according to Stamps.com’s plan table, which lists UPS, USPS and FedEx access on all three plans. Its shipping page also lists DHL and GlobalPost as carriers, and international carriers are included on Professional and Multi-Location but not on Basic. FedEx discounts are off standard list rates and cannot be combined with other offers.
What is the best Stamps.com alternative for occasional business mail?
If you mostly send parcels, a free tool such as Shippo’s Starter plan or Pirate Ship avoids the subscription. If you need Certified Mail or printed stamps, check whether those features are worth Professional’s $29.99 a month before you leave. My Stamps.com alternatives guide sorts the options by use case.
Is Stamps.com the same as ShipStation?
No, but they share a parent. Stamps.com’s FAQ says it is part of Auctane, which also includes ShipStation. ShipStation’s pricing page lists plans from $14.99 a month for 50 shipments, and its fees rise with shipment volume.
Can I switch from Stamps.com to Shippo?
Yes. Labels and tracking are carrier-issued, so nothing about the carriers locks you in. I did not find data export instructions on the pages I read, so check each company’s help center for address book exports. Shippo says you can cancel or change plans at any time, and the cheapest way to start is the free Starter plan from my Shippo link.
Pricing and feature details change frequently, so always verify current pricing directly with each platform before subscribing. Ecommerce Paradise may earn affiliate commissions from purchases made through links in this article.
Related Articles
If you found this useful, these guides go deeper on related shipping decisions:
- Stamps.com Pricing 2026: What $179.88 a Year Actually Buys
- Stamps.com Alternatives 2026: What You Are Actually Paying the Subscription For
- Shippo vs Pirate Ship in 2026: Which Shipping Software Is Right for Your Ecommerce Store?
- Best ShipStation Alternatives in 2026: 4 Options Compared by Price, Carriers and Fit
- Shippo Review 2026: Is This Multi-Carrier Shipping Platform Right for Your Ecommerce Store?
Trevor Fenner is an ecommerce entrepreneur and world traveler from Seattle, Washington, and the founder of Ecommerce Paradise, a platform focused on helping entrepreneurs build and scale profitable high-ticket ecommerce and dropshipping businesses. With over a decade of hands-on experience, Trevor specializes in high-ticket dropshipping strategy, niche and product selection, supplier recruiting and onboarding, Google & Bing Shopping ads, ecommerce SEO, and systems-driven automation and scaling. Through Ecommerce Paradise, he provides free education via in-depth guides like How to Start High-Ticket Dropshipping, advanced training through the High-Ticket Dropshipping Masterclass, and fully done-for-you turnkey ecommerce services for entrepreneurs who want a faster, more hands-off path to growth. Trevor is known for emphasizing sustainable, real-world ecommerce models over hype-driven tactics, helping store owners build scalable, sellable, and location-independent brands.
He maintains homes in Seattle and Bali, spends most of the year overseas, and usually returns to Seattle for about a month each summer.
