ShipBob vs. Shippo: Review, Comparison, and Pricing

self-fulfillment

Are you an ecommerce business looking for the best shipping solution? With so many options on the market, it can be hard to choose a solution that offers the right features and capabilities at an affordable price.

From finding the best rates to making it easy to generate shipping labels, taking the time to find the right shipping software will help you save time and money in the long run.

Two of the most common solutions are ShipBob and Shippo. If you’re deciding between the two, it’s important to understand how they work alone, as well as how they integrate together to optimise the fulfilment and shipping process.

This guide provides a comparison of ShipBob vs. Shippo, 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. Shippo: What’s the difference?

ShipBob is a leading international 3PL that also provides a standalone warehouse management software for brands with their own warehouse, whereas Shippo is a shipping API that makes it easy to find the best carrier rates, generate shipping labels, and automatically send order tracking information.

If you choose to fulfil orders in-house, Shippo is a great standalone shipping software. But if you run your own warehouse or are looking to outsource fulfilment or run your own warehouse and need a more robust WMS, partnering with ShipBob is the best option for you.

However, you can still take advantage of Shippo’s shipping API for a fully integrated shipping solution.

FeaturesShipBobShippo
Fulfilment servicesYes.No.
Warehouse management system (WMS) for in-house warehouse fulfilmentYes.No.
Label creation ShipBob uses labels from a variety of sources.Shippo lets you create shipping labels yourself to save you time and money, while choosing from a variety of packing slips and label formats.
Multi-carrier accessShipBob has leading couriers across the globe pick up from its fulfilment centres, offering discounted rates for a variety of services.Shippo helps you compare carrier rates and get real-time rates from a network of couriers to find the best match. 
Package trackingShipBob picks, packs, and ships orders, letting you automatically send a confirmation email and share tracking number and information with each customer.Shippo allows you to set up tracking and notifications to keep you and your customers up-to-date, including details about location, time, and status to reference if an issue arises.
ShipBob integrates with all leading ecommerce platforms, marketplaces, EDI solutions for B2B orders, and much more for an all-in-one fulfilment and logistics platform. Learn more here.Shippo provides a global network of technology partners, fulfilment partners, and couriers at your fingertips, so you can connect with all your favourite couriers with one easy-to-use shipping solution. Learn more here

The pros & cons of using ShipBob

Considering partnering with ShipBob? ShipBob is a best-in-class fulfilment 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 fulfilment: 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 fulfilment centre 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 fulfilment 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 fulfilment 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.

“I shipped everything myself and made a lot of trips to the post office. It was intense and pretty tough. You quickly reach that breaking point, where you cannot do it any longer, and it’s not worth the compromised quality of life.

We did some market research, and I knew some other brands that used ShipBob. Everything just works. We are super happy with ShipBob and very impressed by how well they’ve pumped out our large volume of orders.”

Sergio Tache, CEO of Dossier

ShipBob WMS: The pros

ShipBob’s WMS is an intuitive software solution for brands with their own warehouse. An all-in-one WMS, OMS, IMS, and reporting platform, ShipBob WMS helps you centralise real-time inventory, shipments, returns, and analytics across all online and offline sales channels.

Regardless of where you sell, ShipBob WMS can let you seamlessly fulfil those orders. On top of DTC, B2B capabilities include wholesale, retail distribution, and retail dropshipping orders for everything from simple brick-and-mortar shipments to robust EDI capabilities.

Not only can you power your in-house operations, the ShipBob WMS also allows you to leverage ShipBob’s global fulfilment network – including dozens of warehouses across the United States, Europe, Australia, and Canada.

ShipBob order fulfilment: The cons

ShipBob isn’t the cheapest fulfilment solution on the market. As a premium service, ShipBob takes care of the fulfilment 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 fulfilment centre or expanding into multiple sales channels to maximise customer reach.

However, no matter what stage your brand is in currently, it’s never too soon to get started with a fulfilment provider to save time and money on the fulfilment 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 fulfiling 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 the fastest-growing ecommerce brands that have successfully expanded into new markets, saved on logistics costs, and have grown their business faster.

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

“As we saw our small startup business beginning to gain traction, we needed to find a 3PL that could help us manage the thousands of orders we would get in minutes.

When I was researching companies, I knew they had to be tech-enabled, integrate with Shopify, and a company that could scale with us. We found exactly that with ShipBob.”

Jason Ton, CFO of 100 Thieves

The pros & cons of using Shippo

So how does Shippo fit in to ShipBob’s fulfilment solution? If you’re looking for a comprehensive ecommerce fulfilment solution, the Shippo and ShipBob direct integration creates the complete last-mile delivery experience. 

By connecting Shippo’s technology with ShipBob, you get access to leading couriers, international shipping support, shipping insurance, and shipment tracking — all while having having fulfilment taken care of by ShipBob automatically.

But if you’re not ready to outsource fulfilment quite yet, Shippo’s technology offers everything you need to optimise shipping while saving time and money. To ensure Shippo the right shipping solution for your business, here is overview of its pros and cons.

Shippo: The pros

With Shippo, you can generate shipping labels yourself, choosing from a variety of packing slips and label formats. Shippo also helps you compare real-time rates from a network of couriers to find the best match.

Regardless of whether you sell on a single channel or several different channels, Shippo automatically connects to all major channels, so that you can easily manage your shipping from one place.

To keep your customers up to date with delivery, Shippo makes it easy to set up detailed tracking info and notifications, including location, time, and status to reference if an issue arises.

Shippo: The cons

Though Shippo offers premium shipping features, it doesn’t stand alone as a full-suite fulfilment solution. It’s a great option for brands that need additional support in optimising their shipping strategy and simplifying the process. 

But if you need fulfilment support, you always have the option to integrate Shippo with ShipBob’s proprietary technology. This way, you can take advantage of Shippo’s robust shipping API that connects with leading couriers all in one place while also sending orders directly to ShipBob for fulfilment.

Shippo: The verdict

Shippo provides a global network of technology partners, fulfilment partners, and couriers at your fingertips, so you can connect with all your favourite couriers with one easy-to-use shipping solution.

If you choose to outsource fulfilment later on, you can connect Shippo with ShipBob’s technology to create an end-to-end ecommerce solution.

ShipBob vs. Shippo: The conclusion

Here’s the lowdown:

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

With ShipBob, you can take advantage of a global fulfilment 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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