Top 7 Best Shopify Shipping Apps with Pros and Cons in 2024

An essential component of your Shopify online store is shipping. 

Your store needs streamlined orders, clear tracking, and reduced shipping expenses. That's where shipping apps come in! 

The Shopify app store changed the game by giving retailers the means to simplify shipping, offer free shipping, and increase their take-home pay.

It can be difficult to select just one Shopify shipping app, though. But when you are selecting an app, it's critical to understand your business and the needs that must be met.

The features of the shipping apps listed below are designed to satisfy the needs of various Shopify eCommerce companies.

If you're ready to take on your logistics, let's get into the best Shopify shipping apps so you can ship like a pro in no time!

What is a Shipping App for Shopify?

You can think of a Shopify shipping app as a handy software application that works alongside your Shopify store to streamline the shipping method.

These apps are made to assist you with every aspect of shipping from finding the best deals to automating procedures.

You can say goodbye to troublesome tracking and exhausting label printing when you use a Shopify shipping app.

These apps make shipping tasks easier by providing a variety of helpful features and tools.

Imagine being able to track orders with ease, compare rates from various carriers, print shipping labels with only a few clicks, and manage your inventory without any hassles.

Shopify Shipping App Pros

These apps easily integrate with a range of shipping carriers, giving you access to discounted rates and the ability to select the optimal delivery options for your clients.

Additionally, the shipping apps on this list automate your customer interactions by creating customs documents for shipments outside of the country and notifying your customers when their orders are shipped.

Even more useful analytics and reports are offered by Shopify Shipping Apps to assist you in monitoring your shipping performance. 

It functions much like a tiny shipping command center inside of your Shopify store!

For this reason, a Shopify shipping app can be a game-changer regardless of how experienced you are in eCommerce and how many employees you manage. 

It ultimately improves the entire customer experience while saving you time, and lowering errors.

The Benefits of Using Online Shipping Apps

Streamlined Order Fulfillment

The top shipping apps for Shopify provide fulfillment features like digital picking lists and large-scale label printing. These features help to save money and time by speeding up a number of logistics procedures.

Access to Multiple Carriers

A shipping app for Shopify gives you access to additional carriers as your store expands, which lets you increase your logistical capacity.

You are free to change the rates and choose different shipping options.

Integration with multiple carriers, such as USPS, FedEx, UPS, DHL, and regional or specialty carriers, is provided by numerous shipping apps for Shopify.

This enables you to evaluate shipping rates, select the most economical options, and provide your customers a range of shipping options like free shipping so enhancing their shopping experience.

Real-Time Shipping Rates Calculator

During checkout, shipping apps can offer real-time shipping rate calculations. Customers are able to see precise shipping costs thanks to this transparency, which lowers cart abandonment rates because they know exactly what to anticipate.

Additionally, it keeps shipping costs from being overcharged or undercharged, increasing your overall profitability.

Shipping Automation and Rules

Among the best features of shipping applications are shipping rules.

Based on the order characteristics which automatically generate the collection, you can decide under what circumstances you choose to select one transport over another.

Notifications and Customizable Tracking

You can integrate your branding and marketing materials into tracking notifications that customers can create with a Shopify shipping app, allowing them to keep an eye on their packages.

By keeping customers updated on the status and location of their orders, this openness and communication during the shipping process increases customer trust.

Shipping Invoice Control

The tracking and management of shipping invoices produced by shipping service providers is made easier with the help of this feature.

You can keep a precise record of the shipping expenses related to every order and you can examine this information to find areas where your shipping plan needs to be improved or where you can save money.

Automated Returns and Exchanges

Online returns account for almost thirty percent of all purchases.

You should be able to automate returns and exchange management through specialized portals with the best shipping app for Shopify.

Cost Efficiency

By supporting businesses in selecting the most economical shipping methods and carriers, shipping tools can help make a smooth shipping process.

This effectiveness helps the business save money and, in certain situations, makes it possible to provide customers with competitive shipping rates.

Read more: What's The Cost of A Shopify Store?

International Shipping Made Easy

Shipping apps frequently have features that make international shipping easier which is beneficial if your e-commerce brand engages in international sales. These features could include multi-currency support, automated customs documentation, and duty and tax computation.

This makes growing your customer base internationally easier and less intimidating.

Customizable Shipping Rules

You can make personalized shipping rules based on a variety of criteria such as product weight, location, or order value, with many shipping apps.

You can customize your shipping options to match particular customer preferences or promotional offers thanks to this degree of flexibility.

Inventory Management Integration

Your inventory management system can be easily integrated with certain other Shopify shipping apps.

This lowers the possibility of overselling and improves inventory control by ensuring that stock levels are updated in real-time across all sales channels.

11 Best Shipping Apps on Shopify

1. Aftership

Aftership is an app for tracking and post-purchase engagement that improves the customer experience by offering order visibility and real-time tracking updates.

Key Features and Pros ⭐

• Personalize tracking pages with your logo to give your clients a better shipping experience.
• Automatically send shipment status updates to your customers via email and SMS. This helps improve customer experience and reduces support inquiries.
• Provide built-in analytics that give you insights into the performance of your shipments. You can track delivery success rates, identify bottlenecks, and make data-driven improvements.
• Simplify the returns process with automated return labels.
• Cover a wide range of shipping options with 1160+ carriers.
• Utilize artificial intelligence to estimate delivery dates for shipments. This helps set accurate expectations for your customers and reduces uncertainty.
• Offers a centralized dashboard where you can track and monitor all your shipments in one place. It saves you time and allows for efficient management of your orders.

AfterShip Cons ❌

• According to certain users, AfterShip's carrier matching isn't always reliable which can cause inaccurate or sluggish tracking updates. It's crucial to manually verify and update carrier information.
• Through add-ons, AfterShip provides extra features and services. However, these can come at an additional cost. Before deciding to use these add-ons, merchants should carefully consider their costs and necessity.
• There are times when AfterShip's tracking updates are delayed which can lead to slower or out-of-date order tracking data. Customers' and merchants' real-time visibility may be impacted by this.

AfterShip Pricing 💰

• Free for 50 shipments/month
• Essential: $11/month
• Pro: $119/month
• Premium: $239/month

2. ShipStation

Shopify seamlessly integrates with ShipStation, an incredibly flexible shipping and order fulfillment app. It provides an easy-to-use interface along with an abundance of features designed to simplify shipping processes.

You can effectively manage your inventory, create shipping labels and automate order processing with ShipStation.

Key Features & Pros ⭐

• Connect with major carriers like USPS, FedEx, UPS, and DHL.
• Batch multiple orders into a single shipment to reduce shipping costs.
• Get accurate shipping rates for your customers at Shopify checkout.
• Customize branded packing slips and labels.
• Easily manage inventory and keep track of your stock levels in real-time.
• Keep tabs on precise reporting and analytics around shipping performance, sales volume, average order value, and top-selling products.
• Navigate and switch between different store channels, functionalities, and use cases such as canceled orders vs. already shipped.
• You can save some bucks on your shipping costs with discounted shipping rates which is always a win for your business.

ShipStation Cons ❌

• It can take some time to figure out all the features and settings especially if you're new to shipping software.
• Some users have mentioned that the UX interface could be more user-friendly and visually appealing.
• Basic customization is good but there may be some limitations if you have specific customization needs or unique workflows.

ShipStation Pricing 💰

ShipStation has four plans available: Starter, Bronze, Gold, and Enterprise. They range from $9.99/month to $229.99/month.

There is a 30-day free trial available.

3. Easyship

An all-in-one shipping app called Easyship was created to make international e-commerce easier.

It makes international shipping simple by giving users access to a global network of couriers and real-time shipping rates.

EasyShip Key Features and Pros ⭐

• Choose from over 250 shipping solutions worldwide.
• Automatically calculate and display customs fees.
• Show customers all shipping pricing fees at checkout.
• Set up shipping rules for shipping methods and pricing based on customer preferences.
• Keep your inventory levels updated and synced across multiple sales channels.
• Customs documents are generated automatically for a smooth international shipping process.
• Automatic printing of shipping labels.
• Reduced shipping rates with USPS.
• Has customization options from tracking to emails, and packaging slips, you can keep everything on-brand with visually pleasing updates and packing slips.
• For example, on product checkout page, can label shipping options as “cheapest,” “fastest,” or “best value” to explicitly describe selections for customers.
• Insurance can be added at checkout to upsell customers to a higher basket and give them peace of mind with shipping insurance.

EasyShip Cons ❌

• Free plan offers minimal features where it’s okay to get started and explore the app, but you’ll almost certainly need to graduate to a paid plan.
• Some reviews on the app store stated that you’ll be waiting a while to get a response from support.
• Customers only see a shipping estimate which may differ from the actual rate they pay.

EasyShip Pricing 💰

EasyShip is free to install, with three paid plans: Plus, Premier, and Scale. There is a 14-day free trial for each of the paid subscriptions.

• Plus is $29/month,
• Premier is $69/month, and
• Scale is $99/month. 

4. Shippo

Shippo is an easy-to-use shipping app that provides Shopify store owners with a straightforward but effective solution.

You can purchase shipping labels, track packages in real time, and compare shipping costs from different carriers.

Key Features and Pros ⭐

• Can compare shipping rates across all carriers with access to exclusive discounts and savings.
• Generate shipping labels in bulk to save time. You can print up to 100 labels at once that is saving you time on a large influx of orders by batch.
• Ensure accurate deliveries with address verification.
• Easily manage international shipments and customs documentation.
• Offer hassle-free return options to your customers with easy return label generation.

Shippo Cons ❌

• Although Shippo is free to use, you should take into account potential additional costs for shipping labels and carrier services.
• The initial setup and learning curve of Shippo might be a little confusing for some users.
• You might discover that some customization options or workflows are restricted or unavailable in Shippo, depending on your particular needs.

Shippo Pricing 💰

Shippo has two options available: the Starter Plan and the Professional Plan. The Starter Plan is free to install, and the Professional Plan is $19/month.

5. ShippingEasy

The Shopify shipping app ShippingEasy lives up to its name by making shipping processes simpler. It offers powerful tools for creating labels, processing orders, and interacting with customers.

Key Features and Pros ⭐

• Easily import and organize orders from multiple channels.
• Access discounted USPS rates, saving you money on shipping.
• Set shipping automation rules for order fulfillment and label printing.
• Send tracking and review requests to customers with email marketing integration.
• Sync your inventory and keep your stock levels accurate and prevent overselling.
• Excellent for complex shipping rules that ensure you always charge the correct shipping fee if you have a lot of shipping rates for different regions, products etc.
• Numerous reviews highlight the support team's helpfulness, particularly in cases where you require assistance setting up your rates or developing logic to control them.
• Show shipping rates no matter what currency you use on your Shopify store.

ShippingEasy Cons ❌

Unlike some of the other platforms on this list, ShippingEasy does not provide third-party fulfillment, returns management, or warehousing services. Only your store's shipping rate computations are managed by the app.

ShippingEasy Pricing 💰

ShippingEasy has a free Starter Plan available, and three paid tiers: Growth, Basic, and Plus. They range from $19.99/month to $49.99/month.

6. Shipway

Shipway is an additional top shipping app for Shopify that offers comprehensive e-commerce business solutions. Shipway focuses on offering features that improve the post-purchase experience for customers, such as shipment tracking, notifications, and courier aggregation for quick deliveries.

Shipway also enables retailers to receive customer feedback on their delivery experience and to send automated tracking updates.

Shipway Key Features & Pros ⭐

• Automate order processing from multiple channels along with labels & invoices.
• Return automation for faster processing of refunds or exchange orders.
• Order status update notifications through SMS & WhatsApp
• Simple design & user-friendly that covers most of the logistics needs.
• Reports and analysis helps for understanding of your progress.

Shipway Cons ❌

Might face glitches sometimes