Best Shopify Apps for Shipping: 2026 Guide

Shopify apps for shipping integrate with your online store to automate tasks like calculating carrier rates at checkout, generating shipping labels, and tracking shipments.

As grocery delivery service Odd Bunch grew from handling hundreds of orders per week to tens of thousands, founder Divy Ojha needed to revamp order fulfillment and shipping processes to keep up with demand. “It really just comes down to how simple you can keep your processes,” Divy says on an episode of the Shopify Masters podcast. “We’re hosted on Shopify, and we work with a few other plug-in apps on their platform to simplify all of our reporting and our shipping logistics.”

This guide explains what Shopify shipping apps do, shows how Shopify Shipping can help you save on shipping rates, and shares the best shipping apps in the Shopify App Store for key fulfillment use cases.

What are Shopify apps for shipping?

Shopify apps for shipping are available from the Shopify App Store and help ecommerce retailers manage their shipping workflows. Some of these shipping apps focus on specific tasks like buying and printing shipping labels, checking shipping rates, setting custom shipping rules, and tracking orders, while others can connect you directly to a third-party logistics (3PL) provider that handles storage, packing, and shipping for you.

As their order volumes begin to increase, many online retailers are faced with shipping challenges that can include rising fuel costs; carrier rate increases; delivery delays caused by weather, supply chain disruptions, and labor shortages; and the complexity that comes with working with multiple shipping carriers. 

Upgrading your fulfillment process with Shopify shipping apps can help you overcome or at least mitigate some of these challenges. Finding the right shipping app or 3PL provider could help you keep up with customer demand, save money, or simplify your shipping management workflows. According to IT company Bitvea, using shipping software to automate processes like processing orders, invoicing and accounting, and generating shipping labels saves ecommerce retailers around 37.5 hours per week.

On an episode of the Shopify Masters podcast, Square Mile Coffee Roasters cofounder James Hoffmann describes using Shopify instead of hand-packing orders. “We don’t need to be the ones putting orders in boxes and doing all that kind of stuff, because other people can do that at scale far better than we can,” he says. Instead, his company relies on warehouse management system (WMS) integration with Shopify, which sends order details to the warehouse so fulfillment can begin immediately versus waiting for manual order entry. “Warehouse integration, that’s been game-changing and is utterly essential,” James says. “I could never go back to shipping thousands and thousands of products by hand.”

Shopify shipping solutions

Shopify Shipping is the native shipping solution included with every Shopify account. It’s an all-in-one tool that lets you manage your daily order fulfillment in the same place where you manage inventory, customer data, and marketing.

Shopify Shipping has Shopify-exclusive discounted carrier rates—up to 88% off—from the United States Postal Service (USPS), UPS, DHL, Canada Post, and other carriers. Shopify makes shipping carrier rates clear, with calculated rates at checkout, in addition to offering these key benefits:

• Fast order fulfillment. Buy and print labels in bulk (up to 250 at once) directly from Shopify so you can prepare packages in advance and avoid waiting at the post office.

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• Fulfillment options and dropshipping services. Choose how you want to ship orders. You can ship them yourself or by using a fulfillment service like the Shopify Fulfillment Network—a logistics and warehousing service that can handle inventory storage, order picking and packing, shipping, and returns—all within your Shopify admin.

• Smoother shipping processes. Customize your shipping setup with USPS SCAN form creation and schedule pickups through carriers like UPS, USPS, and DHL Express.

• In-app shipment tracking.Check shipment statuses and delivery estimates from your Shopify admin. 

• International shipping options. Access global shipping options with discounts and built-in customs forms from your admin dashboard. You’ll also find information about shopping tariffs and customs requirements, helping you avoid unexpected costs.

• Insurance coverage. Find insurance options for high-risk or high-value packages. 

Best Shopify shipping apps by use case

• Multichannel shipping
• International shipping and duties
• Fulfillment and 3PL operations
• Shipment tracking and customer notifications
• Advanced shipping rules and checkout logic
• Low-cost shipping labels
• Post-purchase operations and returns

Depending on your needs, you can also choose to partner with third-party providers directly. There are dozens of shipping apps available in the Shopify App Store that can help you with specific use cases:

Multichannel shipping

Multichannel shipping options can help you centralize your shipping operations when you’re selling via several channels like your online store, Amazon, and Etsy:

ShipStation

ShipStation is a shipping and fulfillment app that works well for larger ecommerce brands that sell through multiple channels, such as Walmart and Amazon, in addition to their own digital shop. It allows retailers to deliver through domestic carriers like USPS and UPS, as well as international ones, such as Royal Mail and Canada Post. Other key features include live carrier rates for customers at checkout; batch shipping; the ability to combine multiple orders sent to the same address; and order management filters based on criteria like tags, destinations, and stores.

Pricing: Plans start at $15 per month, which includes access for three users, unlimited store connections, automated rate shopping, and a reporting dashboard. Access for more users, unlimited automations, basic warehouse management, and the ability to bring your own carrier account are in plans that start at $30 per month.

Shippo

Shippo is an ecommerce solution built for small and growing businesses that want to automatically import orders across all their sales channels. Shippo works with more than 40 global carriers, such as UPS, USPS, and FedEx. Shippo lets you compare rates, with deep discounts across the top carriers; create labels or bulk print labels; track shipments in real time; and send automated, branded tracking notifications to customers.

Pricing: The free plan includes discounts on UPS, USPS, FedEx, and DHL Express shipping, unlimited store connections, international shipping, and shipment tracking. Shippo’s Pro plan ($205 per year) includes everything in the free plan, plus AI-powered delivery estimates, the ability to connect your own carrier account, and branded tracking pages.

International shipping and duties

If you’re shipping to multiple countries, apps with access to international carriers can simplify the process: 

Easyship

Easyship is a cloud-based shipping app where retailers can compare rates from more than 550 international carriers across the US, Canada, the UK, Europe, Australia, and Asia from one dashboard. Easyship automatically calculates which couriers can deliver an order the cheapest or the fastest and connects natively to your Shopify store. 

Pricing: The free plan for small businesses includes up to 50 monthly shipments, discounted shipping rates, intelligent courier selection, and import tax and duty calculation. Paid plans start at $29 per month and include 500-plus monthly shipments, the ability to link your own courier account, and live support.

Fulfillment and 3PL operations

Third-party logistics providers can take over the warehousing, packaging, and fulfillment portion of your operations: 

ShipBob Fulfillment

ShipBob Fulfillment is a 3PL company with Shopify integration via the Shopify Fulfillment Network. ShipBob handles the shipping process end to end, helping you package and move orders from the warehouse to your customers. Retailers can also use ShipBob to customize the user experience with branded packaging, inserts, and gift notes.

Pricing: Request a quote from ShipBob.

Shipment tracking and customer notifications

Tracking and notifications apps help you create custom tracking pages so your customers get a unified brand experience and up-to-date information about their delivery.

AfterShip

AfterShip is an order tracking platform where retailers can build a branded tracking page and send customers automated shipment notifications across more than 1,100 carriers. AfterShip has a centralized dashboard that makes it easy to track shipping status, on-time performance, and potentially delayed orders. This app also includes AI-powered estimated delivery times on product and checkout pages.

Pricing: Plans start at $9 per month for businesses shipping 1,200 or fewer orders per year, with increased pricing based on the number of annual shipments. The essentials plan includes a branded tracking page, automatic carrier detection and correction, email and SMS notifications, and a tracking dashboard. Plans starting at $59 per month include deeper customization and a full analytics suite.

Advanced shipping rules and checkout logic

If you’re shipping non-standard packages, you may need to set custom rules to ensure your shipping costs are covered. These apps allow you to set advanced rules and checkout logic: 

Intuitive Shipping

Intuitive Shipping is a checkout logistics app where retailers can set their shipping rules—ideal for businesses that need a wider array of shipping customization options. With Intuitive Shipping, you can choose what to charge customers for shipping, and mix and match from over 40 conditions (such as postal codes and product weight), dictating which rates appear on a customer’s checkout and why.

Pricing: The entry-point plan is $70 per month and includes 500 orders, unlimited rules, and unlimited carriers. For 2,000 or more orders, plans start at $150 per month.

Bespoke Shipping

With Bespoke Shipping, retailers can work with more than 80 live carriers to ship orders. This app also lets retailers customize shipping rules to fit their needs, but instead of using condition-based logic (for example, by weight, location, or cart value), Bespoke Shipping has a custom macro editor that enables retailers to build rules from scratch. While this allows for a high degree of customization, it does require some programming knowledge.

Pricing: A subscription is $20 per month, offering unlimited shipping rules, 4D boxing and stacking, and multi-location shipping controls.

Low-cost shipping labels

Small businesses may not always qualify for bulk discounts. Low-cost shipping options can provide savings even for individual orders:

Pirate Ship

Pirate Ship allows retailers to buy and print shipping labels from UPS and USPS at discount rates. Users can print shipping labels on their own and deliver the order. Unlike other shipping apps, there is no monthly fee or subscription, making this a good option for solopreneurs or emerging small businesses that may not qualify for bulk volume discounts. 

Pricing: The app is free to install and use.

Post-purchase operations and returns

These apps prioritize delivery tracking, returns, and exchanges:

Route

Route is a post-purchase app that offers brands licensed package protection (with AI-powered fraud detection), returns, and exchanges. Route sends customer notifications once a purchase is on its way to the final destination and provides order tracking. The app also allows brands and customers to resolve issues with instant claims resolution.

Pricing: The app is free to install and use, with flat-fee, volume-based, consumer-funded, and custom pricing options for companies that need tailored integrations.

Outvio

Outvio is a supply chain control tower that specializes in exchanges and returns. Outvio has a self-service portal for customers to initiate and manage returns, as well as automation throughout the post-purchase workflow, such as for refunds to store credit and return label generation. It also includes a help desk for your Shopify store.

Pricing: Plans start at $4,500 per year. Request a customized quote from Outvio.