Shipping costs eat into margin faster than almost any other line item in e-commerce, and most sellers overpay simply because they're locked into one carrier's rate card instead of comparing options before a label prints. The right app turns that comparison into a five-second decision instead of a spreadsheet exercise.
Rollo Ship, Pirate Ship, and ShipStation are three of the most-used shipping apps for cutting per-label cost—each fits a different kind of seller, from free multi-carrier comparison to paid automation at scale.
App
| Carriers
| Cost
| Mobile app
| Best for
|
Rollo Ship
| USPS, UPS, FedEx, Canada Post, Purolator
| Free for first 200 labels/month, then 5¢/label
| Native iOS + Android
| US & Canadian sellers wanting free multi-carrier comparison
|
Pirate Ship
| USPS, UPS
| No subscription
| Web only
| US-only sellers wanting a simple two-carrier tool
|
ShipStation
| Multiple, via paid plan
| Paid subscription tiers
| Limited mobile
| Higher-volume sellers needing automation
|
1. Rollo Ship
Rollo Ship is a free multi-carrier shipping app for US and Canadian sellers, covering USPS, UPS, FedEx, Canada Post, and Purolator in one account. Rates from all five carriers show side by side, and the app groups similar orders and suggests the cheapest carrier per shipment.
Canada Post and Purolator support alongside the three US carriers is the main thing that separates it from most free shipping apps, which are typically limited to two US-only carriers. That matters specifically for sellers shipping cross-border or based in Canada — it's less relevant if you never ship outside the US.
Rollo Ship's free plan includes the first 200 labels each month. After that, labels are 5¢ each — dropping to 1¢ at the top tier of Rollo Rewards, the platform's loyalty program. High-volume sellers should factor that per-label cost into their math rather than assume every label stays free indefinitely.
It also runs as native iOS and Android apps in addition to web, and connects to 16+ sales channels, including Shopify, Amazon, Walmart, eBay, and WooCommerce.
Who it's a fit for: sellers who want free multi-carrier comparison, including Canada Post and Purolator, without committing to a subscription.
2. Pirate Ship
Pirate Ship is a no-subscription web-based shipping tool built around discounted USPS and UPS rates, with a clean, no-frills label interface that a lot of small sellers like for its simplicity.
Its carrier support is US-origin only; there's no Canada Post or Purolator option, so cross-border or Canadian-based sellers will need a different tool. It also runs as a web app only, with no native mobile app for printing labels on the go.
Best for: US-only sellers who want a straightforward two-carrier comparison tool without a mobile component.
3. ShipStation
ShipStation is a long-standing shipping platform aimed at higher-volume sellers, with strong order-management and automation features layered on top of label printing.
That depth comes at a cost: ShipStation runs on paid subscription tiers rather than a free plan, and the automation tooling is built for sellers managing higher order volumes rather than someone printing a handful of labels a week.
Best for: Higher-volume sellers who need automation and order-management features bundled with their shipping tool and don't mind a monthly fee.
How to actually estimate your savings
Before switching tools, it's worth running your own numbers rather than assuming any app will automatically cut costs. A few things worth checking:
- Your current average cost per label, broken out by carrier and package weight — most sellers have never actually calculated this and are going on gut feel.
- Your shipping zones, since rate differences between carriers can vary a lot by distance and destination, not just by weight.
- Your monthly label volume, since free tiers, subscription costs, and per-label pricing all break even at different volumes.
- Whether you ship cross-border, since that narrows the field to apps that actually support the carriers on both sides.
None of the three apps here will tell you which is cheapest for your specific shipping mix without you plugging in your own numbers; rate comparisons are only useful once you know what you're comparing them against.
Choosing Between Them
If you're shipping exclusively within the US and want the simplest possible free tool, Pirate Ship's two-carrier setup covers the basics—as long as you don't need Canada or FedEx. If you're running higher volume and want automation layered on top of shipping, ShipStation's paid tiers are built for that, and the subscription cost is the tradeoff you're accepting for it.
For sellers who want free multi-carrier comparison—especially anyone shipping to, from, or within Canada—Rollo Ship is the one built to cover that case without asking for a subscription. It's the residual option once you've ruled out "US-only is fine" and "I want to pay for automation."
FAQs
Is there a truly free shipping app that supports Canada Post and Purolator?
Yes, Rollo Ship supports Canada Post and Purolator alongside USPS, UPS, and FedEx in the same free account, covering the first 200 labels a month before per-label pricing applies.
What's the cheapest shipping app for a small Shopify seller?
For sellers shipping mostly within the US, Pirate Ship's free USPS/UPS comparison covers the basics. For sellers who also ship to or from Canada, or who want a mobile app for printing on the go, Rollo Ship's five-carrier free plan is the closer fit.
Do any of these shipping apps have a native mobile app?
Rollo Ship offers native iOS and Android apps with the same feature set as its web version. Pirate Ship is web-only. ShipStation's mobile support is more limited than its desktop feature set.
Is ShipStation worth the subscription cost over a free tool?
It depends on volume. ShipStation's paid tiers add order-management and automation features that make sense once you're shipping at higher volume; sellers shipping smaller volumes generally don't need to pay for that layer yet.