ShipBob vs Pirate Ship

Sortly

Restroworks Inventory Management

Fishbowl

Sortly is an easy inventory solution that helps businesses track and manage their inventory from any device, in any location.

Restroworks Inventory Management Solution revolutionizes restaurant inventory with real-time stock tracking, analytics for consumption patterns, and automated procurement. It minimizes waste, identifies savings, and supports data-driven decisions.

Designed with simplicity and efficiency in mind, Fishbowl’s complete manufacturing and inventory management solution transforms the inventory process and uses automation to help growing businesses make strategic and precise decisions based on real-time data and cut costs.

Founder

We are able to contact the 'customer service' line who can never do anything about the issues we have other than let us know [SENSITIVE CONTENT HIDDEN] will reach out to us, which never ends up happening.

owner

The customer support was great and attentive.

ShipBob brings next- & 2-day shipping and logistics to fast-growing ecommerce brands through software and distributed fulfillment centers. With 30+ locations across 3 continents, ShipBob's strategically located near your customers to provide cost-effective, fast shipping options.

3PL Management

Activity Dashboard

Activity Tracking

Air Shipping

Alerts/Notifications

Backorder Management

Barcode/Ticket Scanning

Billing & Invoicing

Bills of Lading

Catalog Management

Claims Management

Contact Database

Container Shipping

Customer Database

Customer History

Customizable Branding

Customizable Reports

Data Import/Export

Data Synchronization

Delivery Management

Delivery Tracking

Discount Management

eCommerce Management

Forecasting

For eCommerce

Freight Shipping

Ground Shipping

Import/Export Management

Inventory Auditing

Inventory Control

Inventory Management

Inventory Optimization

Inventory Tracking

Invoice Management

IoT Integration

Kitting

Label Printing

Manufacturing Inventory Management

Multi-Channel Management

Multi-Location

Ocean Shipping

Order Fulfillment

Order Management

Order Tracking

Package Tracking

Parcel Shipping

Process/Workflow Automation

Product Identification

Purchase Order Management

Quotes/Estimates

Real-Time Data

Real-Time Updates

Recurring Orders

Reorder Management

Reporting/Analytics

Reporting & Statistics

Retail Inventory Management

Returns Management

Search/Filter

Shipment Price Calculation

Shipment Tracking

Shipping Labels

Shipping Management

Shipping Services Integration

Special Order Management

Status Tracking

Third-Party Integrations

Warehouse Management

Workflow Management

ShipBob

Web-based

ShipStation

ShipHero

ShippingEasy

Custom

 ShipBob WMS

Director

They do not have proper packing standards for heavyweight or large orders resulting in damage that they will not take responsibility for.

If anyone at ShipBob tries to tell you their app works with Shopify Markets they are lying to you. If you have several markets setup in Shopify (ie, the US, Australia, the EU), ShipBob's crappy app will only sync to Shopify the AGGREGATED inventory count across ALL of your markets.

So if you have 100 units in the Australia and 0 units in the US at your ShipBob Australia  and US fulfillment centers, it will tell Shopify that there are 100 units across ALL markets.

ShipBob completely ignores the fact that different markets in Shopify can have different inventory counts (Shopify confirmed they can do this and the issue is ShipBob's app).  

The issue with Shopify not working properly with Shopify Markets means we wasted a ton of our time and now have to leave to find a new 3PL that works properly with Shopify Markets.

Customer Manager

The product is an amazing tool for distribution management.

Owner

Shipbob Australia is not a growth enabler, they're a growth disabler. Since we have left we have dropped our variable costs by 30% and are scaling into a multi 7 figure a year business.

Overpriced $$$. Once we did a review of 3PLs in Australia, we noticed we were being charged circa 50% more from Shipbob than what was quoted elsewhere. Once we engaged Shipbob to review our rates, they still only reduced our rate card by 20%.

After months of this BS, and no interest on ShipBob's part to fix this, we are actively looking to move to a new 3PL. If you use, or plan to use in the future, Shopify Markets then ShipBob is not for you.

Inaccurate billing which created month long disputes, both due to lack of understanding of Australian tax rules and technology overcharges.

late orders , no contact with the warehouses they run.

We then always had to escalate matters to local management and then eventually to head office as the local team in Australia was powerless to make real change.

Was planning large order volumes to be stored processed through Shipbob but not anymore.

All our orders that went out were incorrectly put together, they overcharged us for items, they moved items from warehouse to warehouse and lost all our items, and they mixed SKU's.

Literally the worst fullfillment company of all time.

Consultant

I enjoyed it and I found it easy to use rather than some other software I’ve used

Easy to get started and the system is easy to use

So it's not possible to have out of stock in the US and Available for sale  in AU.

Everything is focused on American metrics and ways of operating.

Multiple fulfillment centers around the world.

Technology incompatibility with Australia.

The Shipbob team is so far off market competitive rates.

Moved our inventory themselves, which messed up the move and started charging us for URO's that they created themselves.

Inventory Controller

I like the visual aspect of the platform.

We fought for months to get these refunded.

Fulfilment was fast and implementation was easy.

Which meant all the wrong products were being sent to people.

Lately, ShipBob has started creating Warehouse Receiving Tickets on our company's behalf moving incoming stock from an earlier ticket to a later one to comply with their 6 business day processing SLAs.

I can understand that given the state of delays with this pandemic, but what I can't excuse is this: Shipbob was routinely over-reporting the amount of storage space required to warehouse my inventory, in order to charge me higher for storage costs. When I cleared out my inventory to use another 3PL service, I decided to dispose of the inventory, and they charged me more on disposal than it would have cost me to ship my inventory internationally.

For a reason they still cannot explain, they removed all shipping options and rules, and instead put in place a $20 ground option (our product retails for $39.95 and weighs 6 ounces).

Partner

Since we've started using ShipBob, our inventory and fulfilment costs have gone up and the speed with which we can get products to customers has gone down.  

Easy to use software and interface, this is not the issue.

Our latest shipments are 10 business days into processing with no news, but they are still marked as Green/within the SLA, because new ticket means new deadlines.

All inventory on Shopify was set to zero and our ad campaigns were still running to product pages where no inventory was available.

Their customer support and executive team have been completely unhelpful in resolving any of the issues that have caused a string of business outages that add up to $20k+ in cash burn.

For example, the information on how to move inventory from one warehouse to another did not work because the option was no longer available at one point.  

Initial set up was easy at first and you don't have to be a big business to sign up with them.

This resulted in us under-charging customers and having to cover the difference, which turned profitable sales into losses.

Retail orders are processed fairly slowly, but our experience is that wholesale orders take forever to process and fulfil.

We've had nothing but problem after problem after problem with Shipbob.

Pricing

Customer Support

Bugs and Issues

Fulfillment

Among reviewers who comment on ShipBob's fulfillment, 54% feel negative. Users say ShipBob automates order processing and offers fast shipping, helping scale volume. However, they report frequent delays, packing errors, and costly fulfillment. They mention inconsistent order handling, poor support, and issues with managing special or large orders.

Ease of Use

Order Processing

Reviews

Business Partnership

Small Business

Mid-size Business

Large Enterprises

Freelancers

Freightview

Built in-house. Backed by an amazing support & technical team. Trusted by 99% of our customers year after year.

ShipTime

ShipTime is a shipment tracking software that helps businesses in the eCommerce sector compare and select freight carriers based on offered rates. The platform enables managers to automatically enter the ship-to location using the address lookup tool.

Easyship

Easyship is a cloud-based, all-in-one shipping platform which allows eCommerce businesses to manage domestic & international shipping through 250+ courier solutions

Business Owner

I like Pirate Ship and if there is ever a problem customer support is very fast in helping to resolve the issue.

Head of Marketing

It's fantastically simple to use, sources incredible rates, and the customer service is phenomenal.

Pirate Ship is a cloud-based solution, which helps small businesses buy postage and print shipping labels fordomestic and international packages with USPS postage. It lets users purchase and print shipping labels in ZPL or PDF file format and share them with customers by generating a private link.

Batch Printing

Dispatch Management

By industry, Pirate Ship reviewers are most commonly professionals in retail (26%). The most frequent use case for Pirate Ship cited by reviewers is shipping (88% of reviewers).

Users and use cases

Most reviewers indicate Pirate Ship offers excellent value for money, citing substantial USPS discounts and a free platform with no hidden fees. Some reviewers feel rates for other carriers or specific weights may require manual checking or aren't always lowest.

Value for money

Pirate Ship is a shipping tool offering key features such as parcel shipping, shipment price calculation, shipment tracking, and label printing, among others.

Pirate Ship

Stamps.com

Shippo

AfterShip

ShippyPro

Basic

In practice, Pirate Ship acts as a middle layer that gives you cheaper labels but zero real protection. When a shipment disappears, you are left alone between the carrier and Pirate Ship, with neither side taking responsibility.

head of core experiences

With the rates given, it provides great value for money on a streamlined, platfrom free from bugs and issues.

I can copy and paste the address in the provided field and it inputs all the information in the corresponding fields for you.

When I started my business, I expected the shipping/label purchasing process to be complex and overwhelming, but Pirate Ship somehow ended up making it fun.

Author

Some of the shipping options are hidden or less intuitive to find.

Programs Coordinator

The only thing that is slightly annoying about Pirate Ship is that sometimes you can accidentally auto-populate the wrong shipping information, but that is easily handled with their efficient label refund process!

Easily able to get my orders from etsy on their site.

The interface is simple and the rates look attractive at first.

There is no real protection for the sender.

Personal Assistant

Did not like that I had to print and buy multiple labels separately (but that may have been user error).

What I absolutely love about Pirate ship is that is so affordable even more so then your local post office.

Great rates and communication, if you have to contact customer service.

Sales

When shipping parts and pieces to various customers, Pirate Ship is super handy because it finds the best deals.

The shipping rates are great and it doesn't have any complicated interface.

Service Analyst

I love that i can see a shipment calculation before i actually purchase the label, and i cant print the label and ship it without ever leaving my house!

Pre-Fabrication Technician

My experience with Pirate Ship has been the least hassle that I have encountered with any shipping service and it is my go-to.

Doesn't integrate with web hosting platforms.

Whatever problems I have had any issues were solved fast and easy.  

Accessibility, price and functionality are top tier.

Account Manager

One thing would be if you enter any package dims wrong and it ships, it can be surprising on your bill when it comes through that it was adjusted and Pirateship ends up charging you extra.

Co-Owner

One time I used it, most of the intransit tracking was provided by the carrier, and seemed to lag actual progress sometimes.

ShipBob vs Pirate Ship Comparison (2026)

ShipBob

Pirate Ship

Overview

Video & Screenshots

Pricing

User reviews

Key features

Integrations

Alternatives