Cheapest vendor as monthly label volume grows
Same rates as above, applied across a range of monthly label volumes. Watch EasyPost's cliff the moment it needs BYOCA, and Shippo's flat ceiling holding steady while ShipStation API's overage keeps climbing.
| Labels/mo | EasyPost | Shippo | ShipStation API | Cheapest |
|---|
Why freemium-cliff, tiered-subscription and plan-plus-overage shipping APIs price so differently
EasyPost gives away its Free Access (Wallet carrier) plan for up to 3,000 labels/month at $0 platform fee — you only pay carrier postage, with no markup. But that free tier disappears entirely the moment you need your own negotiated carrier accounts (BYOCA), which is common for mid-size shippers who want their own UPS or FedEx contract rates: BYOCA plans charge $20/month flat plus $0.08 per label on every label, not just the labels beyond 3,000. That's why EasyPost's cost curve looks like a cliff: $0 right up to 3,000 labels, then roughly $260/month the instant BYOCA is required at that same volume.
Shippo takes the classic SaaS tiered-subscription approach: free for up to 30 labels/month, then Pro plans that scale from $17/month at the lowest volume bracket up to $199/month for brackets approaching 10,000 labels/month, with a $0.08/label overage only kicking in past that ceiling. Because Shippo's plan price is flat within each bracket rather than metered per label, it becomes very competitive in the middle of the volume range — a shipper doing 5,000 labels/month pays the same $199/month as one doing 9,000. ShipStation API (Auctane folded the ShipEngine brand into "ShipStation API" in 2025 — same underlying carrier engine and API keys) offers a genuinely free plan for basic wallet-carrier label creation with no published label cap, but production shippers who need address validation, tax/duty calculation, PUDO search or advanced tracking move to the Advanced plan: $75/month for 1,000 included labels, then $0.075 per additional label. At realistic mid-volumes (roughly 3,000-10,000 labels/month), Shippo's flat-tier ceiling usually undercuts both EasyPost's BYOCA per-label fee and ShipStation's overage rate — but below 3,000 labels/month with basic feature needs, EasyPost's and ShipStation's free tiers both beat Shippo's $17-199/month subscription outright.
How this calculator works
The Shipping Label API Cost Calculator compares three vendor pricing shapes — EasyPost (free up to 3,000 labels/month via shared Wallet carriers, then a mandatory $20/mo + $0.08/label BYOCA plan), Shippo (tiered monthly subscription, free up to 30 labels then Pro plans from $17/mo to $199/mo with a $0.08/label overage past 10,000/month) and ShipStation API (free for basic wallet-carrier use, or $75/mo for 1,000 included labels plus $0.075/label overage once advanced features are needed) — at your monthly label volume. EasyPost's cost is 0 at or below 3,000 labels, otherwise $20 + $0.08 × labels (BYOCA applies the per-label fee to the full volume, not just the overage). Shippo's cost steps through its published anchor points: $0 up to 30 labels, $17/mo up to 200, $199/mo up to 10,000, then $199 + $0.08 × (labels − 10,000) beyond that. ShipStation API's cost is $0 unless you flag that you need advanced features, in which case it's $75 + $0.075 × max(0, labels − 1,000). All three fees exclude carrier postage, which is billed separately and not marked up.
These are representative pricing shapes based on each vendor's published self-serve pricing pages as of September 2026, not live quotes — actual EasyPost, Shippo and ShipStation API pricing varies by account history, negotiated carrier discounts and enterprise contract terms, and Shippo's exact Pro-tier price between 200 and 10,000 labels/month is not fully published (this calculator uses the confirmed $199/month ceiling as a conservative estimate across that range). Always confirm current pricing directly with the vendor before budgeting.
Frequently asked questions
How much does a shipping label API cost in 2026?
It depends entirely on which billing shape the vendor uses. EasyPost is free for up to 3,000 labels/month through its shared Wallet carrier accounts (postage cost excluded), but beyond that you must switch to Bring-Your-Own-Carrier-Account (BYOCA) at $20/month flat plus $0.08 per label charged on every label, not just the overage. Shippo is a tiered monthly subscription: free for up to 30 labels/month, then Pro plans start at $17/month and scale up to $199/month as your volume tier rises, with a $0.08/label overage once you pass 10,000 labels/month. ShipStation API (formerly ShipEngine) offers a genuinely free plan for basic wallet-carrier label creation, but production shippers who need address validation, tax/duty calculation or advanced tracking move to the Advanced plan at $75/month for 1,000 included labels plus $0.075/label overage. At the same volume these three shapes can produce very different totals, so the cheapest vendor flips depending on how many labels you print and which features you need.
Why does EasyPost's cost jump so sharply once you exceed 3,000 labels a month?
EasyPost's Free Access plan lets you print unlimited labels up to 3,000/month at $0 platform fee using its shared Wallet carrier accounts (you still pay postage, just no markup). But that free allowance only applies to Wallet carriers — it does not carry over if you need your own negotiated carrier accounts (BYOCA), and BYOCA plans do not include any free label allowance at all. The moment you need BYOCA, EasyPost charges $20/month plus $0.08 per label on every single label you create, which is why the cost curve looks like a cliff rather than a smooth ramp: $0 at 3,000 labels, then roughly $260/month the moment you cross into BYOCA territory at the same volume.
Is Shippo's flat Pro plan pricing cheaper than EasyPost or ShipStation API at scale?
For mid-volume shippers, often yes. Shippo's Pro plan tiers cap out at $199/month for up to 10,000 labels/month, which is a flat ceiling — compare that to EasyPost's BYOCA cost of roughly $820/month at 10,000 labels ($20 + $0.08 x 10,000) or ShipStation API's Advanced plan at roughly $750/month for the same volume ($75 + $0.075 x 9,000 overage labels). Shippo's volume-tiered subscription model wins decisively in that 3,000-10,000 label/month range precisely because its published pricing caps at $199/month rather than scaling per label. Above 10,000 labels/month, Shippo also starts charging a $0.08/label overage, which narrows but doesn't eliminate its advantage until very high volume.
Do these prices include postage, or just the platform/API fee?
These are platform and API fees only — actual carrier postage (USPS, UPS, FedEx, DHL rates) is billed separately by all three vendors and is not marked up by EasyPost, Shippo, or ShipStation API on their standard label-creation APIs. This calculator isolates the platform fee (free tier, subscription, or BYOCA/overage charges) so you can compare the vendors' business models apples-to-apples; your total shipping bill will be this platform cost plus whatever the carriers charge for the actual postage on each label.
What if I don't need EasyPost's or ShipStation's advanced features — is there a truly free option?
Yes, for low-to-mid volume. EasyPost's Free Access (Wallet carrier) plan is genuinely $0/month for up to 3,000 labels, and ShipStation API's Free plan has no published label cap for basic wallet-carrier label creation, though it lacks address validation, tax/duty calculation, PUDO location search and advanced tracking. Shippo's free plan is more limited at just 30 labels/month. Outside the API space, Pirate Ship is a popular free (non-API) web app that passes through discounted USPS/UPS rates with zero software fee, but it's a manual dashboard tool rather than a developer API, so it isn't included in the programmatic comparison above.