Guide · 26 August 2026

Shipping labels for a small online store — without a monthly fee

Most shipping software is priced for warehouses. If you post twenty parcels a month, the monthly minimum costs more than the postage. Here is the version that fits.

Pay per label, not per month. Shippo charges about 5c a label with no monthly minimum, which is the right shape when you ship irregularly. EasyPost is 8c with 3,000 free labels a month on its entry plan. ShipEngine's $75-600 monthly tiers are built for a different kind of business. Connect Shippo to your store and you buy a label straight from an order, with tracking flowing back automatically.

TL;DR

• Shippo: about 5c a label, pay as you go, no monthly fee. The right default for small sellers.
• EasyPost: about 8c, with a generous free-label allowance on the entry plan.
• ShipEngine: $75-600/month tiers — built for volume, wrong for a maker.
• Buying from the order beats re-typing addresses into a courier website.
• Tracking should reach your customer without you sending anything.

What the platforms charge

Platform	Per label	Monthly minimum	Suits
Shippo	about 5c	None (pay as you go)	Small and irregular volume
EasyPost	about 8c	None on entry; 3,000 free labels/month	Growing volume, many carriers
ShipEngine	Tiered	$75-600/month	Established volume
Royal Mail Click & Drop	Account-based	None	UK-only sellers

Competitor prices are from their own pricing pages, checked late August 2026. Plans change — confirm before you switch.

The number that matters is the monthly minimum, not the per-label price. At twenty parcels a month, 3c of difference per label is 60 cents — while a $75 monthly floor is $900 a year.

Why buying from the order matters

The manual routine is: open the order, copy the name, copy the address, open the courier site, paste it all in, buy the label, copy the tracking number back, email the customer. Ten minutes and two chances to mistype an address.

• The address goes straight from the order to the carrier — no retyping, no transcription errors.
• The tracking number lands back on the order automatically.
• Your customer's Track Order page updates without you sending anything.
• The label PDF is saved against the order, so reprinting it is one click.

Setting it up

Create a free Shippo account and add a payment method — you pay carriers directly for postage.
Open Settings → API in Shippo and copy your Live token (it starts with shippo_live_).
In your store dashboard, Settings → Integrations, paste it into the Shippo card.
Fill in your sender address once. Every label needs a return address and this is where undelivered parcels come back to.
Open an order and buy a label. We compare the available rates and take the cheapest.

One thing to check: if you have not entered parcel dimensions on an order, a sensible default is used. Check it before handing the parcel over — carriers charge the difference if the real one is heavier.

India is a different market

Shippo, EasyPost and ShipEngine are built around US, UK, Canadian, Australian and EU carriers. For Indian parcels use Shiprocket or Shipmozo, which handle Indian couriers and cash on delivery properly — both are free on our side too.

Frequently asked questions

What is the cheapest way to buy shipping labels for a small store?

A pay-as-you-go platform with no monthly minimum. Shippo charges about 5c a label with nothing to pay in a month you do not ship, which fits a seller posting a few parcels a week far better than a $75/month tier.

Do I need shipping software at all?

Not if you post two parcels a month. Past that, the ten minutes per order spent retyping addresses into a courier site adds up, and transcription errors cost real money in returned parcels.

Does my customer get tracking automatically?

Yes. The tracking number is saved onto the order when the label is bought, and appears on your store's Track Order page without you sending anything.

Can I choose the carrier?

Today we buy the cheapest available rate, which is the right default for small volume. If you need a specific carrier or service, create that label inside Shippo directly for now.