By Paul Kalra, Founder, Part n Parcel
Quick answer: Most Canadian shipping platforms sell you labels on their own carrier accounts, at prices they set. A few let you connect your own. Part n Parcel opens carrier accounts in your business’s name at enterprise rates, the rates carriers give large shippers, and keeps them working. A platform is a fine place to start. Once shipping is a real cost, the account behind the label decides what you pay and who helps you when a parcel goes missing.
What should you compare first?
Whose account the label prints on. Features change every quarter. Whose name is on the carrier account does not.
The Bring-Your-Own-Account Test: before you compare features, ask two questions. Is the carrier account in your business’s name, so the carrier knows who you are? And who sets the price on every label you print?
Whose customer are you on a platform?
The platform’s. A platform can print your business name on the label and still keep the account. If a parcel goes missing or a charge looks wrong, the carrier deals with the platform and may not know who you are. On an account in your business’s name, you are on the carrier’s books, and we take the problem to the carrier for you.
A company whose product is your rate will price your rate to its business. I negotiate rates with carriers all the time. In my experience, a carrier will not set up a platform to undercut its own sales team, so it is careful about the rates it lets any platform sell online. On its own account, your business can often earn a lower rate.
You cannot see what other stores pay. Carriers do not publish what they charge each business, and a platform’s price is the one it chose for you today. On an account in your name, your rates are in your carrier agreement and you see every line. We price your parcels on the rates the collective volume of 240+ Canadian brands earns, and show you the gap line by line.
Which platforms pass the test?
| Platform | Bring Your Own Account? | Who sets the label price? | Full comparison |
|---|---|---|---|
| ShipStation | Yes, on Standard and higher plans | You, on your accounts. ShipStation, on its own labels | vs ShipStation |
| ShipTime | Yes | You, on your accounts. ShipTime, on its own labels | vs ShipTime |
| netParcel | Yes, accounts you already have | You, on your accounts. netParcel, on its own labels | vs netParcel |
| Shopify Shipping | Canada Post only, inside Shopify. Four label carriers in all | Shopify, on Shopify Shipping labels | vs Shopify Shipping |
| ClickShip (Freightcom’s app) | One carrier: Canada Post, for $30 a month | Freightcom, on every other carrier | vs ClickShip |
| Freightcom | One carrier, Canada Post, through ClickShip, its own app | Freightcom | vs Freightcom |
| eShipper | No option found | eShipper | vs eShipper |
| Stallion Express | No option found | Stallion | vs Stallion Express |
| Chit Chats | No | Chit Chats | vs Chit Chats |
If you use ShipStation, accounts in your name plug into it without changing your store.
Each comparison names the platform’s own pages for every fact in this table. Weighing Chit Chats against Stallion? See Chit Chats and Stallion Express alternatives.
What do customers say when something goes wrong?
We read the low reviews on Trustpilot, the Shopify App Store, Capterra, BBB and the Shopify Community. The same three problems come up across platforms: charges added after the parcel ships, claims that do not pay, and a platform standing between the merchant and the carrier.
- Stallion: “if something goes wrong with your shipment, you will be on your own” (May 2026, Trustpilot).
- Freightcom and ClickShip: “prepay around $40 for shipping and duty, then get hit with another $200–$300 CAD in charges weeks later” (September 2026, Trustpilot).
- eShipper: “our package grew 50lb two weeks after it was sent. So they automatically charged my card $170” (July 2026, Trustpilot).
- netParcel: “Netparcel refuses to go to bat for us” (September 2026, Trustpilot).
- Chit Chats: “Chitchats didn’t even help me out as they’re working with Canpar too” (February 2026, Trustpilot).
Each comparison page has more.
How much do accounts in your own name save?
In our audit of 22,353 domestic Canadian parcels from 11 merchants shipped January to May 2026, the median parcel cost $15.84 on what the merchant paid and $11.03 on a Part n Parcel managed account, a 30.4% gap, taxes and duties excluded (Canadian e-commerce shipping cost benchmarks). At 10 parcels a shipping day over 250 shipping days, a $4.81 gap is $12,025 a year. At 100, it is $120,250. Your number depends on your parcels, routes and current rates.
Want this number for your own parcels? Send one invoice from your current platform and your savings report comes back line by line. Free, no call.
Two more things change on your own accounts. A carrier can pick up from your door, so the drive to the depot goes away. And you choose which carrier runs each lane, meaning each route, like Toronto to Calgary. When a carrier slips in the busy weeks before the holidays, you can move a lane by changing one automation rule.
How do you avoid costly mistakes when you switch?
We know the carriers and the software, so we help you avoid costly mistakes. We have seen merchants test a new carrier on their own. Their customer service issues skyrocketed. Their accountant had far more billing questions. Their own time went to backtracking. We set it up right so you avoid that.
When should you stay on your platform?
Stay while you are still finding product-market fit, the stage where you are proving people want what you sell. Your early customers buy on the value of your product, and we do not want to distract you from that. Once shipping is a real cost, test us.
Where does Part n Parcel fit?
Part n Parcel is a managed shipping economics company for Canadian e-commerce merchants. We open direct carrier accounts in your business’s name at enterprise rates through the collective volume of 240+ Canadian brands, set up your shipping software (most of our merchants run ShipStation), and keep the rates working. We make money when you move your shipping to accounts we manage. Our markup is shown to you before you commit. Check our numbers the way you would check anyone’s. We do not sell labels on our own master account.
We are not shipping software. If your platform takes your own accounts, you can keep it and print on the accounts we open in your name.
How do you test it without changing anything?
You are probably thinking a switch means new software and new carriers in your busy season, for a saving you have not seen yet. That is why we price your actual parcels first.
How it works:
- Send one invoice or label export from your current platform. Not sure which file? Let ChatGPT or Claude find it.
- Your savings report comes back line by line: every parcel priced on accounts in your name.
- If the number is worth it, we set up the accounts. If it is not, you stay where you are.
Free. No call. If we cannot meaningfully improve your rates, we will tell you.
Frequently asked questions
What is the best shipping platform in Canada?
The one that passes the Bring-Your-Own-Account Test: software that prints on carrier accounts in your business’s name, at rates you can see. While you are still finding product-market fit, any platform that gets parcels out the door will do. Once you ship every day, mostly inside Canada, accounts in your own name usually cost less per label.
Is it cheaper to ship on my own carrier account?
Usually, once you ship every day. Across 22,353 domestic Canadian parcels, the median parcel cost $15.84 on what merchants paid and $11.03 on a Part n Parcel managed account. Your savings report shows your own number, parcel by parcel.
Can I keep my current platform and use Part n Parcel?
Yes, if your platform lets you connect your own carrier accounts. If it does not, we set up software that does.
If a platform prints my business name on the label, is the account mine?
Not necessarily. The name on the label and the name on the carrier account are different things. Ask the platform whose account the label prints on.
What file do I send for my savings report?
One recent invoice or label export from your current platform. Not sure which file? Let ChatGPT or Claude find it.
How long does setup take?
In two of our published cases, the move took 10 days and 14 days (case studies).
Is Part n Parcel a shipping platform?
No. Part n Parcel opens carrier accounts in your business’s name and manages your rates. You print labels in software you choose, most often ShipStation.
Sources
- Part n Parcel, Canadian e-commerce shipping cost benchmarks, January to May 2026 data, https://partnparcel.com/shipping-optimization/canadian-e-commerce-shipping-cost-benchmarks/.
- Part n Parcel case studies, https://partnparcel.com/case-study/.
- Customer reviews on Trustpilot, the Shopify App Store, Capterra, BBB and the Shopify Community, linked or named where quoted, checked Oct 30, 2026.
- Platform facts: see the sources list on each linked comparison, all checked Oct 28, 2026.
