By Paul Kalra, Founder, Part n Parcel
Quick answer: ShipStation is the software you print labels in. Part n Parcel opens carrier accounts in your business’s name at enterprise rates, the rates carriers give large shippers, connects them to ShipStation, and keeps them working. Most of the 240+ Canadian brands we manage run on ShipStation. You do not choose between us. You choose whether ShipStation prints on its rates or on yours.
Why do most of our merchants run ShipStation?
Because it is software first. ShipStation charges a monthly fee for the software, sells its own labels, and also lets you connect carrier accounts you hold yourself. When you print on accounts in your name, you pay ShipStation for the software, and the carrier price is not ShipStation’s to set. If ShipStation ever stops working for you, those accounts plug into the next tool.
A platform that only sells rates makes its money on your shipping. It controls the price, its margin and which carriers you see, and it can change any of them. ShipStation lets you choose.
ShipStation is part of ShipStation Global, backed by private equity firm Thoma Bravo. It earns on the software and on every label it sells.
Its own labels are prepaid. To print on ShipStation’s carriers, you fund a ShipStation balance first, by hand or with auto-funding. For a growing business, that is cash sitting in ShipStation’s balance before a parcel moves.
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?
ShipStation passes, on the right plan.
Whose customer are you on ShipStation’s own rates?
ShipStation’s. A platform can print your business name on the label and still keep the account. When you buy labels on ShipStation’s own rates, you are ShipStation’s customer. If a parcel goes missing or a charge looks wrong, the carrier deals with ShipStation 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.
On accounts in your name, we take a lost parcel to the carrier for you, whatever software you print in.
Which ShipStation plan do you need for your own carrier accounts?
Standard or higher. On ShipStation’s Canadian pricing page, Starter ($19.99 a month for 50 shipments) does not include connecting your own carriers. Standard ($39.99) and Premium ($479.99) do. ShipStation says connecting carriers carries no fee, though plans registered before July 8, 2025 “may incur additional fees.” Prices rise with shipment volume.
In Canada, ShipStation connects your own accounts with carriers including Canada Post, Purolator, Canpar and Loomis.
Are ShipStation’s own rates the best you can get?
Usually not, once you ship every day.
On a call in May I compared one parcel, 5 lb, Toronto to a Toronto home address, before tax. ShipStation’s own rates were about $20 to $25 on UPS and $17 on Canada Post. On Part n Parcel accounts, the same parcel was $10.95 on FedEx, $14.62 on Purolator, $7.84 on Canpar and about $5.50 on FleetOptics.
One parcel is not a pattern, so here is the pattern. Across 22,353 domestic Canadian parcels from 11 merchants, 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. That is a 30.4% gap (benchmarks). At 10 parcels a shipping day over 250 shipping days, a $4.81 gap is $12,025 a year.
ShipStation’s own labels carry a second cost. Sometimes a carrier re-measures your box after it ships and bills more. That extra charge is called an adjustment. On ShipStation’s own labels, ShipStation adds an Adjustment Processing Fee on top: 20% of the adjustment, at least $0.50 and at most $5.00 a shipment.
Do this now: open the carrier list in your ShipStation settings and check which carriers are provided by ShipStation and which are accounts you connected. If every carrier is ShipStation’s, every label prints on ShipStation’s rate.
Want this number for your own parcels? Send one ShipStation invoice and your savings report comes back line by line. Free, no call.
Does ShipStation rate shopping fix your rates?
No. Rate shopping compares the rates already in your account and picks the cheapest. It does not make any rate cheaper. On Canadian shipments it also has blind spots, which we cover in does ShipStation rate shopping save you money in Canada. The fix is better rates going in.
Do you need Part n Parcel if you already have ShipStation?
Yes, if you want better rates than you can negotiate alone, and someone to set ShipStation up to use them. ShipStation shows the rates you bring. It does not get you better ones.
ShipStation is a US company. We set it up for Canada. We connect Canadian carrier accounts, build routing rules that send each parcel to the right carrier for its route, and use the settings in our guide to ShipStation for Canadian users. Part n Parcel is a listed ShipStation partner that configures ShipStation for Canadian brands.
We open carrier accounts in your business’s name through the collective volume of 240+ Canadian brands, and connect them in ShipStation. Then we keep the rates working as fuel surcharges and annual rate increases change. 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. When something goes wrong with a parcel, you reach the carrier as its customer, and we are on your side.
You choose the carrier mix. Carrier quality changes, especially in the busy weeks before the holidays and with smaller carriers. With several of your own accounts in ShipStation, you can move a route to another carrier by changing one automation rule and protect your customer’s experience.
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.
ShipStation is confusing because of all the carriers and settings. We bring clarity and do the setup for you.
When should you stay on ShipStation’s own rates?
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.
Keep ShipStation either way. As you grow, the software earns its fee in time saved, fewer mistakes and a smoother experience for your customers.
How do you test it without changing anything?
You are probably thinking new carrier accounts mean rebuilding your ShipStation setup in your busy season. We do the setup, and your workflow stays the same. First we price your actual parcels on accounts in your name. If the gap is small, nothing changes.
How it works:
- Send one ShipStation invoice or shipment export. 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
Is Part n Parcel a ShipStation competitor?
No. ShipStation is shipping software. Part n Parcel opens carrier accounts in your name and manages your rates. Most of our merchants print their labels in ShipStation.
Which ShipStation plan do I need to use my own carrier accounts?
Standard or higher. Starter does not include it, according to ShipStation’s Canadian pricing page.
Will my ShipStation setup change?
Your workflow stays the same. We connect the carrier accounts in your name and build the rules that send each parcel to the right carrier.
Does ShipStation add a fee when a carrier re-measures my box?
On labels bought on ShipStation’s own carrier rates, yes: 20% of the adjustment, at least $0.50 and at most $5.00 a shipment, according to ShipStation’s help centre.
What file do I send for my savings report?
One recent ShipStation invoice or shipment export. Not sure which file? Let ChatGPT or Claude find it.
How long does setup take?
In two of our published cases, both now printing in ShipStation, the move took 10 days and 14 days (case studies).
Do I need ShipStation to work with Part n Parcel?
No. We set up whatever software you use. Most of our merchants choose ShipStation.
Sources
- ShipStation Canada pricing, shipstation.com/en-ca/pricing/, checked Oct 28, 2026.
- ShipStation Carrier Integrations, Canada, help.shipstation.com/hc/en-us/articles/34260790788379-Carrier-Integrations-Canada, checked Oct 28, 2026.
- ShipStation Carrier Adjustments, help.shipstation.com/hc/en-us/articles/29256492262683-ShipStation-Carrier-Adjustments, checked Oct 28, 2026.
- ShipStation, Add and manage payment methods for your ShipStation balance, help.shipstation.com/hc/en-us/articles/360036323611-Add-Manage-Payment-Methods-for-Your-ShipStation-Balance, checked Oct 30, 2026.
- ShipStation partner page for Part n Parcel, https://www.shipstation.com/partners/part-n-parcel/, checked Oct 30, 2026 and Nov 3, 2026.
- Thoma Bravo, WWEX Group and Auctane complete merger, thomabravo.com/press-releases/wwex-group-and-auctane-complete-merger-creating-leading-logistics-provider-shipstation-global.
- Part n Parcel, Canadian e-commerce shipping cost benchmarks, January to May 2026 data; case studies, partnparcel.com/case-study/.
- Part n Parcel rate comparison, May 2026, 5 lb residential parcel within Toronto. Rates pre-tax.
