ShippingEasy Alternative: Free Plan, No Shipment Cap

ShippingEasy vs I'd Ship That, Feature by Feature

Cost anatomy

What You Pay ShippingEasy For, and What You Pay the Carrier For

ShippingEasy's free Starter plan covers up to 25 shipments a month. Above that, ShippingEasy lists a paid Growth plan for 26 to 200 shipments a month, priced by your typical monthly shipments.

To see what that plan adds per label, divide its monthly fee by your own shipment count. I'd Ship That has no shipment cap on the free account: a Starter label carries a platform fee of about 10% of the postage ($0.50 to $2.50), a label on the optional paid Pro plan carries none, and the full price is shown before you buy.

Now the part that actually decides which label is cheapest. Take a real routing pair on 2026 rates. A 12 oz padded mailer to zone 4 is $7.86 on USPS Ground Advantage at commercial rates, but UPS Ground bills at least 1 lb and its published daily rate on that lane is $13.51, so USPS wins by $5.65.

Flip the box: a 30 lb parcel to zone 8 is $104.30 on USPS Ground Advantage commercial but $62.08 on UPS Ground's published daily rate, so UPS wins by $42.22. Same two orders, and the cheaper carrier is different on each.

The pattern on published rates: through 5 lb, USPS Ground Advantage commercial is lower than UPS Ground's daily rate at every zone; from 6 to 21 lb the lower one depends on weight and zone; from 22 lb UPS Ground is lower at every zone; and for small dense boxes under 0.5 cubic feet, USPS cubic pricing can beat both.

ShippingEasy lists discounted USPS and UPS rates on its free Starter plan, so both carriers can be on screen there too. On I'd Ship That both carriers are on the free account and Ship Intelligence (Pro) picks the cheapest valid rate per order automatically, so that comparison runs without you pricing every combination by hand.

The bottom line

ShippingEasy's email marketing is a genuine value-add if you use it, but if what you need is correct carrier routing at low cost, that is where the money is.

What Moving Off ShippingEasy Actually Changes

Before, on ShippingEasy

Shipping rules that map carriers and services automatically

After, on I'd Ship That

• Ship Intelligence picks the cheapest valid rate across USPS and UPS, cubic included (Pro)
• The full price, dimensional weight included, shown before you buy
• A label ready in about 30 seconds

The same box, two weights

3 lb to zone 6: USPS Ground Advantage picked

30 lb to zone 6: UPS® Ground picked

• No shipment cap on the free account: a Starter label carries a platform fee of about 10% of the postage ($0.50 to $2.50), and a label on the optional paid Pro plan carries none
• USPS and UPS from the first label, so you can route light boxes to USPS and heavy far-zone boxes to UPS
• Ship Intelligence (Pro) auto-picks the cheapest valid rate on the packages where USPS and UPS diverge
• Native iOS and Android apps plus web, print a label in about 30 seconds from the packing table or the road

Switching from ShippingEasy: Best Path

1. Your monthly volume just stepped up, then Routing is the number that moved
2. Under 1 lb, then USPS almost always wins
3. From 22 lb, then Check UPS Ground
4. Small dense boxes under 0.5 cubic feet, then USPS cubic can beat both

1Your monthly volume just stepped up

Routing is the number that moved

When volume rises, the lever that scales with it is carrier routing. On the packages where USPS and UPS diverge, the carrier you print on changes the price, $5.65 on a 12 oz mailer to zone 4 at published prices, and that repeats on every such order.

• Both carriers are on the rate screen from the first label.
• Ship Intelligence picks the cheapest valid rate per order automatically.
• The Workbench batch-prints once the queue is worth batching.

2Under 1 lb

USPS almost always wins

UPS carries a high floor on light parcels, so sub-pound orders land on USPS Ground Advantage nearly every time. A USPS-by-habit default happens to be right here.

• Both carriers appear on the same rate screen from the first label.
• A label is about 30 seconds away on iOS, Android, or the web.
• Knowing the default is correct is worth as much as changing it.

3From 22 lb

Check UPS Ground

From 22 lb, UPS Ground's published daily rate is lower than USPS Ground Advantage commercial at every zone, and that is invisible if you only quote USPS. Ship Intelligence picks the cheapest valid rate per order automatically.

• Heavy boxes are where the routing swing is widest.
• Route boxes through 5 lb to USPS and boxes from 22 lb to UPS as a starting rule.
• Then let the per-order check catch the exceptions the rule misses.

4Small dense boxes under 0.5 cubic feet

USPS cubic can beat both

Cubic pricing charges by the outside volume of the box rather than the scale, so on a dense parcel it can come in under both weight-based USPS and UPS Ground.

• Measure the carton, since volume and not contents sets the tier.
• It is a third answer, not a tie-breaker between two.
• The comparison only exists if both carriers and cubic are on the same screen.

Moving Off ShippingEasy: Key Takeaways

• ShippingEasy's free Starter plan covers up to 25 shipments a month; its paid Growth plan covers 26 to 200.
• Carrier choice is the larger lever: at published prices a 12 oz mailer to zone 4 is $5.65 less on USPS Ground Advantage commercial than on UPS Ground's daily rate.
• On published rates USPS Ground Advantage commercial is lower at every zone through 5 lb, UPS Ground is lower at every zone from 22 lb, and between 6 and 21 lb it depends on weight and zone; small dense boxes under 0.5 cubic feet favor USPS cubic.
• Both carriers need to be on the rate screen to see that trade; I'd Ship That shows USPS and UPS on the free account and Ship Intelligence (Pro) picks between them.
• Passing 25 shipments a month is the moment to run both the plan math and the carrier math on your own order mix.

Running the 25-Shipment Math on Your Own Volume

Start from ShippingEasy's 25-shipment line. Pull your last three months of shipment counts and find where you land relative to it. If you are consistently under 25, ShippingEasy's Starter plan is free and the comparison comes down to workflow. If you move between 20 and 40, some months fall on the free plan and some on the paid Growth plan, so divide that plan's monthly fee by the shipments in those months.

Then layer carrier choice on top: on the packages where USPS and UPS diverge, the wrong carrier costs the difference on every one of them. Price a representative sample of your orders on both carriers before you renew anything.

• Chart three months of shipment counts against the 25 line; in the 20 to 40 band, work out the plan fee per label for the months above 25.
• Divide the plan fee by your monthly shipment count to compare it with a per-label fee.
• Pull 20 to 30 real orders spanning your weight and zone range and price each on both USPS and UPS, not just your default carrier.
• Compare on cost per label after all fees and surcharges shown up front, plus time from order to printed label.

The Routing Lever a Single-Carrier Habit Hides

Shipping everything on USPS by habit is fine for light parcels, where USPS wins outright, but it silently overpays on heavy boxes where UPS Ground is cheaper. You cannot fix what you cannot see, so both rates need to be on the screen for every order.

Here is the shape of the trade on 2026 rates. A 12 oz item to zone 4: USPS Ground Advantage commercial is $7.86, UPS Ground $13.51 on its published daily rate because it bills at least 1 lb, so USPS wins by $5.65. A 10 lb item to zone 8: the two draw level, $26.39 on USPS Ground Advantage commercial against $26.29 on UPS Ground's published daily rate, with UPS a dime lower.

A 30 lb item to zone 8: USPS Ground Advantage commercial is $104.30, UPS Ground's published daily rate $62.08, so UPS wins by $42.22. Between 6 and 21 lb the lower carrier depends on weight and zone. Ship on the wrong side of it and you leave several dollars on every affected parcel.

You do not want to memorize a table per order. Ship Intelligence checks both carriers on every shipment, including USPS cubic pricing when a small dense box qualifies, and picks the cheapest valid rate. The Workbench applies that across a full batch, so the routing runs without a spreadsheet or a mental crossover chart.

• Through 5 lb: default USPS Ground Advantage; its commercial rate is lower than UPS Ground's published daily rate at every zone.
• From 22 lb: UPS Ground's published daily rate is lower than USPS Ground Advantage commercial at every zone, so check it before you print.
• Small dense boxes under 0.5 cubic feet and up to 20 lb: USPS cubic can beat both, so let the system price it rather than assuming weight-based.
• Ship Intelligence auto-selects the cheapest valid rate across USPS and UPS so the crossover is handled for you on every order.

Common Mistakes When Switching From ShippingEasy

Step by step

Migration Checklist from ShippingEasy

1. 1
   Chart your last three months of shipment counts against ShippingEasy's 25-shipment free-tier line.
2. 2
   If you are in the 20 to 40 band, divide the monthly plan fee by your volume to see its cost per label.
3. 3
   Pull 20 to 30 real orders spanning your weights and zones and price each on both USPS and UPS.
4. 4
   Flag the packages where UPS Ground beats USPS (at every zone from 22 lb on published rates) and the light ones where USPS wins.
5. 5
   Set up your carrier accounts in I'd Ship That and confirm you see the full price, fees included, before buying.
6. 6
   Let Ship Intelligence auto-pick the cheapest valid rate and spot-check a few orders against your manual calls.
7. 7
   For batch days, load orders into The Workbench to import, rate-shop, and batch-print in one pass.
8. 8
   Recheck the plan-versus-free math against your current 2026 rates rather than last year's baseline.

Switching From ShippingEasy: Questions People Ask

What is the best ShippingEasy alternative?

I'd Ship That is a ShippingEasy alternative for sellers about to cross the 25-shipment free-tier cap: USPS and UPS on the free account from the first label, automatic cheapest-rate selection, batch printing, and native iOS and Android apps. ShippingEasy keeps the edge on built-in email marketing, so the test is whether you use those tools.

What actually happens when I hit 26 shipments on ShippingEasy?

ShippingEasy's free Starter plan covers up to 25 shipments a month, and its pricing page lists the paid Growth plan for 26 to 200 shipments a month. Divide that plan's monthly fee by your own shipment count to see what it adds per label. I'd Ship That has no shipment cap on the free account. You pay per label: the discounted postage, plus a platform fee of about 10% of the postage ($0.50 to $2.50) on Starter and none on Pro, which is an optional paid plan.

Does ShippingEasy's free plan include UPS?

Yes. ShippingEasy's pricing page lists discounted USPS and UPS rates on the free Starter plan, which caps at 25 shipments a month. I'd Ship That also includes USPS and UPS on the free account, with no shipment cap, and Ship Intelligence (Pro) picks the cheapest valid rate between them on each order.

When is USPS cheaper than UPS, and when is it the other way around?

Weight and zone decide it. Under 1 lb, USPS Ground Advantage almost always wins because UPS's floor on light parcels is high: a 12 oz mailer to zone 4 is $7.86 on USPS commercial versus $13.51 on UPS Ground's published daily rate. From 6 to 21 lb the lower carrier depends on weight and zone. From 22 lb, UPS Ground's published daily rate is lower at every zone: a 30 lb box to zone 8 is $104.30 on USPS Ground Advantage commercial but $62.08 on UPS Ground's published daily rate. Small dense boxes under 0.5 cubic feet are a third case where USPS cubic can beat both. Ship Intelligence checks all of this per order so you do not have to.

Does I'd Ship That have email marketing tools like ShippingEasy?

No. I'd Ship That is shipping only: label creation, carrier routing, and tracking. If integrated email marketing is core to you, ShippingEasy offers it as its Customer Marketing product and that is a fair reason to keep it. Some sellers run a dedicated email tool and a separate shipping app instead.

I ship in batches. Is there a faster way than one label at a time?

Yes. The Workbench is a Pro feature that imports your orders, rate-shops them together, and prints a whole batch of labels in one pass. Ship Intelligence then picks the cheapest valid rate on each order across USPS and UPS, cubic included when the box qualifies, and shows what that choice saved. On a batch of mixed weights and zones that routing runs automatically.