Depending on the plan you’re using with ShipStation, ShipStation may or may not charge you a fee to print shipping labels.
To get a shipping label, you can use one of ShipStations carrier accounts where they offer you negotiated discounts. You can learn more about those here. If you use these, you pay ShipStation for the label.
Or, you can connect your own carrier account to get shipping labels. If you use your own account, you’ll be billed for shipping labels by your carrier.
ShipStation does charge you an additional fee to connect your own accounts to ShipStation. You can learn more about this fee here.
If you’re on the high volume plan, ShipStation will also charge you $0.08 for every shipping label you print that is from your own carrier account. You can learn more about that fee here.
Because of the additional fee, it can be hard to determine if it’s cheaper to use your own account or ShipStations account for a shipment.
If you’re in this situation, there’s a ShipStation plugin called String that can help you. String can auto-select the cheapest rate for every shipment including the $0.08 fee per label that ShipStation charges to use your own accounts.
You can get a free savings analysis from String by requesting a demo at www.meetstring.com.
Understanding cubic pricing is one thing. Actuallycapturing those savings on every single shipment is another.
The pitfalls are real: wrong box dimensions, inaccurate weights, automation rules that misfire, and adjustments that quietly eat into your margins. Even
platforms that claim to handle cubic pricing automatically can leave money on the table if your package data isn't dialed in.
That's exactly what String was built to solve. String automatically selects the right package size for each order and then compares cubic and standard
rates side by side — so you always ship at the lowest possible cost, every time, without any manual guesswork.
No spreadsheets. No second-guessing. Just optimized rates on autopilot.
If you're shipping dense, small-to-mid-sized products and you're not 100% confident you're capturing cubic savings on every label, it's worth a
conversation.
Click here to book a free shipping audit
We'll take a look at your current setup and show you exactly how much you could be saving.
