ShipStation vs Ordoro 2023

Inventory management is key to running a successful business. You want to be able to track products as they come in and are sold, manage warehouse stock, set up an ecommerce site, and ship products across the country. Luckily, Ordoro and ShipStation have these in spades, and both companies excel at performing similar functions for businesses.

So which one is best? To be honest, there is no clear-cut answer, but they each have their specialties. Ordoro is by far the best for integrating and selling online, and ShipStation’s ability to customize branding makes it unparalleled for ecommerce shipping.

We put these evenly matched inventory management systems head-to-head to figure out which one is best for your business.

On the surface, Ordoro and ShipStation feel very similar. They both offer shipping through an inventory management system and integrate with dozens of third-party apps to round out their software. But dig a little deeper, and it’s easier to see where they differ.

Ordoro is really an all-in-one inventory management system, with everything from barcoding to purchase orders to shipping. It’s a truly great system that emphasizes the need to have all of your order management features together for a smooth customer experience.

ShipStation, on the other hand, is shipping software that focuses on the fulfillment side. With priority given to shipments, some other features (like purchase orders) fall by the wayside. That’s not to say that it’s a failed platform. On the contrary, ShipStation makes the last leg of delivery a success with branded packaging that reminds customers to come back for more.

Now that we know the basics, let’s see how ShipStation and Ordoro compare.

This is an easy one: ShipStation Starter plan begins at $9.99 per month and includes inventory and order management, whereas Ordoro’s inventory management features are included only with its Pro plan at $499 per month. This nearly $500 difference puts ShipStation far ahead in affordability. But let’s see what’s offered in ShipStation’s and Ordoro’s plans.

The website doesn’t list what each plan includes in detail, but all of them start with the same basic features, and successive plans increase the number of users and shipments per month. The other big difference between the plans is whether you want your labels and packing slips branded or customized (branded allows you to add a custom logo while customized lets you include personal messaging, too). ShipStation is the rare inventory management software that does not alter features based on plan type.

At $499 per month, Ordoro is one of the more expensive inventory management systems out there. Although the Express plan is super affordable for small businesses, it does not include inventory management capabilities. In fact, it's basically a ShipStation subscription—but ShipStation includes inventory management while Ordoro's Express plan doesn't.

Meanwhile, with ShipStation you only pay for the cost of shipping to the shipping carrier and the cost of your subscription. It’s free to connect extra selling channels (Premium integrations are extra), and the postage payments are similar to other brands’ shipping fees.

With kitting and dropshipping along with marketplace and shopping cart integrations, Ordoro wins the best for ecommerce. It integrates with all major ecommerce platforms, ensuring that your business can reach the broadest swath of customers.

What does that mean for your business? With Ordoro you’ll have the ability to sell through multiple selling channels while managing inventory, shipping, and sales through one platform—simplifying your ecommerce business so you can focus on what matters: the customers. Plus, Ordoro provides analytics to help you track your in-transit inventory and ensure that customers are receiving products on time.

You’re probably wondering what makes Ordoro different from other inventory management platforms that offer ecommerce integrations. Well, Ordoro brings a lot of those features into the platform—including barcoding for tracking inventory, easy returns, and batch label printing. All of these features combine to make Ordoro an ecommerce powerhouse.

ShipStation is designed for shipping, and it is good at it. ShipStation is truly one of the best inventory-management-plus-shipping platforms out there because it’s affordable and doesn’t split up the features.

ShipStation is a subsidiary of Stamps.com—which also owns a number of other shipping software companies—and it’s in the business of getting things sent and delivered. You can import orders, print labels, and send products with the click of a button. It’s that easy.

Now, you do have to pay for the cost of shipping directly to the carrier, but ShipStation provides discounts and allows you to easily print and scan shipping labels. The other thing we love about ShipStation is that it gives you the option to compare rates from a variety of carriers before deciding to ship, so you know you’re getting the best rate.

Ordoro wins this one with its 42 specific integrations across eight different categories that elevate your business potential. Ordoro allows you to connect Shopify, Squarespace, Square, Stripe, Amazon, UPS, FedEx, and QuickBooks to your inventory management software. You can even build a custom integration with an open API (application programming interface).

Now that’s not to say that ShipStation doesn’t have any integrations. In fact, this was a tough call because of ShipStation’s 390 integrations. However, the broad range of integrations does not necessarily mean they’re all worthwhile and some might bog down your system. Plus, the fact that some integrations cost extra is a knock against ShipStation.

Overall, Ordoro is really designed for you to get the most out of the software with integrations. So, it takes the cake here with its fantastic lineup of integrations.

This was the toughest category, since both Ordoro and ShipStation have fantastic inventory management features. We were impressed by how comprehensive each system is, even though they’re not dedicated inventory management systems (like Zoho).

Ordoro is all about creating a hub for your inventory—from combining sales channels to syncing inventory across multiple locations and being able to ship from your garage or a warehouse. Plus, you can issue purchase orders to resupply and streamline your inventory with barcoding so you’re always on top of what’s in stock.

ShipStation allows you to allocate stock, view real-time stock counts, sync inventory across integrations, and manage inventory across locations. And with its reporting features, you can see a log of product orders to find what’s selling well and reorder inventory in time for the next purchase.

While Ordoro’s inventory management features seem to be more comprehensive, they come at a cost: $499/mo. Meanwhile, ShipStation offers its inventory management features as part of the Starter plan at $9/mo. So although both platforms are tied, it may be worthwhile to revisit some of their other features to see what’s most important to you.

Ordoro and ShipStation are two great inventory management systems that differ widely in some key areas. ShipStation is the affordable inventory shipping solution while Ordoro continues to be the best ecommerce inventory management software.

Looking at it holistically, Ordoro is the best platform overall, offering a few more features, but ShipStation’s pricing is hard to beat! The best platform really depends on what your business needs. Both Ordoro and ShipStation offer demos so you can preview their software, and both offer a 30-day free trial. See which one is best for you before committing to a plan.

Still looking for the right inventory management software for your business? Check out our top choices for 2021.

We looked at features, integrations, inventory management style, and pricing and plans to determine our rankings. To find the inventory management platform that would work best for the widest array of businesses, we also graded Ordoro and ShipStation on customer service, ease of use, and platform availability.

Disclaimer

At Business.org, our research is meant to offer general product and service recommendations. We don't guarantee that our suggestions will work best for each individual or business, so consider your unique needs when choosing products and services.