Why merchants leave ShipStation: the short version
All 160 one- and two-star reviews with text, tagged by theme. One review can mention several themes.
| Complaint theme | Reviews mentioning it |
|---|---|
| 1. Slow, scripted or unreachable support | 104 |
| 2. Bugs, outages and forced updates | 90 |
| 3. Unexpected charges, wallet top-ups and price rises | 52 |
| 4. Shopify order sync problems | 33 |
| 5. International, duties and customs gaps | 14 |
Source: ShipStation Orders & Inventory reviews, Shopify App Store, all 1★ and 2★ reviews, collected 14 Oct 2026. Quotes are verbatim excerpts under 25 words; store names are as shown publicly on the App Store. ShipStation has 507 five-star reviews, several 1–2★ reviewers say the software itself is good, and 88 of the 160 negative reviews are from before 2024.
Each complaint, and what fixes it
1. Slow, scripted or unreachable support (104 of 160 reviews)
“No response to my support ticket for almost one month.”
“I always end up spending at least 45 mins on chat with support to find a solution a wide variety of problems.”
What fixes it: Check which plan includes which support before you sign up. ShipStation’s listing shows email support on Starter ($14.99/mo) and phone support from Standard ($29.99/mo). Easyship affiliate link lists 24/7 live chat and email from its Plus plan ($29/mo) and phone support on Premier ($69/mo). Neither listing guarantees response times, so test support during the free trial.
2. Bugs, outages and forced updates (90 of 160 reviews)
“Constantly loses connection and needs to be manually refreshed.”
“In the last 6 months it has been constant bugs, long lag times, ever-changing UI, and API issues.”
What fixes it: If you ship a few orders a day and use the main US carriers, Shopify Shipping is built into Shopify, so there is no separate app or desktop connector to keep running. If you need more carriers or rules, run Easyship affiliate link side by side during its free plan (50 shipments/month) before you move everything.
3. Unexpected charges, wallet top-ups and price rises (52 of 160 reviews)
“We were charged nearly 3x our usual plan's rate for "addons" that were deceptively hidden and/or that we did not actually select.”
“After multiple attempts to cancel our subscription, we were continuously charged for a non-existent account.”
What fixes it: Both ShipStation and Easyship note on their listings that some charges are billed outside your Shopify invoice, so check your card statement as well as Shopify billing. Before switching, price a typical parcel with the shipping cost estimator, and screenshot your plan and add-ons when you sign up and when you cancel.
4. Shopify order sync problems (33 of 160 reviews)
“ShipStation only imports an order once.”
“We ship from multiple retail locations, and a location change in Shopify simply will not update in ShipStation.”
What fixes it: Shopify Shipping works on the Shopify order itself, so edits and location changes never have to sync anywhere. With any third-party app, test an order you edit after import (address change, split, new location) during the trial; that is where reviewers report problems.
5. International, duties and customs gaps (14 of 160 reviews)
“For example, 19 days ago Shipstation changed international shipping defaults so that I am now covering duties and taxes for international shipments.”
“Having no way to upload customs documents for our CUSMA/USCMA compliant items is a total deal breaker.”
What fixes it: If you ship abroad a lot, look for duties shown at checkout. Easyship affiliate link lists import tax and duty calculation on its free plan and live tax and duties at checkout (DDP/DDU) from Premier ($69/mo). Check your own lanes and paperwork needs (for example CUSMA forms) with support before moving.
Honest comparison
| ShipStation | Easyship | Shopify Shipping | |
|---|---|---|---|
| What it is | Multi-channel shipping, orders and inventory | Discounted rates, labels, duties and tracking | Labels built into Shopify admin |
| App Store rating | 4.2 (707) | 4.2 (410) | Built in, not rated |
| Share of 1–2★ reviews | 23% (160) | 18% (75) | n/a |
| Listed price | Starter $14.99/mo; Standard $29.99/mo; Premium $349.99/mo; 30-day trial | Free (50 shipments/mo); Plus $29/mo; Premier $69/mo | Included with Shopify; you pay per label |
| Good fit | Many channels, warehouses and users | International shipping and rate comparison | Low volume, main US/CA carriers |
| Our relationship | None (affiliate application pending) | Affiliate | None |
Ratings, review counts and prices from each Shopify App Store listing, checked 15 Oct 2026. Easyship also has a sizeable share of negative reviews (18%), so test it before moving all your volume. ShipStation does much more warehouse and inventory work than either alternative. Listings: ShipStation, Easyship.
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