The 8 Best ShipStation Alternatives & Competitors For Returns Management

Looking for ShipStation alternatives to streamline your order shipping process and optimise your returns process?

The shipping software offers a customisable returns portal and the ability to send return labels with your orders.

Despite that, some retailers mention that that the customer support of ShipStation has been non-responsive and unhelpful and that the platform’s UI has been clunky and buggy.

We researched 30+ shipping and returns software, sifted through verified retailer reviews on G2, and talked to e-commerce managers to create a list of the eight best ShipStation alternatives in 2025.

In this guide, we will cover each tool’s features, pricing, pros/cons, and use cases to help you make a more informed decision.

➡️ Disclaimer: This article will focus on the best ShipStation alternatives on the market for returns management and post-purchase support for shoppers.

Before we start, let’s go over why merchants might consider switching from ShipStation in the first place. ⤵️

Why Are Merchants Looking To Switch From ShipStation?

#1: Poor Customer Support

A recurring trend in ShipStation’s G2 reviews is that the platform’s customer support has been unhelpful.

According to users of the platform, they had to wait for days to get some of their technical issues resolved.

1) Support team is rarely available, long waits to get through to anyone. 2) They don't resolve technical issues, we've reported bugs that have been unaddressed for years. – G2 Review.

Unfortunately, it's not "one man's opinion". There is a theme when browsing G2 reviews of ShipStation.

And one final one claimed the support, or lack of, was the ultimate reason they left the platform.

#2: Occasional Errors & Glitches

Customers of the platform are also not satisfied with ShipStation’s user interface, stating that it has occasional errors and glitches.

A small business owner claims that it sometimes takes their company hours or even days to get the platform back to normal.

‘’There are occasional errors and glitches that can last hours, sometimes days. There are workarounds, but they're outside of routine and can be time consuming.’’ – G2 Review.

The platform can also freeze fairly frequently and there's better pricing from alternative platforms on the market.

#3 Have to pay a fee to use your own carrier rates

As an enterprise business, or even a fortunate smaller retailer, there’s a good chance you have the volume and reputation to secure favourable carrier rates.

However, ShipStation will charge you for not using its own rates. That means some brands using ShipStation for their returns are experiencing surprise fees.

#4: Limited Returns Management Capabilities

ShipStation offers returns management capabilities but they are limited when compares to other alternatives on the market that specialise in returns management.

A customer of the platform mentions that the platform does not allow you to offer international return labels, which makes ShipStation useful only for your country of operations.

‘’International return labels are not available for us to offer to our international orders. Sometimes we send the wrong items to customers and when that happens, we are responsible for everything after. We have to reimburse our customers for their return shipping label that they purchase. More often than not, the customer will purchase an expedited label even when we have advised not to do so.’’ – G2 Review.

What Factors To Consider When Searching For The Right Alternative To ShipStation?

When evaluating the best ShipStation alternatives to manage your returns, we looked at the following criteria:

• Customer support and dedicated account management: If there are issues with returns or you have any questions about the platform, there should be support for your store that responds quickly.
• Total global network: It was important to us to see the international coverage of these platforms in terms of countries served for the international retailers reading this article.
• Return options: A comprehensive range of return options will give your shoppers more choices and allow your brand to retain revenue and offset costs, such as free return-to-store returns and paid returns.
• Shipment tracking capabilities: The returns platform should give shoppers real-time updates on where the packages are.
• Pricing model: The returns platform’s pricing model should align with your budget and expected returns.
• Ease of use and set-up: We looked at G2 reviews to see if retailers think of the platforms as easy to use and set up.
• Depth of carriers: Returns platforms with a bigger range of carrier options would help you optimise your logistics operations, reduce expenses, and give you access to discounted rates.

💡 We also looked at the return solutions’ user reviews by retailers so we could provide an unbiased perspective on strengths and weaknesses.

Let’s now go over the best returns platforms that meet this criteria:

#1: ZigZag

ZigZag (that’s us) offers the best ShipStation alternative on the market for merchants looking to optimise and automate their returns process.

Unlike ShipStation, ZigZag offers:

• Best-in-class key account management and customer support that will help you set up the returns portal and promptly answer questions.
• Our own carrier accounts so you would not have to use your own carrier account.
• A bigger range of return options for shoppers, including return to store credit, paid returns, and in-store returns – not just returns and exchanges.
• A comprehensive range of international carrier integrations so you can scale your returns management abroad, instead of using multiple returns management software for the different markets.
• Advanced return analytics that will let you find out why customers return your products in the first place and help you deal with return fraud.

Note: Even though ZigZag is our returns solution, we’ll aim to provide an unbiased perspective on why we offer the best ShipStation alternative on the market in 2025.

Our returns solution lets you build a custom returns portal and offers your shoppers different return options that help you keep capital in the business and lower the costs of returns.

We also provide retailers with access to 220 localised warehouses and over 1,500 international carrier services, all of across 170+ origin countries.

Let’s go over the features 👇 that enterprise retailers like SportsDirect, Ted Baker, Puma, and Swarovski love about ZigZag.

Customisable Returns Portal

ZigZag offers a customisable returns portal that enables you to change returns rules alongside white-labelling the portal to reflect their brand.

Your e-commerce team can adapt various new returns solutions (such as a gift card, exchange, or cash refund) depending on shoppers’ reasons for returning.

Possible reasons could be that the product was faulty, did not fit, or was unsuitable.

Get a feel of how ZigZag’s platform works in our guided demo: 👇

Single Click Shopify Integration

Is your online store on Shopify?

Our returns management solution can also be set up on Shopify with as little effort as a single click.

Here’s why merchants love our Shopify integration:

• One-click installation: You can install the ZigZag plugin with a simple click to offer hassle-free returns to your shoppers.
• Save the sale with exchanges: Offer exchanges or refunds to gift cards instead of a full refund.
• Cut the costs of your returns: Save up to 57% in your return costs with our consolidation and efficient routing of e-commerce returns.

💡 Our research on returns found that 57% of shoppers who are considering returning items would accept a gift card as a refund.

This return option lets you keep money in your business while benefiting shoppers with a quick gift card option they can use in your store.

International Returns To 170+ Countries With 1,500+ Carrier Services.

The ‘’Global’’ part of ZigZag Global is because our returns software is ideal for international returns, as our software facilitates international returns in 170+ countries by connecting you with 1,500+ global carriers.

➡️ Our returns portal can accept multiple currencies & provides different language settings for international shoppers, which is ideal for international brands.

Instead of using multiple return management platforms for the USA, Europe, and other regions, you can use ZigZag Global as a global return logistics solution.

Comprehensive Range of Return Options For Consumers

Unlike ShipStation, the goal of our global returns solution is not only to manage your returns but to help you save time, money and improve the loyalty of your shoppers.

This is why ZigZag Global offers the following returns options for your customers:

In-Store Returns

In-store returns are when your consumers return the product to your store in person to save the costs of a paid return online.

Your store can implement free in-store returns to slash shipping costs, boost foot traffic to your physical store, and give consumers more ways to get a refund.

💡 ZigZag Global also offers in-store drop-off kiosks for companies that are hassle-free for your shoppers.

Store Credit To Save the Sale

Return to store credit is when shoppers get a refund in the form of a gift card to your online store, instead of a monetary refund in their bank account.

As shoppers are happy to accept store credit instead of a refund (since it’s usually of greater value), we added the option of this return to our retailers’ portal so you can keep capital in the business.

➡️ Return to store credits allows you to increase and maintain the customer lifetime value.

Paid Returns

As 48% of consumers are happy paying for returns, there has been a 32% rise in paid returns since last year.

This is why we’ve started recommending the retailers we work with implement paid returns in their stores, as the behaviour towards paid returns is changing.

That means asking consumers to pay a small fee to return their products.

Here are a few reasons why merchants have been offering paid returns:

• Returned costs are covered, so your company is not on the losing end.
• Consumers can’t exploit the free returns policy to engage in wardrobing.
• Shoppers are likely to make better buying decisions.

💡 You can check out our recent article on how merchants can deal with wardrobing and staging, as we went over that paid returns are the solution to wardrobing.

➡️ Interested in how much money ZigZag’s paid returns save your organization? You can check out our ROI Calculator.

Here’s a scenario where you have 5,000 returns per month, and 20% of them are paid returns of £3.

That’ll save you a total of £3,000 per month.

Advanced Returns Analytics

Our returns management platform offers advanced reporting that tracks everything for our retailers to view and manage from one portal, such as:

• Comparing the popularity of refund solutions.
• Evaluating the most common reasons why consumers return products.
• Reviewing revenue generated from paid returns.
• Detecting suspicious returns behaviour from shoppers.

➡️ The merchants that use ZigZag Global are able to reduce their returns in the long-run after evaluating the common reasons of why people return products.

Case Study: How SportsShoes Revolutionised Its Post-Purchase Experience With ZigZag Global

SportsShoes partnered with ZigZag to deal with their issues of slow refund times and costly returns solutions.

With over 1,500 carrier services across over 170 countries, partnering with ZigZag to manage the returns experience allowed SportsShoes to tap into our vast logistics network.

SportsShoes is now capable of bringing returns back in a time-efficient and cost-effective manner.

The online retailer transformed its returns experience and has:

• Set up a returns portal that can be completed by customers in under 60 seconds.
• The ability to track orders and identify mistakes quickly, helps the brand to process refunds fast and send out replacement items just as quickly.
• Introduced reliable and trackable carriers to their network to appeal to more consumers.
• To learn more about smarter returns with ZigZag, book a demo to see the portal in action and discuss tailoring a solution for your business.

ZigZag Pros & Cons

✅ 1,500+ global carriers to manage international returns.

✅ Advanced reporting and returns analytics to uncover why customers return products.

✅ Wide range of returning options for your customers, such as paid returns, return to store, and return to gift card.

✅ 500,000+ drop-off locations worldwide.

✅ Customisable returns portal with multiple currencies.

❌ Shipping back from the EU might take some time, according to a G2 review.

❌ Some merchants note that some of the carriers can be slower than others.

Book a demo with ZigZag

#2: ClickPost

Similar to ShipStation, ClickPost is a shipping management software offers retailers advanced returns automation and branded tracking.

The returns platform is a viable alternative to ShipStation for merchants looking to build a customisable returns portal with branded tracking and notifications.

Features

• Branded returns and exchanges: A returns portal that can be customised, where shoppers can choose from a variety of returns options.
• Exchanges: Offer exchanges with the same or different products to retain revenue in the business.
• The Shopify returns management portal can be set-up can take as little as 15 minutes to complete, similar to ZigZag Global.

Pricing

To access ClickPost’s returns management software, you’d have to be on their ReturnsPro plan which does not disclose its pricing.

Pros and Cons

✅ Good range of carriers with discounted rates.

✅ Single-view order management.

✅ Above-average customisation options for returns tracking and notifications.

❌ Not as many return options to offset costs as other competitors to ClickPost.

❌ Analytics and reporting are not always valid, according to some platform users.

#3: Aftership

Aftership is a post-purchase experience platform for retailers that helps you set up rule-based returns automations.

The platform is a viable alternative to ShipStation for merchants looking for more customisation options.

Features

• Re-capture revenue with product exchanges, fraud prevention (e.g., wardrobing), and offer partial refunds.
• Rule-based returns automations enable merchants to optimise return costs and retain more revenue from shoppers.
• Get access to return eligibility rules, an analytics dashboard, and automated resolutions.

Pricing

Aftership offers four monthly plans that are based on how many shipments per year your brand is expecting.

The Essentials plan starts from $19/month for 720 returns per year and includes their integration with 1,200 carriers and a customisable returns portal.

To gain access to the tool’s advanced features, you’d have to be on the Pro plan ($49/month) or the Premium plan which costs $199/month.

Pros and Cons

✅ Rule-based return automations with eligibility criteria.

✅ SME-friendly pricing that starts from as little as $19/month.

✅ Good range of carriers when compared to ShipStation.

❌ The analytics and data insights may not be as useful and powerful on lower tiers.

❌ Not as easy to set up and use, which is why some merchants have been looking for alternatives to Aftership.

#4: ReturnGO

ReturnGO has gained a reputation with its sustainable returns management solution that focuses on enabling retailers to save money from returns while tackling waste.

The returns software is a good alternative to ShipStation for enterprises that want to set up an automated and environmentally-friendly return experience.

Features

• Exchanges: Up-sell customers as they are making a return to increase revenue.
• Send out branded order tracking notifications for any shipment to improve customer loyalty.
• Return automations, such as ‘’request approval’’ automation and ‘’mark as done’’.

Pricing

ReturnGO bases its pricing on a tiered pricing structure that includes features and an annual returns allowance.

There are 3 paid plans for merchants:

• Premium: Starts from $121/month for up to 2,000 annual returns and gives you access to variant and product exchanges, and branded email notifications.
• Pro: Starts from $297/month for up to 5,000 annual returns and adds white-labelling options, item validation features, and packaging slips.
• Enterprise: Custom pricing, which adds an order tracking portal and notifications, advanced automations, and multi-store plans.

Pros and Cons

✅ Refunds, gift cards, and store credit returns options.

✅ Customisable returns portal that can be set up with up to 5 languages.

✅ Advanced returns automations.

❌ Starting price may not be very small-business-friendly – which is not ideal for smaller businesses looking to switch from ShipStation.

❌ Premium and Pro plans support only Shopify, which is why retailers have been looking for alternatives to ReturnGO.

#5: Narvar

Narvar is a post-purchase experience platform that lets your customers receive clear delivery expectations and track their returns.

The platform is a viable alternative to ShipStation for merchants looking to reduce their cost of returns with the platform’s smart routing.

Features

• Enable your customers to choose how they want to return, as shoppers can choose from home pick-up, store drop-offs, and other drop-off locations.
• Define reason-based fees for returns, such as ‘’no return shipping fee’’ for an incorrect item.
• Reduce the cost of returns with Narvar’s smart routing of returned inventory.

Pricing

Narvar does not currently disclose its pricing, so you’d have to contact them to receive a quote.

Pros and Cons

✅ Advanced return rules for faster value recovery.

✅ Narvar’s Network data lets you reduce fraudulent returns, which benefits larger retailers.

✅ Returns portal that can be customised to your brand.

❌ Less carrier integrations than other alternatives on the market.

❌ It takes 60-90 days for full implementation and integration of the Narvar software, unlike competitors to Narvar.

#6: ReBound

ReBound is a returns management solution that lets retailers reduce the cost of returns with more efficient RMA management.

The platform is a nice alternative to ShipStation for companies that are looking to reduce their cost of returns.

Features

• Omnichannel returns: Handle the process of the entire returns flow for all sources of returns to your store.
• Best-in-class RMA management: Offset your returns costs with ReBound’s smart returns routing.
• Easy-to-set-up Shopify integration: Set up a customisable returns portal on Shopify with multiple returns options, such as home collection and drop-off services.

Pricing

ReBound does not publicly disclose its pricing, so you’d have to contact them to receive a quote and a product demo.

Pros and Cons

✅ Order tracking with push notifications for customers.

✅ One-click Shopify integration that adds different return options.

✅ Efficient RMA management to reduce the cost of returns.

❌ Some consumers have lost orders with their service, according to TrustPilot reviews.

❌ Less return options for end users than other ReBound alternatives on the market.

#7: nShift

nShift is a returns solution that offers a suite of products to help you manage the post-purchase shopper experience.

Similar to ReturnGO, the platform is a good alternative to ShipStation for environmentally-conscious merchants who want to track and report on their emissions.

Features

• Advanced return analytics that show you why shoppers are returning products to your store to identify returns trends.
• Better returns management with the platform’s optimised multi-carrier shipping process.
• Emissions tracking and reporting: Decrease your carbon footprint with emissions tracking and reporting.

Pricing

Similar to Narvar and ReBound, nShift does not currently disclose its pricing.

That means you’d have to request a call-back or schedule a demo with them.

Pros and Cons

✅ Emissions tracking and reporting.

✅ The platform can be set up within a few days.

✅ Vast network of international and local carriers.

❌ Not as many return options as Loop Returns, ReBound, and ZigZag Global.

❌ Similar to ShipStation in the sense that the customer support may not be as good as other nShift alternatives on the market.

#8: Outvio

Outvio offers an international returns management solution that helps retailers to expand into new markets.

The software is a nice alternative to ShipStation for international retailers looking to delight their international consumers with a positive returns and exchanges experience.

Features

• Create international return policies for different countries of operation.
• Multilingual and customisable returns portal that provides your customers with on-brand notifications.
• Automatically generate return labels and automate product exchanges for any product variant.

Pricing

Outvio offers 2 paid plans for their international returns:

• Grow: €125/month plus order processing fee, which lets you return products with 90+ couriers and access to smart returns and exchanges rules.
• Conquer: €250/month plus order processing fee, which adds fully branded notifications, advanced analytics, and the tool’s fully automated Shopify exchanges.

Pros and Cons

✅ Multilingual customisable returns portal.

✅ You can create international return policies.

✅ Smart returns and exchanges rules.

❌ Lack of return options that go beyond returns and refunds, which is why some customers have been looking for Outvio alternatives to offset costs.

❌ Limited range of return courier services and drop-off locations.

Next Steps: Offset Costs & Battle Return Fraud With ZigZag

Each returns management solution that we went through has its strengths, weaknesses, and pros & cons.

We discussed the 8 best competitors of ShipStation for returns management that can help you optimise your returns process by minimising your cost of returns and offering more return options for your shoppers.

Built for retailers who operate on a global scale, ZigZag offers an all-in-one returns management platform that can take over any company’s post-purchase experience.

If you’re looking for a returns software that offers:

A customisable returns portal that can be customised to your shoppers.

Wide range of return options, such as paid returns, return to store credit, and return to gift card.

Access to detailed analytics and reports on what drives consumers to return products.

Then you can book a demo to learn more about ZigZag Global.

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