ShipStation in Canada vs ProtonShip
Checked against shipstation.com on
Short answer. ShipStation is subscription software for sellers on many stores and marketplaces, with pre-negotiated rates from Canadian carriers including Canada Post, Purolator, UPS and FedEx. ProtonShip is a free account for parcels within Canada, paid per label. ShipStation debits carrier adjustments from your ShipStation balance and adds a processing fee; ProtonShip shows you the carrier's figures and waits before charging.
Side by side
| Topic | ProtonShip | ShipStation |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | Labels from four carriers in one account, for parcels within Canada | Subscription shipping software for online sellers, with pre-negotiated carrier rates in Canada and over 400 store integrations |
| Carriers for parcels within Canada | UniUni, Purolator, UPS and FedEx, with Canada Post coming soon | Its Canadian page lists pre-negotiated rates from Canada Post, Purolator, Canpar, UPS, FedEx, DHL Express and GlobalPost. |
| How you pay | Free account, paid per label by card. Unused labels can be voided within 28 days. How pricing works | A monthly plan priced by how many shipments you send, after a 30-day free trial; the Shopify App Store bills it in US dollars. Postage and insurance are paid on top of the plan. |
| Carrier adjustments | Posted with the carrier’s reason, and its figures when it reports them. Nothing is charged for 72 hours. How adjustments work | Adjustments on labels bought at ShipStation's rates are debited automatically from your ShipStation balance, which can go negative, plus an adjustment processing fee of 20% of the adjustment, capped per shipment. Its carrier documentation asks for disputes within 15 days of receipt for carriers other than FedEx. A notice before the charge isn't stated. |
| Coverage and claims | Basic coverage on every label. You file claims with us. Coverage and claims | Shipping insurance can be bought on every plan, on top of postage. |
| Support | Support tickets from your account, answered by email | Email and chat on Starter, phone from Standard and a dedicated account manager on Premium. Its Canadian page gives support hours of Monday to Friday, 8 am to 8 pm Central. |
| Also offers | Shopify orders and bulk uploads (CSV or Excel), within Canada only | Over 400 store and marketplace integrations, automation rules, bulk label printing, US and international shipping, and an API. |
| Reviews | ProtonShip is new and has no public reviews yet. | Trustpilot 3.5 from 711 reviews. Shopify App Store 4.2 from 706 reviews. |
How each handles carrier adjustments
When a carrier re-measures a parcel or corrects an address, it bills more. The platform that sold the label decides how that reaches you.
“ShipStation will automatically debit the difference between the original label price paid at the time of label creation and the price of the final label from your ShipStation Balance once the carrier has sent us the corrected label fee.”ShipStation help centre, ShipStation Carrier Adjustments
ShipStation: Adjustments on labels bought at ShipStation's rates are debited automatically from your ShipStation balance, which can go negative, plus an adjustment processing fee of 20% of the adjustment, capped per shipment. Its carrier documentation asks for disputes within 15 days of receipt for carriers other than FedEx. A notice before the charge isn't stated.
ProtonShip: the adjustment is posted with the carrier’s reason, and its figures next to yours when it reports them, and nothing is charged for 72 hours; a dispute holds the charge. How adjustments work, and why we show the carrier’s numbers first.
Who ShipStation suits better
Sellers on several stores and marketplaces who want one app with automation rules, more carriers including Canpar, DHL Express and GlobalPost, and US and international shipping, and who ship enough to justify a monthly plan.
Who ProtonShip suits
Businesses shipping parcels within Canada who want four carriers in one account, paid per label by card. ProtonShip doesn’t ship to the United States or overseas, carry pallets, or run drop-off branches. The detail is on pricing, carrier adjustments and coverage and claims.
Switching from ShipStation
ShipStation exports shipments and orders as CSV files. Its shipment fields include Ship To - Name, Ship To - Address 1, Ship To - City, Ship To - State, Ship To - Postal Code, Ship To - Phone and the residential flag, along with each parcel's weight and dimensions, and a custom export format can rename the columns. Name them to_name, to_street1, to_city, to_province, to_postal_code, to_phone and residential, check that weights are in pounds and sizes in inches, and the file is ready for a bulk upload.
For older shipments, ShipStation's monthly data archives download as CSV too. Its customer export, under Analytics, only includes customers who have placed orders.
In ProtonShip, Shopify is the one store that connects directly, so orders from ShipStation's other channels come in through the spreadsheet.
ProtonShip’s bulk upload takes a CSV or Excel (.xlsx) file of up to 500 parcels. The first row needs the template’s column names, with to_name, to_street1, to_city, to_province, to_postal_code and weight_lb required, and columns it doesn’t use are ignored. A box column can name a saved box, and a from_address column a saved ship-from address, row by row. How bulk labels work
From ShipStation’s own help pages, checked October 17, 2026: ShipStation help centre: export shipment records, ShipStation help centre: data archives, ShipStation help centre: analytics raw data exports.
Try ProtonShip on your next parcel
A free account with four carriers, paid per label.