TrackMy.Shop vs ShipStation — Order Tracking Comparison

Overview: Two Tools, Two Different Jobs

ShipStation and TrackMy.Shop both deal with orders, but they handle completely different parts of the fulfillment process. Think of it this way: ShipStation is your shipping department. TrackMy.Shop is your production floor.

ShipStation pulls orders from your sales channels, lets you compare carrier rates, print shipping labels in bulk, and manage returns. It's been around since 2011, and it's genuinely good at what it does. If you sell products that are already sitting on a shelf ready to go, ShipStation can have labels printed and packages out the door fast.

TrackMy.Shop picks up where most shipping tools leave a gap. It gives you a visual Kanban board to track every order through your custom production stages, barcode scanning so your team can move orders hands-free on the floor, AI-powered order parsing that pulls details from emails and forms, and branded customer tracking pages that show buyers exactly where their order is in your process. It's built specifically for businesses that make, customize, or assemble products before they ship.

The key insight is that these tools don't really compete. They solve different problems. But if you're trying to pick one, understanding which problem you actually have makes all the difference.

Who Should Use What

ShipStation makes sense if you:

• Sell ready-to-ship products (retail, reselling, Amazon FBA prep)
• Need to compare rates across USPS, UPS, FedEx, and DHL in real time
• Ship high volumes and need batch label printing
• Want branded packing slips and shipping notifications
• Manage returns and need RMA workflows

TrackMy.Shop makes sense if you:

• Make custom, personalized, or assembled-to-order products
• Need to track orders through multiple production stages before they ship
• Want your team scanning barcodes on the production floor to update status
• Need customers to see real progress (not just "processing" for two weeks)
• Run a workshop, studio, print shop, bakery, or small manufacturing operation

Feature-by-Feature Deep Dive

Order Management

ShipStation imports orders from dozens of channels and gives you filters, tags, and automation rules to organize them for shipping. It's great at the logistics side: split shipments, combine orders, set shipping presets.

TrackMy.Shop organizes orders on a drag-and-drop Kanban board with custom columns that match your actual workflow. An embroidery shop might have stages like "Design Approval," "Digitizing," "Stitching," "Quality Check," and "Ready to Ship." You define the stages that match how your shop actually works.

Production Tracking

This is where the gap is clearest. ShipStation has no production tracking. It assumes your product is ready when the order arrives. There's no way to show that an order is "in the laser cutting queue" or "waiting for paint to cure."

TrackMy.Shop is built around production tracking. Every order moves through your workflow stages, and your team updates status by scanning barcodes, dragging cards on the board, or using the mobile interface. You always know where everything is.

Customer Communication

ShipStation sends shipping confirmation emails with tracking numbers once a label is printed. Before that, customers see nothing.

TrackMy.Shop gives every order a branded tracking page that updates as the order moves through your stages. A customer who ordered a custom leather wallet can check their page and see it's in the "Cutting" stage, then "Stitching," then "Edge Finishing." That visibility eliminates the "where's my order?" emails that eat up your day.

Barcode Scanning

ShipStation uses barcodes for scanning items during packing and label printing. TrackMy.Shop uses barcode scanning on the production floor itself, so workers can scan an order and instantly move it to the next stage without touching a computer.

Integrations

Both connect to Shopify and WooCommerce. ShipStation also connects to Amazon, eBay, Etsy, and dozens of other marketplaces and carriers. TrackMy.Shop integrates with Shopify, WooCommerce, and Invoice Ninja, and offers a REST API for custom integrations. ShipStation wins on breadth of shipping integrations. TrackMy.Shop wins on production workflow flexibility.

Real-World Scenarios

Scenario 1: Custom Apparel Shop

You run a screen printing shop. Orders come in from Shopify, and each one needs artwork approval, screen prep, printing, quality check, and packaging before it ships.

With ShipStation alone, every order sits in a "processing" state until someone manually marks it ready and prints a label. Your team tracks production on whiteboards or spreadsheets. Customers email asking what's happening.

With TrackMy.Shop, each order flows through your stages on a Kanban board. Your printer scans the barcode when they start a job. Your QC person scans it when it passes inspection. Customers see "Printing Your Design" on their tracking page and stop emailing you.

Scenario 2: Amazon FBA Reseller

You buy products wholesale and resell them on Amazon. Products arrive at your warehouse, get labeled, and ship to Amazon's fulfillment centers or directly to customers.

TrackMy.Shop doesn't add much here since there's no production process. ShipStation is the right tool. It pulls Amazon orders, compares shipping rates, and prints labels in batches. Done.

Scenario 3: Custom Furniture Maker

You build furniture to order. Each piece takes days or weeks. ShipStation can print the shipping label when the piece is done, but it can't tell your customer that their dining table is currently in the "Sanding and Finishing" stage. TrackMy.Shop can. And for a $3,000 table with a four-week lead time, that visibility is the difference between happy customers and anxious ones flooding your inbox.

Pricing Breakdown

ShipStation starts at $9.99/month for 25 shipments. Their most popular plan is $59.99/month for 500 shipments. There is no free plan, and every tier has a shipment cap.

TrackMy.Shop has a free plan with 30 orders/month, which is enough to test it thoroughly or run a small operation. Paid plans start at $19.99/month with higher order limits, more team members, and additional features.

If you're a small shop doing 20-30 custom orders a month, you can run TrackMy.Shop for free while you grow. ShipStation requires a paid plan from day one.

Can They Work Together?

Yes, and for many businesses this is the best setup. Use TrackMy.Shop to manage your production workflow from order intake through completion. Once an order reaches your "Ready to Ship" stage, hand it off to ShipStation (or any shipping tool) for label printing and carrier selection.

Both tools connect to Shopify and WooCommerce, so your orders flow into both systems. TrackMy.Shop handles the production side. ShipStation handles the shipping side. Your customers get visibility into the whole journey.

The Bottom Line

ShipStation is a shipping tool. TrackMy.Shop is a production tracking tool. If your products are ready to ship the moment an order comes in, ShipStation is probably all you need. If your products go through any kind of making, customizing, assembling, or preparation process before they're ready for a label, TrackMy.Shop fills a gap that ShipStation doesn't touch.

For many maker businesses, the answer isn't one or the other. It's TrackMy.Shop for your production floor, and whatever shipping tool you prefer for getting boxes out the door. The production tracking gap is where orders get lost, customers get anxious, and your team loses visibility. That's the problem TrackMy.Shop was built to solve.