ShipBob vs Huboo: Which 3PL Comes Out On Top?

While selling great products is essential for ecommerce success, it isn't the only box you need to tick. 

…Yes, you guessed it, we're hinting at the importance of working with a reliable and cost-effective order fulfillment partner.

This is where working with a reputable third-party logistics company is worth its weight in gold.

So, in this review, I'm looking at two such options: 

ShipBob Huboo ShipBob: The Verdict

Overall, ShipBob partners with an impressive list of shipping carriers, and with 40+ global fulfillment centers available, you should be able to fulfill your orders quickly. This is especially true if you store inventory across multiple centers. I also think its customization features are an added bonus for businesses looking to strengthen their brand.

All in all, I think ShipBob is best for small and medium-sized businesses that operate internationally, looking to benefit from speedy shipping times.

Huboo: The Verdict

Overall, I like that Huboo lists each country where its fulfillment centers are and their associated costs. In addition, Huboo offers more integrations with online marketplaces than ShipBob, and its dashboard is simple to navigate.

All in all, I think Huboo is best for EU and UK businesses of all sizes looking for a reliable and fast 3PL solution.

However, if you don't have time for my full ShipBob vs Huboo comparison, here are the highlights:

ShipBob offers 2-day Express shipping across 100% of the US and 2-3 shipping across 90% of the EU and UK.  Hubbo focuses on the UK and European markets with five order fulfillment centers. In contrast, ShipBob boasts 40+ fulfillment locations in the US, with a few in Australia, the EU, and the UK.  Both platforms partner with reputable domestic and international shipping carriers like UPS, USPS, and DHL, providing a near 100% accuracy rate when fulfilling orders (99.95% for ShipBob and 99.99% for Huboo).

That's enough preamble; let's get into the nitty-gritty of this ShipBob vs Huboo review!

Overall Review: Your Guide to ShipBob

ShipBob is a well-known eCommerce fulfillment solution used by 7,000+ businesses. It has 40+ fulfillment centers across the US, Canada, Australia, UK, and Europe and promises a 99.95% accuracy rate when fulfilling offers. 

It offers two to three-day shipping times to around 90% of European and UK shoppers, In the US, and two-day Express shipping is available across 100% of the country. US businesses selling via Shopify, Walmart, Facebook, Instagram, and Google can even display the ShipBob 2-day shipping badge to help entice customers looking for quicker shipping times. 

ShipBob partners with international and local carriers, including USPS, FedEx, UPS, Royal Mail, Evri, DHL, and Australia Post. 

In a nutshell, here’s how ShipBob works:

Link your online store with ShipBob Import your products onto ShipBob Send ShipBob your inventory ShipBob then stores your inventory in its fulfillment centers (you can choose which ones) Once your customers place an order, ShipBob sends the order out from the closest center to the customer. 

Other notable ShipBob features include:

Analytics and reporting tools: to assess stock levels, the numbers of orders fulfilled on time, average order delivery times, and more.  Customization Suite: you can opt for branded packaging, marketing inserts, custom gift notes, stickers, barcodes, and more. Custom shipping labels with your brand name, ShipBob’s standard plain packaging, and custom-branded boxes or marketing inserts are free. However, printed gift notes cost $0.50 per note, and there's an additional charge for stickers, labels, and barcodes. 

On top of the eCommerce platforms mentioned above, ShipBob integrates with eBay, Klaviyo, BigCommerce, WooCommerce, and Amazon and organizes its integrations into the following categories:

Freight and shipping solutions Returns management platforms Inventory and order management Ecommerce marketing, CRM, and customer support Ecommerce custom packaging and design solutions Branding, marketing, and web development agencies Accounting, tax, and financing Pros and Cons of Using ShipBob Pros ShipBob partners with a generous range of integrations (110), including international and local shipping carriers It promises a 99.95% order fulfillment success rate. Its fulfillment centers are located around the world for more expedient shipping. The 2-day Express delivery service in the US and 2-3 day shipping available for most of the EU and UK is impressive. You can ship to more than 220 countries and territories. ShipBob has a decent four out of five-star Trustpilot rating. ShipBob offers an out-of-the-box warehouse management service (WMS) that includes warehouse, inventory, and order management.  Cons There’s no pricing available on the ShipBob website; you have to contact them for a quote. Some reviewers complain about poor and slow communication, lack of payment transparency, and products “disappearing” from one of their warehouses. It doesn’t integrate with Etsy, Groupon, and Wish. The return fees seem pricey (starting from $3).

Now let’s dive deeper into the good and not-so-good where ShipBob’s order fulfillment is concerned. 

ShipBob’s Order Fulfillment: The Pros  Worldwide Locations

With 40+ fulfillment centers worldwide and partnerships with local and international carriers, ShipBob is a one-stop global fulfillment service. 

As mentioned above, you can also choose which centers you store inventory in to ensure the closest location to your customers.

Customization Suite

ShipBob’s Customization Suite lets you showcase your brand on marketing flyers and shipping labels. While there are some costs involved, you’re not charged extra for using marketing flyers and custom-branded boxes.

Fast Shipping

Its 2-day Express shipping service in the US and 2-3 day delivery to 90% of Europe and the UK means you can offer your customers impressively fast shipping. 

ShipBob Warehouse Management Service (WMS)

ShipBob offers an out-of-the-box warehouse management service that includes order, inventory, and transportation management. That’s as well as a pick and pack service and reporting and analytics tools. Plus, you benefit from dedicated real-time support, although this isn’t 24/7. 

ShipBob Order Fulfillment: The Cons  No Pricing 

There’s no pricing available on ShipBob’s website, not even a pricing calculator for potential users to play around with before going further. For any costs, you have to contact ShipBob to request a quote.

Integrations

It’s a shame ShipBob doesn’t offer more for those using online marketplaces to sell products. While it’s great that Amazon and eBay integrations are available, there could be more on offer to entice Etsy, Wish, and Groupon users. 

Poor Reviews

Some Trustpilot reviews complain about price transparency and other issues are concerning. Not least because these reviews are recent (at the time of writing) and not confined to Trustpilot.

Go to the top Overall Review: Your Guide to Huboo

Compared to ShipBob, Huboo is a slightly smaller UK operation with 1,200+ clients. However, its website states it’s fulfilled 15,000,000+ products in the last month alone and promises a 99.9% picking accuracy rate.

It has EU and UK-based fulfillment centers, with five in the UK and one a-piece in Germany, Netherlands, and Spain. 

To use Huboo, you:

Sign up for free Link your eCommerce store to Huboo Add your products either manually or bulk load to Huboo Tell Huboo how products can be identified, e.g., by barcode, item number, or your business’s own identifier.  Now, you or your manufacturer can send your products to Huboo.  Then, when a customer places an order, Huboo picks, packs, and ships it. 

You can monitor everything in real-time from your Huboo dashboard. This includes sales, stock levels, and deliveries. From your dashboard, you can also view all your fulfillment and shipping costs, so there are no nasty surprises!

Huboo integrates with several eCommerce platforms and online marketplaces, including Amazon, eBay, Etsy, WooCommerce, BigCommerce, Shopify, Squarespace, and TikTok Shop. 

It also integrates with a range of other solutions in the following categories:

Inventory order and channel management Compliance and tax Finance and payments CRM marketing tools and agencies

Huboo’s website states it partners with the ‘highest-level couriers’ in the EU and UK, including DHL, Royal Mail, DPD, Hermes, Deutsche Post, Correos, and Post NL. If your business wants to use specific carriers, Hubbo can provide carrier-specific quotes. 

Its fulfillment pricing is based on parcel size, weight, destination, and whether you want tracked or untracked delivery. 

Where shipping times are concerned, these depend on which country you’re shipping to and from and which carrier you use. For example, in the UK, shipping times vary between one to two days, whereas in Germany and Spain, it’s one to three, and in the Netherlands, times are unspecified. 

Pros and Cons of Using Huboo Pros There are 44 integrations  Live chat support is available and  Huboo’s resource center is pretty fulsome and easy to navigate, with alphabetized categories. Huboo’s array of partnerships with reputable UK and EU shipping carriers is impressive. You get two months of free storage Pricing is available to view on its website Cons There’s a £3 return fee per item in the UK and €3 in EU countries. It’s aimed at UK and EU businesses, so if you want to ship to and from countries and territories outside these destinations, you’ll need to look elsewhere.  Although prices are transparent, costs mount up once you factor in all the costs.

Now let’s give you a few more details:

Huboo Order Fulfillment: The Pros  Pricing

Prices are shown on the Huboo website and are organized into regions, where you’ll see:

Shipping and fulfillment prices for individual items The additional costs for added items (£0.65 per item in the UK and for the EU, you have to contact Huboo for a price) Handling fees for returns Storage per item

There are also four subscription plans, either in GBP or EUR, for each country:

Silver: limit of 300 monthly orders dispatched Gold: limit of 1,500 monthly orders dispatched Enterprise: limit of 5,000 monthly orders dispatched Corporate: 5,000+ monthly orders dispatched

Prices for subscription packages vary for each country, and each includes:

Free storage for two months Product picking and sending when orders come in Access to the Huboo dashboard

Please note: There’s a minimum monthly invoice value of £375 or €375.

Marketplace Integrations

Compared to ShipBob, Huboo offers more integrations for sellers focusing their attention on marketplaces. For example,Etsy, Wish, and Wayfair.

Reputable Shipping Carriers

Huboo partners with a good selection of reliable domestic and cross-border shipping carriers. For example, each country's leading domestic postal service is used in the UK, Germany, Spain, and the Netherlands. However, they also offer alternatives, including DPD, P2P (a FedEx company,) and DHL. 

Huboo Order Fulfillment: The Cons Customer Support

Customer support is limited to business days only. In addition, some reviewers on Trustpilot complain about poor customer service, lost products, and late deliveries.  

Not Ideal for International eCommerce Ventures

It doesn’t offer anywhere near as many fulfillment centers as ShipBob does, and it’s focused on the UK and EU markets. However, on each pricing page, there’s a reference to international shipping that tells us that Huboo’s fulfillment centers and global couriers fulfill orders worldwide. But you have to contact Huboo’s sales team for per-country quotes. 

Prices are Visible, but Costs Could Be High

Expenses can rack up once you factor in the subscription cost, minimum monthly invoice spend, return fees, and additional customization options!

Go to the top ShipBob vs Huboo: FAQs Do ShipBob and Huboo have affiliate programs? 

ShipBob offers an affiliate program, where if you refer brands to the platform, you can earn $750 for every qualified opportunity ShipBob receives. 

Whereas, Huboo doesn't offer an affiliate program. 

Where are ShipBob’s fulfillment locations? 

We’ve given you the locations of Huboo’s centers. But, for ShipBob, there are three in the UK, one in Poland, and one in the Netherlands. There are also 35 in the US, one in Canada, and two in Australia. 

What type of businesses do ShipBob and Huboo work with? 

The Huboo website tells us that it works with small, medium, and larger businesses and specifically refers to the following niches: alcohol, subscription box, fashion, cosmetics, food, organics, books, tech, gift, luxury, homewares, and accessories toys, pets, and sportswear. 

Where ShipBob is concerned, its website tells us it works with small to mid-sized businesses and features customer case studies, including sportswear, fashion accessory, wellness, and pet care brands.

Go to the top ShipBob vs Huboo: My Verdict

I hope this ShipBob vs Huboo review provides a clearer idea of both these fulfillment services.

Here are a few of my final thoughts:

Overall, ShipBob is a more international operation with more fulfillment centers. 

As for value for money, it’s difficult to answer this question since ShipBob doesn’t list any prices on its website. However, in the case of Huboo, its prices are transparent and detailed. 

Both platforms offer a good range of integrations. However, Huboo offers more marketplace connectivity. 

That’s all from me! If you’re ready to try either ShipBob or Huboo, tell us what you decided in the comments below. 

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