If you run a small DTC brand and still pack orders yourself, the 3PL decision usually turns on three questions: what you pay in a slow month, who answers when an order goes out wrong, and whether the company wants a brand your size at all. This list answers them for 12 fulfillment services. Only a few of the twelve state a minimum on their own site; for the rest, it's the first thing to ask, and each entry below tells you how.
A 3PL (third-party logistics provider) stores your inventory and picks, packs and ships each order for you. If you want a wider list that isn't limited to DTC brands, see our best 3PL companies roundup.
1. Simpl Fulfillment
Simpl Fulfillment is a 3PL in Austin, TX, built for founder-led ecommerce brands. Most of our clients are teams of one to three people.
Pricing is flat-rate, starting at $7/order, and the per-order rate includes picks, packing, packaging and postage. Carrier surcharges, when they apply, are billed per our terms. There is no onboarding fee and there are no hidden fees. The $750 monthly minimum is billed pay-the-difference: if your orders for the month bill under $750, you pay only the gap. For light packages on standard shipping, that works out to roughly 90–100 orders a month; heavier, larger or faster shipments reach it with fewer orders. Storage is billed by the space your stock uses (small bin, large bin, shelf or pallet). Current rates are on our pricing page.
Orders received before 12pm CT ship the same day, by UPS, USPS or FedEx. Onboarding takes 5–7 days, and receiving new stock takes 1–3 days. Our order accuracy is 99.99%, and when we do get an order wrong, we pay the return shipping and re-ship it at our cost.
Simpl connects natively with Shopify, Shopify Plus, BigCommerce, WooCommerce and Squarespace, and integrates with Amazon, Walmart, eBay, Etsy and TikTok Shop. Need something custom? Ask us about API integrations. Tracking numbers sync back to the order in your store. Simpl doesn't send shipping emails, so your customer gets whatever notification your store platform is set to send.
Every client gets a dedicated account manager, a real person you reach by email, with same-day (often faster) responses. Beyond standard order fulfillment, we handle kitting and assembly, subscription boxes, crowdfunding campaigns, B2B wholesale orders, Amazon FBA prep and returns, and a branded returns portal is included for every client.
Fit for a one-to-three-person brand: a good match if you sell on Shopify or another native platform, want one per-order price you can budget around, and want a named person to email. If you ship fewer than about 90–100 light orders a month, you'll pay the difference up to $750, so build that into your numbers. Storage is ambient only, so products that need refrigeration or climate control aren't a fit.
Ask before you sign: ask us to price your typical order at its real weight and item count, and ask about packaging options when you request a quote.
2. ShipBob
The catch with ShipBob is volume. Its affordable fulfillment page says there is a minimum monthly spending requirement and minimum order volume requirements, and that "you can start with even just a thousand orders monthly". The pricing page lists no fee amounts, says all quotes are customized for each customer, and notes that you can use your own custom branded boxes, mailers and inserts and pay to store them.
The draw is scale. ShipBob's homepage says it runs 50+ fulfillment centers, reports a 99.97% accuracy rate and offers 2-day shipping across the continental US.
Fit for a one-to-three-person brand: if you ship a few hundred orders a month, ask whether you qualify before you start onboarding, since ShipBob itself frames a thousand orders a month as a starting point.
Ask before you sign: the monthly spending minimum in dollars, the order-volume minimum, and what implementation will cost you.
Comparing it with ShipMonk? Read ShipMonk vs ShipBob, or browse our list of ShipBob alternatives.
3. ShipMonk
ShipMonk's minimum is a formula, and the volume you quote in the sales process sets it. Its pricing page says pick fees are set during the sales process from your typical monthly order volume, and the monthly minimum is that volume multiplied by your first-item pick fee, then reduced by 20%. The same page says subscription box and crowdfunding orders are kitted in batches of identical orders, each batch needs at least 50 orders, and smaller batches carry a batching fee.
On the plus side, ShipMonk says its software integrates with over 100 shopping carts, marketplaces and solution providers, and that every client has access to its team of "Happiness Engineers". Its fulfillment locations page lists 10 fulfillment centers in the US, Canada, the Czech Republic and the UK.
Fit for a one-to-three-person brand: the order volume you give in the sales process becomes your floor, so estimate it from real months rather than hopeful ones. If you run a subscription box with several variants, count how many identical orders each variant produces before you compare quotes.
Ask before you sign: the pick fee they'd assign you, the monthly minimum that results in dollars, and how batching fees apply to your box variants.
For more options, see our ShipMonk alternatives and our ShipMonk vs Simpl Fulfillment comparison.
4. Red Stag Fulfillment
Red Stag is the specialist for big and heavy products. Its homepage describes it as "fulfillment for enterprise & fast-growing brands" and calls big and heavy products its specialty. It deliberately runs just two warehouses, in Sweetwater, TN and Salt Lake City, UT, and its locations page says it receives shipments in less than two days.
The guarantees are unusually specific. Red Stag's guarantees page promises to reimburse your cost for any item lost or damaged, to ship orders within your service level agreement (SLA, the shipping deadlines written into your contract) or make it right for every late parcel, and to cover the shipping costs of fixing a wrong order.
There is no rate list. The pricing page is a quote form that asks for your product, average package weight and monthly volume, and offers a "No volume / we only have preorders" option.
Fit for a one-to-three-person brand: worth a call if your products are big or heavy. For small, light items, get at least one other quote to compare.
Ask before you sign: the monthly minimum, if there is one, plus storage and receiving rates in writing.
Our Red Stag Fulfillment breakdown goes deeper.
5. Shopify Fulfillment Network
Shopify Fulfillment Network isn't a warehouse. Shopify's fulfillment page describes it as a 3PL partner network: you compare partners for pricing estimates and capabilities, then connect the one you choose to your store admin. Flexport is listed as the preferred partner, alongside Amazon, Bigblue, DHL Fulfillment Network, GoBolt, Mayple Global, ShipBob and Shipfusion. The only volume figure on the page is DHL Fulfillment Network's "starting from 3,000 orders a month".
Fit for a one-to-three-person brand: treat it as a way to choose and connect a 3PL from inside Shopify. Pricing, minimums and support come from whichever partner you pick, so judge the partner.
Ask before you sign: which partner would fulfill your orders, and that partner's minimum and rates.
6. ShipNetwork
ShipNetwork's pitch is ground delivery speed from a multi-warehouse network. Its homepage says its US fulfillment centers reach 98% of the continental US in 1–2 days by ground shipping, and lists returns handling, subscription box shipping, EDI connections and FBA prep among its services. The pricing page lists warehouse locations from Pennsylvania and New York to Nevada and California, and sends you to a quote form instead of listing rates. No minimum is published.
Fit for a one-to-three-person brand: at low volume, ask whether your stock would sit in one warehouse or several, and what that changes in cost.
Ask before you sign: the monthly minimum, storage and receiving rates, and how many warehouses your inventory would use.
7. Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA) and Multi-Channel Fulfillment (MCF)
If most of your sales are on Amazon, FBA is the obvious place to start. Amazon's FBA page says you send inventory to Amazon's fulfillment centers, Amazon picks, packs and ships your orders, and those orders become eligible for free two-day Prime shipping. Storage is charged monthly based on the cubic feet your inventory occupies, and a Professional selling account costs $39.99 a month plus selling fees.
Multi-Channel Fulfillment (MCF) is Amazon's service for shipping orders from your other sales channels, such as your own website, out of the same inventory. Amazon's MCF page says MCF orders are packed in unbranded packaging by default, a 3.5% fuel and logistics surcharge applies to US MCF fees, and holiday peak fees apply from October 15, 2026 to January 14, 2027.
Fit for a one-to-three-person brand: if most of your sales are on your own store, the unbranded default matters if packaging is part of your brand.
Ask before you sign: run your actual products through the fee calculator linked from Amazon's FBA page, and price your own-store orders under MCF separately.
We compare the trade-offs in our Amazon FBA alternative breakdown.
8. Flexport
Flexport's pitch is selling on many platforms from inventory spread across its own warehouses. Its ecommerce fulfillment page says it operates five fulfillment centers itself, near Newark, Atlanta, Chicago, Dallas and Los Angeles, and that 87% of US consumers live within two days of one. It integrates with 50+ platforms, including Shopify, Amazon, Walmart Marketplace and TikTok Shop, offers prep and value-added services from custom labels to retailer-specific packaging, and connects to a Shopify store through the Shopify Fulfillment Network app.
On price, the same page says you pay only for the services you need, and lists no rates. If you remember Deliverr, its old web address now lands on Flexport's site.
Fit for a one-to-three-person brand: if you sell only on your own Shopify store, compare its quote with a single-warehouse 3PL.
Ask before you sign: rates, any minimum, and how your inventory would be split across warehouses at your volume.
9. eFulfillment Service (EFS)
eFulfillment Service is the one provider on this list that states plainly it has no order minimums. Its homepage says it has shipped online orders from Traverse City, Michigan since 2001, with no setup fees, no order minimums and no long-term contracts, and calls itself a fit for sellers "from their first 50 orders a month".
All orders ship from its Traverse City fulfillment center, reaching most US addresses in 2–4 days by USPS, UPS and FedEx. EFS promises a dedicated account manager and 99.9% order accuracy, and says it integrates free with more than 40 shopping carts and marketplaces, including Shopify, Amazon, Etsy and TikTok Shop. Its FAQ splits the cost into monthly storage, per-order pick-and-pack fees and shipping at carrier rates, with exact pricing by quote.
Fit for a one-to-three-person brand: the easiest name here to try at very low volume. Everything ships from one Michigan warehouse, so weigh that ground reach against where your customers are.
Ask before you sign: the per-order fee and storage rate for your typical order.
10. Fulfyld
Fulfyld is one of the few providers on this list that publishes per-order figures. Its pricing page shows "from $7.98+" per order for a 4–12 oz order on standard shipping at 0–250 orders a month, labels its figures as real averages rather than a quote, and includes five picks per order before charging $0.50 per extra item. The same page covers the first 2 hours of receiving during onboarding and states dock-to-stock in 2 days from one warehouse.
Fulfyld's homepage says it is based in the Huntsville, Alabama metro, gives every brand a dedicated account manager, reports 99.9% pick accuracy and ships orders placed by 1PM local warehouse time the same day. Its homepage FAQ says most of its customers ship roughly 500–5,000+ orders a month.
Fit for a one-to-three-person brand: if you ship fewer than that, ask whether they'll take you on; the posted averages make it easy to sanity-check a quote.
Ask before you sign: whether a minimum applies at your volume, and your own rate rather than the average.
We compare the two side by side in Simpl Fulfillment vs Fulfyld.
11. ShipCalm
ShipCalm's minimum depends on which of its pages you read. Its homepage FAQ says there is no minimum order volume but a quarterly minimum fee of $3,000, "essentially $1,000 / month". Its pricing page, which lists itemized per-order, per-item and receiving fees, puts the quarterly minimum fee at "$6,000 / quarter including all costs".
The homepage also says ShipCalm operates fulfillment centers in Southern California and Indiana, plus partner facilities, and that its agreements are month to month with a 90-day notice period. Its service areas page says it works best with brands shipping 500+ orders per month.
Fit for a one-to-three-person brand: either of ShipCalm's quarterly minimums works out to more than Simpl's $750 a month. Get the figure that applies to you in writing before anything else.
Ask before you sign: which quarterly minimum applies to you, and how the 90-day notice period works if you move your inventory out.
12. Shipfusion
Shipfusion is a provider for later. Its homepage says it is built for fast-growing brands shipping 2,000+ orders per month, lists warehouses in Toronto, Chicago, Las Vegas and York, PA with Dallas coming soon, and reports 99.9% pick accuracy. Its pricing page builds a custom quote for every account and says it typically works with brands shipping 2,000+ orders a month. It is also one of the partners on Shopify's fulfillment page.
Fit for a one-to-three-person brand: by Shipfusion's own numbers, it's for once you're past about 2,000 orders a month. It's here so you know where it sits if you're comparing Shopify's partners.
Ask before you sign: whether they'll quote below 2,000 orders a month, and what the quote assumes about your packaging.
Side-by-side: pricing, minimums and fit
Provider | How pricing is published | Minimum or fixed monthly cost | Who it says it's for |
|---|---|---|---|
Simpl Fulfillment | Flat-rate, starting at $7/order (picks, packing, packaging and postage included) | $750/month, pay the difference | Founder-led ecommerce brands |
ShipBob | Custom quote; no amounts on the pricing page | Spending and order-volume minimums; amounts not published | Says you can start at about a thousand orders a month |
ShipMonk | Pick fees set from your monthly order volume | Monthly volume × first-item pick fee, minus 20% | Not stated on the pricing page |
Red Stag Fulfillment | Quote form | Not published | Enterprise and fast-growing brands; big and heavy items |
Shopify Fulfillment Network | Set by the partner you choose | Set by the partner (DHL Fulfillment Network from 3,000 orders/month) | Shopify merchants |
ShipNetwork | Quote form | Not published | Not stated |
Amazon FBA / MCF | Amazon fee schedules; 3.5% surcharge on US MCF fees | Professional selling account, $39.99/month plus selling fees | Amazon sellers; MCF for other channels |
Flexport | Pay for the services you use; no rates on the page | Not published | Sellers on Shopify, Amazon and 50+ platforms |
eFulfillment Service | Quote; storage, pick-and-pack, carrier-rate shipping | No order minimums | Sellers from their first 50 orders a month |
Fulfyld | Published averages, from $7.98+ (4–12 oz, 0–250 orders/month) | Not published; most customers ship 500–5,000+/month | Emerging and scaling brands |
ShipCalm | Itemized fees on its pricing page | $3,000/quarter (FAQ) or $6,000/quarter (pricing page) | Works best at 500+ orders/month |
Shipfusion | Custom quote | Typically 2,000+ orders/month | Brands shipping 2,000+ orders/month |
What to ask any 3PL before you sign
Whichever names make your shortlist, get these answers in writing:
- The monthly minimum in dollars, how it's calculated, and what you pay in a month you fall short.
- A priced sample of your typical order at its real weight, box size and item count. Carriers can bill a large, light box by dimensional weight (a price based on the box's size rather than what it weighs), so the box matters as much as the product.
- Every recurring fee: storage, receiving, extra picks, returns and packaging.
- Who you email when an order goes out wrong, how fast they answer, and who pays to fix it.
- How tracking reaches your customer, and whether shipping emails come from your store or the 3PL.
- What leaving looks like: the notice period, and how your inventory gets back to you.
For the full evaluation process, read how to choose a 3PL. For typical fee structures, see our 3PL fulfillment pricing guide, and for how outsourced fulfillment works from receiving to returns, our ecommerce fulfillment guide for brands.
If flat per-order pricing and a named account manager sound right for you, get a quote from Simpl. Include your monthly order count and typical package weight so the quote shows whether the $750 minimum would affect you.
Frequently asked questions
What are the best fulfillment companies for a scaling DTC brand?
The right one depends on your monthly order count and where you sell. Under a few hundred orders a month, put the minimum first: Simpl's is $750 a month, pay the difference, and eFulfillment Service says it has no order minimums. Some providers say they're built for bigger brands, such as Fulfyld at roughly 500–5,000+ orders a month and Shipfusion at 2,000+. If Amazon is your main channel, FBA is the usual starting point.
What is a good ShipBob alternative for a small DTC brand?
Look for a provider that tells you its minimum up front and gives you a named person to contact. ShipBob's own site says it has monthly spending and order-volume minimums without stating the amounts. Simpl publishes ours: $750 a month, pay the difference, with flat-rate pricing starting at $7/order and a dedicated account manager you reach by email. For more options, see our ShipBob alternatives.
What does DTC fulfillment mean?
DTC (direct-to-consumer) fulfillment is everything between a customer ordering from your own store and the parcel reaching them: storing stock, picking and packing the order, shipping it and handling returns. You can do it yourself or hand it to a 3PL. Our direct-to-consumer fulfillment guide explains it in more depth, and why you should consider a 3PL covers when outsourcing makes sense.
Do 3PLs have monthly minimums?
Several on this list do, and they work differently. Simpl's is $750 a month, billed pay-the-difference: if your orders bill under $750, you pay only the gap, which for light packages on standard shipping is roughly 90–100 orders a month; heavier, larger or faster shipments reach it with fewer orders. ShipMonk calculates its minimum as your monthly volume times your first-item pick fee, minus 20%, and ShipCalm's homepage FAQ states a quarterly minimum fee of $3,000. Ask for the figure in dollars before you sign.
Sources
Simpl Fulfillment wrote this list and is one of the providers on it. Every claim about another company comes from that company's own website, listed here so you can check it yourself.
- ShipBob: homepage, pricing, affordable fulfillment services
- ShipMonk: pricing and FAQ, fulfillment locations
- Red Stag Fulfillment: homepage, locations, service guarantees, get pricing
- Shopify: Shopify Fulfillment Network
- ShipNetwork: homepage, pricing
- Amazon: Fulfillment by Amazon, Multi-Channel Fulfillment
- Flexport: ecommerce fulfillment, homepage
- eFulfillment Service: homepage and FAQ
- Fulfyld: homepage and FAQ, pricing
- ShipCalm: homepage and FAQ, pricing details, service areas
- Shipfusion: homepage, pricing
Updated October 2026.