3PL Quote Normalizer vs. ShipBob
ShipBob is one specific 3PL you would sign a fulfillment contract with. This page is a free worksheet for a different moment — you already have a quote in hand, from ShipBob or anyone else, and want to know whether it actually beats doing it in-house.
What each one is for
ShipBob is publicly documented as a third-party logistics provider: a network of fulfillment centers that receives, stores, and ships inventory on a brand's behalf under a signed contract, priced per account after you submit your volume, SKU count, and shipping profile. It is one option among many 3PLs a brand might quote, and its own pricing is not published as a flat rate card -- like most 3PLs, it is quoted per account, so no dollar figure for ShipBob is invented here.
This calculator does not compete with ShipBob for your fulfillment business, and it cannot get you a ShipBob quote. It does the opposite job: once you have a quote -- from ShipBob, from a competing 3PL, or from several you are weighing against each other -- you type its rate-card lines in here: receiving, storage, pick and pack, packaging, shipping, returns and return handling, restocking, fixed fees, and any monthly minimum. The calculator turns those into a comparable monthly total, a true cost per order, and the order volume where that quote's minimum charge or per-order pricing stops beating an in-house estimate you supply. Its dedicated pages cover the fine print a single blended rate usually hides: leftover pallets aging into long-term storage, restocking a return versus letting the customer keep it, paying to kit versus skipping the bundle, and which inbound method is cheaper at your volume -- questions that apply the same way whichever 3PL sent the quote. It runs free in any browser, keeps no account, and uploads nothing you type.
| Question | Where to answer it |
|---|---|
| I have not requested a quote yet and want to know what ShipBob would charge. | ShipBob directly — this calculator has no connection to their pricing and cannot quote you. |
| I have a quote from ShipBob (or another 3PL) and want to know if it beats doing it in-house. | This calculator — free, instant, private, no account. |
| I have quotes from two or more 3PLs, ShipBob included, and want to compare them side by side. | This calculator's multi-quote comparison page. |
| At what order volume does a 3PL's minimum charge stop being the real price driver? | This calculator's volume sensitivity page. |
| Do I need to create an account or sign a contract to check the arithmetic on a quote? | This calculator: no. ShipBob and other 3PLs require a signed contract to actually fulfill orders. |
A brand evaluating fulfillment options typically uses both, in sequence: ShipBob (and usually a few competing 3PLs) to get quotes, then this calculator to normalize each quote into the same comparable numbers before signing anything. This page's own figures are a cost model built from numbers you supply, not a live quote from ShipBob or verification of any contract.
This tool needs no account and no sign-in: it is a static page, the arithmetic runs in your browser, your quote is saved to this browser's local storage only, and once it has loaded it keeps working with the connection off.
Common questions
Should I use this calculator or ShipBob's own quote?
They are not substitutes for each other. ShipBob is a third-party logistics network: a company you would sign a fulfillment contract with, publicly documented as providing warehousing, pick and pack, and shipping across a network of fulfillment centers, priced by requesting a custom quote for your volume and SKUs. This calculator does not provide a quote from ShipBob or any 3PL. It takes a rate-card quote you already have in hand -- from ShipBob, from a competing 3PL, or from several you are comparing -- and turns it into a comparable monthly total, a true cost per order, and the order volume where that quote stops being cheaper than doing it in-house. Someone who already has a ShipBob quote, or one from any other 3PL, and wants to check it against in-house costs or against a competing bid is in the right place here; someone who does not yet have a quote needs to request one from ShipBob or another 3PL first.
Does this calculator get pricing from ShipBob?
No. It has no connection to ShipBob, requests no data from them, and does not know ShipBob's rates. ShipBob, like most 3PLs, quotes custom rates per account rather than publishing a price list, so this page states no dollar figure for ShipBob. You type in the rate-card lines from a quote you already received -- receiving, storage, pick and pack, packaging, shipping, returns, fixed fees, and any monthly minimum -- from ShipBob or any other 3PL, and the calculator does the arithmetic.
Is this page affiliated with ShipBob?
No. This site is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by ShipBob, Inc. ShipBob is a trademark of its owner, named here only to describe what this calculator is and is not.
Open the 3PL Quote Normalizer to check your own quote, or the negotiation brief once you have it.