ShipBob vs eFulfillment Service
Quick answer
Pick eFulfillment Service (EFS) if you're a startup or small-to-mid seller that wants no order minimums, no setup fees and no long-term contract, and one US warehouse (Traverse City, Michigan) is enough. Pick ShipBob if you need several US regions or international sites (50+ centers, its claim), faster delivery to both coasts, or a larger integration and channel set. Neither publishes per-order rates; EFS keeps its pricing behind a quote.
Key takeaways
- EFS states no order minimums, no setup fees and no long-term contracts; ShipBob's pricing page states no minimum but lists implementation as a fee category.
- EFS runs one 200,000 sq ft warehouse in Traverse City, Michigan; ShipBob claims 50+ centers in six countries.
- EFS publishes a 1pm ET same-day cutoff; ShipBob doesn't publish a cutoff.
- Both list FBA prep, retail/B2B fulfillment, kitting and returns.
- Trustpilot (Sept 2026): ShipBob 4.0 (1,083 reviews); EFS 3.2 (7 reviews).
ShipBob at a glance
| Headquarters | Chicago, IL |
|---|---|
| Warehouses | Chicago metro (Aurora, Bolingbrook, Elwood, St. Charles, Yorkville), IL · Kenosha / Twin Lakes, WI · Dayton / Budd Lake / Jackson / Trenton, NJ · Bethlehem / Wind Gap / Levittown / Reading, PA · Atlanta metro (Duluth, Buford, Fairburn, Conyers), GA · Chattanooga, TN · Dallas-Fort Worth metro, TX · Inland Empire / Carson / Rancho Dominguez, CA · Reno / Las Vegas, NV · Phoenix, AZ · Toronto area / Vancouver, Canada · Manchester / Birmingham / Kettering / Oxford, United Kingdom · Netherlands · Spain · Sydney / Melbourne, Australia |
| Specialties | DTC, B2B / wholesale, Retail EDI, Amazon FBA prep, TikTok Shop, International, Kitting, Returns |
| Integrations | shopify, amazon, bigcommerce, TikTok Shop, netsuite, sps commerce, klaviyo, gorgias, aftership, loop returns |
| Order minimum | Not stated on pricing page |
| Published pricing | Quote only |
| Contract | Not published |
Sources: shipbob.com, shipbob.com, shipbob.com (checked 2026-09-27)
eFulfillment Service (EFS) at a glance
| Headquarters | Traverse City, MI |
|---|---|
| Warehouses | Traverse City, MI |
| Specialties | DTC, Amazon FBA prep, Retail EDI, Kitting, Returns |
| Integrations | shopify, amazon, walmart, ebay, etsy, TikTok Shop, woocommerce, bigcommerce |
| Order minimum | 'No Minimum Order Requirements' (homepage) |
| Published pricing | Quote only |
| Contract | No long-term contracts |
Sources: efulfillmentservice.com, efulfillmentservice.com (checked 2026-09-27)
Is ShipBob or eFulfillment Service better for my brand?
| ShipBob | eFulfillment Service | |
|---|---|---|
| HQ / founded | Chicago, IL / 2014 | Traverse City, MI / 2001 |
| Warehouses | 50+ (claim) in US, CA, UK, NL, ES, AU | 1 (Traverse City, MI; 200,000 sq ft) |
| Pricing | Custom quote | Quote (storage + pick/pack + carrier rates) |
| Setup fee | Implementation is a standard fee category | None stated |
| Minimum | Not stated | None ("no order minimums") |
| Contract | Not published | No long-term contracts |
| Same-day cutoff | Not published | 1pm ET |
| FBA prep | Yes | Yes |
| Retail / B2B | Yes (SPS Commerce EDI) | Yes |
| Integrations | Shopify, Amazon, BigCommerce, TikTok Shop, NetSuite, Klaviyo, Gorgias and more | 40+ carts and marketplaces incl. Shopify, Amazon, Walmart, eBay, Etsy, TikTok Shop |
| Stated accuracy | 99.97% (claim) | 99.9% (claim) |
| Trustpilot (Sept 2026) | 4.0 (1,083 reviews) | 3.2 (7 reviews) |
Verdict: EFS for small brands that want low commitment and a single, long-running warehouse; ShipBob for brands that need multi-node delivery speed or international fulfillment.
Also consider: for US consumables brands (CPG, food, beverage, supplements, beauty, pet), our Editor's pick is Tondo Fulfillment: in our experience comparing 3PL quotes, its shipping rates were the lowest we were offered. It runs two US warehouses (Delaware and Utah), so it isn't a fit for international or heavy-item needs.
Where does ShipBob win?
- Network: 50+ centers by its count across many US metros plus Canada, the UK, the Netherlands, Spain and Australia. From a single Michigan warehouse, EFS orders to the West Coast travel more zones.
- International sites: ShipBob fulfills locally in several countries; EFS lists international shipping support from the US.
- DTC tooling: integrations with Klaviyo, Gorgias, AfterShip and Loop Returns, plus NetSuite and SPS Commerce.
- Software: ShipBob builds its own WMS and sells it standalone.
- Review sample: a 4.0 Trustpilot score on over a thousand reviews.
Where does eFulfillment Service win?
- Commitment: no order minimums, no setup fees and no long-term contracts, stated on its homepage.
- Published cutoff: orders received by 1pm ET ship the same day; others within one business day.
- Track record: operating since 2001, per its homepage.
- Simplicity: one warehouse means no decisions about splitting inventory, and one receiving location.
- Marketplace coverage: free integration with 40+ carts and marketplaces, including Walmart, eBay and Etsy, which ShipBob's integration list in our dataset doesn't name.
What's the difference between ShipBob and eFulfillment Service pricing?
Neither publishes per-order rates.
- eFulfillment Service: a three-part structure of monthly storage, per-order pick-and-pack fees and carrier shipping rates, with discounted USPS, UPS and FedEx rates. No setup or integration fees. Pricing scales with volume and is quoted on request; its pricing page sits behind a login.
- ShipBob: implementation, receiving, storage and pick/pack/ship are standard fee categories; standard packaging and software are included; kitting, B2B/EDI orders, custom packaging and returns cost extra.
For a Shopify brand at about 3,000 orders a month, the real question is shipping cost by zone. Ask both to price the same 100 recent orders with actual weights and destinations. EFS's single location may cost more to ship to distant zones; ShipBob's multi-node placement can lower zones but adds receiving across sites.
How do their reputations compare?
As of September 2026:
- ShipBob: 4.0 on Trustpilot (1,083 reviews). Praise: support and onboarding. Complaints: fulfillment errors, slow responses at peak and shipping costs.
- eFulfillment Service: 3.2 on Trustpilot from 7 reviews. Positive reviews mention reliability, flexibility, fair pricing and responsive service; critical reviews cite billing errors, slow communication and oversized packaging that raised shipping costs.
Seven reviews is too few to judge. Ask EFS for references in your category. See the ShipBob review and eFulfillment Service review.
Frequently asked questions
Does eFulfillment Service have a minimum?
No. EFS states no order minimums, no setup fees and no long-term contracts.
Where is eFulfillment Service located?
Traverse City, Michigan, where it runs a single 200,000 sq ft fulfillment center. It has operated since 2001.
Is eFulfillment Service cheaper than ShipBob?
Neither publishes rates. EFS has no setup fee or minimum, which helps at low volume; shipping cost from one Michigan warehouse versus ShipBob's multi-node network usually decides the total.
Does eFulfillment Service do Amazon FBA prep?
Yes, FBA prep is among its listed services, as it is for ShipBob.
What is eFulfillment Service's cutoff time?
Orders received by 1pm ET ship the same day, per its homepage.