What is Sendcloud?
In its simplest form, Sendcloud is an online shipping platform. In essence, this means:
- This is a company that offers software to connect your online store to maritime carriers.
- They provide access to tools for tracking, returning, creating labels, picking and packaging.
- Users benefit from discounted shipping rates from major carriers.
But Sendcloud goes even further by providing a solid network of global and regional shipping carriers. For now, Sendcloud is only aimed at Europe; it therefore provides services to online businesses in Europe, and allows fast shipping to Europe and internationally.
In addition to offers from standard shipping providers, Sendcloud offers the following services:
- Reduced shipping rates for global and regional carriers.
- Several shipping methods to offer in your payment module.
- Integrations with main e-commerce platforms.
- The possibility of using multiple carriers.
- Automated label creation.
- Consolidated, easy-to-use shipping software to manage the entire process.
Who is SendCloud for?
SendCloud is designed for e-commerce businesses, those who create Dropshipping and contractors who are not happy with their current shipping capabilities and are trying to streamline and automate their internal procedures.
SendCloud can help you ship your goods regardless of the size of your business or the sector in which your online store operates... as long as you are located in Austria, Belgium, France, France, France, Germany, Germany, Germany, Germany, Germany, Germany, Germany, Italy, Italy, Spain, or the United Kingdom.
But that will certainly change because, based on first-hand information, they want to continue expanding in Europe.
Keep an eye out because your nation could be next!
Features
We've already covered some of Sendcloud's features, but now it's time to explore them further. This section expands on what we've already said, but it also highlights the elements of Sendcloud that make it truly unique.
1. An intuitive and automated shipping workflow
Throughout our review of Sendcloud, we realized that automation is key to the overall functionality of the platform, given that many of the processes that a merchant would usually have to manage manually are automated. You can ship your products in minutes and link your online store so that shipping labels are printed en masse and each order receives recommendations for a carrier, as well as the fastest and cheapest shipping methods.
Users also have the option of setting up shipping rules, which allow specific shipping methods to be assigned, insurance added, or other actions to be incorporated based on things like the customer, shipping destination, shipping destination, package weight, or package value.
Sendcloud continues to automate the process to allow you to print checklists and scannable packing slips in addition to allowing you to print pick lists and packing slips. That way, you can combine picking and effort with label printing and avoid mistakes. How you set up this process is up to you, whether you use barcode readers or simply a computer monitor. Everything is connected to print labels with a simple click or scan.
Other parts of the system that can be automated include:
- Refers to
- Message tracking and code generation
- Selecting the shipping method during checkout
- Scheduled pickups and deposits according to the carrier.
- Automatic generation of customs forms for sending products internationally
Overall, from the direct integration with your e-commerce platform to custom automation rules, everything comes together for a fairly intuitive shipping process, especially for online stores looking to expand or spend more time on business development.
2. Worry-free returns
Ideally, online stores wouldn't have to worry about returns at all. But we know that's not realistic, which is why we love to see shipping platforms and fulfillment networks that process returns for you, or that at least provide a return portal so you don't have to program your own or spend more money on other software.
Sendcloud covers retailers in the area of returns, as it has a comprehensive returns portal that your customers can visit and take the right steps to return products to your warehouse.
You can customize this module and place a link to it on your site, giving customers the option to exchange purchases, return them, get store credit, or request a refund. There are also functions to accept returns in stores or at service points, if you offer this service in your business.
We also noticed in our Sendcloud review that there's an API for building your own return portal with customizable fields and complete control over the process. In addition, the default return portal has a large number of customization tools to add your own brand, specify the types of returns possible, and display a return policy for maximum transparency.
Finally, the Sendcloud return module includes an analytics dashboard to understand your return rates and the methods that people like to use to return to your store. So, returns are fairly automated in Sendcloud, they allow you to personalize them as much as you want, and there are ways to use analytics to improve your return process and prevent them from happening as much in the future.
3. Multiple delivery options
At the time of writing, Sendcloud provides a streamlined checkout experience for the WooCommerce payment plugin, but you can also use the API or link to one of the many other e-commerce platform integrations.
Overall, the checkout customization tool provides options for displaying multiple shipping methods, times, and carriers. It seems to work conditionally, meaning that one customer receives a recommended carrier and shipping method based on their location and order, while another person may see something slightly different.
What is also interesting is that retailers can give customers the option of choosing the delivery date that works best for them. For example, a user might end up on the shipping page and want to choose a date of four days because they won't be in town in the next few days.
The Sendcloud payment portal offers several other features, including delivery options to the pickup point, price selection, and more.
Some of the unique offerings include
- Delivery on the designated day
- Next day delivery
- Optimized delivery for conversion
We also noticed that you can combine shipping methods and carriers in the checkout section so that customers have the best possible option.
4. Brand tracking
All Sendcloud pricing plans receive some kind of brand tracking email to include things like your logo and company colors on all emails that are sent to customers for follow-up purposes.
The email builder has quick design tools to completely customize the look and feel of emails when sent to customers.
You can upload your logo, choose a color, and even insert links to your Instagram page. The Instagram feature actually links back to one of your most recent posts so users can see the type of content you tend to share, which will hopefully make them like that content and follow your brand.
We were extremely impressed with this feature during our review of Sendcloud because not only does it give you an idea of what follow-up emails look like, but it makes those generally boring emails fun for everyone. Your brand stands out, and you can take advantage of unique features like visual tracking status, a banner image, and Instagram posts to engage customers along the way.
The email design process works with a visual builder that allows you to change the email text, upload your images, include pickup information, and even automate your emails to suit multilingual shipments (i.e. emails are automatically adapted to each customer's language).
Besides brand tracking, Sendcloud offers a brand feedback portal, a tracking page on your website, and several other parts of the software that allow you to take ownership of the system.
5. Powerful analytics
Shipping data is useful for a number of reasons: it helps you improve shipping processes, identify trends that can improve the experience, and gives you total control over carriers, shipping methods, and couriers.
Sendcloud displays analytics in an easy to understand format, with visual elements such as graphs, numbers, and timelines. You have access to all of this analytics data in one place, and the dashboard explains what it means.
The overview provides information such as:
- Shipping measures for all your stores
- Trends that correlate with all of your shipments over time
- The carriers you tend to use the most
- How much do you spend on shipping
- The countries to which you ship the most products
These analyses also incorporate returns into the equation, helping retailers understand why they're happening.
- What products are returned the most?
- Reasons customers give for returning items
- How return rates change over time (with a trend chart)
Additionally, Sendcloud offers a CSV export function to develop standard analytics and share this information with other stakeholders. This allows you to really dig into the analytics and compare carriers, determine which stores generate the most orders, and see how long it takes to deliver most of your orders.
6. An API for total control and integrations
While we're mostly happy with the third-party integrations (in the section below), it's always nice to see a shipping provider that offers API access. This opens up a lot of possibilities for retailers who have experience integrating their own systems or who are willing to pay a developer to do so.
Sendcloud allows you to integrate over 35 carriers, but the API allows you to integrate even more. You can even connect to any type of e-commerce platform, while integrating with common business tools such as WMS or ERP software.
Extensive documentation on using the API is available on the Sendcloud website. Interested users simply need to create an account, add the API integration, and start sending requests. And it allows you to integrate just about every part of the Sendcloud system, since they have a shipping API, a service point API, and a return portal API. All of this is customizable to make Sendcloud work perfectly for your business.
7. Over 80 partner carriers
With so many countries to take care of, Sendcloud partners with a wide range of carriers to ensure that businesses can ship their products to a significant part of Europe. Sendcloud's list of carriers seems to be growing regularly, and you can opt for a global carrier like DHL or consider more regional options like Hermes (for the UK) or BRT (for Italy).
We also assume that USPS will end up on this list once Sendcloud finishes growing in the US.
At the time of writing, you can choose from over 35 partner carriers, including:
- Bpost
- BRT
- Budbee
- Correos
- Deutsche Post
- DHL
- FedEx
- GLS
- hermes
- Homerr
- MRW
- Royal Mail
- UPS
- A lot more
Sendcloud also provides a link to request the integration of a new operator if you can't find a preferred operator in their list.
As for carrier rates, Sendcloud has already pre-negotiated rates (see the Pricing section below) with each of its partners. This means that merchants have the option of opting for these pre-established rates or uploading their own shipping contracts to Sendcloud, which should then allow you to get the prices you were able to negotiate yourself. It should be noted that users can also combine their pre-negotiated rates with their shipping contracts.
8. Integrations
We always recommend looking for standard integrations rather than jumping directly into the API, and that's why we were so happy to see over 50 integrations during our Sendcloud review.
To start, you can import and synchronize each order from your e-commerce platform, since Sendcloud integrates with the most popular platforms on the market. These integrations include:
- Wix
- woocommerce
- Shopify
- Bigcommerce
- Magento
- And more
Additionally, there are apps that connect your store to major marketplaces like Amazon, Etsy, and eBay, allowing you to grow your business while continuing to provide shipping services to all customers who shop on these marketplaces.
The list of Sendcloud integrations is quite impressive, with categories like:
- e-commerce platforms
- Enterprise resource planning software
- Warehouse management systems
- Automation software
- Market places
Pricing
Sendcloud pricing depends on your monthly shipping volume, and merchants can pay on a monthly or annual basis; annual plans save you around 10%.
For our Sendcloud review, we looked at annual pricing to see the starting rates for merchants based on monthly shipping volume. Here are the plans:
1. Sendcloud Essential
$0 for retailers who ship less than 100 packages per month.
The free plan gives you access to discounted shipping rates, up to two store integrations, a brand tracking email, manual return labels, and customer support via email and live chat.
This package also includes an analytics dashboard, API access, paid package insurance, paid package insurance, branded shipping labels, branded tracking emails, multi-lingual support, a return portal, a return portal, international returns, and a selector point of service in your payment module.
2. Sendcloud Small Shop
€40 per month for retailers who ship between 100 and 400 packages per month. This plan includes all the features of the previous plan, plus up to 5 store integrations, unlimited brand emails, unlimited brand emails, phone support, a branded return portal, shipping with your own contract, up to 5 automated shipping rules, up to 5 automated shipping rules, carrier pickup, carrier pickup, custom email sending times, and standard delivery via the WooCommerce checkout plugin.
3. Sendcloud Large Shop
€89 per month for shops that ship between 400 and 1,000 packages per month. This plan includes everything in the previous plan, plus unlimited store integrations, priority support, a higher limit for shipping with your own contract, unlimited automation and return rules, Pack & Go scanning and printing, Pack & Go scanning and printing, exportable shipping data, exportable shipping data, printing pick and pack lists, support for bar code readers, promotional banners on the pages of tracking, Instagram feeds on tracking pages, rules of smart returns and standard/same day delivery via the WooCommerce plugin.
4. Sendcloud Business
€179 to €585 per month for retailers who ship more than 1,000 packages per month. This plan includes all the elements of the previous plan, plus an increase in the shipping limit with your own contract, a customer success manager, the removal of the Sendcloud watermark, and the addition of same-day delivery in the WooCommerce plugin.
5. Sendcloud Enterprise
Custom price. You should talk to a sales representative to determine your needs. Features include everything from the previous plan, a cross-border shipping network, access to over 300,000 shipping points, 99.9% availability, carrier bill controls, custom API integration, WMS integration, and ERP integration.
6. Other aspects of Sendcloud pricing to consider
A few other aspects of Sendcloud pricing to consider:
- There's no free trial, but the Free plan works instead. Even big businesses can test Sendcloud with the free plan.
- There are no setup fees to get started with Sendcloud.
- You can upgrade, downgrade, or cancel an account whenever you want.
We mentioned that Sendcloud offers discounted shipping rates through pre-negotiated carrier partnerships. So what can you expect to save with this?
Sendcloud's shipping discounts are structured so that the customers who pay the most get the best deals. For example, Business plan customers get a better discount than Large Shop and Small Shop plan customers. Essential plan users also get discounts, but these are less than those granted to Premium plan users.
Here are some examples of shipping rates (the most expensive rates are for the Essential plan; the cheapest rates are for the Business plan):
- Austria: €3.35 to €3.70.
- Belgium: €4.45 to €5.15.
- France: €4.00 for all plans
- Germany: 3.55 to 3.85 euros
- Spain: €2.57 to €2.96.
- Netherlands: €4.95 to €5.65.
Overall, it seems that Sendcloud's pricing is not only reasonable but also appealing to just about every type of business that sends packages to Europe. You can send packages to customers across most of the continent, take advantage of incredible shipping rates (even on the free plan), and start your shipping journey without paying a monthly fee. Then, the standard packages for small and large online stores do not exceed €100. Rapidly growing businesses can take advantage of the tiered pricing model, and when the time comes, you can upgrade to a business plan.
Customer support
One of the big questions we often get asked about shipping providers is, “What can you expect in terms of customer support?” Shipping is obviously an important part of running an online business, so it makes sense to have someone available if a shipment isn't delivered, if you're having issues with late shipments, or if a customer has questions about the return portal that you're not sure about.
In the previous pricing section of our Sendcloud review, we mentioned that all users of the platform, regardless of the pricing plan, receive some kind of customer support. When it comes to options for contacting and speaking with a real person, Sendcloud offers email and live chat support, even for businesses on the free plan. Then, premium customers get even more support through telephone support, and even a customer success manager if you opt for the Business plan.
Additionally, some plans include “priority” or “premium” technical support, which means you're sent to the front line when you call or email. We also noticed that you can opt for country-specific support if you want to talk to someone who takes care of a particular region.
So, human customer support seems to be fully covered. But what about online resources? The content that many people like to use to do their own research, learn about the platform, or solve their own problems?
Luckily, Sendcloud also does a great job with online resources. The Help Center Knowledge Base is your primary search for answers, with a search bar, popular search recommendations, and a long list of articles categorized for topics such as integrations, finances, and settings.
There's also a feature request page to explore what might happen in the future and to send your own suggestions. On top of that, Sendcloud offers an in-depth documentation center for developers to read API information, integrate third-party software, and exploit every part of the Sendcloud system. Additionally, our Sendcloud review discovered free shipping tools, webinars, webinars, master classes, white papers, e-books, success stories, and a blog full of articles about e-commerce, fulfillment, shipping, and trends.
Alternatives to Sendcloud
Sendcloud is not the only shipping platform for e-commerce, it is even one of the many platforms that exist.
So how does it compare to its competitors on the web? And how do you know which one is best for your business? 🤔
Social proof is a way of knowing which platform is the best, yes, but it also depends on what you need to use the platform for and at what scale, as well as what features are most important to you (and your business).
We looked at four of the other top shipping platforms in relation to Sendcloud. Read on to find out which came out on top.
1. ShippingEasy
First of all, the price. ShippingEasy offers a 30-day free trial (no credit card required). Then, the starting price is $5 per month and can go up to $159 per month. So if you're only looking at the price, ShippingEasy is the best option.
However, this low price has a different kind of cost. ShippingEasy is only connected to 4 different carriers - United States Postal Service, DHL, UPS, and FedEx.
With Sendcloud, you have a lot more transport options.
One point in favor of ShippingEasy is that unlimited workflow automation is offered starting with the cheapest pricing plan, while it's only offered in Sendcloud's more expensive subscription plans.
2. ShipStation
ShipStation also offers a 30-day free trial for anyone who is not sure which platform they want to use. The basic subscription costs $9 per month, and the highest plan costs $159.
Like Sendcloud, it is a partner of several carriers, 57 to be exact, and it integrates with a number of e-commerce platforms and tools.
If you're looking for a shipping platform that also manages inventory, ShipStation is a good fit. However, there is no automation feature and so you have to do everything by hand.
Shipstation is available in Australia, Canada, France, France, France, New Zealand, United Kingdom, and United States.
3. Shippo
Shippo is available to anyone based in the United States, Canada, Canada, Australia, Australia, United Kingdom, Germany, France, and Belgium. International coverage is more important, but Sendcloud has a monopoly in Europe.
Shippo has similar functionality to Sendcloud.
But as you can see from the ratings above, it's just inferior in every way except for “ease of administration.” However, it does have a feature that Sendcloud hasn't added yet, namely address validation.
The ability to automate carrier selection is an important Sendcloud feature that Shippo lacks. The only thing you can automate is label printing. In fact, they base their pricing on that.
Depending on how many labels you want to print, the price can range from $10 to $200 per month — or more if you want a custom plan.
How does Sendcloud work?
You can start using Sendcloud in three easy steps.
- Create your account.
- Connect your store.
- Activate the carrier of your choice.
Does that seem too vague?
Let's say you run your retail store on Shopify.
You will find the Sendcloud plugin on the Shopify marketplace, accessible via the applications section.
Install and activate the app to integrate it with your store.
It may take a few minutes for the request to be processed. Once connected, your Shopify data will automatically be synced to Sendcloud and will take you to the dashboard. From there, you can activate your carrier partner and start setting up your account properly.
I recommend that you check out the Sendcloud Academy for step-by-step guides.
[Remember that your dashboard only shows delivery partners that are active in your region. Additionally, some shipping methods may not be available on a specific paid plan. If you can't find what you're looking for, don't worry, contact sales for details].
Let me walk you through the SoundCloud dashboard to show you how it works.
SendCloud platform demo
Sendcloud allows you to register for free to use its digital platform. The basic account may not provide access to all of its tools, but you can explore all of its basic functions.
Let's dive in!
1. Visit the official Sendcloud website and click on the “Sign up for free” CTA displayed at the top. This will take you to the account creation form.
2. You can sign up with your Google ID or any other professional email. Once you create the account, Sendcloud will ask you what the volume of your shipments is in order to determine the size of your business.
3. This is the main dashboard where you will find your incoming orders and can create labels in bulk. As this is a demo account, there are no visible data feeds. But here, you'll be able to generate shipping orders, print labels, track shipments, and manage cancellations.
Once you start adding data, your packages will appear as below.
4. The dashboard also has a side panel when you click on the settings icon at the top. This panel contains separate sections for general, shipping, return, and tracking settings.
5. The SendCloud generation section includes your account and brand data.
For example, on the print tab, you can define the format of your label and apply personalization, while in the financial tab, you can include your debit card information.
6. The SendCloud Shipping tab takes you to the available carriers. Here, you'll connect the company of your choice, get pre-negotiated rates, and add rules to automate some of the workflows.
7. Once you've shipped the order, you can manage tracking via the last section of SendCloud.
You can add your brand to the tracking page layout to improve the shopping experience for your customers.
These are the sections you'll use frequently for your regular mailings.
Some features, like the return portal, are only available if you sign up for a SendCloud premium subscription, but most sections are available in the free subscription.
I recommend creating your account to explore them further.
If you are interested, click here to sign up for free on SendCloud.
FAQs
What is a shipping software like SendCloud?
Shipping software is a type of software that automates the process of managing and tracking freight transport. Shipping software is used by freight forwarders, third-party logistics service providers, international import-export businesses, and businesses that ship goods through numerous carriers.
What sets SendCloud apart from other tools?
It offers the most complete shipping solution for online stores of all sizes. Whether you're just starting out or are a major e-commerce player, they have a shipping solution that's right for you. The company is constantly innovating and improving its shipping platform to ensure that it is the best it can be. They're constantly working to make their shipping solutions more efficient, more reliable, and easier to use. Their team of shipping experts is always ready to answer your questions and solve your problems. They are there to help you succeed and will do whatever it takes to make your shipping experience the best it can be.
Final Verdict
We're not the only ones who think Sendcloud is worth your money. There are over 23,000 happy customers who are also ready to testify to their effectiveness.
Sendcloud offers shipping optimization in several forms and functionalities, allowing anyone to ship their packaged products in record time.
You don't believe us ? Don't take our word for it and try their free version or their 14-day free trial. You'll quickly see how useful Sendcloud can be.
What are you waiting for? It's time to take your e-commerce store to the next level.
