The short version: Shippo is a strong choice if you ship from the United States and want to rate-shop across many carriers from one API or dashboard. TradeWind is the better fit if your parcels start in the UK and go to American buyers — we sell UPS Worldwide Economy DDP from £12.80 with US import duty paid at checkout, no subscription and no contract. They overlap less than the search results suggest: one is a US-origin label platform, the other is a UK→USA duty-paid specialist.
What Shippo is, plainly
Shippo is a US-headquartered multi-carrier shipping API and label platform. Its core job is to let a seller compare rates across a panel of carriers and print labels in volume, either through a web dashboard or an API plugged into their own systems. It is well regarded for that, and the carrier discounts and account model are oriented around senders based in the United States. If you run a US warehouse or fulfil from a US address, that breadth is genuinely useful.
What it is not is a UK→USA duty-paid reseller. Shippo gives you the plumbing to print labels and compare carriers; it does not exist to take a parcel from a UK seller, settle the US import duty up front, and hand it to an American buyer with nothing to pay at the door. That is the specific job TradeWind was built for.
Structural comparison
We have deliberately kept this to stable, structural facts rather than prices or feature minutiae that go stale. Shippo's rates and plan details change — check their current pricing on their own site before deciding.
| Dimension | TradeWind | Shippo |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | UK→USA DDP label specialist | US-based multi-carrier shipping API / label platform |
| Built primarily for | UK sellers shipping to American buyers | US-based senders shipping domestically and outbound |
| Pricing model | Per-label house rates, no subscription required | Platform plan + carrier rates (check their site) |
| UK→USA DDP support | Yes — duty pre-paid at checkout | Depends on the carrier/service you connect |
| Carrier breadth | Focused (UPS WWE DDP, Royal Mail PDDP) | Wide multi-carrier panel |
| Contract / commitment | None — guest checkout, pay per label | Account-based platform |
| Support model | UK-based, run by working sellers | US-based platform support |
Where TradeWind fits better
If your parcels physically leave the UK and arrive with American buyers, the things that matter most are the things TradeWind is built around:
- UK origin, US destination — that exact lane. We resell UPS Worldwide Economy DDP and Royal Mail PDDP from UK postcodes, with no carrier contract of your own required.
- Duty settled before the parcel leaves. Since the US ended its $800 de minimis threshold, every UK parcel attracts import duty. We calculate it from your HS code and declared value and pre-pay it at checkout, so your buyer in Denver or Dallas pays nothing on delivery.
- No subscription, no minimum. Pay per label. Guest checkout works from the first parcel — no account needed to buy.
- UK-based, seller-run support. We ship our own Etsy orders through this every morning. When you email us, you reach people who have packed the same parcels.
Our side of the price story
TradeWind's published rate card, UK→USA, with US import duty added pre-paid at checkout on top:
| Weight | UPS Worldwide Economy DDP (TradeWind) | Royal Mail PDDP |
|---|---|---|
| Up to 1kg | £12.80 | £19 |
| 1–2kg | £15.50 | £24 |
| 2–5kg | £27 | — (over 2kg cap) |
| 5–10kg | £41 | — (over 2kg cap) |
| 10–20kg | £71 | — (over 2kg cap) |
| 20–30kg | £101 | — (over 2kg cap) |
Label prices. US import duty is calculated from your HS code and declared value and added — pre-paid — at checkout, so your buyer pays nothing on delivery. Live quotes show the full landed figure before you pay.
For a precise figure including the duty on your specific product, run your parcel through the live quote on the homepage or read our full cheapest UK to USA shipping breakdown.
When Shippo is the better choice
We would be misleading you to pretend Shippo is never the answer. It is genuinely the better tool when:
- You ship from inside the United States. US-domestic and US-outbound shipping is what Shippo's carrier discounts and account model are built around. TradeWind does not serve that.
- You want a wide multi-carrier rate-shop. If your job is to compare a broad panel of carriers on every order and pick the cheapest, Shippo's breadth beats our focused service set.
- You need a shipping API to embed in your own software. Shippo's developer-facing API is a core part of its product. TradeWind is a destination platform, not an embeddable API.
- You already operate a US fulfilment base. If your stock sits in a US warehouse, you want a US-origin label platform, not a UK→USA DDP reseller.
The honest summary
These two tools rarely compete for the same parcel. Shippo is for US-origin shipping at breadth; TradeWind is for UK→USA shipping with duty paid. If most of your volume starts in the UK and ends with American buyers, TradeWind is the more direct fit — one lane, duty pre-paid, no subscription. If you fulfil from the US or want a multi-carrier API, Shippo is the right call. Plenty of sellers use a US-origin platform for their US stock and TradeWind for the parcels that ship from home.
Quote a UK → USA parcel
No account, no subscription. See the UPS Worldwide Economy DDP price with the duty line included, in about 30 seconds.
Frequently asked questions
Can UK sellers use Shippo to ship from the UK to the USA?
Shippo is built primarily around US-domestic and US-outbound shipping, with carrier accounts and discounted rates oriented to senders based in the United States. A UK seller would typically need to bring their own carrier contracts to get UK-origin labels, rather than buying TradeWind-style house rates with US duty already settled. If your parcels physically originate in the UK and go to American buyers, a UK-based DDP specialist is the more direct fit. Check Shippo's current coverage and pricing on their site for the latest position.
Does Shippo pre-pay US import duty like TradeWind does?
TradeWind sells Delivered Duty Paid services (UPS Worldwide Economy DDP and Royal Mail PDDP) where the US import duty is calculated from your HS code and declared value and paid at checkout, so your American buyer pays nothing at the door. Shippo is a label and rate-shopping platform rather than a UK→US DDP reseller, so duty handling depends on the carrier and service you connect. Confirm the duty terms on whichever service you use.
What is the difference between TradeWind and Shippo?
Shippo is a multi-carrier shipping API and label platform headquartered in the US, used by sellers to compare carrier rates and print labels at scale, primarily for US-origin parcels. TradeWind is a UK-based platform built around a single lane — UK to the 48 contiguous US states plus DC — reselling UPS Worldwide Economy DDP with duty pre-paid, no subscription, and guest checkout. Shippo covers more breadth; TradeWind goes deeper on the UK→USA lane.
Related comparisons
This comparison describes the stable, structural shape of each product as of June 2026 and is provided for general guidance. We deliberately quote no Shippo prices or plan figures — those change; check Shippo's own site for current pricing. TradeWind is not affiliated with Shippo. "Shippo" is the trade mark of its respective owner.