Shopify Shipping Labels: How To Buy, Print, and Manage Them (2026)

Shopify shipping labels are the carrier labels you buy and print inside your admin to get each order out the door. Getting them fast, cheap, and accurate is what keeps fulfillment from becoming the bottleneck as your store grows. Below, you’ll go from a fresh order to a printed label: how to buy and print one with specific requirements for each carrier, learn how to pick the right label printer, and fix the common errors that slow sellers down.

I’m Charlie Ngo, an ecommerce expert at BOGOS with 11 years of helping Shopify merchants increase sales, lift average order value, and tighten conversion rates. I have watched a lot of stores lose time and money on labels, so this guide keeps you on the fast, correct path.

TL;DR

• You can buy Shopify shipping labels from Create shipping label in your Shopify admin, with up to 250 labels purchased at once and 100 printed per batch.
• For printing, a 4 × 6 direct thermal printer works best. Models from DYMO, Rollo, Zebra, Brother, and Bixolon print carrier-ready labels without ink or toner.
• Shopify suggests a free Shopify shipping label template without a carrier account or tracking barcode. 
• You can’t edit a purchased label. To fix a wrong weight, address, or service, void it and buy a corrected one. 
• A shipping label is voidable only within 30 days of purchase and only if it has no tracking events yet.

1. What does a Shopify shipping label mean

A Shopify shipping label is a carrier-generated label with the sender and recipient address, a tracking barcode, and the service used, that you buy and print directly inside your Shopify admin at a discounted rate. Labels are tied to an order, so you cannot print one without an order to fulfill.

To buy a label, you need three things: an eligible fulfillment location, an order to ship, and a printer (a regular desktop printer or a supported label printer). If you set up your store recently and have not configured your locations yet, do that first in our guide to setting up shipping and fulfillment locations.

What you pay and how you are billed

You are not billed for each label at print time. Instead, label costs go to the card on file for your Shopify account, at rates discounted by your plan. Shopify advertises savings of up to 88% off retail with USPS, according to Shopify’s shipping carriers page. You can calculate the rate before you buy, so there are no surprises.

The carriers you can use depend on where you ship from. Here is what Shopify Shipping supports and how far the discounts go.

Your Shopify Shipping discount depends on your plan, with higher plans generally unlocking better carrier rates. Shopify Shipping is available in the US, Canada, the UK, Australia, and selected EU countries, including France, Germany, Spain, and Italy.

If Shopify Shipping is not available in your region, or you do not have a carrier account, you can still create a basic label with Shopify’s free label template generator or use a third-party shipping label app. 

2. How To Buy and Print a Shipping Label on Shopify

From your Shopify admin, go to Orders, open the order you want to ship, and click Create shipping label. Confirm the shipping address and package weight, choose a carrier and service, then click Buy shipping label. Once it is purchased, click Print label, pick your printer and paper size, and print.

That is the whole loop. Here it is step by step.

Step 1: Buy the label

1. Go to Orders and click the unfulfilled order you want to ship.
2. Click Create shipping label. If you fulfill from more than one location, pick the location first.
3. Verify the shipping address and enter the package weight. Weight drives the price, so weigh the packed parcel.
4. Choose from your preferred carriers, or click All to see every eligible service.
5. Click Buy shipping label.

Step 2: Print your labels, one or in bulk

Printing works one of two ways, depending on how many orders you are shipping. Pick the option that fits.

#1. Option A: Print a single label

1. Click Print label, then choose the printer and a paper size that matches it: 4×6 on a thermal printer, or Letter and A4 on a desktop printer. Then print. 
2. You can also print from your phone. The Shopify app for iOS and Android buys and prints from Print shipping label inside the order, so pair a wireless printer first. 

#2. Option B: Print multiple labels in bulk

1. To ship a stack of orders at once, go to Orders, tick the checkbox next to each order, and click Create shipping labels. 
2. You can buy and print up to 250 labels at the same time.
3. To print labels you already bought, go to Orders → Shipping labels, select them, and click Print documents, up to 100 at a time.

Three things make bulk label purchases faster:

• Start from the right place: select orders directly from the Orders page, go to Orders → Shipping labels, and click Buy labels for [x] orders, or choose a batch by purchase date.
• Group similar orders: use Group by to organize orders with the same product or item quantity, so similar packages can be processed together.
• Save package weight in advance: add the weight to the product details, then apply it across labels that contain the same product instead of entering it one order at a time.

Keep two bulk limits in mind. The Shipping labels page shows up to 100 orders per page, so larger batches need to be processed page by page. A red critical error blocks the label purchase, while a yellow warning does not. Fix or remove any label with a red error before continuing.

If one order needs multiple packages, add them inside Create shipping label. If you need to create a separate replacement label for the same order, you may need to void the original first and buy a new one, or use the carrier’s own shipping tools.

Step 3: Manage Shopify shipping labels 

After purchasing a label, manage it from Orders → Shipping labels. From there, you can reprint labels, void unused ones, create return labels, and handle customs documents for international shipments.

• Void and refund: if you no longer need a label, void it to receive the postage back as a Shopify shipping credit. The label must be less than 30 days old and have no tracking events.
• Reprint labels: each label shows a Printed or Not printed status. You can reprint individual labels or print them again in bulk without buying new postage.
• Create return labels: if you accept returns, you can create and send return labels directly from Shopify admin. For the full workflow, see our guides to Shopify returns and self-serve return labels.
• Handle international shipments: cross-border orders require accurate HS codes and item descriptions. When needed, Shopify generates customs forms such as CN22 or CN23, while supported carriers such as DHL can also offer DDP labels with duties prepaid.

One important distinction: voiding a label returns unused postage to your account. It does not refund the shipping charge your customer paid at checkout. That requires a separate shipping refund from the order.

3. How to pick the right printer for shipping labels

A 4 × 6 direct thermal printer is the best choice for regular shipping. It prints the standard label size carriers expect and does not need ink or toner. You can still start with a regular desktop printer and Letter-size paper, but a thermal printer becomes more practical as your shipping volume grows.

The main choice is direct thermal vs. thermal transfer. For Shopify shipping labels, direct thermal is the better option because it uses heat-sensitive paper with no ink or ribbon, making it ideal for labels that only need to last through delivery. 

The table below compares the most common label printers recommended by Shopify, so you can quickly see which option fits your needs.

Match the printer to your shipping volume:

• Under 50 orders a day: a standard desktop thermal printer is usually enough.
• 50 to 300 orders a day: prioritize faster print speeds to keep fulfillment moving.
• Over 300 orders a day: choose a continuous-run model built for high-volume, all-day printing.

Connectivity matters too. USB keeps the printer tied to one workstation, while Wi-Fi or Bluetooth gives your team more flexibility to print from different devices. Finally, check the ongoing cost of label stock. Printers that require proprietary rolls can cost more over time, while models that support generic labels usually keep recurring costs lower.

4. Shopify shipping label templates: what you can and can’t customize

Shopify shipping label template” can mean two different things:

Option 1: Shopify’s free label generator

Use Shopify’s free shipping label template if you are shipping manually or do not have a carrier account. It creates a printable label with the sender, recipient, and package details. However, there is no tracking barcode because the label is not connected to a purchased carrier service.

Option 2: A carrier label bought through Shopify

If you buy a real shipping label in Shopify, customization is limited. The carrier controls the barcode, layout, fonts, and branding.

So if you want more branding control, focus on the packing slip, not the carrier label. You can customize the packing slip template or use Shopify’s Order Printer app for more control over the logo and layout.

5. When to use a Shopify shipping label app 

Stick with Shopify’s built-in shipping labels if they cover your location, carriers, and fulfillment setup. They are usually the cheapest and simplest option. Turn to a third-party shipping app only when there is a clear gap, which is commonly known as below:

• If Shopify Shipping is not available for your location, or your orders are fulfilled by an app-based service, an app fills the gap.
• You need a carrier Shopify does not support, or you want to bring your own negotiated carrier rates.
• You need more automation when order volume grows. So, features such as bulk workflows, return portals, and multi-channel syncing are necessary.

There are some popular options, including ShipStation, Shippo, Sendcloud, and PluginHive Multi-Carrier. Choose the one that solves your specific shipping gap, rather than the one with the longest feature list.

6. Make every order you ship worth more

You pay to ship every order, so one of the smartest ways to improve your shipping economics is to increase the value of the order you are already sending, rather than simply chasing cheaper labels that may come with slower delivery or service trade-offs.

A free-shipping threshold can turn that goal into a reason for shoppers to spend more. Shipping cost is a major checkout barrier, with 40% of US online shoppers reporting that they have abandoned a cart because of shipping fees. Set the threshold 20-30% higher than your usual store AOV, and shoppers have a clear incentive to add more. 

With BOGOS: Free Gift Bundle Upsell, you can set free shipping as a gift once shoppers reach a specific spending threshold. The offer can run storewide or target specific products, collections, or vendors. The BOGOS app can also display that goal through a live cart drawer Progress Bar or Announcement Bar, showing shoppers how much they need to spend to unlock the gift visually. Instead of simply absorbing the shipping cost, you utilize this shipping strategy to nudge a larger order and then make every label you buy worth more.

Conclusion

Shipping labels feel intimidating for about one order, and then they become muscle memory. Buy inside the admin, weigh the parcel honestly, print on 4×6 thermal, and lean on bulk actions the moment you are shipping more than a handful a day. That is the difference between fulfillment that drains your evening and fulfillment that takes ten minutes.

Get the workflow tight first. Then make shipping work in your favor, so the box you send out also brings the next order back.

FAQs