3PL pricing in the UK: what fulfilment companies charge and how to compare quotes

Most UK 3PL quotes are built from one of these:

• Per order: one fee each time an order is picked, packed and dispatched, sometimes with a small extra per additional unit; simplest to understand and the fairest for small sellers
• Per unit: a fee per item handled at receiving, storage and dispatch; can look cheap per line but adds up fast on multi-item orders
• Monthly plan or minimum: a fixed monthly fee or a minimum monthly spend regardless of volume; common with larger 3PLs and the worst fit for a seller whose volume goes up and down

Figures vary with product size and service level, but for a small seller shipping light items these ranges are realistic in 2026: pick and pack from around 55p to £1.50 per order, storage from a few pence per unit per week or a few pounds per shelf or pallet, and receiving from free to a per-box or per-unit fee. Postage sits on top and is usually the largest single line, which is why "all-in" quotes need unpicking.

The result for a seller doing a few hundred orders a month usually lands between £1.50 and £3 per order including postage, often less than the real cost of doing it yourself once your own hours are counted.

A low pick fee means nothing if the rest of the sheet is padded. Before you compare, find these:

• Setup, onboarding or integration fees charged before a single order ships
• Monthly account, platform or software fees
• Minimum monthly spend, with the difference charged if you fall short
• Packaging charged per order on top of pick and pack
• Postage markup above the carrier rate
• Long-term storage surcharges on slow-moving stock
• Exit fees or notice periods that make leaving expensive

Give every 3PL the same brief: your average order (number of items, size, weight), your monthly order count, how many units you will store, and which channels you sell on. Then ask each to price one typical month, not one order. Work out the all-in cost per shipped order, and ask explicitly what happens in a quiet month and a busy one.

Finally, check what you get for the money: same-day dispatch cut-off, tracking recorded on every order, live stock visibility, returns handling and a named contact. A quote that is 20p cheaper and a day slower will cost you more in reviews and rankings than it saves.

Shiplo quotes per order, itemised, with no setup fee, no monthly fee and no minimum volume. Small inventories are stored free, so storage only appears once you have grown into real warehouse space. Every charge, shipment and remaining unit is visible in your own online login, and quotes come back within one working day.