Comparing Simple Bundles & ShipStation product bundles
While Simple Bundles integrates smoothly with ShipStation, it's important to understand how ShipStation's native product bundles feature differs from Simple Bundles.
When comparing Simple Bundles and ShipStation product bundles, both platforms reference individual products in an order under a bundled product SKU for consolidated processing and shipping. However, there are distinct differences in features offered by each.
This comparison highlights key feature differences between Simple Bundles 2.0 and ShipStation, which could affect your decision depending on your specific needs and workflow requirements.
Note that ShipStation's Product Bundles feature is only available on their Gold plan and above. If you're on a lower ShipStation plan, this feature isn't available to you at all regardless of the comparison below.
| Feature | Simple Bundles 2.0 | ShipStation |
|---|---|---|
| Support for Infinite Options bundles | Yes | No |
| Partial component-based refunds | Yes. Learn how to return, refund and restock items in a bundle | No |
| Support for COGS reports | Yes | No |
| Component weight-based shipping | Yes, since shipping is calculated at checkout. | No, since shipping is calculated after checkout. |
| Bulk upload for adding and editing bundles | Yes | No |
| Allows for bundles within bundles | Yes, up to 10 levels | No |
| Calculation of bundle VAT | Yes, since VAT is calculated based on each item in the bundle at checkout. | No, since VAT is calculated based on the single bundle price at checkout. |
| Itemized packing slips grouped by bundle | Yes, via a custom ShipStation template. See How to itemize bundle contents on ShipStation packing slips | Native, but doesn't reflect Simple Bundles' bundle grouping without the same custom template setup |
How this works alongside ShipStation
Even though Simple Bundles and ShipStation both offer "bundle" concepts, they aren't interchangeable, and you don't need to choose one or the other. Simple Bundles handles the merchandising, pricing, and checkout experience of the bundle (via Cart Transform, which breaks the bundle down into its components before the order is created), while ShipStation receives the resulting order and handles fulfillment. See Using Simple Bundles with ShipStation for the full setup, including how orders appear in ShipStation under both the Cart Transform and Order Editing methods, and the two options for removing the parent bundle line from fulfillment (automatic fulfillment of the bundle SKU, or marking the parent as non-physical).
If you need packing slips that group components under their parent bundle (rather than a flat list of components), this requires a custom ShipStation template using Simple Bundles' hidden line item properties (_sb_bundle_title and _sb_bundle_group ). Full setup steps, including a downloadable base template, are in How to itemize bundle contents on ShipStation packing slips. Note this requires Simple Bundles 2.0 with Cart Transform, and the "Cart Transform bundle line item properties in orders" setting enabled under Advanced Settings.