Alternatives
AfterShip is a shipment tracking and post-purchase platform best known for its Shopify integration. It offers branded tracking pages, delivery notifications, and a multi-carrier tracking API.
AfterShip is powerful when you want the whole post-purchase experience — tracking page, notifications, and returns — in a single product.
AfterShip's pricing scales with shipment volume, and the product is built around its full suite. If all you need is clean tracking data for your own status page or notifications, that's a lot of machinery to adopt.
Trace focuses on the tracking API itself: one REST endpoint, normalized events, signed webhooks, and a predictable free tier. You integrate it in minutes and keep full control of the customer experience.
| Dimension | Trace | AfterShip |
|---|---|---|
| Focus | Tracking API only | Post-purchase suite (tracking, notifications, branded pages) |
| Free tier | 1,000 lookups/month | Free plan up to a shipment limit (verify current limits) |
| Pricing model | Flat plans by monthly lookup volume | Scales with shipment volume (verify current plans) |
| Onboarding | Account → API key → curl in under 2 minutes | Account and app/flow setup before tracking |
| Webhooks | HMAC-signed tracking webhooks on every plan | Notifications and webhooks via their platform |
Choose Trace when you want a lightweight tracking API to power your own status page, dashboard, or notifications.
Choose AfterShip when you want the full branded post-purchase suite and are willing to adopt their platform.
Trace has a free tier of 1,000 lookups/month and flat paid plans. AfterShip pricing scales with shipment volume, so the right choice depends on your monthly volume. Compare both against your own shipment count.
Yes. Both return tracking data, but event fields and webhooks differ. Trace normalizes carrier statuses into pending, in_transit, out_for_delivery, delivered, and exception, so you map fields once during migration.
Trace is a tracking API, not a hosted tracking-page builder. If you want a branded page, you build it on Trace's normalized events. If you want it out of the box, AfterShip may be a better fit.
Create an account, generate an API key, and track your first package in under two minutes — no credit card required.