In this article, I will compare Onro and Shipday, a last mile delivery software company based in Menlo Park, California. You will first see a side by side overview, followed by a deeper look into use cases, pricing, features, and other key differentiators.
Like any business function, last mile delivery can still operate manually or without dedicated software. It will not disappear without automation. However, modern delivery management platforms exist to simplify operations, reduce repetitive tasks, save time, and ultimately improve overall efficiency and customer experience.
The challenge is not whether to use software, but which platform to choose when it comes to managing orders, controlling daily operations, and enhancing service quality.
Onro vs Shipday at a Glance
| Feature | Onro | Shipday |
|---|---|---|
| Best For | SMB courier businesses seeking automation, strong usability, customization, and white label customer experience | SMBs and delivery startups prioritizing affordability and quick setup |
| Free Trial | 14 day trial with full feature access | 14 day trial with feature limitations |
| Route Optimization | Distance and traffic based optimization (not available in trial) | Distance or travel time optimization, circular routes supported, requires minimum 2 orders (available in trial) |
| Dispatch Automation | Automated driver assignment for on demand workflows. | Manual driver assignment via Dispatch interface |
| Dispatch Interface | Unified map view with live drivers, orders, and dispatch controls in one screen | Dispatch and Map separated into tabs; visual map with performance metrics |
| Order Creation Flow | Streamlined order creation workflow | Manual heavy order creation unless integrated; order must be created before dispatch |
| Driver Flexibility | Supports in house and external drivers | Supports in house and third party drivers (third party limited to US, Canada, Australia) |
| White Label | Full white label ecosystem including branded driver app, customer apps, and tracking page | Custom branding options for tracking pages and customer facing elements |
| Analytic Depths | Standard KPI dashboard with overall operational statistics | Comprehensive reporting including sales, driver performance, extended analytics, heat map distribution, refunds, customer data |
| Ease of Use | Unified interface with map based dispatch and order management in one view | Clean but segmented interface requiring tab switching between dispatch and map |
| Customer Facing | Customer mobile apps, customer portal, and branded tracking pages | Order forms and branded tracking links with promotional options |
| Integrations | Extremely broad and infrastructure focused: covers global payment gateways, multi region SMS providers, communication APIs, mapping providers, and e-commerce platforms. Best for courier businesses needing flexibility, scalability, and regional/localization support | Focused, plug and play integrations: connects directly with restaurant POS systems, online ordering platforms, and food marketplaces. Best for restaurants and food delivery startups needing fast setup and minimal configuration |
| Best Strength | All-in-one delivery ecosystem with strong usability and customization | Plug and play setup with extensive integrations and analytics visibility |
| Main Limitation | Advanced analytics and KPI depth are more limited compared to some competitors | Workflow can feel segmented for larger operations. Advanced features and branding options require higher-tier plans |
| Customer Support | Two phase onboarding: platform customization followed by live onboarding sessions; 24/7 support and after sales assistance | Primarily email and phone based support; in-dashboard AI assistant for topic-based guidance |
| Starting Price | Starting at $239/month. | Starting at $39/month with free starter plan (feature-limited) |
Overview
Now we’ll look at core strengths, who are the best audiences for each platform, and their unique angles.
Onro
- Full scale courier and delivery management platform built for SMB to mid sized 3PL operators
- Strong emphasis on automation, ease of use, customization, and white label capabilities
- Supports both on demand and hub based pickup and delivery workflows
- Enables unified order intake, automated dispatching, complex pricing models, and configurable operational workflows
- Broad infrastructure integrations supported by structured onboarding and 24/7 ongoing assistance
- All-in-one platform with a consistent focus on usability and streamlined onboarding
Shipday
- Budget oriented delivery management platform primarily focused on restaurants and food businesses
- Strong POS and marketplace integrations enabling direct order ingestion
- Provides KPI dashboards, reporting tools, and heat map analytics for operational visibility
- Designed for quick setup and structured daily workflows
- Modern interface with segmented tabs and clearly separated modules
- Limited real time customer support channels
- API section includes tutorials and video documentation
- Neat UI, everything is segmented and nothing spills into anything else, does not overwhelm you with features and guides you down a pre defined path, the fragmented access points and different tabs could feel inconvenient and time consuming depending on the business and how their workflow is
Feature Comparison
1. Dispatch and Order Management
Onro
- Orders can be received through a white labeled customer portal, consolidating multiple intake channels
- Integration with Shopify and client websites
- Dedicated customer dashboard for tracking orders, managing payments, viewing invoices, and monitoring deliveries in real time
- Automated dispatch based on custom criteria for on demand orders
- CSV import for bulk order creation
- Advanced filtering for efficient order navigation
- Dedicated pickup and delivery routes for hub based operations to reduce overlap and operational errors
- Multi-stop on demand workflow
- Route optimization based on distance and traffic conditions
- Dispatch dashboard interface displays driver locations, active orders, and driver status on a single map view
- Orders categorized visually by status using color indicators
- Orders cannot be deleted from the list
- Driver notes field available per order
Shipday
- Dispatch, Orders, Drivers, and Routes are segmented into separate tabs
- Orders can be created manually by dispatchers or submitted through branded order forms with multiple format options
- Custom branding available on order forms
- Dispatch interface is primarily text based
- Dispatch dashboard highlights active and late orders, active drivers, average delivery time, and on-time delivery percentage
- Route optimization based on distance and travel time, with support for circular routes
- No dedicated ASAP delivery option in the tested workflow
- Orders organized into Current, Scheduled, Completed, Incomplete, and History tabs
- CSV upload available for bulk orders
- Orders can be deleted from the list
- Delivery instructions can be added per order
- Manual order creation requires full entry of store name, phone number, and credentials, with no map pin selection
2. Driver Apps
Onro
- Drivers can navigate using any map service installed on their device
- Access to order history, transaction history, and earnings statistics
- Visibility into full order value or individual earnings per order
- Drivers can request withdrawals subject to admin approval
- Built-in barcode scanning for pickup, loading, delivery, and proof of pickup/delivery
- Barcode scan shows how many orders remain that should be picked up, and which order belongs to which route, allowing drivers to sort packages in the right order inside their vehicle
- Barcode scanning supports bulk handling and route-based package sorting
- Proof of Pickup (POP) and Proof of Delivery (POD) can be made mandatory by the admin
- Drivers are automatically prompted to upload required POP or POD documentation
Shipday
- Drivers can view assigned orders in list or map view
- Navigation via installed map applications
- Messaging tab for communication with both customers and internal team
- Dedicated performance dashboard showing customer ratings, on-time rate, acceptance rate, completed deliveries, earnings, and online hours, filterable by date
- No built-in withdrawal request feature
- Customers receive notifications when the driver is approaching
- POD can be shared with customers; POP is not automatically sent
- Route optimization available directly within the driver app
- Routes require a minimum of two orders
- Drivers can revert order status to a previous stage
- No automatic POP or POD prompt observed during testing
3. Customer Experience Tools
Onro
- Dedicated customer portal allowing order creation, real time tracking, and access to historical interactions
- Customer applications for Android and iOS that mirror the web portal functionality
- Automated personalized notifications via SMS, email, and webhooks with extensive customization options and flexible trigger configuration
- Automatic invoice generation on a weekly or monthly basis
- Driver and customer feedback system with star ratings and written comments
- White labeled tracking link displaying vehicle and order details
- Multilingual support across all customer-facing components, including customer portal, mobile apps, driver app, and tracking links
Shipday
- Three customizable order creation formats with branding options
- Automated notifications with essential triggers, including driver arrival, tracking link updates, delivery receipts, and delay notifications
- Limited notification customization compared to Onro
- Feedback reminders prompting customers to rate drivers
- Customer ability to update delivery instructions via the tracking link (upgrade required)
- Marketing promotions and offers can be embedded within tracking links
- Feedback system covering both delivery experience and driver performance
- Real time order tracking through a customer-facing tracking link
4. Analytics and Reporting
Onro
- Dedicated reporting sections for Orders, Customers, and Drivers with advanced filtering capabilities
- Detailed performance analysis, including customer-specific and driver-specific order tracking within defined timeframes
- Exportable Excel reports from reporting sections
- Administrative dashboard displaying high level KPIs such as total, successful, and failed orders, along with customer and driver registrations
Shipday
- Comprehensive KPI dashboards covering sales performance, customer spending behavior, driver metrics, refund tracking, and third party fleet performance
- Heat map analytics to identify geographic order distribution and demand patterns
- Reports can be generated based on date range and delivery type
- Strong emphasis on data visibility to support operational scaling and decision making
Use Cases and Learning Curve
Onro
- Designed for small to mid-sized courier and 3PL operators managing on demand, hub based deliveries, or both
- Suitable for businesses seeking full white label capabilities, including customer portals, customer apps, and driver self-registration
- Offers extensive customization across notifications, pricing structures, branding, and operational workflows
- Feature-rich platform, though not all capabilities are required simultaneously
- Learning curve is moderated by a structured onboarding process, where the support team customizes the dashboard and conducts guided online training sessions
Shipday
- Suitable for small to medium delivery businesses, particularly small teams and startups
- Free entry plan allows businesses to begin operations before upgrading based on order volume or driver growth
- Platform is largely pre-configured, enabling faster initial setup
- Well suited for restaurants and new businesses aiming to scale efficiently
- Learning curve is relatively low, with core functionality accessible within a short familiarization period
Price Comparison
Onro
- Free demo available with unlimited features, active for 14 days.
- Pricing starts at $239 per month
- Setup fees apply when white label customization is included
- No feature restrictions within subscribed components
- Does not charge based on number of drivers, customers, and users
- Includes 1,500 deliveries per month, renewed monthly
- Additional deliveries (>1500) incur a small usage based fee
- Unlimited drivers, dispatchers, and orders
- Geofencing available across plans
Shipday
- Free plan available with limited features, supporting up to 10 drivers, 300 orders per month, and one dispatch account
- Paid plans start at $39 per month, increasing feature access and allowing additional dispatch accounts
- Extra deliveries charged at $0.10 per order
- Pricing scales based on order volume, with 1,500 deliveries increasing the $39 plan to $159 per month
- Geofencing available only in the highest-tier plan, starting at $349 per month
- Plan selection depends on required features and delivery volume
Which One to Choose?
Go with Onro if:
- You need full white label capabilities across customer portals, mobile apps, and tracking links
- Your operations involve on-demand, hub-based deliveries, or a combination of both
- You require deep customization in your delivery pricing, notifications, workflows, and branding
- You want unified order intake with automation-heavy dispatching
- Human onboarding, personalized setup, and 24/7 real time support are important to you
- You expect to scale without paying per driver or customer account
- You need broader infrastructure integrations and flexibility for custom integrations
Go with Shipday if:
- You are a restaurant, food business, or small delivery team seeking a budget-friendly entry point
- You prefer a structured, pre-configured platform that works with minimal setup
- Strong KPI dashboards and heat map analytics are a priority
- Your business aligns with Shipday’s existing POS and marketplace integrations
- You want a free starting plan and pricing that scales with usage
- A streamlined interface and guided workflow structure suit your operational style
- Real-time human support is not a critical requirement
Final Thoughts
Shipday is user friendly and requires minimal setup to get started. The interface is clean, with clearly separated tabs and a structured layout. While some may prefer having all tools accessible in one consolidated view, Shipday’s segmented approach keeps workflows organized and focused. Its KPI and reporting system provides strong operational visibility and delivers meaningful business insights.
Onro offers significantly deeper customization, while Shipday prioritizes simplicity. This distinction is not about ease of use, as both platforms are accessible; rather, it reflects different product philosophies. Shipday emphasizes streamlined execution with a focused feature set, whereas Onro provides broader configurability and operational flexibility.
From a user interface perspective, Shipday’s design is straightforward, reducing friction during daily use. Onro centralizes functionality, placing tools and controls within immediate reach. Shipday, in contrast, presents features in a more guided, step-based structure.
Support structures differ notably. Shipday relies primarily on email, phone contact, and an AI responder within the dashboard, without real time human support. Onro provides direct human assistance, structured onboarding sessions, and dashboard customization tailored to each client prior to launch.
Shipday’s analytics capabilities and extensive integrations are key strengths. If a business aligns with their existing integrations, implementation is straightforward. However, if those integrations cannot be utilized, manual order creation may require additional operational effort. Onro’s integrations are broader in scope and supported by customization options, including integration with unique platforms upon request, subject to technical feasibility and potential additional cost.
In terms of white label capabilities, Onro offers greater depth and branding flexibility. Its pricing structure does not increase progressively based on driver or customer count, which can provide cost predictability as operations expand. Shipday’s pricing scales with order volume and feature access, which may increase overall costs as the business grows.
Both platforms present strong value propositions. The choice ultimately depends on operational priorities, required customization, integration needs, support expectations, and budget considerations. While Onro demonstrates strength in flexibility and infrastructure depth, Shipday delivers a streamlined and insight-driven operational model with notable strengths of its own.
