Softwr

ERP · head to head

Epicor vs Shipwell

Epicor logo

Epicor

ERP

A portfolio of separately acquired ERP products, not one system

From
$750/month
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Shipwell logo

Shipwell

Logistics

Cloud transportation management with a built-in carrier network, sold on freight volume not seats

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: Epicor epicor is a portfolio of separately acquired products rather than one system, so reviews, references and analyst coverage about Epicor as a brand can be misleading about the specific product you are being sold.; Shipwell pricing is not published and is set on freight volume, so the cost rises through a peak season regardless of how much anyone uses the software.
  • They diverge on capability: Epicor covers Kinetic, Shipwell covers Rate shopping.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Epicor and Shipwell actually diverge.

Attributes where Epicor and Shipwell differ
AttributeEpicorShipwell
Starting price$750/monthOn request
Pricing modelsubscriptionquote
PlatformsCloud, On-premise, HybridWeb, iOS, Android, API
CategoryERPLogistics
Founded1972Unknown

Identical on both: free tier (No), user rating (Not yet rated).

What each one covers

Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.

Only in Epicor

  • Kinetic
  • Prophet 21
  • Eclipse
  • BisTrack
  • Cloud deployment
  • Extensibility tooling
  • Manufacturing execution
  • Industry compliance

Only in Shipwell

  • Rate shopping
  • Automated tendering
  • Real-time tracking
  • Freight audit and pay
  • Carrier network
  • Analytics

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

Epicor

  • A discrete manufacturer moving off spreadsheets and an accounting package onto a system that models routings and job costsnot Shipwell
  • A wholesale distributor whose pricing, rebate and purchasing rules exceed what a general ERP handles without customisationnot Shipwell
  • An electrical or plumbing distributor needing counter sales and trade-specific workflow out of the boxnot Shipwell
  • A building materials dealer needing yard operations, delivery scheduling and configured product ordering in one systemnot Shipwell

Shipwell

  • A mid-market shipper running truckload tenders on spreadsheets and emailnot Epicor
  • A broker replacing a legacy operating system without building one in-housenot Epicor
  • A manufacturer that needs proof of delivery and exception alerts pushed into its ERPnot Epicor
  • A logistics team that wants freight audit to catch accessorial overbilling automaticallynot Epicor

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

Epicor

  • Epicor is a portfolio of separately acquired products rather than one system, so reviews, references and analyst coverage about Epicor as a brand can be misleading about the specific product you are being sold.
  • The products are highly customisable and are routinely customised, and heavily customised installations become expensive to upgrade, which is why long-standing customers frequently run versions several releases behind current.
  • Cloud delivery is single-tenant hosting rather than multi-tenant SaaS, so you still own an upgrade decision and the regression testing that comes with it, and buyers who expected the SaaS model of no upgrades are surprised.
  • Sales and delivery run through a mix of direct staff and partners depending on product and region, so accountability for a failed implementation can be genuinely ambiguous unless it is fixed in the contract before signature.
  • The strongest coverage is in North American manufacturing and distribution, so an international group needing statutory compliance and local support across many countries has to test that coverage carefully rather than assume it.

Shipwell

  • Pricing is not published and is set on freight volume, so the cost rises through a peak season regardless of how much anyone uses the software.
  • Shipwell operates a carrier network as well as the TMS, so the vendor running your tender is also a bidder in it, which weakens the neutrality a competitive sourcing process depends on.
  • Coverage is heavily North American, and international ocean, air and customs handling is thin compared with a forwarder-grade platform.
  • ERP and WMS integrations turn deployment into a project with its own cost and timeline rather than a configuration exercise.
  • The company is small relative to the enterprise TMS incumbents, which matters for a system that sits in the path of every shipment if support or roadmap continuity slips.

Pricing, plan by plan

Epicor

$750/month
  • Starter$750/month
    • Core ERP
    • Manufacturing
    • Financial management
  • Professional$1500/month
    • Advanced ERP
    • Advanced CRM
    • Analytics

Shipwell

On request
  • Shipwell TMS$undefined/year
    • Annual contract priced on freight volume
    • Rate shopping, tendering and tracking
    • Freight audit and payment

Which should you pick?

Choose Epicor if

  • You need kinetic.
  • You work on Cloud, On-premise, Hybrid.
  • You also want prophet 21.
Epicor review

Choose Shipwell if

  • You need rate shopping.
  • You work on Web, iOS, Android, API.
  • You also want automated tendering.
Shipwell review

Questions people ask

Is Epicor or Shipwell better?
Neither clearly leads. Epicor starts at $750/month and Shipwell at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Epicor or Shipwell?
Epicor starts at $750/month and Shipwell at On request.
Does Epicor or Shipwell run on more platforms?
Epicor runs on Cloud, On-premise, Hybrid. Shipwell runs on Web, iOS, Android, API.
What is Epicor best used for?
Epicor is most often used for a discrete manufacturer moving off spreadsheets and an accounting package onto a system that models routings and job costs, a wholesale distributor whose pricing, rebate and purchasing rules exceed what a general erp handles without customisation, an electrical or plumbing distributor needing counter sales and trade-specific workflow out of the box, a building materials dealer needing yard operations, delivery scheduling and configured product ordering in one system. Of those, a discrete manufacturer moving off spreadsheets and an accounting package onto a system that models routings and job costs and a wholesale distributor whose pricing, rebate and purchasing rules exceed what a general erp handles without customisation are not what Shipwell is typically brought in for.
What can Epicor do that Shipwell cannot?
Epicor covers Kinetic, Prophet 21, Eclipse, BisTrack. Shipwell covers Rate shopping, Automated tendering, Real-time tracking, Freight audit and pay.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Epicor: Which Epicor product am I actually being sold?

Ask explicitly, by name. Kinetic, Prophet 21, Eclipse and BisTrack are different systems with different roadmaps. Then ask for references on that specific product, in your industry, at your size.

Shipwell: How much does Shipwell cost?

It is not published. Contracts are annual and priced on freight volume; third-party listings suggest entry engagements around $1,000 a month, which should be treated as indicative only.

Epicor: Is Epicor Kinetic a true SaaS product?

It is delivered as a hosted single-tenant service on Azure. You get vendor-managed infrastructure, but you do not get the multi-tenant model where the vendor upgrades everyone at once and no upgrade project exists.

Shipwell: Does Shipwell broker freight as well as sell software?

Yes. It operates its own carrier network alongside the TMS, which speeds up sourcing but means the platform provider also competes for your loads.

Epicor: How much should I customise?

Less than you will want to. Every modification is something to retest and potentially rework at each upgrade, and the accumulation of them is the main reason customers get stranded on old versions. Push hard on whether a requirement is genuinely a differentiator before building for it.

Shipwell: Is it suitable for international freight?

It is built around North American truckload and LTL. International ocean and air handling is limited.

Epicor: Direct or partner implementation?

Both exist. The partner's track record on your product and industry matters more than the vendor's, so ask who will staff the project, request their references, and put named staff into the statement of work.

Shipwell: Is there a free trial?

No. Deployment involves configuration and integration work, so evaluation happens through a demo and a scoped implementation.

Share

Related pages

More on Epicor

More on Shipwell

Keep looking

Other head to heads