Question 1

What does Easypost Shipping API do?

Accepted Answer

EasyPost is a US-headquartered shipping API platform that consolidates rate shopping, label printing, address verification, and tracking across 70+ major Western carriers (UPS, FedEx, USPS, DHL, Royal Mail, Canada Post, and more) into a single developer-friendly API. EasyPost does NOT support Nigerian domestic carriers and cannot be used for Nigeria-to-Nigeria shipping. Its primary relevance to Nigerian developers and businesses is for US and international operations — specifically for businesses with US, UK, Canadian, or Australian shipping needs, Nigerian diaspora businesses, and Nigerian companies managing operations or shipments in Western markets.

**What EasyPost Does**

EasyPost provides four core shipping services:

**1. Multi-carrier Rate Shopping**
Submit package dimensions, weight, origin, and destination to receive rate quotes from all available carriers simultaneously. Compare USPS First Class vs UPS Ground vs FedEx Home Delivery for any US domestic shipment, or compare DHL Express vs FedEx International Priority for international routes.

**2. Shipping Label Generation**
After selecting a carrier and service level, create the shipment to receive a prepaid shipping label as a PDF or ZPL (thermal printer format) URL. Print and attach to the package. EasyPost's pre-negotiated rates with USPS, FedEx, and UPS are significantly lower than retail walk-in rates.

**3. Address Verification**
Validate US addresses before shipping to reduce failed deliveries. Returns the USPS-standardized address, residential/commercial flag, and deliverability status.

**4. Shipment Tracking**
Track any shipment across 70+ carriers using a unified tracking API. Returns normalized status events with timestamps and location data regardless of carrier.

**Carrier Coverage (Western Focus)**

US domestic:
- USPS (all service classes: Priority Mail, First Class, Ground Advantage)
- UPS (Ground, 2nd Day Air, Next Day Air, etc.)
- FedEx (Home Delivery, Express, 2Day, Overnight, etc.)

International from US:
- DHL Express
- FedEx International
- UPS Worldwide
- USPS Priority Mail International

UK:
- Royal Mail (various services)
- DHL UK

Canada: Canada Post, Purolator
Australia: Australia Post, StarTrack

**No Nigerian Carrier Support**

EasyPost explicitly does not cover:
- GIG Logistics
- Red Star Express
- Sendbox
- Kwik Delivery
- Any Nigerian domestic postal or courier service

For Nigerian domestic shipping, use Sendbox, GIG Logistics API, or Konga Logistics instead.

**How Developers Use EasyPost**

Authentication uses HTTP Basic Auth with the API key as username:

Rate shopping:
```
POST https://api.easypost.com/v2/shipments
Authorization: Basic BASE64(YOUR_API_KEY:)
{ "shipment": {
    "from_address": { "street1": "123 Main St", "city": "New York", "state": "NY", "zip": "10001", "country": "US" },
    "to_address": { "street1": "456 Oak Ave", "city": "Los Angeles", "state": "CA", "zip": "90001", "country": "US" },
    "parcel": { "weight": 16, "length": 8, "width": 6, "height": 4 }
  }
}
```

Returns all available rates. Then buy a specific rate to generate the label:

```
POST https://api.easypost.com/v2/shipments/{id}/buy
{ "rate": { "id": "rate_xxx" } }
```

Returns the label URL, tracking number, and tracking URL. SDKs available for Python, Ruby, Node.js, PHP, Java, C#, and Go.

**Pricing**

- **Free**: 100 tracker updates/month, 1000 API calls. No credit card required.
- **Growth**: $10/month for higher limits
- **Scale/Enterprise**: Custom pricing for high volume

Beyond the platform fee, actual shipping costs are charged when labels are purchased — at EasyPost's pre-negotiated carrier rates.

**Nigerian Relevance Scenarios**

Although EasyPost does not cover Nigeria domestically, it is valuable in these scenarios:

1. **Nigerian-American E-Commerce**: An entrepreneur in the Nigerian diaspora selling from the US needs to ship to US customers. EasyPost is the fastest way to integrate USPS, UPS, and FedEx with negotiated discounts.

2. **Nigerian Companies with US Fulfillment**: Some Nigerian brands use US-based third-party logistics (3PL) warehouses for US customers. EasyPost integrates with most US 3PL platforms.

3. **Nigeria-to-International via US Intermediary**: A Nigerian exporter shipping through a US-based intermediary (a forwarder or consolidator) can use EasyPost for the US-side outbound leg.

4. **UK/Australia Operations**: Nigerian businesses with UK or Australian operations can use EasyPost for those markets.

**Compliance**

EasyPost is SOC 2 Type II certified. API calls are encrypted via HTTPS. For high-volume shippers, EasyPost provides volume commitment programs with additional rate discounts.

**Company Background**

EasyPost was founded in 2012 in San Francisco by Jarrett Streebin. The company is bootstrapped and profitable, rare in the startup ecosystem. EasyPost processes hundreds of millions of shipments annually and has grown to serve thousands of e-commerce businesses ranging from small Shopify merchants to large enterprises. Their API is widely regarded as the most developer-friendly shipping API available for Western markets, with excellent documentation, consistent uptime, and responsive support.

For Nigerian developers building for Western markets, EasyPost is the leading choice. For Nigerian domestic logistics, use the Nigerian-specific APIs (GIG, Sendbox, Kwik, Konga Logistics) instead.

Question 2

How much does Easypost Shipping API cost?

Accepted Answer

Easypost Shipping API is free to start, with paid tiers for higher usage (freemium). Free plan: 100 tracker updates/month, 1000 API calls. Paid plans from $10/month. US, Canada, UK, Australia carrier discounts automatically applied.

Question 3

How do I authenticate with the Easypost Shipping API API?

Accepted Answer

API Key (HTTP Basic Auth with key as username)

Question 4

Is there a rate limit on Easypost Shipping API?

Accepted Answer

Free: 1000 API calls/month. Paid plans scale up.

Question 5

Does Easypost Shipping API offer a sandbox or test mode?

Accepted Answer

Yes — Easypost Shipping API provides a sandbox or test environment so you can integrate and test before going live.

Question 6

What is Easypost Shipping API best suited for?

Accepted Answer

US, UK, Canadian, and Australian developers building shipping integrations who need a single API for rate shopping, label printing, and tracking across major Western carriers (UPS, FedEx, USPS, DHL, Royal Mail, etc.).

Question 7

Is there anything else I should know before integrating Easypost Shipping API?

Accepted Answer

EasyPost does NOT support Nigerian domestic carriers or pickup from Nigeria. It covers Western carriers (USPS, UPS, FedEx, DHL Express, Royal Mail, Canada Post, Australia Post, and others). Useful for Nigerian diaspora businesses with US/UK operations. NOT suitable for Nigeria-to-Nigeria shipping.

Question 8

Where can I find Easypost Shipping API's documentation?

Accepted Answer

The official API documentation is at https://www.easypost.com/docs/api. The provider's website is https://www.easypost.com.

Question 9

Does Easypost Shipping API support Nigerian developers?

Accepted Answer

Easypost Shipping API isn't Nigeria-specific, but it's listed here because it's usable by Nigerian developers building for a global or regional audience.

Easypost Shipping API

Features Included

Not Supported

Key Highlights

Required Access Documents

Use Cases

Ask question or give feedback

Sign in to participate

Discover similar API's

Ask question or give feedback

Sign in to participate