Dataset every row verified 2026-08-04 or later · No vendor pays to appear here

3PL costs,
normalized.

Every 3PL quotes the same work differently: per order versus first-item-plus-additional, storage per bin versus per cubic foot, software billed weekly or folded into the pick fee. We collect published rate cards, normalize them to one comparable structure, and show our sources. No vendor pays to appear here.

Browse the fee benchmarks Free quote gap check Get the Normalizer Kit — $99

Just want the numbers? What a 3PL costs in 2026, one published range per fee category.

The dataset● live
214
published fee rows
23
vendors checked
30
distinct sources cited
10
vendors publishing nothing
ShipCalm · DTC per-order fee · $2.65/order
Flexport · long-term storage 365d+ · $6.90/cu ft/30d
Walmart WFS · standard ≤1 lb · $3.45/unit
Fulfyld · extra item pick · $0.50/item
Amazon MCF · small std 0–4oz · $7.34/unit
MyFBAPrep · pro tier prep · $0.50/unit
ShipCalm · DTC per-order fee · $2.65/order
Flexport · long-term storage 365d+ · $6.90/cu ft/30d
Walmart WFS · standard ≤1 lb · $3.45/unit
Fulfyld · extra item pick · $0.50/item
Amazon MCF · small std 0–4oz · $7.34/unit
MyFBAPrep · pro tier prep · $0.50/unit
what vendors send "up to $1.75 / order" "$0.19 per cu ft / week" "$7.74+ average, all-in (501–1,000/mo)"
normalize()
one comparable structure
Quote D
$4.33
Quote C
$6.05
Quote B
$8.32
Quote A
$9.32
NORMALIZED

What we can and cannot benchmark. Most 3PLs serving DTC brands publish no rates at all — 10 of the 23 companies we checked publish no dollar figure anywhere. Our published spine is Amazon MCF, Walmart WFS, Flexport, and the smaller 3PLs that do post real numbers. We say so on every page rather than inventing an average to fill the gap.

Why averages lie

The same fee, published four ways

Additional-item pick fees — the charge for every item after the first — run $0.23 to $1.25 across the vendors that publish them. An "average pick fee" hides a 5× spread, and none of these rates are quoted against the same conditions.

That is why every row in the dataset keeps its conditions and its source attached.

Read the pick-fee benchmark guide →
Published additional-item pick feesUSD / item
Shipfusion$0.23–0.28
case-study rate, rest quote-gated
Fulfyld$0.50
beyond 5 free picks per order
ShipCalm$0.95
rate card does not say if item 1 is included
Launch Fulfillment$0.75–1.25
vendor labels as illustrative
$0$0.70$1.40

Inside the dataset

214 rows · every one sourced and dated
VendorFee itemUnitUSDSource
ShipCalm DTC per-order fee (standard) per order 2.65 shipcalm.com
Amazon MCF small standard 0-4oz - Standard speed - 1 unit per unit 7.34 supplychain.amazon.com
Walmart WFS aged inventory >450 days per cubic foot per month 7.50 marketplacelearn.walmart.com
Flexport long-term storage (365+ days) per cubic foot per 30 days 6.90 support.portal.flexport.com
MyFBAPrep container unload - floor loaded per container 1000 myfbaprep.com
Pick & pack · storage · receiving · returns · prep · surcharges — 17 categories See all 214 rows →
Guides

The research, published free

3PL Peak Season Storage: Two Schedules, Two Different Fees Flexport's Q4 storage is a rate change: $0.81 to $2.40 per cu ft. Walmart's is an aging trigger. Same multiplier, opposite answer. 3PL ASN Penalty and No-Appointment Fees ShipCalm publishes $150 for a delivery with no ASN and $250 for no appointment. Every published inbound-compliance penalty we could source, with units. 3PL Kitting Fees: Every Published Rate Kitting is priced per bundle, per kit, per label, per man-hour, per hour and per job. Flexport's only kitting row is a $200 per-job minimum: $4.00 a unit on 50. 3PL Monthly Minimums: Three Different Fees Published 3PL minimums include $399, $750 and $5,000 per month and $6,000 per quarter. Flexport's storage floor went from $0.01 to $0.10 per DSKU per day. 3PL Hourly Labor Rates You Cannot Compare Flexport's rush receive line is $48 per hour with a four-hour minimum, so $192 is its smallest charge. Every published 3PL hourly rate, and why none normalize. Free 3PL pricing templates: who wrote them Every free 3PL pricing template we opened is published by a 3PL or by software sold to 3PLs. Walmart WFS's 4-20 lb fee is $5.75 + $0.40/lb over 4 lb. 3PL Receiving Fees: Per Pallet, Per Container Every published 3PL receiving rate we could source: $12.45–$25 per pallet, $325 to $1,000 per container, and the variable each vendor leaves unstated. 3PL removal and disposal fees: $25 floor Flexport publishes removal at $1.04 a unit with a $25 per-order minimum: pulling ten light units costs $25, not $10.40. Walmart disposes at $0.35 a unit. 3PL returns processing fee, unit by unit Published returns fees run per return, per unit, per item and per disposal. Flexport's return paperwork is $0.10 per unit for notes, $1.80 with images. 3PL Setup Fees: No Published Figure Found In 241 sourced fee rows across 23 fulfillment operations we found no published setup or onboarding amount. ShipBob publishes the category and not the price. 3PL weekly vs monthly billing: 4.333 ShipCalm's $999/week Pro plan is $4,329 a month at 52/12, not $999. That is a $3,330 gap on one published line. Every weekly row, converted, shown. 3PL Storage Fees: Cubic Foot vs Pallet Walmart WFS publishes $0.75 per cubic foot per month; ShipCalm $0.19 per week per cubic foot. Every published 3PL storage rate, and why they don't compare. Flexport's $5,000 Monthly Minimum Fee, Priced Flexport's monthly minimum fulfillment spend rose from $500 to $5,000 on 1 Jan 2026. Priced, it binds around 600 to 830 orders a month. Walmart WFS return processing fee: +$1.25 WFS return processing starts at $4.70 per unit where the fulfillment fee for the same 1 lb item is $3.45. The $1.25 gap holds to 20 lb, then stops entirely. 10/23 Do 3PLs publish pricing? Five ways they don't Of 23 fulfillment operations, ten publish no dollar figure of their own. The other thirteen fall short in four distinct ways. 48.6% 3PL Contract Red Flags, Starting With Long-Term Storage Long-term storage surcharges are now charged by 48.6% of warehouses surveyed by Fulfill.com, up from 23.3% the prior year. Nine clauses to redline before you sign. $6.90 3PL Hidden Fees: The Complete Sourced Taxonomy Every fee that skips the quote and hits the invoice, with real numbers: Flexport's $6.90/cu ft aged storage, ShipBob's 18% APR late fee, and more. $0.23–1.25 Pick and Pack Pricing in 2026: Every Published 3PL Rate Published 3PL additional-item pick fees run $0.23–$1.25. Every rate we could source, why the 'average pick fee' misleads, and what to negotiate. ~$200K How to Switch 3PL Warehouses in 2026: The Full Cost to Move Seven cost categories, real published rates, and a worked migration budget. Beardbrand destroyed ~$200K of inventory switching 3PLs. $4.33–9.32 How to Compare 3PL Quotes Apples to Apples Four published rate cards priced against one 2,000-order/month profile land between $4.33 and $9.32 per order. Here is the normalization method.
Free · one page The 3PL Fee Benchmark Card Every fee category, how many vendors publish a figure and how many withhold it, with the published range. Keep it open beside a quote. Open the card → More guides as rates change — every one re-verified when its rows are. All guides →
The Quote Normalizer Kit

Stop normalizing quotes by hand.

Enter your order profile once. Enter up to five competing rate cards. Get true all-in cost per order for each vendor at your actual volume, a twelve-month projection with seasonality, and the volume at which the ranking flips.

  • All-in cost per order, up to five vendors
  • Breakeven chart — where the ranking flips
  • RFP template that forces vendors to quote hidden line items
  • 40-point contract red-flag checklist
Get the Kit — $99 one-time · 30-day money-back
your quotes, normalized2,000 orders/mo
Quote A · "lowest pick fee" $9.32/order
Quote B $8.32/order
Quote C $6.05/order
Quote D · cheapest before postage $4.33/order
The cheapest quote at your volume is rarely the one with the lowest headline pick fee. Real spread from four published rate cards: $4.33–$9.32/order on the same 2,000-order profile, worked through here.
Contribute

Have a rate card?

The dataset gets better when operators contribute. Send a quote or invoice and we will normalize it, strip every identifying detail, and add it to the benchmarks. We name vendors. We never name the brand that sent it.

How submissions work →
Stay current

One email when rates move.

When the dataset changes or the Kit updates — a vendor moves a rate, a correction is published, a company is added. No sequence, no drip, nothing on a schedule, and no other use for your address. To come off, email data@ratecardlab.com and we delete the record.

Rather email us? hello@ratecardlab.com with "notify me" works too.