BYOCA stands for Bring Your Own Carrier Account. It means connecting your personally-negotiated FedEx, UPS, or DHL account to your shipping software — and using your own discounted rates instead of the platform's default rates.
ShipStation charges $95/month for BYOCA. That's $1,140/year to use your own FedEx account that you negotiated for free directly with FedEx. LogixVast includes it at no extra charge on every plan.
Why BYOCA matters
If you ship more than 200 packages a month, you likely qualify for negotiated carrier rates that are significantly better than the platform's standard discounts. FedEx and UPS both offer volume-based discounts to direct account holders. These discounts compound:
- A direct FedEx account at 500 packages/month might save $1.20/package vs. platform rates
- 500 packages × $1.20 = $600/month in savings
- $600/month savings - $95/month ShipStation BYOCA fee = $505/month net savings
- OR $600/month savings - $0 LogixVast BYOCA fee = $600/month net savings
How ShipStation justifies the fee
ShipStation's BYOCA fee is a revenue mechanism, not a cost they incur. Connecting a carrier account to their API costs them essentially nothing. The $95/month is extracted from sellers who want to use their own rates — rates they negotiated independently. It's a toll on value you created.
Getting a carrier account is free and easy
If you don't have a FedEx or UPS account yet, it's free to open one. Apply at fedex.com or ups.com, wait 24–48 hours, and you'll receive your account number. At 100+ packages/month, ask your FedEx or UPS rep about negotiated rates. They'll typically offer discounts at that volume.
Then connect that account to LogixVast — free, takes two minutes.