In short
- Under 100 orders a month AirPost or shipping yourself is usually cheaper; above a few hundred orders Monta or Byrd fits better. AirPost costs €3.10 per small parcel plus the label, while Monta and Byrd give prices on request only.
- Monta names no hard minimum threshold and works without a fixed contract. Monta itself says outsourcing is almost always cheaper above 300 orders a month.
- Byrd targets shops from 500 shipments a month and says you can be shipping within two weeks.
- Shipping yourself is cheapest in euros while an hour of your time is worth less than €37.20.
- AirPost has no storage fees and no minimum, but your stock sits with a person and is not insured there. For hundreds of SKUs or same-day, a warehouse is better.
- AirPost is a peer-to-peer fulfilment network: online shops have their orders packed and dropped at a parcel point by verified people near their customers, who earn a fee per parcel from home. No warehouse, no minimum order volume.
Monta and Byrd are two well-known fulfilment providers for online shops in Europe. AirPost is a network without a warehouse. And shipping yourself is where almost everyone starts.
This article puts the four side by side on the same points, using only what the providers publish themselves. The worked example at 30 and 100 orders is in best fulfilment under 100 orders a month; here it is about the differences that are not an amount.
About the data
Everything about Monta and Byrd comes from their own websites, checked on 26 September 2026. They publish no prices, so those cells say "on request". Always ask for a quote on your own volume.
The four side by side
| AirPost | Monta | Byrd | Shipping yourself | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Minimum | None | No hard threshold stated | Targets 500+ shipments a month | None |
| Price per order | €3.10 for a small parcel, plus label | On request | On request | Label plus your own time |
| Storage | No storage fees | Per location or per m³, monthly | Per shelf or pallet, monthly | Your own space |
| Contract | None | No fixed contract, no notice period | Not published | n/a |
| Live in | Account in 20 seconds, then your test batch | One to a few weeks | Two weeks | Right away |
| Where your stock sits | At a verified sender’s home | 20+ warehouses in Europe | Its own network of European fulfilment centres | With you |
| Integrations | Shopify | 35+ platforms | Including Shopify, Shopware, WooCommerce | Your own shipping software |
| Stock insured | No | Not on the pricing page | Not on the pricing page | Your own policy |
AirPost: no warehouse, pay per shipment
A verified sender near your customers keeps a box of your stock at home, packs your orders and takes them to the parcel point. You pay per shipment: the sender’s fee (€1.50 to €5.50, depending on size), a €0.85 platform fee and the label.
Strong: no storage fees, no minimum and no contract, so a quiet month costs nothing. You can test a new country without renting anything there.
Weak: your stock sits with a person and is not insured there. That is why you start with a test batch. No same-day, no fixed collection time, and not meant for large, heavy or chilled goods.
Monta: large network, price by quote
Monta runs more than twenty warehouses in Europe and its own warehouse software. It publishes no standard rates: you get a tailored quote. The structure is on the site: set-up, goods receipt per piece or pallet, storage on the space you actually use, pick and pack per item, shipping and returns.
Strong: no fixed contract and no mandatory notice period, which is not a given at a 3PL. Monta connects to more than 35 platforms, including Shopify, WooCommerce, bol and Amazon.
Weak for a small shop: you only know the price after a quote. Monta itself says it is almost always cheaper above 300 orders a month; below that it depends on your situation.
Byrd: for shops that already have volume
Byrd is a fulfilment platform with centres in several European countries. It groups customers by volume: the smallest group, "new businesses", ships 500 to 1,000 parcels a month. Prices are on request.
Strong: stock in several countries through one provider, and according to Byrd you are shipping within two weeks. Picking is a base price per order plus an amount per extra item; storage is per shelf or pallet per month.
Watch out: Byrd writes that storage can get more expensive if your stock stays high relative to your sales for too long. For a small shop with slow-moving items, that is a line to ask about.
Shipping yourself: free in money, expensive in time
You pay only the label and your own time. Count 5 minutes an order for packing and dropping off; then doing it yourself is cheaper while an hour of yours is worth less than €37.20.
Strong: full control and no risk sitting with someone else. Weak: it does not scale, and abroad you pay a cross-border label. What a label costs per country is in the European Shipping Rates Index, measured on 26 September 2026.
Which one at which volume?
AirPost per small parcel, plus label
€3.10
Hourly rate above which DIY costs more
€37.20
Orders a month above which Monta says it is almost always cheaper
300+
Shipments a month in Byrd’s smallest segment
500+
| Your situation | Best fit |
|---|---|
| Fewer than 30 orders, time to spare | Shipping yourself |
| 30 to a few hundred orders, small products, few SKUs | AirPost |
| Testing a new country without renting anything | AirPost |
| Above 300 orders a month, no fixed contract | Monta |
| Above 500 shipments, stock in several countries | Byrd or Monta |
| Large, heavy, chilled or hundreds of SKUs | Monta or Byrd |
| Same-day or a fixed collection time needed | Monta or Byrd |
Torn between AirPost and a 3PL? Ask Monta or Byrd for a quote and put it into the calculator below next to a model with no fixed costs.
Put your Monta or Byrd quote next to it
With a 3PL
≈ $4.50
Per order
≈ $450 a month
With AirPost
≈ $3.53
Per order
≈ $2.57 sender fee + ≈ $0.97 platform fee, at any volume
≈ $0.97 per order cheaper here.
| Orders per month | With a 3PL | With AirPost |
|---|---|---|
| 25 | ≈ $9.46 | ≈ $3.53 |
| 50 | ≈ $6.16 | ≈ $3.53 |
| 100 | ≈ $4.50 | ≈ $3.53 |
| 250 | ≈ $3.51 | ≈ $3.53 |
| 500 | ≈ $3.18 | ≈ $3.53 |
| 1000 | ≈ $3.02 | ≈ $3.53 |
Set-up cost spread over twelve months. Excludes carrier rates, returns and VAT.
Can you combine them?
Yes, and it is often sensible. A common shape: ship your whole range yourself, and put your bestsellers with a sender in the country you ship to most.
Or the other way round: a 3PL in your main market where the volume carries it, and AirPost in a second country you are still testing. There is no contract, so stopping only costs getting your stock back.
Stock in another country
If your stock sits in another EU country, you usually need a VAT registration there. OSS does not replace it, at a 3PL or at a sender. See VAT when you store stock in another EU country.
How this works with AirPost
Create an account
Just your email address. No intake call, no contract, no minimum.
Choose a sender
Filter by price and size. Every sender has had their ID and payout account checked, with reviews from other shops.
Send one box of bestsellers
With your own packaging. Not a fit? Ask for your stock back; it is returned within 14 days.
Put orders out
In the chat, or through the Shopify app. If the same product sits with several senders, the order goes to all of them and the first to pick it up ships it.
Label and tracking
We find the cheapest rate within the service level you choose. Tracking reaches both of you, in the same conversation.
The amounts per size are on pricing, the explanation on local fulfilment in Europe. What peer-to-peer is, including when it is the wrong answer, is in what is peer-to-peer fulfilment.
Frequently asked questions
What does Monta cost per order?
Monta publishes no standard rates; you get a tailored quote. The quote is built from set-up, goods receipt, storage, pick and pack per item, shipping and returns.
What does Byrd cost per order?
Byrd publishes no prices; you ask for a quote. Picking is a base price per order plus an amount per extra item, and storage is per shelf or pallet per month.
Does Monta have a minimum order volume?
Monta names no hard minimum threshold. It does write that outsourcing is almost always cheaper above 300 orders a month.
Is Byrd a fit for a new online shop?
Byrd’s smallest segment ships 500 to 1,000 parcels a month. If you are far below that, you are not who it is built for.
What is the difference between AirPost and a 3PL?
A 3PL has a warehouse and so fixed costs. AirPost has no warehouse: a sender near your customers packs, and you pay €3.10 per small parcel plus the label, with no storage and no minimum.
When should I move to Monta or Byrd?
When you do a few hundred orders a month consistently, have many SKUs or need a fixed collection time. By then a warehouse’s fixed costs are spread over enough orders.
Where the two models cross on an example quote is in peer-to-peer fulfilment vs a 3PL.
Sources
- Monta — fulfilment pricing: no standard rates, no fixed contract (Dutch, 26-09-2026)
- Monta — 20+ warehouses, no hard minimum, 300 orders (Dutch, 26-09-2026)
- Byrd — pricing structure, storage per shelf or pallet (26-09-2026)
- Byrd — new businesses: 500 to 1,000 shipments a month, live in two weeks (26-09-2026)
- Byrd — fulfilment services and European network (26-09-2026)
- European Commission — the VAT One-Stop Shop (OSS)
See what it costs per size, without a quote
See pricing