3PL Setup Fees and Monthly Minimums

About half do. The Fulfillment Advisor's 2025 survey found 51% of warehouses charge a setup fee, averaging $333, plus an average $275 integration fee.

Provider	Setup / onboarding	Source
Thrive 3PL	Most brands pay $200–$500	Thrive pricing page
Simpl Fulfillment	None	Simpl pricing page
eFulfillment Service	None ("No Set-Up Fees")	eFulfillment homepage
Walmart Fulfillment Services	None ("no setup, monthly or hidden fees")	WFS page
Fulfyld	First 2 hours of receiving free at onboarding	Fulfyld pricing page
ShipBob	Implementation listed as a standard fee; amount not published	ShipBob pricing page
Amazon MCF	None stated	Amazon MCF page

A setup fee usually covers account configuration, store integration, SKU setup and the first receiving. Ask what it includes, especially whether the first inbound receipt is covered.

Many do. The survey's average monthly minimum rose from $338 in 2024 to $517 in 2025.

Provider	Minimum	Notes
Simpl Fulfillment	$750 a month	Pay-the-difference; targets 50 to 5,000+ orders a month
ShipCalm	Quarterly spend minimum	$3,000 on its homepage, $6,000 in its pricing calculator (conflicting)
ShipMonk	Yes, amount not published	Set with pick fees and projected volume
Saltbox	Membership from $500 a month	Space-based model
Fulfyld	No formal minimum	Cites 500–5,000+ orders a month as its optimal range
eFulfillment Service	None	"No Minimum Order Requirements"
OC3PL	None for its startup offering	No minimum order quantities
Walmart WFS	None	Recommends 50+ items with continual replenishment

Some 3PLs publish a target volume rather than a minimum: Shipfusion's homepage targets brands shipping 2,000+ orders a month, and Thrive serves 200–20,000.

Formula: billed amount = the greater of (qualifying fees) and (the minimum).

Illustrative example with a $750 minimum:

Monthly orders	Qualifying fees (at a placeholder $4.00 per order)	Billed	Effective cost per order
50	$200	$750	$15.00
100	$400	$750	$7.50
188	$752	$752	$4.00
500	$2,000	$2,000	$4.00

Below the break-even volume (minimum ÷ per-order fees, here about 188 orders), you pay for capacity you don't use. Whether shipping counts as a qualifying fee changes the break-even a lot: with postage included, many brands clear a $750 minimum at far lower volume. Simpl's rates include postage, for example.

• Account management: 35% of surveyed warehouses charge one, averaging $102.88 a month.
• Platform or software fees: ShipCalm lists a platform fee from $49 a week on its DTC Essentials plan. ShipBob says its software is free to customers.
• Integration fees: $275 average in the survey, one-time.
• Early termination or notice periods: not a fee line, but they set your exit cost. ShipCalm is month-to-month with 90 days' notice; Tondo Fulfillment is month-to-month with 30 days' notice.

From published terms checked on Sept. 27, 2026:

• eFulfillment Service: no minimum order requirements and no setup fees.
• Fulfyld: no formal minimum and no long-term contracts.
• OC3PL: no minimum order quantities on its startup offering.
• Amazon MCF: no minimum stated; requires FBA inventory.
• Walmart WFS: no minimum requirements; Walmart-channel only.

"No minimum" doesn't always mean cheapest at low volume. A 3PL without a minimum may have higher per-order rates. Compare total monthly cost at your actual volume. The 3PL cost calculator includes a minimum top-up line.

Often, especially these:

1. Waive or reduce the minimum for the first 2–3 months while inventory ramps up.
2. Count shipping toward the minimum, which makes it much easier to reach.
3. Credit the setup fee against the first months' fulfillment fees.
4. Get the minimum and any change terms in the contract, including notice before it rises.

Whether a 3PL agrees depends on your volume and fit. These are common requests to make, not published policies.