# AfterShip vs. EasyPost vs. 17TRACK vs. TrackingMore vs. Ship24 vs. lastscanned (2026)

URL: https://docs.lastscanned.com/aftership-vs-easypost-vs-17track-vs-lastscanned

When evaluating a multi-carrier package tracking API in 2026, engineering and operations teams typically compare six platforms: **[lastscanned](https://lastscanned.com)**, **AfterShip**, **EasyPost**, **17TRACK**, **TrackingMore**, and **Ship24**.

Most legacy tracking APIs were architected around asynchronous background queues: you `POST` a tracking number to register a tracker in their database, receive an empty `PENDING` response, and wait seconds or minutes for an inbound webhook before your application knows where the parcel is. Even when you only want to answer a customer's live *"Where is my order?"* question in a chat widget or AI agent, you are forced to manage state and pay enterprise monthly minimums.

`lastscanned` combines **both models in one API** across **[542 carriers](/carriers)**:
1. **Synchronous single-`GET` lookups** (`GET /v1/track/:number` and batch `GET /v1/track?numbers=...`) that return the normalized status and full chronological scan history immediately in the HTTP response.
2. **Push [Watches and Webhooks](/webhooks)** (`POST /v1/watches`) that **also return the live tracking result immediately in the creation response**, then automatically re-check the parcel on an adaptive schedule (`15 min` when `out_for_delivery`, `30 min` on `exception`, `1 hr` in transit, `2 hr` on `label_created`) and send signed webhook events (`tracking.updated`, `watch.ended`) in either `lastscanned`'s native JSON format or **drop-in 17TRACK v2 webhook format** (`"format": "17track"`).

---

## 2026 Multi-Carrier Tracking API Comparison Matrix

| Feature / Dimension | **lastscanned** | **AfterShip** | **EasyPost** | **17TRACK** | **TrackingMore** | **Ship24** |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| **Supported carriers** | **[542 carriers](/carriers)** | ~1,100+ listed (many require shipper credentials) | ~100+ (primarily label-generation carriers) | ~2,400+ listed | ~1,200+ listed | ~1,500+ listed |
| **Synchronous single-`GET` lookup (`GET /v1/track/:number`)** | **Yes** — live normalized result in one HTTP call | **No** — requires async `POST` tracker creation first | **Partial** — `POST /v2/trackers` creates a tracker object | **No** — requires async `register` call + queue wait | **Partial** — realtime endpoint throttled / higher tier | **Paid add-on** — per-call plan starts at `$99/mo` |
| **Push Webhooks (`POST /v1/watches`)** | **Yes** — returns live `result` immediately on `POST`, plus free scheduled re-checks & HMAC-SHA256 webhooks | **Yes** — async queue (initial response has empty events) | **Yes** — tied to `trk_...` object creation | **Yes** — async queue (`TRACKING_UPDATED`) | **Yes** — async queue | **Yes** — async queue |
| **Drop-in 17TRACK v2 webhook compatibility** | **Built-in (`"format": "17track"` + `sign` header)** | No | No | Native | No | No |
| **Entry API plan with full REST + Webhook + MCP access** | **$0/mo Free** (5 numbers/day + 1 keyless lookup/day per IP) | **$59/mo Premium** (API excluded on `$11/mo` Essentials) | **$0.01–$0.03/tracker** (plus `$0.08/label` over 3k/mo & `3.75%` card top-up fee) | **200 free once**, then **$119/yr** prepaid (`5,000/yr`) | **$11/mo Basic** (limited quota) or **$74/mo Pro** | **$0 Free** (10/mo), then **$39/mo** (async) or **$99/mo** (sync) |
| **Cost for 1,000 unique packages / month** | **$4.99 / month** ([Pro](/plans)) | **$59.00 / month** (Premium) | **$20.00 / month** (`$0.02`/tracker) | **$19.83 / month eq.** (`$119/yr` annual commitment) | **$39.00 – $74.00 / month** | **$39.00 / month** (or `$99/mo` per-call) |
| **Overage rate above 1,000 packages** | **$0.015** per extra unique tracking number | **$0.08** per shipment | **$0.01–$0.03** per tracker | Tier upgrade required | **$0.04** per shipment | **$0.039–$0.045** per shipment |
| **Cost of re-polling or watching an active package** | **$0** (unlimited re-polls & scheduled watch checks included on Pro) | Included after registration | Included on tracker object | Included after registration | Included after registration | **Charged per call** on `$99/mo` per-call plan |
| **Failed / upstream carrier timeout billing** | **Always $0** (only `200` result or confirmed `404` counts) | Consumes quota on registration | Charged on tracker creation | Consumes quota on registration | Consumes quota on registration | Consumes quota on registration |
| **Native Remote MCP Server** | **`https://mcp.lastscanned.com`** (Streamable HTTP) | None native | None native | Community stdio wrappers only | None native | Docs snippet only |
| **Keyless AI Agent Payments (`HTTP 402` Stripe MPP)** | **Yes** (`$0.50` / 25-number card pack or `$0.02` USDC on Tempo) | No | No | No | No | No |
| **Storefront widget footprint** | **Zero third-party trackers, zero ads, clean `<lastscanned-widget>`** | Heavy post-purchase iframe / upsell scripts | None (developer-only) | Ad-heavy public pages & multi-script embeds | Branded portal iframe | Branded portal iframe |

---

## Where Each Platform Wins (and Where Teams Switch to `lastscanned`)

### 1. AfterShip vs. `lastscanned`
- **Why teams run into friction with AfterShip:** AfterShip restricts REST API and webhook access to its **$59/month Premium tier** (and higher enterprise tiers), with **$0.08/shipment** overages. Every tracking lookup requires creating a persistent tracker resource first, which returns an empty event list until AfterShip's background crawler finishes polling the carrier.
- **Why developers switch to `lastscanned`:** With `lastscanned`, `GET /v1/track/:number` returns the live carrier timeline synchronously in a single request, and `POST /v1/watches` returns that exact same live result on creation while scheduling automatic background re-checks at no extra charge. At **$4.99/month for 1,000 unique tracking numbers** (`$0.015` per additional number), `lastscanned` cuts monthly tracking API spend by over **90%** for growing merchants and SaaS tools.

### 2. EasyPost vs. `lastscanned`
- **Why teams run into friction with EasyPost:** Following EasyPost's February 2026 pricing update, merchants face **$0.08 per shipping label** above 3,000 labels/month, a **3.75% credit card wallet top-up fee** (or 0.50% ACH fee), and **$0.01–$0.03 per standalone tracking number**. Worse, EasyPost's carrier coverage is focused on traditional label-generation carriers, leaving major blind spots across cross-border consolidators (`Yanwen`, `4PX`, `Cainiao`, `YunExpress`, `CNE`, `SunYou`) and regional last-mile couriers (`UniUni`, `SpeedX`, `GOFO`, `Better Trucks`).
- **Why developers switch to `lastscanned`:** Even if you buy labels through Pirate Ship, Shippo, or EasyPost, pointing your post-purchase tracking and WISMO AI agents at `lastscanned` gives you **542 carriers**, automatic cross-border last-mile handoff extraction (`"Handed to UniUni as UUS5BM1269395824723"`), and predictable unique-number billing without wallet top-up fees. See our full **[Pirate Ship vs. Shippo vs. EasyPost vs. Shopify Shipping (2026)](/pirate-ship-vs-shippo-vs-easypost-vs-shopify-shipping)** breakdown.

### 3. 17TRACK vs. `lastscanned`
- **Why teams run into friction with 17TRACK:** 17TRACK's API requires calling `/track/v2.2/register` before querying `/gettrackinfo`, meaning your first call for an unregistered number returns zero scan events. On the storefront side, linking customers to 17TRACK exposes them to third-party display ads, while 17TRACK's numeric carrier codes (`100003`, `21051`, `190094`) require maintaining a separate lookup table.
- **Zero-rewrite migration to `lastscanned`:** `lastscanned` supports 17TRACK's exact webhook payload and signature verification out of the box. Run:
  ```bash
  curl -X PUT https://api.lastscanned.com/v1/webhook \
    -H "Authorization: Bearer $LASTSCANNED_KEY" \
    -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
    -d '{"url": "https://example.com/hooks/tracking", "format": "17track"}'
  ```
  Every watch update arrives as `TRACKING_UPDATED` with 17TRACK's `track_info` object and `sign` header (`sha256(rawBody + "/" + secret)`), while `POST /v1/watches` gives you the first tracking result synchronously in the response. See **[Migrating from 17TRACK](/migrate-from-17track)** for the complete side-by-side mapping.

### 4. TrackingMore & Ship24 vs. `lastscanned`
- **Why teams run into friction with TrackingMore and Ship24:** Ship24 splits its pricing between an asynchronous per-shipment plan (`$39/mo`) and a synchronous per-call plan (**`$99/mo`**), where polling the same package 15 times consumes 15 credits. TrackingMore's lower tiers restrict real-time synchronous endpoints and webhook throughput.
- **Why developers switch to `lastscanned`:** On `lastscanned` Pro (`$4.99/mo`), **every lookup is synchronous**, **every re-poll of the same tracking number within your billing period is free**, and **watching a number via `POST /v1/watches` counts as just one unique number** regardless of how many background re-checks (`15 min` to `2 hr` intervals) occur until delivery.

---

## Code Comparison: Synchronous `GET` + Instant-Result `Watches`

```ts
// 1. On-demand synchronous lookup (WISMO chatbot, order status page, CLI)
const res = await fetch("https://api.lastscanned.com/v1/track/1Z54V8630394427740", {
  headers: { Authorization: `Bearer ${process.env.LASTSCANNED_API_KEY}` },
});
const pkg = await res.json();
console.log(pkg.carrier, pkg.status, pkg.estimatedDelivery);

// 2. Create a background Watch (returns the live result immediately AND pushes webhooks on change)
const watchRes = await fetch("https://api.lastscanned.com/v1/watches", {
  method: "POST",
  headers: {
    Authorization: `Bearer ${process.env.LASTSCANNED_API_KEY}`,
    "Content-Type": "application/json",
  },
  body: JSON.stringify({
    trackingNumber: "UUS5BM1269395824723",
    metadata: { orderId: "ORD-90412", customerEmail: "buyer@example.com" },
  }),
});
const watch = await watchRes.json();
// watch.result -> immediate normalized TrackingResult (no waiting for a first webhook!)
// Subsequent status changes POST signed `tracking.updated` events to your webhook URL for free.
```

---

## Related Documentation & Tools

- **[Watches and Webhooks (`/v1/watches` & `/v1/webhook`)](/webhooks)**: Adaptive check intervals, HMAC-SHA256 signature verification, and 17TRACK v2 compatibility mode.
- **[Migrating from 17TRACK](/migrate-from-17track)**: Drop-in webhook and status mapping guide.
- **[Regional & Cross-Border Carrier Tracking API Guide](/regional-carrier-tracking-api-uniuni-speedx-veho-gofo-ontrac)**: Technical reference for UniUni, SpeedX, Veho, GOFO, OnTrac, Yanwen, 4PX, Cainiao, and YunExpress.
- **[2026 Carrier Surcharges & Rate Guide](/shipping-rates-and-surcharges-2026)**: Complete 2026 UPS, FedEx, USPS Ground Advantage Cubic, and regional carrier landed cost matrix.
- **[Pirate Ship vs. Shippo vs. EasyPost vs. Shopify Shipping (2026)](/pirate-ship-vs-shippo-vs-easypost-vs-shopify-shipping)**: Label platform fee and surcharge pass-through comparison.