Pillarbox vs the official Click & Drop app for Shopify
Both apps send Shopify orders to Royal Mail Click & Drop. The difference is what happens when an order doesn't get there. This page is written by the people who make Pillarbox, so read it with that in mind — every claim about the official app links to a public source.
Start here: you may not need Pillarbox
If the official app has been importing your orders reliably and you have never had to chase a missing one, keep it — it's free. Pillarbox exists for merchants who have hit one of the problems below.
What merchants report about the official app
On the Shopify App Store, the official Royal Mail app was rated 1.4★ from 91 reviews (62 of them 1★) when we checked on 14 September 2026. The recurring themes in reviews from June–September 2026 (source: App Store listing reviews, read 2026-09-14):
- "Orders stop syncing" without any warning in Shopify.
- Support taking weeks to answer.
- Customs goods description overwritten by the product title, causing delays at the border.
Side by side
| Official Click & Drop app | Pillarbox | |
|---|---|---|
| Sends orders to Click & Drop | Yes | Yes, within seconds of payment |
| Tells you when an order was rejected | Not in Shopify (reviews report silent failures) | Yes — the Royal Mail reason next to the order, plus a Retry button and an alert e-mail |
| Retries after connection problems | Unknown | Automatically, for up to two days |
| Customs description | Product title (per reviews) | A plain-words description you set per product |
| Tracking back to Shopify | Yes | Yes — the order is fulfilled with the Royal Mail tracking number when you despatch |
| Buys postage / touches your Royal Mail billing | Uses your account | Never — your key, your account; Pillarbox only creates orders |
| Price | Free | From $9.99 per 30 days after a 14-day free trial (plans) |
| Support | Royal Mail | E-mail, answered by the developer within one working day |
What Pillarbox does not do
- It does not print labels or buy postage — you still do that in Click & Drop.
- It does not replace Click & Drop; you need your own Royal Mail business account and API key.
- It does not currently support Evri or other carriers (planned).
Try Pillarbox free for 14 days
Last updated 20 September 2026. Ratings and review counts change; check the App Store for current figures. Royal Mail and Click & Drop are trade marks of Royal Mail Group Ltd; Pillarbox is independent and not affiliated with or endorsed by Royal Mail.