Instant self-serve tracking at $4.99/mo—without $75+/mo enterprise minimums or carrier account setup.
ShipEngine is an enterprise shipping and fulfillment API with plans starting at $75+/month and BYO carrier credential onboarding. lastscanned gives developers and AI agents instant, self-serve access to 31 carriers over synchronous REST (GET /v1/track/:number) and remote MCP (https://mcp.lastscanned.com) starting at $0/month Free and $4.99/month Pro—or keyless pay-per-request via HTTP 402 Stripe MPP.
lastscanned vs. ShipEngine at a glance
Side-by-side comparison of architecture, monthly pricing across 31 supported carriers, and AI agent integration.
| Feature | lastscanned | ShipEngine |
|---|---|---|
| Entry paid plan | $4.99 / month Pro (1,000 unique numbers included) | $75+ / month platform minimum or enterprise contract |
| Free tier | $0/mo forever (5 unique numbers/day + 1 keyless lookup/day per IP) | Sandbox / trial geared toward label volume |
| Carrier account onboarding | Zero — all 31 carriers work immediately with one API key | Requires connecting carrier accounts & OAuth credentials in dashboard |
| Request pattern | Stateless GET /v1/track/:number (auto-detects carrier in 2 passes) | Requires carrier_code & tracking_number parameters tied to connected carriers |
| Regional & cross-border couriers | UniUni, SpeedX, GOFO, Veho, Better Trucks, Intelcom, OSM, Pitney Bowes, Yanwen, 4PX, Cainiao, YunExpress | Focused on traditional warehouse parcel & freight carriers |
| AI Agent MCP & HTTP 402 MPP | https://mcp.lastscanned.com + Stripe MPP HTTP 402 ($0.50 card pack / $0.02 USDC) | None |
$4.99/mo self-serve vs. $75+/mo enterprise platform minimums
When all you need is reliable, real-time package tracking in your app or AI agent, paying $75+/month for an enterprise warehouse label platform is unnecessary overhead.
- 93% lower monthly base cost
- Start on the $0/month Free plan (5 unique numbers/day) or upgrade to $4.99/month Pro for 1,000 unique tracking numbers and $0.015 per additional unique number.
- Unlimited re-polls and zero charge for upstream errors
- Poll active shipments as frequently as your workflow requires without burning extra credits, and never pay for 502/504 upstream carrier errors.
Auto-detection across 31 carriers with zero carrier_code setup
ShipEngine's tracking endpoint requires you to know the carrier_code upfront and have that carrier connected to your account.
- Two-pass barcode auto-detection
- Pass just the tracking number to GET /v1/track/:number. lastscanned runs strict regex and check-digit validation (ups1Z, s10, dhlExpress, gs1) in Pass 1 and parallel candidate probing in Pass 2.
- Built-in consolidator and cross-border intelligence
- Use ?carrier=osm or ?carrier=pitneybowes on 92… USPS barcodes to see middle-mile scans, and read cross-border last-mile handoff barcodes directly from message.
Ready for AI agents: Remote MCP & Keyless HTTP 402
Give Claude, Cursor, ChatGPT, or custom agents live package tracking in seconds.
- Streamable HTTP MCP server
- Connect https://mcp.lastscanned.com with a standard Bearer token or URL-path key (https://mcp.lastscanned.com/lsk_live_...).
- Keyless machine payments (HTTP 402)
- Agents without an account can pay on the fly via Stripe MPP ($0.50 for a 25-number lsk_pack_... credit pack or $0.02 in USDC on Tempo).
Switch in one synchronous request
No SDKs, no tracker registration queues, and no webhook listeners. Query up to 100 tracking numbers at once over REST or connect your AI agent over Streamable HTTP MCP.
REST (Synchronous GET)
curl "https://api.lastscanned.com/v1/track/VH12345678" \
-H "Authorization: Bearer lsk_live_YOUR_API_KEY"Remote MCP (Claude Code / Cursor / ChatGPT)
claude mcp add --transport http lastscanned https://mcp.lastscanned.com \
--header "Authorization: Bearer lsk_live_YOUR_API_KEY"Then ask your agent
> Track Veho delivery VH12345678 and check its estimated delivery date.
lastscanned vs. ShipEngine FAQ
- Do I have to pass a carrier code on every request like in ShipEngine?
- No. GET /v1/track/:number auto-detects the carrier from the tracking number using format rules and check-digit validation across 29 auto-detected carriers. You only pass ?carrier= when forcing a specific consolidator (like ?carrier=osm or ?carrier=pitneybowes on a 92… USPS barcode) or a generic numeric reference.
- How much does lastscanned cost compared to ShipEngine?
- lastscanned has a $0/month Free plan (5 unique numbers/day + 1 keyless lookup/day per IP) and a $4.99/month Pro plan (1,000 unique numbers/month, $0.015/extra, unlimited free re-polls), compared to ShipEngine's $75+/month platform tiers.
- Can I start using lastscanned without a sales call or carrier approval?
- Yes. Sign in at app.lastscanned.com/login to generate an lsk_live_... API key in seconds, or make an unauthenticated GET request right now (1 free keyless lookup/day per IP).
Compare other tracking providers
See how lastscanned compares to legacy tracking aggregators, shipping-label platforms, and direct carrier endpoints.
- lastscanned vs. AfterShip/vs/aftership
- lastscanned vs. EasyPost/vs/easypost
- lastscanned vs. Ship24/vs/ship24
- lastscanned vs. 17TRACK/vs/17track
- lastscanned vs. Direct Carrier APIs/vs/direct-carrier-apis
- lastscanned vs. Shippo/vs/shippo
- lastscanned vs. ParcelsApp/vs/parcelsapp
- Full architecture & WAF comparison guidedocs.lastscanned.com/comparison