eLogii Blog | Delivery and Field Service Management Blog

We Tried 4 Urbantz Competitors. Here's What We Found Out

Written by eLogii | Oct 15, 2024 5:00:00 AM

So, you’ve tried Urbantz, and it didn’t work out. That inevitably sets you on yet another search for a last-mile delivery management software, something that ticks all the boxes for you.

Or perhaps you’re trying to decide between Urbantz and another platform, wondering which would be the best fit for your business?

Either way, you’ve come to the right place.

We recently analyzed in detail 40K route optimization software reviews:

And now we’ve prepared a list of the 4 best Urbantz competitors to give you a hand with finding the one that will best accommodate your needs.

We’ll compare each of these platforms with Urbantz regarding their:

  • Core functionality
  • Pricing policy
  • Use cases

This way, you’ll have all the vital information at your fingertips.

To give you a clearer picture of what each platform is up against, we’ll begin by providing a brief overview of Urbantz, including its most prominent features, shortcomings, and best use cases.

Key Takeaways

  • Urbantz is an enterprise-grade solution that carries the most value for businesses that use 3PL providers more than in-house fleets

  • eLogii is the best Urbantz alternative for businesses of all types and sizes that need a feature-rich solution that’s flexible and easier to scale

  • Shipsy is a good fit for large companies that specialize in international shipments and freight organization and management

  • Tookan is the suitable Urbantz alternative for smaller businesses looking to create a bespoke solution by picking only those features that they need the most

  • Shipday is a viable option for start-ups and smaller companies that have limited budgets but would like to automate at least a part of their logistics operations

Urbantz: Software Overview

Urbantz is a last-mile delivery management platform based in Belgium. As such, it’s predominantly oriented toward companies doing business in the EU.

As we’ll shortly see, Urbantz is a pretty feature-rich solution, which makes it a strong contender in the delivery management industry.

Urbantz: Key Features

Several features can be considered Urbantz’s strong points, including:

  • Delivery time slots – with a twist. Not only can your customers specify the time window in which they’d like their order to arrive, but you can also steer them toward the time slots that suit you the most. For example, you can rank time slots and prioritize “green slots” (i.e., the most eco-friendly ones) or offer discounts for slots that would help you use your vehicles in the most efficient way

  • 3PL providers management options – businesses that prefer using third-party shippers and carriers or those with mixed fleets will be particularly delighted with this feature. Urbantz enables users to monitor their in-house and outsourced drivers and vehicles from one dashboard and set up allocation parameters to ensure optimal efficiency when assigning tasks, etc. Thanks to Urbantz’s preintegration with various carriers in over 50 countries, users can easily find the ones they need. There are also options for adding any other carriers users might need at a low cost.

  • Workflow customisation – This option means you can configure step-by-step workflows to fit various situations and requirements. For example, you can set up workflows that will be set into motion in case of failed deliveries and returns management, create mandatory pre-route safety checks, configure special steps for high-value deliveries, etc. You can also offer additional services to customers (e.g., installation, recycling, furniture assembly, etc.)

Allows flexible delivery scenarios, such as curbside delivery, click and collect, offering lockers as preferred pick-up locations, etc. This option also enables users to custom-tailor their premium customers’ delivery experience.

Urbantz: Shortcomings

Yet, Urbantz has some disadvantages that must be mentioned. For example:

  • It works best in European countries. Urbantz’s pre-integrated carriers are mostly European-based, which is great if you do business in continental Europe. If not, this will pose an issue.

  • There are not enough learning resources, and the software is not that easy to wrap your head around due to its many functionalities.

  • It is often too slow to load and is prone to crashing.

  • Its routing features could be more sophisticated. Consequently, the platform experiences a lot of trouble with route optimization.

  • Many users complain that it’s too expensive compared to similar software – its value for money is rated pretty poorly, with 4.1 out of 5 on Capterra.

  • Its integrations are anything but seamless. Urbantz’s API is not that well documented, and it’s difficult to keep track of the changes Urbantz’s team adds to the software. Moreover, third-party carrier integrations are also glitchy and require too much work from the user’s side.

  • It is difficult to adjust the platform to various business types, sizes, and needs since it’s not particularly flexible and configurable (e.g., companies that predominantly use bikes rather than cars for deliveries often experience difficulty with Urbantz, etc.).

How Much Does Urbantz Cost?

This is the million-dollar question, which sadly, we cannot answer with great certainty.

Urbantz decided not to publish off-the-peg prices, which is common in this industry. However, the fact that its team decided not to at least hint at its pricing policy is a bit odd, to say the least.

It seems, though, that the price depends on the number of orders you have. Namely, one of the things you need to specify when booking a demo is precisely the number of orders you deal with.

Judging from the ranges offered, we guess that Urbantz is primarily aimed at bigger companies that have a significant number of deliveries in a month.

If that’s the case, Urbantz probably has a matching price tag.

Who is Urbantz for?

Urbantz’s features for managing 3PL providers and integration with various carriers make Urbantz a good choice for businesses that prefer to outsource their fleets partially or completely.

Moreover, its workflow customization options and pricing policy indicate that Urbantz is a solution primarily aimed at enterprises that deal with a large number of orders on a monthly basis.

On the other hand, smaller companies and businesses of any size and type that require more flexibility from their delivery management solution will be better off with one of the Urbantz competitors.

Urbantz Competitor #1: eLogii

eLogii is a flexible delivery management solution perfect for businesses of all types and sizes

eLogii is a dedicated last-mile delivery management & optimization platform with a wide range of cutting-edge features.

eLogii’s rich functionality enables it to easily take care of all the crucial aspects of last-mile delivery, including:

  • Route planning and optimization
  • Customer satisfaction
  • Overall operational efficiency

How does eLogii outperform Urbantz?

Although both eLogii and Urbantz have plenty of first-rate features, eLogii has a much more intuitive interface backed up with comprehensive learning resources and military-grade customer support.

Moreover, eLogii is far easier to configure and adapt to different challenges of last-mile delivery compared to Urbantz.

Some of the things that make eLogii such a powerful solution include the following:

  • Best-in-class, thoroughly documented API and webhooks for seamless integration with the wider supply chain.

  • Advanced routing options - such as dynamic routing (meaning that it automatically adjusts routes to various unforeseen events, such as current traffic density and jams, accidents, weather conditions, road blocks, etc.), live vehicle tracking, multi-day and multi-depot routing for long-distance haulage and shared fleets, “return to depot” functionality for drivers to reload, etc.

Options for providing unparalleled customer service - such as sending precise ETA notifications from every stage of the delivery and their instant live updates (if anything changes on the road), enabling customers to track their order in real-time, allowing them to leave feedback easily, etc.

  • Wide range of POD collection methods, including barcode and QR code scanning, as well as cash-on-delivery confirmation

  • A massive number of configurable parameters that ensure maximum operational efficiency (e.g., matching tasks to particular driver skills, building tolerances for late/early deliveries into routing and timing, allowing customers to change their delivery addresses or opt for BOPIS, automatically matching loads to the most suitable vehicles, etc.)

All of these features enable eLogii to accommodate the needs of various business types and sizes with equal efficiency.

How do eLogii and Urbantz compare in price?

eLogii’s pricing policy is much more straightforward than Urbantz’s, although no fixed prices are disclosed on-site either.

eLogii doesn’t have one-size-fits-all pricing packages, which makes it an ideal solution for small, medium, and large businesses alike.

This platform comes with custom-tailored pricing plans that are based on your business’s particular configuration and needs. The typical entry-level price starts at around $359 per month for 2500 tasks.

Each plan includes unlimited users, drivers, and vehicles, which is an excellent option for larger businesses or those aiming to scale.

You can compare each plan’s features on eLogii’s website for a detailed overview of what each package includes.

When to choose eLogii over Urbantz?

Its wide range of cutting-edge functionality and plenty of customisation options combined with its custom-tailored pricing plans make eLogii the perfect choice for businesses of all types and sizes.

eLogii’s overall flexibility allows it to deliver excellent results for verticals as diverse as medical and pharmaceutical, food and drink, couriers - and everything in between.

Moreover, whereas Urbantz is optimized for 3PL provider management, eLogii is better suited for companies with predominantly in-house teams.

Still, eLogii’s API and webhooks enable seamless integration with various tools and platforms, meaning you can create your custom-tailored system for managing the wider supply chain.

The only businesses that wouldn’t benefit much from eLogii are small businesses with fewer than 2500 tasks per month and micro companies that don’t need as many advanced features.

Urbantz Competitor #2: Shipsy

Shipsy is a perfect choice for large companies dealing with international shipments

Shipsy is an end-to-end supply chain management solution primarily designed for enterprises that deal with complex logistics operations.

As such, it offers many pretty advanced features that new users might need some time to figure out completely.

How does Shipsy outperform Urbantz?

Shipsy outrides Urbantz when it comes to several features:

  • Options for managing freight procurement and forwarding - Shipsy has a comprehensive platform that allows various users to find the right shippers for their needs and connect with them easily

  • Organizing international transportation - Shipsy enables users to organize and manage long-haul international shipments by using various means of transport (e.g., ships, trucks, planes, etc.) and track each shipment in real-time.

  • Automatic finding of the best 3PL provider - With Shipsy, users can automate and simplify the process of finding the most suitable 3PL provider by using multiple filters to narrow their search (for example, the number of outsourced shipments, the maximum number of shipments in a region, the type of load and special requirements, cost, etc.)

  • It enables managing the entire supply chain from top to bottom - Shipsy has the necessary functionality for tackling first, middle and last-mile transportation and delivery with equal efficiency – you can automate warehouse assignment, create consolidated shipment bags based on each item’s origin and destination, and plan and optimize routes, among other things.

On the other hand, Shipsy’s API and integrations are somewhat faulty, and there are not that many customization options, which is a point to be noted when considering Shipsy.

How do Shipsy and Urbantz compare in price?

Just like Urbantz, Shipsy does not publish its exact prices, so it’s hard to compare the two platforms, especially since we cannot say for sure whether its pricing is vehicle or order-based.

However, some clues and hints indicate that Shipsy is definitely not a budget option.

Firstly, Shipsy is a platform for managing the entire supply chain – from when a product leaves the manufacturer to when it’s delivered to the end customer.

This makes Shipsy a good fit only for the biggest of businesses that need this wide of a logistics range covered, and such companies have pretty hefty budgets without exception.

So, by default, Shipsy simply cannot be a cheap option.

Secondly, we’ve managed to get a hold of some info about Shipsy’s pricing – its tracking shipment packages.

At first glance, this doesn’t seem like too much, especially considering there’s a free plan.

However, remember that this is the pricing for only one of Shipsy’s numerous capabilities.

This means that you would probably have to pay separately for every functionality segment with Shipsy.

Finally, Shipsy is clear about one thing: its pricing depends mainly on the number and type of features you want access to.

The more advanced your needs are, the more you can expect to pay, as every additional feature will cost you.

When to choose Shipsy over Urbantz?

Shipsy’s core functionality is designed to efficiently take care of end-to-end logistics operations, focus on shipment procurement, forwarding, and similar tasks.

This is why Shipsy is only suitable for enterprises – especially those dealing with international shipments – as these businesses are the only ones who actually need Shipsy’s freight procurement and forwarding features (which are the platform’s most prominent strengths) and have budgets substantial enough to afford them.

Urbantz Competitor #3: Tookan

Tookan is best when you need a mix ‘n’ match approach

Tookan from Jungleworks is a delivery operations platform that lets you choose exactly what features you need from a massive range of add-ons and other products from the Jungleworks suite.

How does Tookan outperform Urbantz?

Some of Tookan’s most notable strengths include:

  • It has an enormous number of extensions and add-ons that enable you to create your bespoke solution by picking only those features you actually require, which is especially attractive for users looking for more flexibility from their delivery management platform.

  • It has sector-specific solutions for various industries (e.g., beauty, food delivery, cannabis, waste management, and others)

However, it should be noted that Tookan’s greatest strength – its rich marketplace of add-ons – is also its greatest put-off.

Namely, most of these extensions cost extra, and they’re not cheap either (e.g., task ETAs $49/month, barcode generation for POD $11.99/month, route optimization $0.12 per task, etc.).

How do Tookan and Urbantz compare in price?

Tookan’s pricing plans are task-based, with each including unlimited agents and vehicles. That’s why, at first, Tookan seems like a pretty affordable option.

However, this picture quickly changes once you add all the essential extensions you’ll need for comprehensive delivery management (e.g., route optimization, in-app driver-dispatcher messaging, and ETA generation).

We’ve calculated the actual cost of Tookan’s plans (provided that you have no more tasks per month than what you get included in the package):

  • Early Stage - $199.99 per month for 200 tasks
  • Startup - $243.99 per month for 700 tasks
  • Growth - $529.99 per month for 2000 tasks
  • Standard - $1,089.99 per month for 5000 tasks

If you consider only the lower-tier plans, Tookan is an attractive choice. But at the top, Tookan is anything but affordable.

When to choose Tookan over Urbantz?

Although Tookan comes off as a very customisable tool, the truth is that only certain types of businesses will be able to make the most of it.

Micro businesses with less advanced needs and a smaller number of monthly deliveries will benefit from using Tookan’s starter plans – especially if they’re looking for a sector-specific solution.

On the other hand, Tookan isn’t a viable option for larger companies that have to opt for the pricier plans and buy all the extensions they’ll inevitably need to manage their operations effectively.

Urbantz Competitor #4: Shipday 

Shipday is a budget-friendly option

Shipday is one of the newer delivery management platforms, as it was founded in 2020.

However, even though it hasn’t been around for very long, it’s still earned a reputation for being an affordable tool with a robust interface, making it a very attractive option for start-ups.

How does Shipday outperform Urbantz?

Some of Shipday’s best features include:

  • Shipday has a free-forever plan. And the best part is that this plan includes practically all of its essential functionality. On the other hand, this package is not without its limitations (you get only 300 orders per month and no options for purchasing more, you can only add up to 30 drivers, there’s no route planning and optimization, live-tracking nor ETAs, etc.)

  • Provides online order forms for customers to fill out and submit directly. All you need to do is provide customers with a link for your online ordering form and let them do the rest.

How do Shipday and Urbantz compare in price?

Judging by its prices, Shipday is one of the more affordable platforms on the market.

Its paid plans include an unlimited number of drivers. However, the number of tasks you get per plan is limited – only 300 tasks per month. If you need more than that, you can get them for $0.10 or $0.20 per additional order, depending on your plan.

The biggest difference between the paid plans is that the Branded premium offers options for customizing the platform with your brand: adding your logo and colors and removing the “Powered by Shipday” watermark.

This plan also enables you to customize SMS notifications (to an extent) and get age verification options and dedicated account support.

Either way, Shipday is probably a much cheaper option than Urbantz.

When to choose Shipday over Urbantz?

Shipday’s functionality and pricing policy make this platform an ideal solution for small start-ups that don’t have a big budget but would still like to upgrade their business with some help from a delivery management solution.

Bottom Line: Urbantz Competitors

Urbantz is a feature-rich solution that will get the job done for enterprises dealing with huge volumes of deliveries that outsource their fleet partially or entirely.

Yet, businesses that don’t use 3PL providers that much, or don’t experience such large workloads, will be better off with one of the top 4 Urbantz competitors.

Shipsy is another enterprise-oriented tool with a strong focus on international shipments and freight procurement and forwarding.

Tookan and Shipday, on the other hand, are more suited for smaller businesses. While Tookan allows lots of customisation thanks to its numerous add-ons, Shipday is the ultimate budget-friendly option for start-ups and micro companies.

Finally, businesses big and small alike that need a solution that’s easy to scale and flexible enough to adapt to all of their needs will find eLogii to be an ideal match.