Best Label Printing Software of 2026

Here's what we'll cover:

• What is label printing software?

• What are the common features of label printing software?

• What are the benefits of label printing software?

• What are the potential issues with label printing software?

• Benefits of label printing software

• How much does label printing software cost?

• What is label printing software used for?

• Which tools integrate with label printing software?

• Considerations when purchasing label printing software

What is label printing software?

Label printing software helps create and print various types of labels for different purposes, such as shipping labels, product labels, and barcode labels. This software offers features that allow you to customize label size, design, and content, including text, graphics, and barcodes. It typically includes templates and design tools that help produce professional-looking labels.

You can also integrate label printing tools with databases to automate the labeling process. The tool draws information directly from business systems to ensure accuracy and consistency. The software supports various printer types and label formats, making it versatile for business.

What are the common features of label printing software?

• Barcode generation: Create and customize barcodes, supporting formats such as UPC and QR codes. It enables manual data entry or database integration and automatically generates accurate barcodes for efficient tracking and inventory management.

• Label management: Organize label design creation, storage, and retrieval. It maintains a library of templates, enabling quick customization and consistent label production. This feature simplifies design processes, enhances operational efficiency, and ensures accuracy and compliance.

• Label designer: Get access to tools for creating and customizing labels. You can design labels from scratch or modify templates, adding text, logos, and barcodes. This feature supports various label sizes and formats, catering to diverse business needs.

What are the benefits of label printing software?

• Creates consistent label designs: Label printing software allows you to create standardized templates and design settings, eliminating variations that can occur with manual design processes. This ensures consistent design across various products, which is crucial for maintaining a professional appearance and consumer trust. Additionally, it simplifies production and facilitates compliance checks, making it easier for you to manage your labeling requirements efficiently.

• Reduces printing errors: Label printing software automates and standardizes the label creation process. It ensures that each label is accurately aligned and formatted according to predefined specifications, minimizing manual input errors. This consistency enhances labels' quality and reliability and saves on costs by detecting potential errors before printing. This preemptive correction improves operational efficiency and decreases the need for reprints.

• Saves time and effort: Label printing software saves time and effort by simplifying the design and printing processes. With predesigned templates and automated data integration, you can quickly create labels without manually entering details for each item. This automation speeds the production of large batches of labels and ensures accuracy, reducing the need for revisions. Additionally, the software's ease of use minimizes the learning curve, allowing staff to produce professional labels efficiently, thereby freeing up resources to focus on other business operations.

What are the potential issues with label printing software?

• Printer compatibility issues: A label printing tool may not support certain printer models or types, leading to printer compatibility issues. This limitation can prevent you from using your existing printing hardware, potentially requiring costly upgrades or replacements. Additionally, incompatibility can lead to printing errors, such as misalignments or improper label formatting, which disrupts label production and waste materials. 

• Template customization limitations: Certain label printing platforms offer limited options to modify templates. This can stop you from adjusting label designs to meet specific business needs or branding requirements. These restrictions can hinder the ability to produce labels that accurately reflect your brand identity.

• Inadequate label scaling: When a label printing software solution struggles to maintain the clarity and proportion of text and graphics when scaling up or down, labels can become unreadable or aesthetically displeasing. This limitation not only impacts the usability of the labels but can also affect brand perception and compliance with labeling regulations, which often specify required text sizes and image resolutions.

How much does label printing software cost?

Most label printing software solutions on the market are priced on a “per user per month” basis, and their entry-level pricing plans range from $19 to $299+.* An enterprise-level event label printing system that’s priced higher may include additional features, such as shipping labels, product labels, inventory labels, and QR code printing.

*The pricing included is for the entry-level/lowest-priced offerings found on vendor websites as of June 20, 2024.

What is label printing software used for?

The main purpose of a label printing platform is to design and print custom labels. However, this software can have multiple use cases based on the data fed into the system and the tool's features leveraged. Some of them are:

• Batch printing: Label printing software enables you to print labels in batches, which is particularly useful when you need to produce a large volume of labels for products, shipments, or inventory management. This feature saves time and ensures uniformity across all labels.

• Customizations: You can use label printing software to customize labels with specific fonts, colors, and logos, aligning them with your brand identity. This customization enhances the presentation of your products and strengthens your brand's visibility in a competitive market.

• Security labeling: You can use the label printing tool to create security labels that include tamper-evident seals or holographic images. These labels are crucial for products that require proof of authenticity, helping prevent counterfeiting and unauthorized tampering.

Which tools integrate with label printing software?

A label printing system can integrate with various tools to optimize label printing operations. We looked at thousands of reviews from users of label printing software to identify products that users frequently mention integrating with their label printing tools:

• Shopify is an ecommerce platform that allows users to create and manage online stores. Integrating it with label printing software automates the creation of shipping and product labels directly from order data, simplifying the fulfillment process, improving accuracy, and speeding up shipping, which enhances customer satisfaction and operational efficiency.

• Microsoft Excel is a spreadsheet program used for data analysis and management. Integrating it with label printing software allows you to efficiently import data for bulk label creation, simplify label customization, and enhance accuracy. This integration saves time and reduces errors in label production processes.

• Wix is a website builder that enables users to create and manage websites. Integrating it with label printing software automates the generation of labels from online orders, simplifying shipping processes, reducing manual data entry, and ensuring accurate label production, which enhances operational efficiency and customer satisfaction.

• PayPal is a digital payment platform. Integrating it with label printing software allows you to automatically generate shipping labels upon receipt of payment, simplifying the order fulfillment process. This integration ensures timely shipping, reduces manual entry errors, and enhances customer satisfaction by speeding delivery times.

• QuickBooks Online is an accounting software. Integrating it with label printing software automates the transfer of financial and shipping details for label creation, simplifying invoice and shipping processes. This synchronization saves time, reduces errors, and enhances workflow efficiency by coordinating financial management with logistical operations.

We identified these integrations mentioned most often in verified reviews of label printing software published on Software Advice within the past two years (as of June 20, 2024).

Considerations when purchasing label printing software

• Evaluate compatibility with your existing printers. Evaluating the compatibility of label printing software with your existing printers ensures seamless integration and operations. If the software doesn't support your printers, you could face additional expenses for new hardware or deal with frequent printing errors, such as misalignments and poor-quality prints. Confirming compatibility prevents these issues, saving you time and money while maintaining high label production standards.

• Check the availability of customizable label templates: Confirming the availability of customizable label templates ensures flexibility in meeting your specific branding and labeling requirements. Customizable templates allow you to adapt label designs to suit different products or regulatory needs easily. This capability lets you maintain brand consistency across all materials and ensures compliance with industry standards.

• Verify the ease of label resizing and alignment. Verifying the ease of label resizing and alignment ensures that labels are correctly formatted for various product sizes and printer types. Easy resizing and alignment features prevent issues such as misprints and label waste, enhancing the professional appearance of your products. This capability saves time and resources, allowing for a more efficient and cost-effective labeling process in your operations.

Source

Products evaluated for the pricing calculation were taken from Software Advice’s label printing software directory. The pricing ranges exclude freemium versions of the products. The features highlighted were identified based on their relevance and the percentage of products in Software Advice’s directory that offer them.

Disclaimer: This label printing software buyers guide was authored by Software Advice’s content team. We develop our guides using the author’s expertise, insights from 2M+ unique user reviews, and our proprietary data science algorithms to identify trends in user sentiment, preferences, and priorities. Some text was generated with assistance from AI tools.