The mode of development of marine invertebrates is thought to influence levels of population structure and the location of species range endpoints via differences in dispersal ability. To examine these effects, populations of three sympatric clades of sedentary, marine gastropods in the genus Crepidula were sampled along the Atlantic and Gulf coasts of North America. A haplotype tree was constructed for each clade based on 640 bp sequences of mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase c subunit I. Examination of the tree topology, and amova analysis show that species with direct development (those hatching as benthic juveniles) have higher levels of population structure than do species with planktonic development. Both species in the direct‐developing C. convexa clade have high levels of geographical differentiation, with most populations representing a discrete clade of haplotypes. The planktotrophic species C. fornicata contains two major haplotype clades, both of which include samples from throughout the Atlantic coast. In this species there is no geographical differentiation among haplotypes but amova analysis detects a small but statistically significant level of geographical structure. The population structure within the C. plana species complex appears also to vary with mode of development: C. atrasolea, a direct‐developing species, has higher levels of population structure than does C. depressa, a sympatric planktotrophic species. The coincident occurrence of range endpoints and genetic breaks along the east coast of Florida in both direct‐developing species and species with planktonic development indicates that this biogeographic break is not due to development‐specific mechanisms such as hydrographic effects on larval recruitment.