Key Points
For 10 years, we've seen first-hand the change in consumer delivery expectations. Most online shoppers have come to expect faster, cheaper, or even "free" delivery with their purchases. Placing immense pressure on eCommerce margins and the stores that fund these promotions.
Every quarter, we survey a panel of active online shoppers. Unexpected shipping costs and a lack of transparency around delivery times are the top two reasons for cart abandonment.
This highlights how important it is to accurately calculate and offer the cheapest shipping options at checkout. No matter where you're located or which shipping zone you're in.
In this practical guide, we'll help maximize your ROI by cutting shipping costs on every shipment. This will make your store and online products more competitive. Lead to higher conversion rates and a more profitable eCommerce business—where the money you save on shipping goes directly to your bottom line.
So, what is the cheapest way to ship a package in January 2025?
Note:Â These examples rates are for a 1lb package shipped domestically in the US. For international delivery, read the cheapest way to ship a package overseas.
The full story is that the cheapest rate depends on a number of factors—including the delivery expectations of your customers. While there is no one-size-fits-all... well, boxes of all sizes... here are our top tips on the key factors that impact the price of shipping and how you can immediately save on costs.
Now, read on in this practical guide as we take a closer look at the discounted rates available by service preference. All while sharing more specific details on how to understand, calculate, and select the best shipping rates available in 2025.
Balancing delivery speed and cost is a difficult compromise for brands. Different courier services can provide vastly different delivery lead times. There can also be considerable differences in price and tracking quality.
To illustrate this, we'll showcase the best and cheapest way to mail a package that weighs under 10 pounds. To add your own weights or dimensions, be sure to take a look at Easyship's free shipping rate calculator to view accurate data for your package size.
To find the best rates for 2-3 day shipping, we'll use the following example package weight and dimension for a fair comparison.
Simply enter these into the Easyship shipping rate calculator to compare exclusive pre-negotiated rates from all of the major domestic and international shipping service providers.
‍What you'll find: UPS 2nd Day Air® is generally the cheapest shipping service for 2-3 day shipping. FedEx, USPS, and other courier companies offer delivery services with similar lead time expectations, but UPS offers the lowest rates for fast 2-3 delivery.
Sending heavier packages? If you’re shipping a package over 5+ pounds, USPS and FedEx offer competitive rates for the cheapest 2-3 day shipping options.
When it comes to express shipping with overnight next-day delivery, UPS and FedEx are much more reliable for overnight shipping services. USPS Priority Mail Express may offer affordable rates for 1-day delivery, but UPS and FedEx guarantee delivery by the next day or your money back.
Cheapest for 2lb overnight packages: To find the best shipping rates for overnight delivery, let’s again say you’re shipping a 2-pound package from New York to Los Angeles.
The weight of your parcel is one of the largest factors influencing shipping costs. Let's take a closer look at the most affordable shipping services based on the weight of your package.
Remember: There's a difference between the actual weight and the dimensional weight that many carriers use to calculate rates. This is where Easyship delivers complete transparency, allowing you to see exactly which method was used for each shipping quote. Skip ahead to "how shipping rates are calculated" for more.
USPS Ground Advantage is the cheapest option for shipping packages under 1 pound. For any media-related materials, like books or educational materials, USPS Media Mail is even cheaper.
You can compare the rates below for an example package with these properties:
UPS Ground Saver is the cheapest option available for packages that are 1-5 pounds. Meanwhile, USPS Priority Mail offers the best value overall, considering both price and speed. Delivering in just 1-3 working days compared with the UPS timeline of up to 5.Â
As we can see in this example, UPS Ground Saver or USPS Ground Advantage are still the cheapest options for anything up to 10 pounds.
Once we start getting to the larger packages, particularly when it can be considered a bulky or oversized shipment, FedEx comes into its own and is the clear winner. FedEx Express Saver is the cheapest shipping option for a package that weighs 50 pounds.
If you are looking for the best value rates on larger items, FedEx 2Day offers delivery within two working days for just $18.22!
Now that we have looked at the different delivery factors that affect shipping rates, it's time to look at the top-ranked shipping options for a side-by-side comparison. USPS, FedEx, and UPS each have their own respective strengths (and weaknesses).
This is exactly why one of the top trends in eCommerce in 2025 is implementing a multi-carrier shipping strategy. To ensure that the best carrier is selected for each shipment by comparing the market.
As we've explored, there is no universal shipping method that can guarantee the lowest cost of shipping for every box size or destination. It's important always to compare carrier rates and service levels, as each shipping company calculates rates slightly differently.
For each package you ship, you should consider the required delivery speed, transit distance, package weight, and box size.
Now, let's dive into each of these four major factors in greater detail. Our team of logistics experts has provided a series of recommendations on how to reduce the cost of shipping.
How quickly do you want your package to get to its destination? As instant gratification becomes the norm, fast shipping is increasingly an important factor for customer satisfaction. But keep in mind—the faster the delivery speed, the more you'll end up paying.
The great news is: You have the choice. Do you want your package to be delivered overnight, the very next day, in 2-3 days, or even longer? Courier companies offer different time-sensitive delivery options to cater to your preferred delivery timeframe.
Just remember you’ll have to pay a premium for speed. So, make sure you have shipping rates at checkout set up for your store, so you can offer fast shipping and pass on the extra cost directly to save your margin. For example, overnight delivery may cost up to five times more than a slower ground delivery—is it worth it for your business?
For 2-3-day shipping, USPS Priority Mail offers the most competitive rates for packages weighing 10lb and below. For above 10lb, UPS and FedEx can provide more enticing rates within the same delivery window.
For packages with a hard two-day delivery timeframe, UPS 2nd Day and FedEx 2Day are the best alternatives to USPS, as the US postal service doesn't offer guaranteed services within this timeframe.
For expedited next-day Day or overnight delivery, UPS Next Day Air Saver and FedEx Standard Overnight offer much more competitive rates compared to USPS.
First things first, consider which shipping zone your package is being sent from. Shipping services, like USPS, split the United States into nine (9) different shipping zones based on the distance your package has to travel. This is calculated based on the mailing address or zip code. The further the destination address is from the origin shipping zone, the higher the shipping rate will be.
Next, consider whether your shipment will be sent domestically within the US or overseas. As you would expect, international shipping usually results in higher shipping prices. Despite this, many US businesses have found considerable success with international expansion, driving explosive sales growth as the global population approaches 8.3 billion people.
One shipping strategy for keeping rates low, which is particularly effective for higher volume brands, is setting up distribution centers in different parts of the US to save on delivery costs.
This works by shortening the distance traveled for each package. Reducing the average number of shipping zones crossed while making the delivery time for your customers faster.
There is also the added benefit of reduced storage risk by strategically distributing your merchandise across the US and having it closer to the final destination. For example, Easyship offers eCommerce fulfillment centers in both Chicago and Los Angeles that can lead to significant savings.
Easyship also offers a range of 3PL fulfillment centers and warehouses worldwide, including in Hong Kong, which offers a suite of US import and Section 321 "De Minimis" advantages for brands manufacting or importing from China. Learn more about other ways to save on international shipping and import costs here.
The weight of your package is a crucial factor to consider when finding the cheapest way to ship boxes. How heavy or light your package is will impact its shipping rate. Again, we arrive back at our courier comparison.
USPS offers the most competitive rates when shipping lightweight packages under 1 pound, using either USPS First Class Mail or USPS Media Mail (subject to eligibility).
USPS Priority Mail offers a cost-effective option when sending items between 1-10 lbs, while FedEx and UPS Ground/Home delivery offer the lowest rates for heavy packages within the US.
In a potentially confusing twist for beginners, not all weights are equal. Carriers use the larger of the actual weight and the dimensional weight to calculate shipping costs.
Actual weight refers to the physical weight of a package, as you would expect, including its contents and packaging materials. It is measured by placing the package on a scale and is typically expressed in pounds (or kilograms).
If you're measuring and shipping from home, stand on the scale first and then hold the package, subtracting your original weight from the new total to get the package weight.
Alternatively, dimensional weight (also known as volumetric weight) is a calculated metric that only considers the package's volume. For this, we'll proceed to the fourth and final factor in calculating shipping rates: package size.
The size of a package has everything to do with how much space it occupies in the back of a truck or freight container and is based on its total dimensions.
The larger the package dimensions (think length, width, and height), the greater the shipping price. Different couriers offer several options to help you optimize your package size for shipping efficiently.
One such option is to use Flat Rate Packages with USPS. Although this isn’t always guaranteed to be the cheapest way to ship a box. It can help you maintain steady shipping costs and know exactly what you're likely to pay. Generally, First Class Mail envelopes, Flat Rate envelopes, and USPS Priority Mail offer the lowest rates for small packages by size.
Another option is to use cubic pricing. Cubic pricing is a special USPS service that offers lower shipping rates when sending small, heavy items that are under 20lbs with USPS Priority Mail.
Here is how to calculate the cubic feet for your package:
Cubic feet = Length x Width x Height/ 1,728
Dimensional pricing is also used when determining the shipping cost of your package. If your package is too large in proportion to its weight, the dimensional weight will be used to determine the shipping rate.
The larger the dimensional weight, the higher the shipping rate, as the package will take up more space in freight, airplanes, trucks, and other cargo vehicles.
Dimensional weight is calculated by dividing the dimension of your package by a specified divisor. The larger the divisor, the cheaper the shipping rate.
Each carrier has a slightly different divisor, meaning there can be large variances in how this is calculated.
Dimensional weight = (L x W x H)/ Divisor
For example, USPS has the largest dimensional weight divisor, meaning it offers the cheapest way to ship a package based on its dimensional weight.
Great work. You've come this far! You're almost a shipping expert. To wrap up, there are a few other factors that you need to consider when calculating the total cost of shipping.
Like all things in life—the cheapest option is not always the best option. This is because the cheapest option may not include expected service levels or other important factors that may impact your profitability in other ways.
For example, shipping insurance, high-quality shipment tracking, and day-definite delivery timeframes may not be included or guaranteed with the cheapest shipping option. This is why it's important to use multi-carrier shipping software to compare rates and service levels.
Getting shipping discounts from courier companies is one of the easiest ways to save on your shipping costs in 2025.
Shipping carriers can discount your rates depending on the volume of packages that you send. Usually, the more you ship, the better your rates become.
This is dependent on your location and total shipment volume. By reducing your average shipping expense per package, you'll be adding margin back into every online sale.
There are some strings attached. One of the most common terms and conditions relates to minimum order volumes. Where your business must meet and continue to ship a defined number of monthly shipments. This can be difficult to maintain for smaller businesses, stores with high seasonality, or if you run into any unexpected stock shortages or supply chain issues.
Global shipping platforms like Easyship also offer another way to access shipping discounts. And the best part is, it's free to sign up! By shipping hundreds of millions of packages, Easyship can negotiate the best available volume discounts.
All savings are instantly available inside the platform and passed on to everyone who uses the courier comparison tool. Allowing businesses of all sizes to save up to 91% off retail rates and compare service levels across carriers, with no minimum volumes.
By comparison, most businesses will be able to get better rates with Easyship as a multi-carrier shipping aggregator. This is compared with trying to directly negotiate with the individual shipping companies, which is time-consuming, hard to manage, and linked to strict terms.
Easyship was built to simplify shipping for eCommerce sellers of every size. If you’re looking for the cheapest way to ship, how to compare rates, or grow internationally—our free shipping tools and smart dashboard can save you hours daily.
Our most popular App features:
More free shipping tools:
Instant Access To Discounted Rates:
Join our community of eCommerce sellers and get started with Easyship for free today.
Courier companies calculate international shipping rates based on:
As such, the cheapest international shipping rates depend on the exact delivery address and type of package.
USPS and UPS generally provide the cheapest international shipping services for most destinations for smaller and lighter packages.
Meanwhile, FedEx's popular International Connect Plus is frequently the cheapest shipping service for medium and larger packages to many global destinations.
USPS Priority Mail is the cheapest shipping service available in the US, often as low as $7-11 depending on shipping zones.
USPS Media Mail is cheaper again, however this product is strictly for books, media and educational materials. Any other type of product will incur additional charges.
Small businesses are usually not able to negotiate discounted rates with the USPS postal service and express shipping carriers like UPS, FedEx and DHL Express. This is because they do not meet the minimum shipment volume criteria and other terms and conditions.
To access discounted shipping rates up to 91% off retail prices, small businesses in the US can benefit from Easyship's free global shipping account which delivers volume discounts for everyone. Without any minimum volume requirements, additional fees or hidden charges.
USPS and UPS offer some of the cheapest ways to ship a package in the United States. You can save money on shipping with either company, however it's important to be aware of their individual advantages.
USPS Advantages:
UPS Advantages: Â
UPS and FedEx both provide a range of attractive shipping solutions for businesses of all sizes. As express carriers, they offer better tracking and shipping insurance compared with local postal services. In terms of a pricing, UPS is generally cheaper for smaller packages under 10lb. Meanwhile, FedEx is often cheaper for heavier packages above 10lb across the US and internationally.
Easyship offers the best available shipping rates for small business. Trusted by 100,000 online sellers, Easyship helps Shopify stores and marketplace sellers save on shipping costs. By offering exclusive pre-negotiated rates up to 91% off retail prices. Automatically compare prices from 550+ courier services in one dashboard to always find the cheapest way to ship a package.
If you're looking for more cheap shipping options, check out the following guides:
Key Points
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