USPS, FedEx Or UPS?
If You Are Shipping Something 2 Lbs Or Heavier With A 5 Day Delivery Window FedEx Ground or UPS Ground will most time as of be cheaper than USPS Priority Mail.
Between FedEx and UPS, FedEx will be cheaper than UPS out of the box because they provide you with an instant 15% off all shipments just for creating an online account(Note: The level of discount will vary but there’s always a discount program).
Both UPS and FedEx charge for “dimensional weight”. What this means is that if your package is oversized, then the shipping charges will be increased.
The dimensional weight calculation for UPS is currently LxWxH/139=Dimensional Weight.
Example, if your package is 20X20X20 and weighs 10 pounds, then you would be charged for a package weighing 20x20x20/139 = 57.55 lbs instead of 10 lbs.
Using a box of 14in X 12in X 3in, the dimensional weight for this package is 4 lbs which means you’ll get charged for 4 lbs no matter what. Otherwise, packages below 5184 cubic feet will be cheaper than USPS in this category.
The only exception to the above rule is that USPS offers 3 flat rate box shipping options, small, medium and large. If you can manage to shove merchandise that is heavier than 2lbs into a small flat rate box (unlikely), you can save about 10 dollars. (We don’t reccomend it!)
Taking a Deeper Dive
Realistically, you will need a medium flat rate box to ship something weighing 2lbs or more. Assuming that you aren’t getting hit by dimensional weight, the break even point between FedEx or UPS Ground and a Priority Mail flat rate medium box is approximately 3 lbs.
At exactly 2 lbs, FedEx/UPS is slightly cheaper. Above 2 lbs, the USPS medium flat rate box is slightly cheaper than FedEx or UPS Ground.
The break even point compared to FedEx and UPS for a large Priority Mail flat rate box is about 5 lbs.
If you need a large flat rate Priority Mail box, make sure it’s heavier than 5 lbs. Otherwise, FedEx or UPS Ground will always be cheaper.
- If your item is heavier than 2 lbs, try to fit everything into a USPS flat rate medium box.
- If your item is heavier than 5 lbs, try to fit everything into a USPS flat rate large box.
- Otherwise, Fedex and UPS will be cheaper for heavier package.
Conclusion
If You Are Shipping Items Under 2 Pounds… USPS will always be cheaper than FedEx or UPS.
Packages between 1-2 lbs in weight, on paper FedEx and UPS seem to be cheaper than USPS but it all depends on the dimensional weight calculations.
If Your looking for Next Day Service… USPS Express is the cheapest solution.
FedEx and UPS, always guarantee their delivery times but are significantly more expensive for the most part. In some cases, FedEx and UPS will cost you over double the cost of USPS.
Note: Most of our clients use USPS and their orders are typically under 2 pounds.
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