Compare shipping rates on a single page 📦

The rates you receive when going to a physical brick-and-mortar shipping location like a UPS Store or FedEx mailing center, will often differ in significant amounts. We recommend taking advantage of the volume discounts provided by multi-carrier shipping provider. The shipping software allows you to easily access discounted rates. Easily compare USPS vs UPS vs FedEx vs DHL, and more, all from a single dashboard. Using this type of software allows you to take advantage of volume discounts. Since these companies serve thousands of customers their shipping volume enables them to negotiate significant discounts for their users.

Here are a few services that connect all your shipping accounts (USPS, UPS, FedEx, DHL, etc.) in one place, and provide discounted commercial rates:

• Stamps.com is a popular service that lets you also print postage for letters along with labels for parcels. Includes USPS-approved postage and UPS discounts. Sign Up and Get a Special Postage Offer of $100 Value at Stamps.com! Use Code STAMPS100. Promotion includes postage credits.
• Shippo offers a free tier and an easy to use web interface with a shipping API and integrations to popular ecom platforms. They provide USPS, UPS, FedEx, and DHL Express discounts. Sign up here to get 3 months of Shippo's Pro plan FREE (up to $600 in value). You'll pay no fees on shipping labels outside of the postage cost and get branded packing slips, shipping notifications & tracking pages with up to 5 user accounts. Email, live chat, and phone support is included.
• ShippingEasy offers a free tier for those who ship less than 25 shipments a month. This is a great account for individuals, small business, or those just starting out with their e-commerce business. They offer many integrations to ecommerce platforms and discounted rates for USPS and UPS. Sign up for a free trial.
• ShipStation is ideal for those who have online stores. Their interface offers many reporting and automation features geared to those that sell on Shopify, Etsy, Amazon, and many other platforms. Sign up for a free trial.
• ShipEngine is a shipping API that lets you print postage programmatically. They offer a good developer experience and integrate with huge amount of carriers, including freight and LTL shipments like ABF, and international couriers. Sign up here.
• EasyShip offers a free tier and integrations with many regional couriers like Aramex and SF Express. Sign up here.

Retail vs discounted shipping rates

Buying your shipping online can offer you significant savings. Let's take a look at the example of shipping a 9 x 6 x 3 inches package that weighs 5 pounds going from Los Angeles to New York.

The discounted rates have been pulled from ShippingEasy and the retail rates have been taken directly from USPS and UPS' shipping calculators.

As you can see, the savings are substantial.

Heavier packages save even more money. Here is a comparison of prices for the same sized package, but weighing 20 pounds.

Multiple drop-off options for UPS and FedEx

Aside from saving a ton of money and saving time by not having to stand in line to buy postage, UPS and FedEx offer many drop-off options. With USPS, they offer free pick-ups for packages, or just drop them off at the post office. They usually have a section for drop-offs where you don't have to wait in line if you already have a pre-paid label.

UPS offers drop-off locations for prepaid packages in many forms. You can drop your parcel at:

• UPS Stores
• UPS Access Points, like your local CVS Store, Staples, Michaels, and Advance Auto Parts.
• Authorized Shipping Outlets, such as a local mail/shipping center.
• UPS Drop Boxes if your package does not exceed 16 X 13 X 3 inches in size.

FedEx also offers a myriad of drop-off options, the include, but are not limited to:

• FedEx Office Print & Ship Centers.
• Retailers like Office Depot, Walgreens, Walmart, Albertsons, Vons, and Safeway.
• FedEx Drop Boxes, accepts packages with a maximum size of 20 x 12 x 6 inches.
• Authorized Ship Centers, like the PostalAnnex.

Other things you might need to get up and running

It can be convenient buying from a physical, brick and mortar UPS, FedEx, or USPS location near you if you rarely need to ship a package. They will provide a box and pack your shipment for you, but all that comes with extra fees.

A scale to weigh your parcel and measuring tape are good investments for when you decide to start shipping from home. A favorite measuring tape is this spring loaded fabric one by Clover. Printing labels can be done on any home printer then taped to the shipping box, though for convenience, you can purchase a label printer to use with self-adhesive labels. If you find yourself making more frequent shipments, these items will save you time and money by avoiding costly in-store postage purchases.

Note: Rates shown in the above article are examples used for demonstration purposes. The actual shipping rates are updated periodically by carriers, and may not be an accurate representation of actual rates at this current time period.