How To Ship Internationally: A Quick Guide (with Live Service Picks)

The 3-decision framework

International shipping has dozens of services across four major carriers. To pick the right one, you only need to answer three questions:

1. How fast does it need to arrive? Express services land in 1–3 days globally; economy services take 6–14 days. Pick express only if the deadline genuinely requires it — the price difference is large.
2. Does the recipient need real tracking? USPS First Class Package International (FCPI) is cheap but tracking weakens after the package leaves US customs. Express services from UPS, FedEx, and DHL keep tracking through final delivery.
3. What's the destination? Canada is its own market — UPS Standard dominates. Europe and Asia have different cheapest-options at light vs heavy weights.

Live service picks for a 2 lb shipment from the US

For each major destination below, our live data shows the three picks you'd typically choose between: cheapest (lowest price, slower), fastest (quickest delivery, higher price), and best value (lowest price-times-days score, the smart middle).

Destination	Cheapest	Fastest	Best value
Australia Sydney • 11 carriers compared	USPS First Class Package International Service $43.86 · 15 days	UPS Worldwide Express Plus® $124.03 · 2 days	UPS Saver® $74.27 · 2 days
Canada Toronto • 12 carriers compared	UPS Standard℠ $19.88 · 2 days	UPS Worldwide Express® $53.18 · 1 day	UPS Standard℠ $19.88 · 2 days
Germany Berlin • 12 carriers compared	USPS First Class Package International Service $31.27 · 15 days	UPS Worldwide Express Plus® $110.42 · 2 days	UPS Expedited® $31.81 · 3 days
United Kingdom London • 12 carriers compared	UPS Expedited® $31.81 · 4 days	UPS Express® $70.42 · 2 days	UPS Expedited® $31.81 · 4 days
Japan Tokyo • 8 carriers compared	USPS First Class Package International Service $36.11 · 15 days	FedEx International Priority® $268.00 · 2 days	UPS Worldwide Expedited® $47.94 · 4 days
Mexico Mexico City • 13 carriers compared	USPS First Class Package International Service $28.30 · 15 days	FedEx International First® $345.93 · 2 days	UPS Worldwide Expedited® $41.39 · 3 days

The international service tiers, briefly

USPS

• First Class Package International Service (FCPI) — cheapest sticker price for parcels under 4 lb to most countries. Tracking included to destination but limited after customs scan.
• Priority Mail International — 6–10 business days, $200 of insurance included, includes free flat rate boxes and envelopes. Often the sweet spot for 2–4 lb shipments.
• Priority Mail Express International — 3–5 business days, guaranteed for some destinations.

UPS

• UPS Standard — ground service, cheapest for Canada and Mexico at every weight in our data.
• UPS Worldwide Expedited — 2–5 day commercial-grade express to Europe, Asia, Australia. Best balance of price and speed for 5+ lb shipments.
• UPS Worldwide Saver — 1–3 day express, faster but more expensive than Expedited.

FedEx

• FedEx International Economy — 2–5 days, comparable to UPS Worldwide Expedited but rarely cheapest in our data.
• FedEx International Priority — 1–3 day express to major markets, well-known for reliability when speed matters more than cost.

DHL Express

• Door-to-door 2–3 day express to 220+ countries. Often outperforms UPS and FedEx on parts of Asia and Europe where DHL has stronger last-mile networks. Best accessed via shipping software like ShipStation or Easyship.

How to actually book these rates

The prices in the table above are discounted commercial rates available through shipping software, not retail counter prices. Counter prices for international shipments are typically 30–50% higher.

• Stamps.com for USPS rates (use code MAIL100 for $100 in postage credits)
• ShipStation for the broadest international carrier mix
• Easyship if DHL Express is your primary need
• ShippingEasy for small-business volume under 25 packages/month

For weights other than 2 lb

This page assumes a 2 lb shipment for clarity. The cheapest carrier flips at different weights for different destinations — see our live breakpoint guide for transitions across 1, 2, 5, and 10 lb. For per-destination breakdowns of every carrier rate, see cheapest international shipping.

Methodology

Service picks computed from our international-rates Supabase table, refreshed monthly via Netlify cron calling Shippo's discounted commercial rate API. The "best value" pick uses a price × delivery-days score so a $30 service that takes 4 days beats a $25 service that takes 12. For your specific shipment use the interactive calculator.