USPS vs FedEx vs UPS Pricing
Cheapest Way to Ship a Package, Updated Monthly
We pull live rates from USPS, UPS, and FedEx across every US state pair and publish the cheapest carrier for each weight band. No guesswork, no stale listicles, just the current numbers.
Prices last refreshed April 2, 2026 01:09 UTC
Sample route, live rates
New York, NY to Los Angeles, CA
A concrete example so you can see the gap between carriers. Same package, same route, four different weights. Numbers are straight from our monthly Shippo refresh.
12 oz package
New York, NY to Los Angeles, CA
| Carrier | Cheapest service | Delivery | Price | Vs cheapest |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| FedEx | Ground | 4 days | $20.54 | +$14.12 |
| UPS | Ground Saver | 5 days | $6.42 | cheapest |
| USPS | Ground Advantage | 5 days | $6.43 | +$0.01 |
1 lb package
New York, NY to Los Angeles, CA
| Carrier | Cheapest service | Delivery | Price | Vs cheapest |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| FedEx | Ground | 4 days | $20.54 | +$11.89 |
| UPS | Ground Saver | 5 days | $8.65 | cheapest |
| USPS | Ground Advantage | 5 days | $9.26 | +$0.61 |
5 lb package
New York, NY to Los Angeles, CA
| Carrier | Cheapest service | Delivery | Price | Vs cheapest |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| FedEx | Ground | 4 days | $23.33 | +$14.15 |
| UPS | Ground Saver | 5 days | $9.18 | cheapest |
| USPS | Ground Advantage | 5 days | $9.65 | +$0.47 |
20 lb package
New York, NY to Los Angeles, CA
| Carrier | Cheapest service | Delivery | Price | Vs cheapest |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| FedEx | Ground | 4 days | $46.79 | +$37.48 |
| UPS | Ground Saver | 5 days | $9.31 | cheapest |
| USPS | Ground Advantage | 5 days | $9.65 | +$0.34 |
Network-wide summary
Who wins across every US route
Beyond one sample route, here is how each carrier performs against every state pair in our database. Winner share is the percentage of routes where that carrier had the cheapest rate.
12 oz package
UPS Ground Saver
$5.88 median cheapest
1 lb package
UPS Ground Saver
$6.85 median cheapest
5 lb package
UPS Ground Saver
$7.15 median cheapest
20 lb package
UPS Ground Saver
$7.28 median cheapest