May 19, 2023 •Deyman Doolittle
We’ll tell you. In this blog, we will provide you with rates for different parcel shipping carriers, as well as tips on how best to ship your 20 lb package. It is hard to say which carrier or service has the cheapest way to ship a 20 lb package since the cost relies on many factors and the rates are constantly changing. As you can see in the charts below, individual services can range by hundreds of dollars.
How Much Does It Cost to Ship a 20 LB Box?
UPS Rates for Shipping a 20 LB Box
Shipping Service | Cost Range for a 20 lb package |
UPS Express Critical | Get a quote(The fastest and most expensive UPS service). |
UPS Next Day Air Early | $101.67-$336.20 |
UPS Next Day Air | $71.67-$334.89 |
UPS Next Day Air Saver | $66.49-$244.25 |
UPS 2nd Day Air A.M. | $48.68-$204.68 |
UPS 2nd Day Air | $44.45-$185.36 |
UPS 3-Day Select | $32.24-$131.10 |
UPS Ground | $16.10-$166.06 |
We can see that UPS rates get cheaper as delivery times get slower. UPS Express Critical is the fastest with same-day delivery, but also the most expensive. If your 20 lb package doesn’t need to arrive urgently, and you want to save money on shipping, then go for UPS Ground.
FedEx Rates for Shipping a 20 LB Box
Shipping Service | Cost Range for a 20 lb package |
FedEx First Overnight | $106.55-$280.16 |
FedEx Priority Overnight | $75.55-$249.16 |
FedEx Standard Overnight | $71.75-$241.82 |
FedEx 2Day A.M. | $52.29-$206.09 |
FedEx 2Day | $47.62-$176.30 |
FedEx Express Saver | $44.21-$149.10 |
FedEx Ground and FedEx Home Delivery | $16.21-$36.17 |
FedEx's fastest service, FedEx First Overnight, has prices starting at $106.55, while its slowest service, FedEx Ground, costs between $16.21 and $36.17.
USPS Rates for Shipping a 20 LB Box
Shipping Service | Cost Range for a 20 lb package |
Priority Mail Express | $69.30-$221.95 |
Priority Mail | $23.15-$177.55 |
USPS Retail Ground | $22.20-$68.60 |
USPS rates for shipping a 20 lb package can be over $200 if shipping priority, while using ground will keep you under $70. In the section below, we will discuss the USPS retail calculator, which you can use to get exact shipping cost estimates based on your shipment’s unique details.
USPS Shipping Cost Calculator
USPS has an online shipping cost calculator known as Retail Postage Price Calculator. It is a valuable tool that allows customers to estimate the cost of shipping a package before deciding on a specific USPS service. To use the USPS shipping cost calculator, a customer needs to:
- -Enter the destination country (For domestic shipping, just select the United States).
- -Enter the ZIP Code you are mailing from.
- -Enter the ZIP Code you are mailing to.
- -Enter the Date you plan to mail the item.
- -Enter the time you plan to mail the item
- -Check the appropriate box if you are shipping special items (e.g., cremated remains, day-old poultry, etc.)
- -Check the appropriate box if your shipment requires ground transportation.
- -Choose from the following price estimation methods:
- -Calculate Postcard price
- -View Flat Rate Envelopes
- -View Flat Rate Boxes
- -Calculate the price based on Shape and Size
Once the required information is entered, the USPS shipping cost calculator generates a list of available shipping options along with their respective prices. Customers can choose the shipping option that best suits their needs and budget.
The USPS shipping cost calculator is particularly useful for small business owners who need to minimize shipping costs. By using the USPS cost calculator, and other carriers’ calculators, small business owners can compare the costs of different shipping options and choose the most cost-effective one. Doing so helps them not only to save money on shipping costs but also to provide affordable shipping rates to their customers.
How Shipping Rates Are Calculated for Your 20 LB Box
Carriers like FedEx and UPS take several factors into consideration when coming up with shipping rates. The two main factors are weight and distance, as described below:
- The weight of your box- Carriers charge shipping by weight since package weight directly affects the operational costs of the carrier. For instance, if two trucks are carrying 160 sq ft of goods, but one has heavier goods, the one with heavier goods will consume more fuel. In this case, the actual weight, that is, the weight on a scale, of your box is 20 lbs. Sometimes, especially for large, light packages, a different weighing system is used called dimensional weight. The advantages of dimensional weight are that it ensures fair pricing for packages that take up more space than their weight suggests, and it encourages shippers to use efficient packaging practices to reduce package size and weight.
- Destination- The destination of your package tells the carrier how much distance will need to be covered to deliver the package. More distance = more fuel. This is why carriers charge based on the destination zone of your package.
What Is The Cheapest Way to Ship a 20 Pound Package?
If you're simply looking for the cheapest way to ship a single 20-pound package, USPS Priority Mail is generally one of the cheapest options. The cost to ship the 20-pound package depends on travel distance and typically ranges from around $13 to $50.
How ShipSigma Can Help
At ShipSigma, we are specialists in optimizing your small parcel shipping spend — our average customer enjoys savings of 25% on their shipping costs. Want to be our next success story? Contact ustoday!
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