July 14, 2023 •Joe Jordan
Small Parcel Shipping
So you want to ship a 50-pound box? And you also want to save money? In today’s blog, we will help you by comparing the rates of different carriers’ services. By the end, you will know which carrier and service is your best bet for saving money with your 50-pound shipment. The cheapest way to ship a 50-pound package is using ground shipping. Most carriers price their services based on delivery speed, and ground shipping is often the slowest service, making it the cheapest one.
What Is the Cheapest Way to Ship a 50-Pound Package?
When small parcel shipping, you often have to make a tradeoff between speed and cost. If you want quicker delivery, you will have to pay more.
The service you use will depend on the following:
- How fast you want the item to arrive- If the package is not urgent, choose ground shipping options like UPS Ground or FedEx Ground. If the package is needed urgently, use express services like UPS Next Day Air or FedEx SameDay.
- Your budget- To save money, choose slower delivery options like ground shipping.
- The contents of your package- Not all 100lb packages are the same. A package containing 100 lb of clothes will be handled differently from a 100 lb package containing chemicals. Consult with your carrier if you’re shipping special or dangerous goods.
Let’s examine how much shipping a 50-pound box costs across different carriers.
How Much Does It Cost to Ship a 50-Pound Box?
| Carrier | Shipping service | Cost range to ship a 50 lb package |
UPS | 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 | |
| FedEx | 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 | |
| USPS | Priority Mail Express | $69.30-$221.95 |
| Priority Mail | $23.15-$177.55 | |
| USPS Retail Ground | $22.20-$68.60 |
Based on the data in the table, it's clear that the cheapest way to send a 50 lb package is by using FedEx Ground or FedEx Home Delivery.
These two FedEx services are similar in that they use the same delivery network. However, FedEx Ground delivers packages weighing 150 lbs. or less to businesses or commercial addresses from Monday to Friday. In comparison, FedEx Home Delivery handles the delivery of packages weighing 150 lbs. or less to residential addresses every day of the week.
Now, if you're looking for another wallet-friendly option, UPS Ground comes to the rescue with prices starting at just $16.10.
What Is the Least Expensive Way to Ship a Large Heavy Package?
Generally, the cheapest way to ship a heavy package is once again through ground shipping. If you have a very heavy package (say over 150 pounds), then you may need to use freight shipping.
Below we will compare FedEx and UPS rates for shipping large, heavy boxes. We consider packages weighing more than 70 pounds to be large packages. USPS does not apply here since their maximum weight for a mailable package is 70 pounds.
| UPS Service | |||||||
| Weight | UPS Next Day Air Early | UPS Next Day Air | UPS Next Day Air Saver | UPS 2nd Day Air A.M. | UPS 2nd Day Air | UPS 3-Day Select | UPS Ground |
| 71–80 pounds | $225.24–$911.94 | $195.24–$899.58 | $177.58–$730.30 | $133.56–$691.56 | $121.38–$589.29 | $83.23–$415.25 | $29.40–$460.46 |
| 81–90 pounds | $259.67–$976.86 | $229.67–$965.81 | $203.13–$868.77 | $148.33–$759.97 | $134.12–$634.44 | $95.48–$461.99 | $39.94–$504.27 |
| 91–100 pounds | $281.73–$1,173.45 | $251.73–$1,167.21 | $231.60–$992.83 | $166.10–$874.49 | $151.22–$760.59 | $110.01–$551.12 | $90.02–$550.71 |
| 101–110 pounds | $301.15–$1,287.81 | $271.15–$1,283.95 | $255.76–$1,092.12 | $186.58–$961.94 | $165.37–$836.39 | $120.19–$606.93 | $64.23–$601.03 |
| 111–120 pounds | $328.01–$1,402.15 | $298.01–$1,400.67 | $281.08–$1,191.41 | $205.04–$1,049.39 | $181.74–$912.19 | $132.65–$661.98 | $72.54–$665.82 |
| 121–130 pounds | $354.84–$1,514.30 | $324.84–$1,517.40 | $306.41–$1,290.69 | $223.53–$1,136.83 | $198.12–$987.99 | $146.37 –$717.23 | $81.78–$721.64 |
| 131–140 pounds | $381.00–$1,628.48 | $351.00–$1,634.11 | $331.73–$1,389.97 | $241.99–$1,224.28 | $214.49–$1,063.79 | $159.22–$770.19 | $88.21–$784.68 |
| 141–150 pounds | $420.25–$1,742.67 | $378.52–$1,750.83 | $357.04–$1,489.25 | $260.47–$1,311.73 | $230.87–$1,139.60 | $173.39–$827.47 | $97.33–$856.00 |
| FedEx Service | |||||||
| Weight | FedEx First Overnight | FedEx Priority Overnight | FedEx Standard Overnight | FedEx 2Day A.M. | FedEx 2Day | FedEx Express Saver | FedEx Ground and FedEx Home Delivery |
| 71–80 pounds | $68.04–$199.53 | $37.04–$168.53 | $33.87–$165.22 | $25.37–$127.21 | $22.59–$106.40 | $21.03–$91.63 | $10.10–$22.40 |
| 81–90 pounds | $93.53–$280.16 | $62.53–$ 249.16 | $55.08–$241.82 | $36.28–$ 206.09 | $33.06–$176.30 | $32.41–$149.10 | $14.17–$36.17 |
| 91–100 pounds | $109.85–$367.87 | $78.85–$ 336.87 | $73.68–$319.81 | $57.43–$276.22 | $49.83–$243.54 | $45.48–$205.05 | $16.80–$51.83 |
| 101–110 pounds | $128.73–$435.45 | $97.73–$404.45 | $92.11–$387.40 | $74.31–$ 362.84 | $63.05–$312.64 | $61.81–$ 259.57 | $20.29–$63.95 |
| 111–120 pounds | $149.28–$510.78 | $118.28–$479.78 | $112.52–$462.75 | $94.83–$ 438.26 | $82.33–$359.69 | $79.96–$308.02 | $23.15–$74.72 |
| 121–130 pounds | $185.48–$613.46 | $154.48–$582.46 | $133.04–$565.44 | $114.67–$522.93 | $93.47–$424.98 | $91.63–$373.06 | $24.85–$81.11 |
| 131–140 pounds | $214.21–$698.31 | $183.21–$667.31 | $151.33–$650.28 | $133.01–$602.70 | $108.74–$479.00 | $104.68–$436.39 | $26.09–$85.57 |
| 141–150 pounds | $185.48–$613.46 | $154.48–$582.46 | $133.04–$565.44 | $114.67–$522.93 | $93.47–$424.98 | $91.63–$373.06 | $24.85–$81.11 |
How ShipSigma Can Help
At ShipSigma, we leverage our industry-leading AI technology, backed by over $1 billion of live market data and over 250 years of combined shipping experience, to identify specific cost-saving opportunities based on your unique shipping needs.
Contact ustoday to join 300+ happy customers and start enjoying significant savings on your shipping.
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