Shipping is a difficult problem for any merchant. With three major carriers to choose from, and different priority mail and flat rate options offered by each carrier, it can be challenging to know which service you should use for your shipments. which is easier, faster, cheaper? Beyond that: are there really that many differences between UPS (United Parcel Service) vs. FedEx vs. USPS (United States Postal Service)?
never fear! We researched the pros and cons of each of the top three shipping services and asked merchants to tell us about their own experiences with UPS, FedEx, and USPS.
Read on to compare shipping rates and learn what each carrier does well and where it can improve.
Top Shipping Tricks Revealed
what is the difference between ups & USPS?
usps is best when you want to ship small packages quickly and cost effectively, while ups is best when you have larger packages and need global reach.
comparing ups vs usps vs fedex & find the right carrier for your needs
We sound like a broken record, but here’s the truth: There’s no one-size-fits-all shipping option. Different business owners swear by each of these options and are encouraged by their choice. Ultimately, you will have to weigh your business wants, needs, and costs and see which one fits those needs. most companies find it’s best to mix and match shipping options. read on to see which carrier is best for your business.
which ups is best for & why
You may know it for its iconic brown trucks and ubiquitous shipping offices. As you may know them, UPS (United Parcel Service) is a major player in the shipping industry, specializing in fast and secure deliveries. eCommerce merchants, in particular, love UPS for its reliability and comprehensive tracking system. Despite all this good, however, ups also has its drawbacks. Depending on the size of the shipment, UPS services may be priced higher than what you would find with USPS.
is ups the right service for your business? Let’s take a closer look at the main advantages and disadvantages of the brown van shipping service.
ups advantages for commercial shipments
- Offers Express Guaranteed Shipping: If you need a package delivered as quickly as possible, ups is a great option. UPS provides services such as same day delivery and overnight delivery. guaranteed delivery gives you peace of mind knowing your packages will arrive on time, keeping your customers happy and keeping your business moving.
- It’s priced affordably (sometimes) for heavy shipments: While USPS is the cheapest option for light shipments, prices increase dramatically for heavier shipments. If you’re shipping packages that weigh more than two pounds, you should check UPS shipping rates. you may be able to deliver your packages faster (and more securely) at a lower price. Also, if you ship large volumes via UPS, you should be able to take advantage of volume discounts. You must have proof of your past shipments, but the discounts are worth it.
- Provides Unmatched Tracking: ups offers full tracking services. customers can see where their packages are from start to finish. ups detailed tracking gives your customers a sense of security, and it’s great for you too! ups can tell you at any point exactly where the packages are. it is unlikely that you will lose a package during shipping via ups.
disadvantages of ups for commercial shipments
While ups is a great service in many ways, it’s not perfect. here are some areas where you have to sacrifice if you ship with ups:
- is more expensive: While this is not true in all cases, ups services can be expensive and their shipping costs are high. There are a few reasons for this, but two of the main culprits are fees and surcharges that are added to your base rates. these include fuel surcharges, extended area surcharges and more. You should consider these surcharges, especially if you ship internationally, as they can be quite steep.
- There is no free package pickup service: although the USPS does offer scheduled pickups free of charge charge, you will have to pay a flat rate for the same ups service. while ups offers a flat rate for this service (versus fedex which charges by weight), it’s a shame ups doesn’t provide this service for free like usps does.
- no delivery Free Saturday: ups is the only carrier on this list that doesn’t offer Saturday delivery as part of its core services. this can slow down your shipments by up to two days. instead, Saturday delivery is offered as a “value-added service.” you will need to use qualified shipping services and pay extra to have your shipments delivered on Saturday.
what is usps best for & why
The United States Postal Service stands out on this list as a carrier because it is an independent federal agency. The USPS has the sole responsibility to provide postal services to all residents of the United States, pledging that “neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night” will prevent the postal service from delivering letters and packages to United States citizens. American mailboxes (although in my experience, freezing rain/ice does the trick).
usps is best for small, lightweight shipments and is a good option for those who need affordable shipping.
While the USPS is not the ideal option for all merchants (or all shipments!), it is worth considering as part of your fulfillment strategy. I would recommend the USPS in particular to sellers who ship a lot of small packages under 13 ounces. those super low rates for light shipping are hard to beat!
If you ship to residential P.O. and PO boxes, USPS is also a good option.
usps advantages for commercial shipping
There are a lot of things I like about the USPS. Here’s what postal service merchants like best:
- is the cheapest option for small packages: online merchants often want to know which is cheaper: usps, ups or fedex? And while there is no one-size-fits-all shipping solution, merchants looking for a low-cost carrier should look to their local post office first. USPS is almost always the cheapest delivery service option for companies that ship small items. USPS provides the cheapest shipping for many packages under two pounds and offers especially low rates for shipments under 13 ounces. Let me make it clear: If you ship products under 13 ounces, you must use USPS. In addition, many merchants benefit from the postal service’s flat-rate options through priority mail. For one price, you can ship products of any weight over any distance; It just has to fit in one of the USPS flat rate boxes. if you’re trying to cut costs, usps may be the way to go.
- is more reliable than in the past: whereas in the past usps he was notorious for misplacing packages or delaying shipments; in recent years, it has significantly improved its reliability and on-time delivery rates. while there are occasional hiccups, if your concern is lost packets, it seems the fear is now unfounded. merchants often claim that their savings from using usps more than cover the few packages that are lost.
- delivery to mailboxes & Post Office Boxes: The USPS has a monopoly on mailboxes and post office boxes. it’s the only shipping service that doesn’t have to leave packages at customers’ doorsteps. Plus, because the USPS routinely delivers nationwide, it excels at delivering packages to out-of-the-way destinations. If you’re looking for a service that allows you to deliver your packages along with customers’ daily mail, USPS is the only way to go.
usps disadvantages for commercial shipping
While usps is great for many purposes, it is by no means a perfect solution. Here are some of the downsides you’ll need to be aware of:
- Tracking isn’t great: Although USPS has improved its reliability in recent years, packages still get lost from time to time. USPS’s less-than-perfect tracking system doesn’t help when deliveries are delayed or lost. for better tracking capabilities, you’ll need to look at more expensive package delivery alternatives.
- Poor customer service: Merchants report that when packages go missing, it can be difficult locate them and get the reimbursement they have assured you. some other customer service complaints involve lost packages, the fact that the system is difficult for customers to navigate, and long wait times. To get the affordable shipping rates USPS offers, it seems like you’re going to have to sacrifice a bit in terms of customer service.
what is fedex & why
fedex is a great option for merchants looking for fast and reliable shipping. In particular, FedEx is ideal for air shipments and overnight delivery. fedex also has a good number of international shipping options to suit a variety of price levels and desired delivery times.
fedex is best for large shipments, urgent deliveries, and for merchants who need to track their shipments.
as always, you should compare shipping rates with ups and usps to ensure you get the best service for your money.
in the ups vs fedex debate, there is no clear winner. Traders often cite location as their main reason for choosing FedEx over UPS. however, your experience may be quite different. Regardless, here’s our list of what FedEx does well and where it could do better.
advantages of fedex for commercial shipments
fedex has many of the same advantages as ups, including a great tracking system and fast delivery. this is what you can expect from fedex:
- An Accurate Tracking System: fedex offers customers a robust tracking system. you can see the progress of your shipments every step of the way. your customers can also use fedex delivery manager to hold packages at a fedex location or schedule delivery at a specific time.
- saturday delivery: saturday delivery is available at no additional charge when shipping via fedex home delivery. delivering products just two days early via fedex can have a huge impact on customer satisfaction.
- discounts available: signing up for a personal or business account gives you immediate access When shipping with discounted fedex rates you don’t need to do anything else. If you sell and ship products, FedEx recommends that you sign up for a business account (even if you are a sole proprietor) to gain access to their rewards program.
disadvantages of fedex for commercial shipments
Of course, when considering FedEx, you’ll also need to consider its drawbacks. here are some of the most notable:
- Higher Shipping Rates: Due to the highly variable nature of shipping costs, it is impossible to label one carrier as definitively more expensive than another. however from what i have seen with sample calculations it seems that fedex often charges more than usps. Of course, this will not be true in all cases, but it seems to be a trend. this could be due in part to surcharges, such as delivery area surcharges and fuel surcharges.
- no free package pickup service: except for their recurring services express pickup, fedex does not offer a free package pickup service. Most pickup services are available for a fee.
- Fewer locations: There are more than 2,000 FedEx locations worldwide. By comparison, UPS offers about 5,000 UPS stores. that makes fedex a less convenient option for many small business owners.
usps vs ups vs fedex shipping services
Here is a summary of the three carriers and their shipping service options.
fedex shipping options
fedex offers both domestic and international shipping services for envelopes, packages and freight. See the full list of services on the fedex website, or take a look at the summary below.
fedex domestic mail & shipping
fedex offers a variety of domestic shipping services within the united states. Here are the main options and expected delivery times.
fedex international mail & shipping
fedex also offers international shipping options, with a variety of delivery times available.
fedex freight shipping
Like UPS, FedEx also offers numerous domestic and international freight forwarding services, including:
- fedex first day freight
- fedex 1 day freight
- fedex 2 day freight
- fedex 3 day freight
- fedex priority freight
- fedex economy freight
- next fedex international flight
- fedex international priority freight
- fedex international economy freight
- fedex freight priority
- fedex freight economy
contact fedex directly for more details on freight shipping.
other fedex services
Like the other two carriers on this list, FedEx offers numerous value-added services. here’s a sample of what’s available:
- packaging services
- scheduled shipment pickup
- delivery required by signature
- shipping insurance
- free delivery on saturdays for some services
- free fedex express packing
To get a full picture of what fedex can do, check out their value-added options.
improve shipping options
ups offers dozens of shipping services for domestic and international shipments, including express shipping, air shipping, ground delivery, and freight forwarding.
For the sake of simplicity, we only list the main categories of ups shipping services below. many of these services include multiple subcategories. for example, “ups worldwide express” includes the following services: ups worldwide express plus, ups worldwide express shipping, ups worldwide express charge, ups worldwide express na1, and ups worldwide express charge noon. For a complete list of UPS shipping services, go to the UPS website. otherwise, you can see our simplified lists below.
increases national mail & shipping
If you’re shipping a package in the United States, here are the main shipping options UPS offers.
increases international shipments
ups also offers international shipping options, with various shipping times available. these are some of the options offered by ups.
improve freight forwarding services
ups also offers freight forwarding services for domestic and international shipments, including:
- increases air freight
- increases ocean freight
- increases trucking and ltl solutions
- increases land freight accelerated worldwide
contact ups directly for more details on freight shipping.
other ups services
for an additional cost, ups also offers many value-added services. these include:
- delivery confirmation
- charge on delivery
- delivery change request
- direct delivery only
- hold for pickup
- Saturday delivery
- notification services
- shipper release
- customs brokerage
- intercept ups of delivery
- daily collections
- additional returns
See the ups website for a complete list of available value-added services.
usps shipping options
usps offers a variety of services covering domestic mail, international mail and more. Here is a brief summary of the services available with the USPS:
usps domestic mail & shipping
If you are shipping packages in the United States, these are the shipping services available to you.
usps international mail & shipping
usps also offers international shipping, with a variety of delivery times available.
In addition to its shipping services, USPS offers many other services, including the following:
- free supplies for priority mail and express express mail
- free shipping pickups
- ship to military (can ship apo, fpo, dpo)
- free shipping insurance (up to $100 express priority mail and up to $50 priority mail)
- usps tracking
- certified mail
- return receipt requested
- buy money orders
- personalized mail, stamps and envelopes
For a complete list of USPS shipping services and more, take a look at their services web page.
fedex vs usps vs ups: cost comparison
last year there were surcharges and rate increases in all three operators. This is especially true for rush and overnight services as customers want/need their products fast and there is a general delay in mail service due to the covid pandemic.
still, in most situations, usps will be the cheapest option. (By comparison, the USPS rate increase on their ground coverage was $0.20 vs. FedEx’s nearly $1.25 increase.) all prices below are current as of July 2021.
fedex costs
If you ship through fedex frequently, you should consider signing up for an account. fedex offers personal and business accounts, and all users of these accounts have access to discounted shipping rates. There are a couple of additional benefits to signing up for a business account. If you’re on the business account, you get access to the fedex rewards program as well as discounts on some fedex office services.
here is a cost breakdown of the main fedex shipping services in the united states.
fedex also offers a rate calculator on its website. If you expect to ship a lot internationally, there are also more resources for you on the fedex international shipping page.
usps costs
shipping costs through usps vary dramatically, depending on the dimensions of the shipment, as well as the origin and destinations of the package. Fortunately, there is one important way to ensure you always get the best rates with USPS and that is to sign up with a postal solution like Stamps.com or ShippingEasy to access discounted USPS commercial rates. When you purchase postage online through one of these services, you can save up to 46% off typical “retail” rates. take a look at what is stamps.com & how it works for more information.
here is a cost breakdown of the main usps shipping services in the united states.
*usps offers flat rates for priority mail service. with flat rate boxes and envelopes, weight and destination do not affect price. if you can fit it in the box, it will ship for the default price.
increases costs
just like usps, ups organizes its prices into two types of tariffs. in this case, they are the “daily rates” and the “retail rates”. UPS retail rates are the standard rates you can expect as an individual customer walking into a UPS store. daily rates, however, are discounted rates that are available to select users. To access daily rates, you must have a scheduled UPS pickup, have a UPS agreement that provides these rates, and have established a UPS payment account after July 11, 2016.
You can view rate tables for both daily rates and retail rates on the ups website.
Here’s a breakdown of daily rates for UPS’s top domestic shipping options.
ups vs usps vs fedex reviews
when it comes to customer reviews, ups and fedex are almost identical. both in terms of its one-star status on trustpilot (1.2 and 1.5 stars, respectively) and in terms of complaints and compliments. it’s impossible to call a winner in that fight.
improve reviews
- bbb reviews: the better business bureau gives a rating to on their site. of the bbb complaints, the majority of them concerned delivery issues (lost/delayed/stolen items) or problems with a product or service (most of which are also complaints about delivery issues). ups resolves most on-site complaints to customer satisfaction.
- trustpilot reviews: ups scores 1.2 from 17764 reviews. The biggest complaints on that website are that it increases damaged and delayed packages, got the tracking wrong, and didn’t offer timely refunds. (Many people also get upset when drivers leave packages in the rain.) reviews are also occasional for specific stores and do not focus entirely on the shipping service.
- consumer issues: with 3689 reviews and an average rating of 3.9, the website of consumer affairs earns its highest customer score. business owners like clear rates and fast turnaround times, customers want attention and care for their packages.
usps reviews
- BBB reviews: Bureau of Better Business does not rate or review government agencies
- Trustpilot reviews: USPS earns a score of 2.5 out of 5 reviews (not a significant sample size). of those five reviews, the complaints were about delivery and tracking issues.
- consumer issues: with 2091 reviews and an average rating of 3.9, the consumer website of issues showcases praise for individual postal workers or offices with outstanding customer service. however, on a larger scale, people complained of the same problems as other shipping services: lost mail, damaged mail, mail sent to neighbors, unfriendly postal workers, archaic tracking services, etc.
fedex reviews
- bbb reviews: the bureau of better business gives fedex an a+ rating on their site. of the bbb complaints, the majority of them concerned delivery issues (lost/delayed/stolen items) or poor customer service issues. some issues took multiple people and over three days to fix, which can seem like forever when a package is lost in the mail.
- trustpilot reviews: fedex gets a score 1.5 out of 21,462 reviews. again: damaged, delayed or lost mail is the most common message among people who leave a fedex or ups trustpilot review.
- consumer issues: with 2301 reviews and one Average rating of 2.5, the consumer affairs website gives FedEx a lower score than UPS or USPS. It would appear that of the three carriers, fedex has the lowest accuracy in meeting expected delivery dates. although, many of those complaints have occurred recently and during the use of international shipments. (all carriers are experiencing delays due to the ongoing pandemic).
usps vs fedex vs ups: finding the perfect balance
When choosing shipping carriers for your business, it’s important that you don’t limit yourself to just one shipping provider. most merchants use a combination of two or even three delivery services to offer customers the fastest and cheapest shipping every time.
You can, for example, choose to save on shipping costs by shipping light packages with USPS and heavy packages with UPS. or you can ship everything via usps except expedited shipments, which you ship via fedex. it all depends on your business model, the average weight of your order and your shipping destinations.
Thinking about using a dropshipping service instead? While dropshipping has many potential downsides, many eCommerce providers have found success dropshipping with Amazon, Shopify, and other shopping cart platforms. (To learn more, Shopify has a great webinar on getting started with dropshipping.)
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see our #1 ecommerce platform recommendation
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