The Cheapest Way to Ship Small Items & Packages

Calculating shipping costs and choosing the most economical shipping method can be confusing. Our Cheapest Way to Ship Anything guides make it easy to compare shipping costs and choose the right method for your cargo, whether you're shipping common items like boxes or difficult-to-transport goods like antiques or artwork.

Jump to:

1. How Much Does it Cost to Ship Small Items?

i. USPS shipping costs

ii. Parcel shipping costs (eg. UPS or FedEx)

iii. Consolidated freight

2. Frequently Asked Questions

Mailing or shipping small items is often straightforward—most of the time, you can simply drop them off at your local post office or courier and send them on their way.

“Small items” can refer to just about any type of shipment, including tubes, envelopes, padded mailers, and small parcels. Small items can be shipped for just about any reason, including:

• People send small items or paperwork to loved ones, friends, or businesses across the country.
• Homeowners moving long distances and shipping small items to their new home—in this case, they may have several small items packed into multiple larger boxes.
• Business owners shipping purchases to customers, or items to other locations in their network

Small items can generally be packed into three types of packages:

• Tubes: Ideal for safely shipping rolled up papers such as blueprints, posters, or artwork. Tubes are not usually subject to special pricing as long as they are under the weight limit for your chosen shipping service.
• Envelopes and padded mailers: These are lighter and less expensive to purchase and ship, but are less durable and more susceptible to damage. Envelopes and padded mailers are ideal for single items or small, durable cargo that can be safely transported without risk of damage as long as the proper precautions are taken.
• Boxes: Boxes are more expensive to purchase and ship, but are more durable than envelopes or padded mailers. They’re ideal for fragile items that require more protection than an envelope can provide, or for shipments of multiple small items.

There are some special considerations to keep in mind when shipping small items:

• Package size: Some envelopes are thin enough to ship using the regular postal service, while some are thicker and will be considered “non-machineable”. This means they’ll incur oversized envelope charges when shipped with USPS. Some items are also best packed into boxes, which will increase your shipping costs.
• Package weight: Small items can still be heavy, which can make them expensive to ship even if they have a small footprint. For some shippers and shipping services, a small but heavy package may cost more to ship than a large but light package.
• How many items are you shipping? If you’re shipping multiple small items to the same destination, boxes will offer more convenience and protection than envelopes and padded mailers.
• Fragility: The more fragile the small item you’re shipping, the more padding you’ll need. A small but fragile item might need to be packed into a larger box in order to ensure you can use the appropriate amount of padding to keep it safe in transit.
• Destination: If you’re shipping multiple small items to the same destination, it may be cheaper to ship all the items together packed into a larger box, than to ship them separately in smaller packaging.
• Unboxing experience: Sometimes it’s worth the extra expense of shipping items to customers in a box over a padded mailer, especially if you’re a retailer.

How much does it cost to ship small items & packages?

The cheapest way to ship small items depends on the size and weight of the item, your chosen carrier, and the speed and distance of travel. For most small items, USPS will offer the cheapest rates.

The estimated shipping costs included below will reflect the cost of shipping a variety of small items, including:

• A rigid envelope weighing 1 oz and 10 ozs.
• A USPS “Small” box weighing 1 lb and 5 lbs.

USPS

The United States Postal Service offers three services for shipping small packages:

• First Class Mail: For items under 13 ounces, such as thin, flat items, documents, and letters. First Class Mail does not include tracking.
• First Class Package Service: For items under 16 ounces. First Class Package Service includes tracking, with delivery in 2-3 days.
• Priority Mail: For items that weigh more than 1 lb. Flat rate and variable pricing are available. Priority Mail includes tracking and insurance.

First Class Mail and First Class Package Service are variably priced, with shipping costs dependent on the size and weight of the package, as well as speed and distance of travel. Priority Mail service includes both flat rate shipping and variable pricing and is available for padded mailers and boxes.

Priority Mail flat rate pricing depends on the size of the package you are shipping—the weight of your package, as well as speed and distance of travel, do not factor into your shipping costs. Flat rate packages are delivered within 1-3 business days.

Parcel shipping (UPS or FedEx)

UPS offers three services for shipping small items: UPS Simple Rate flat rate shipping, variable pricing, and UPS SurePost.

UPS Simple Rate flat rate shipping is the only flat rate shipping service that allows you to use your packaging, with flat rate pricing available for five sizes based on volume and a maximum weight of 50 lbs, regardless of package size. Three speeds are available: UPS Ground, UPS 3 Day Select, and UPS 2nd Day Air.

Variable pricing is ideal for faster delivery. In this case, shipping costs depend on the size and weight of the package, as well as the distance of travel. Multiple fast speeds are available, including 2nd Day Air, 2nd Day Air A.M., Next Day Air Saver, Next Day Air, and Next Day Air Early. UPS also offers UPS SurePost for small packages weighing less than 10 lbs. Delivery times will be longer than other services—about 2-7 business days—and you must sign a contract to use this service.

FedEx also offers three options for shipping small items: FedEx One Rate flat rate shipping, variable pricing, and FedEx Ground Economy shipping.

Unlike UPS, FedEx One Rate flat rate shipping requires you to use FedEx packaging. 12 sizes are available, including envelopes, Paks, boxes, and tubes. Packaging is free and can be ordered online with free delivery. Packages can weigh up to 50 lbs regardless of size. Six speeds are available: FedEx Express Saver, FedEx 2Day, FedEx 2Day A.M., FedEx Standard Overnight, FedEx Priority Overnight, and FedEx First Overnight, with prices depending on size, speed, and distance of travel.

FedEx variable pricing depends on the size and weight of the package, as well as the speed and distance of travel. Multiple speeds are available, from FedEx Express Saver (delivery in 3 business days) to FedEx First Overnight (next business day by 9 am). FedEx Ground Economy shipping, formerly called SmartPost, is for businesses looking to ship small packages that weigh less than 10 lbs. Similar to UPS SurePost, FedEx Ground Economy delivers in 2-7 business days, and you must sign a contract to qualify. This service is ideal for residential deliveries and low-weight, low-value, non-urgent returns.

Consolidated freight (TSI)

Consolidated freight shipping is ideal for shipping large boxes that contain multiple small items, such as boxes packed with small household goods that are being shipped as part of a larger household move or business relocation.

Freight shippers will always price your shipment using a minimum billable weight. TSI’s minimum billable weight is 120lbs, which means that a few boxes weighing a cumulative 40 lbs will be priced as if they weigh 120 lbs. This is why it makes the most sense to ship small items as part of a larger household move. NOTE: Box size does not factor into freight pricing.

NOTE: Shipping cost estimates are calculated using individual providers’ online cost estimator tools. Details, exact prices, and shipping times are not guaranteed.

Frequently Asked Questions