Between $9.91 for a 1 lb box and $80.12 for a 50 lb box coast to coast, but the number that matters is yours. Both tables were pulled on 2026-08-21, and the quotes are end prices, label and SMKlog's charge folded together.
Each row came out of the 2026-08-21 run on those exact cartons and ZIP pairs. Your lane will price differently.
Those two lanes are one slice. A wider run on 2026-08-23 crossed eight U.S. destinations from ZIP 07102 with four weights — 1, 5, 20 and 50 lb — and priced 160 rate rows. The cheapest rate in the grid was $8.93, a 1 lb box to Hoboken, NJ. The cheapest rate on the dearest lane was $80.12, a 50 lb box to Los Angeles or Seattle — and the priciest single row anywhere in the grid was $142.70, UPS 3 Day Select on that same 50 lb coast-to-coast run. The full grid is below the box-size tables.
| Box and weight | USPS | UPS | FedEx | Cheapest |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9 × 6 × 4 in, 1 lb | $9.91 Ground Advantage | $10.31 Ground | no rate returned | $9.91 USPS Ground Advantage |
| 12 × 9 × 6 in, 5 lb | $13.29 Ground Advantage | $12.85 Ground Saver | $17.61 FedEx Ground Economy | $12.85 UPS Ground Saver |
| 16 × 12 × 10 in, 10 lb | $20.86 Ground Advantage | $17.56 Ground Saver | $21.87 FedEx Ground Economy | $17.56 UPS Ground Saver |
| 18 × 14 × 12 in, 20 lb | $34.76 Ground Advantage | $23.00 Ground Saver | $26.59 FedEx Ground Economy | $23.00 UPS Ground Saver |
| 24 × 18 × 18 in, 50 lb | no rate returned | $47.42 Ground | $62.08 FedEx Ground Economy | $47.42 UPS Ground |
Five ordinary cartons, one lane, every carrier that returned a rate. Read down the weight column, not across price lists on other sites: the same pound of goods prices differently depending on the box it sits in.
| Box and weight | USPS | UPS | FedEx | Cheapest |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9 × 6 × 4 in, 1 lb | $11.12 Ground Advantage | $12.99 Ground | no rate returned | $11.12 USPS Ground Advantage |
| 12 × 9 × 6 in, 5 lb | $17.30 Ground Advantage | $16.88 Ground Saver | no rate returned | $16.88 UPS Ground Saver |
| 16 × 12 × 10 in, 10 lb | $30.80 Ground Advantage | $25.51 Ground Saver | $24.69 FedEx Ground Economy | $24.69 FedEx Ground Economy |
| 18 × 14 × 12 in, 20 lb | $58.70 Ground Advantage | $36.67 Ground Saver | $36.63 FedEx Ground Economy | $36.63 FedEx Ground Economy |
| 24 × 18 × 18 in, 50 lb | no rate returned | $80.12 Ground | $92.81 FedEx Ground Economy | $80.12 UPS Ground |
Distance is the second lever. The 50 lb box costs $47.42 to Chicago and $80.12 to Los Angeles, same carton, same day, same carriers.
Two weights compete for every parcel and the bigger one wins: what the scale reads, and the box itself worked out as length × width × height in inches ÷ 139. A 20 × 14 × 12 in carton carries about 24 lb of dimensional weight no matter what is inside it.
In the run above, UPS's own Ground Saver service quoted more than plain UPS Ground once the box hit 50 lb — $70.06 against $47.42. Carrier price tables are not linear in weight, which is exactly why a printed price chart is worse than quoting the box you actually have.
Every carrier prices by zone. Two states over is a different product from coast to coast, and no table on the internet can answer for your ZIP pair.
Same origin, eight destinations, four weights. Each cell is the lowest of whatever USPS, UPS and FedEx returned for that exact pair — not an average, and not every carrier quotes every cell.
| Destination | 1 lb | 5 lb | 20 lb | 50 lb |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hoboken, NJ | $8.93 USPS Ground Advantage | $10.37 UPS Ground Saver | $14.83 USPS Ground Advantage | $26.39 UPS Ground |
| Philadelphia, PA | $9.01 USPS Ground Advantage | $10.37 UPS Ground Saver | $15.05 USPS Ground Advantage | $26.39 UPS Ground |
| Atlanta, GA | $9.91 USPS Ground Advantage | $13.52 UPS Ground Saver | $23.00 UPS Ground Saver | $47.42 UPS Ground |
| Chicago, IL | $9.91 USPS Ground Advantage | $13.52 UPS Ground Saver | $23.00 UPS Ground Saver | $47.42 UPS Ground |
| Dallas, TX | $10.09 USPS Ground Advantage | $15.49 UPS Ground Saver | $26.71 FedEx Ground Economy | $59.74 UPS Ground |
| Denver, CO | $10.29 USPS Ground Advantage | $16.47 UPS Ground Saver | $31.43 UPS Ground Saver | $71.42 UPS Ground |
| Los Angeles, CA | $11.12 USPS Ground Advantage | $19.14 UPS Ground Saver | $36.63 FedEx Ground Economy | $80.12 UPS Ground |
| Seattle, WA | $11.12 USPS Ground Advantage | $19.14 UPS Ground Saver | $36.63 FedEx Ground Economy | $80.12 UPS Ground |
Read down a column and the cheapest carrier changes with distance, not only with weight. At 1 lb, USPS Ground Advantage wins all eight lanes, and no FedEx row came back at that weight on any of them. At 5 lb, UPS Ground Saver takes over on every lane. At 20 lb the field splits three ways: USPS Ground Advantage still wins the two closest destinations, Hoboken and Philadelphia; UPS Ground Saver wins Atlanta, Chicago and Denver; FedEx Ground Economy wins Dallas, Los Angeles and Seattle. At 50 lb no USPS row made the five-rate shortlist on any of the eight lanes, and plain UPS Ground was the cheapest carrier everywhere, from $26.39 into New Jersey and Pennsylvania up to $80.12 to Los Angeles and Seattle.
On 2026-08-21, a 9 × 6 × 4 in 1 lb box from New Jersey to Chicago quoted $9.91, a 16 × 12 × 10 in 10 lb box quoted $17.56, and a 24 × 18 × 18 in 50 lb box quoted $47.42. Coast to coast the same boxes cost more; see the second table. Those are real quotes for those exact boxes, not averages.
USPS Ground Advantage won only the lightest box in our run; from 5 lb up, UPS Ground Saver or FedEx Ground Economy usually undercuts it, and plain UPS Ground took over at 50 lb both ways. The honest answer is that it flips by weight, box size, and lane, so compare all three for your own box.
No. Describe the item and SMKlog estimates the packed box and weight, or enter the dimensions yourself if you already have them. You can correct the numbers before paying, and a confirmed box is what prevents a carrier adjustment after delivery.
Labels bought online use commercial rates, which run below the retail counter price for most services. What you are quoted here is what you pay: the label and SMKlog's charge, with no separate add-on at checkout.
Past roughly 108 inches in length or 130 inches in length plus girth, or past 150 lb, carriers stop treating it as a parcel. Those go to a freight review with a person on the other end, instead of a parcel label that gets repriced or bounced.
Not in these quotes. Each quote comes back with the five cheapest rates found, and in a 2026-08-23 grid of eight U.S. destinations from ZIP 07102 no USPS row made that shortlist at 50 lb on any of the eight lanes, while no FedEx row made it at 1 lb on any of them. In between, the cheapest carrier changes with distance as well as weight: at 20 lb, USPS Ground Advantage wins Hoboken and Philadelphia, UPS Ground Saver wins Atlanta, Chicago and Denver, and FedEx Ground Economy wins Dallas, Los Angeles and Seattle.