Shipping
· 8 min readChoosing the right carrier by destination zone
USPS dominates zones 1–4 for under 1lb. UPS wins zones 5+. FedEx beats both for residential 2-day.
Carrier choice should depend on package weight, destination zone, and required transit time. Most shippers default to one carrier and overpay.
Under 1 lb, zones 1–4
USPS Ground Advantage wins almost every time. Often half the price of UPS Ground for the same transit.
Over 1 lb, zones 5+
UPS Ground is usually cheaper than USPS Priority for anything 2lb+ going to a far zone. The crossover point is around 2.5 lb.
Residential 2-day
FedEx Express Saver beats UPS 2nd Day Air for residential addresses by ~15% on average. UPS still wins for commercial 2-day.
Our rate-shopping table surfaces all of this automatically — sort by price and the right carrier rises to the top.