Introduction
Use this free UPS shipping calculator to estimate how much it will cost to send a package with UPS. Just enter where your package starts, where it's going, and how big and heavy it is. The tool looks up the price UPS prints for your weight and zone on each of its services, so you can compare them side by side and pick the one that fits your budget and your deadline.
The calculator reads your zone from the chart UPS publishes for your origin ZIP code, works out whether actual or dimensional weight is billable, and adds the surcharges UPS publishes for your shipment. You'll see every service UPS prices for that shipment with its published price, transit commitment, zone and surcharges, and the services UPS does not price are named rather than guessed at.
This tool prices six UPS domestic services — UPS Ground, UPS 3 Day Select, UPS 2nd Day Air, UPS 2nd Day Air A.M., UPS Next Day Air Saver and UPS Next Day Air — plus UPS Worldwide Saver and UPS Worldwide Expedited for shipments leaving the United States, and UPS Simple Rate. It handles up to five packages at once and works in both imperial and metric units. The figures are UPS's published retail prices, so an account with negotiated rates will pay less.
How to Use Our UPS Shipping Calculator
Enter your shipment details below. The calculator shows the published price, transit commitment, zone and surcharges for every UPS service that has a published rate for your shipment.
Origin Country: This tool prices shipments sent from the United States.
Origin City: Type the name of the city where your package starts its journey.
Origin ZIP Code: Enter the 5-digit ZIP code of your shipping location. UPS publishes a separate zone chart for each origin ZIP code, and this is the one the calculator reads.
Destination Country: Select the country you are shipping to. You can choose any country for an international estimate or a U.S. location for domestic rates.
Destination City: Type the name of the city where your package is going.
Destination ZIP Code: Enter the ZIP or postal code of the delivery address. Your origin's chart turns the pair of codes into the zone UPS prices from, so the zone is looked up rather than worked out from the distance.
Destination Address Type: Choose whether you are shipping to a home or a business. UPS publishes a residential surcharge that differs by service, and on UPS Ground within the 48 contiguous states it is $0.00.1
Unit System: Pick Imperial (pounds and inches) or Metric (kilograms and centimeters) based on how you measure your packages.
Number of Packages: Select how many packages you are sending in this shipment, from 1 to 5.
Packaging: Choose your own packaging and enter the box dimensions, or choose UPS Simple Rate to see the flat price UPS publishes for each of its own box sizes on your lane.
Actual Weight: Enter the weight of each package. This is required for every package in your shipment.
Dimensions (Length, Width, Height): Enter the size of each package if you use your own box. UPS bills on dimensional weight whenever it exceeds the actual weight, so filling these in is what makes the price right for a large, light box.
Declared Value: Enter what the contents are worth. UPS covers $100.00 per package without a declaration of value. Above that it publishes a charge of $5.10 for a declaration from $100.01 to $300.00, and $1.70 for each $100.00 of the total value declared above $300.00.1
Click Get Rates to see your results: a comparison of every UPS service priced for your shipment, a billable weight summary, your zone, the surcharges UPS publishes, and a bar chart to compare the totals.
How UPS Shipping Costs Work
UPS is one of the biggest package delivery companies in the world. When you ship a box with UPS, the price you pay depends on a few key things: how heavy your package is, how big it is, where it's going, and how fast you need it to get there.
Weight and Dimensional Weight
UPS does not just look at how much your box weighs on a scale. They also check how much space it takes up. This is called dimensional weight. To find it, multiply the length, width and height of your box in inches, then divide the cubic size by 166 for a domestic package or by 139 for an export package, and increase any fraction to the next whole pound.1 UPS charges you based on whichever number is higher: the actual weight or the dimensional weight. This means a large but light box can cost more than you expect. Our Volumetric Weight Calculator shows whether your package's dimensional weight exceeds its actual weight before you ship.
UPS Zones
UPS publishes a zone chart for every origin ZIP code and looks your destination up in it, rather than measuring the distance between the two codes.1 It numbers zones differently for each service, so one shipment carries a different zone number on UPS Ground than it does on UPS Next Day Air, and each row of the comparison shows its own. A higher zone means a longer haul and a higher published price.
UPS Service Levels
UPS offers several speed options. UPS Next Day Air is the fastest service priced here, with UPS Next Day Air Saver arriving later in the same day for less. UPS 2nd Day Air A.M. and UPS 2nd Day Air sit a day behind it, then UPS 3 Day Select. UPS Ground is the cheapest, and UPS commits it as day-definite within 5 days.1 UPS Next Day Air Early A.M. and UPS SurePost are listed without a price, because the UPS Retail Rates guide prints no rate table for either.
Common Surcharges
On top of the published rate, UPS adds surcharges. A residential surcharge applies to home deliveries: $7.00 per package on the domestic air services and UPS 3 Day Select, and on UPS Ground $0.00 from the 48 contiguous states or $6.50 from Alaska and Hawaii. An additional handling charge applies to a package over 50 pounds or past the published size limits, and UPS assesses only one such charge per package.1 A large package surcharge applies once length plus girth exceeds 130 inches, with a minimum billable weight of 90 pounds, and it replaces the additional handling charge rather than adding to it.1 The fuel surcharge is a percentage UPS publishes weekly and its rate tables do not include it, so this calculator applies the figure in force for the week shown with the results.
Tips to Save on UPS Shipping
Use the smallest box that fits your item: it keeps dimensional weight down and keeps you clear of the additional handling and large package charges, which are far larger than the difference in postage. Shipping to a business address avoids the residential surcharge on the air services, though on UPS Ground within the 48 contiguous states there is nothing there to avoid. If the delivery is not urgent, compare UPS Ground and UPS 3 Day Select against the air services before you ship. For larger or heavier shipments, our Freight Class Calculator can help you determine whether freight shipping might be a more cost-effective option.