Buy Shipping Labels Online at the Best Rates

Every package you send needs a USPS, UPS, FedEx or other carrier label with postage on it, and you can buy one online and print it at home instead of standing in line at the post office. What you pay for is the postage, which in Shippo ran from about $6 for an 8 oz box to about $14 for a 5 lb box sent across the country on the cheapest ground services in late September 2026. Below, you'll see what sets that price, how to buy labels at discounted rates, and which charges can still come after you ship.

This page covers postage labels, the kind with a barcode a carrier scans. Blank label sheets for your printer are sold as office supplies.

In this article

• Shipping label prices by weight and service
• What changes the price of a label
• Is it cheaper to buy shipping labels online?
• How to buy shipping labels online with Shippo
• Charges that can show up after you ship
• Shippo plans: what you pay besides postage
• Frequently asked questions

Shipping label prices by weight and service

These are Shippo's prices for five common services, from an 8 oz mailer-size box up to a 10 lb box, all going coast to coast.

Shippo commercial rates pulled September 30, 2026, from ZIP 94103 (San Francisco, CA) to a street address in ZIP 10001 (New York, NY), at the box size and weight shown. Quotes include surcharges the carriers applied to this address, such as UPS's delivery area surcharge. Transit days are the carriers' estimates, not guarantees. USPS prices predate its temporary holiday prices, which start Oct. 4. Your rate will vary by origin, destination, weight and dimensions.

USPS Ground Advantage and UPS Ground Saver were a cent apart at 3 lb and 5 lb, but $1.35 apart at 1 lb, so the cheapest option can change from one package to the next. Speed costs more as the box gets heavier: Priority Mail ran $3.37 more than Ground Advantage at 1 lb and about twice the price at 10 lb. And if your item fits in a light mailer, keeping it under a pound pays: the 8 oz box cost $2.53 to $3.77 less than the 1 lb box on those same two services.

You can check these rates for your own package with a free Shippo account.

What changes the price of a label

Five things set the price of almost every label.

Weight. USPS prices packages under 1 lb in ounce steps and by the pound after that; UPS and FedEx price by the pound. Weigh the box once it's packed, with the padding, and round up rather than down.

Box size. Big, light boxes get priced by their size instead. This is called dimensional weight: length times width times height, divided by 139. UPS and FedEx apply it to every package. USPS applies it to Priority Mail and Ground Advantage packages over 1 cubic foot. Carriers charge whichever is higher, the real weight or the dimensional weight.

We priced the same 2 lb item to New York in two boxes. In a 10x8x6 inch box, ground services ran $10.04 to $19.61. In an 18x14x12 inch box, they ran $30.17 to $49.74, because the big box counts as about 22 lb in dimensional weight. If you ship light items, use the smallest box that protects them.

Distance. Carriers group destinations into zones by how far they are from where you ship, and the price climbs the farther the package goes. The 3 lb box from the table cost $6.06 on UPS Ground Saver and $6.07 on USPS Ground Advantage to Sacramento, about half what it cost to New York.

Speed. Ground and economy services cost the least. Two-day and overnight services cost more, so check what delivery date you've promised before you pay for speed.

Where it's going. UPS and FedEx add a residential surcharge on some services and a delivery area surcharge for some ZIP codes. USPS doesn't charge extra for delivering to a home. During the holidays, UPS and FedEx add peak surcharges, and USPS applies temporary holiday prices from Oct. 4, 2026, to Jan. 17, 2027. Our guide to fuel, residential and peak surcharges explains each one.

Is it cheaper to buy shipping labels online?

Usually, yes. The price at the post office counter is the retail price. Shipping software has discounted rates, so the same label costs less online than at the counter.

Shippo's discounted rates are available from the day you sign up. USPS labels are up to 90% off retail USPS rates, and UPS, FedEx and DHL Express labels come at discounted rates too. You compare rates across 40+ carriers, including USPS, UPS and FedEx, on one screen, with the price and estimated delivery time for each service.

The other saving is time. Instead of checking three carrier websites for every order, you see the rates side by side and pick the service that matches the delivery date you promised.

How to buy shipping labels online with Shippo

Buying a label takes a few minutes once you have the box packed:

1. Create a free account. You don't need a store to start, and the Starter plan has no monthly fee.
2. Add the shipment. Click Create label and enter the address, or connect your Shopify, Etsy, eBay or WooCommerce store so orders arrive with the address filled in.
3. Enter the box size and weight, then compare rates across carriers.
4. Buy and print. Pick a service, click Buy, then Purchase, and print the label on plain paper or a 4x6 thermal label.

You pay for each label as you buy it. Our step-by-step guide to creating a shipping label has screenshots of each screen, plus tips on printing and where to stick the label.

Shipping a lot of orders? You can buy up to 100 labels at once from the Orders page, or import orders from a spreadsheet. Create your free account to try it with your next order.

Charges that can show up after you ship

The price you see when you buy a label isn't always the final price. Carriers weigh and measure packages as they move through their networks. If the weight, size or address on the label doesn't match the package, they bill the difference later. Shippo passes those carrier adjustments on to you, and they usually show up in the Billing tab 30 to 60 days after you ship.

The common ones:

• Weight or size corrections, when the box is heavier or bigger than what you entered. Dimensional weight is a frequent cause.
• Address corrections, when the carrier has to fix a wrong or incomplete address.
• Residential corrections, when a UPS or FedEx label was bought for a business address that turns out to be a home.

Most of these are avoidable when you buy the label:

• Weigh the packed box and round up: enter 7.5 lb for a box that weighs 7.2 lb.
• Measure the outside of the box and round each side up to the next whole inch, which is what USPS does.
• Mark home addresses as residential.

Shippo also checks US addresses before you pay, so a missing suite number gets caught before the label exists.

Shippo plans: what you pay besides postage

The plans compare like this, as listed on Shippo's pricing page on September 30, 2026:

Every plan includes the discounted carrier rates, unlimited store connections, return labels, tracking, automations and US address validation. Beyond postage and any plan fee, you pay for extras you add, like shipping insurance, and any carrier adjustments after delivery.

Frequently asked questions

Is Shippo free?

Yes. The Starter plan has no monthly fee and covers up to 30 labels a month; you pay the postage, plus any extras you add and any carrier adjustments. If you ship more than 30 labels a month, you'll need the Pro plan.

What is a prepaid shipping label?

It's a label with the postage already paid, so whoever drops off the package doesn't pay anything at the counter. Every label you buy online is prepaid. Sellers often send one to a customer for returns: in Shippo, you can create return labels for domestic USPS, UPS and FedEx shipments.

Do shipping labels expire?

Yes. How long a label stays valid depends on the carrier, so use it within 30 days of buying it. If you bought one early and didn't use it in time, request a refund and buy a fresh one.

Can I get my money back for a label I didn't use?

Yes, for labels that were never scanned by the carrier. Request a refund from the Shipments page in Shippo for up to 90 days after you buy the label. Refunds are processed within 14 business days as a credit on your next invoice. Never ship a package with a label you've asked to refund.

Can I buy international shipping labels online?

Yes. You enter the item details for customs, and Shippo fills in the customs form for you. You can compare international services from USPS, UPS, FedEx, DHL Express and other carriers the same way as domestic ones.

Start buying labels online

With a free Shippo account, you can compare discounted rates from 40+ carriers, including USPS, UPS and FedEx, and print your first label today.