USPS Priority Mail Cubic pricing is often the best rate possible for SMBs. In fact, Shippo’s USPS Priority Mail Cubic rates are up to 90% cheaper than Retail rates.
Historically, only e-commerce retailers shipping more than 50,000 small, heavy packages a year would qualify for the great postage rates offered through USPS Priority Mail Cubic pricing. Today, Shippo aggregates all of its package volume to qualify for these incredible discounts on behalf of all its sellers. That means you can access these cheap rates without a package volume requirement.
It’s a cost-effective option since the USPS bases the shipping price on the size of the package and distance traveled, instead of the package’s weight.
In comparison, most other popular USPS service levels calculate cost based on a package’s weight—making USPS Cubic pricing an appealing alternative for shippers.
To see if your package qualifies for USPS Cubic pricing, you’ll need a calculator and measuring tape.
USPS Priority Mail Cubic pricing is available for packages:
Here’s the equation to determine a package’s Cubic feet value: length x width x height / 1,728 = Cubic feet.
To get the best bang for your buck, remember that when you measure each side, you can round down to the nearest quarter inch. For example, 4 ⅗ (or 4.6) inches would round down to 4 ½ (or 4.5) inches. However, if one side of your package is longer than 18 inches, then the package does not qualify.
Let’s try out the equation using sample dimensions. For example, if our package measures 8.4 x 5 x 7 inches, we first will round down the numbers to the nearest quarter inch, making our dimensions 8.25 x 5 x 7 inches. Then, we multiply the numbers together, which is 288.75. We divide that number by 1,728 to get our Cubic feet value: 0.1671. Since that’s less than 0.5, it qualifies for USPS Cubic pricing.
We’ve also included charts below to quickly estimate and reference which USPS Cubic pricing tier your package falls under.
Enter your package dimensions and weight for Shippo to automatically share the best rate. Always.
Sign Up for a Free Shippo AccountThe next step to determining the shipping cost is to figure out the correct Cubic pricing tier for your package. Here are the five Cubic pricing tiers:
In our example, our Cubic feet value was 0.1671, so the package fits in the 0.2 range. Once you figure out the appropriate tier for your package, you’re all set to access USPS Priority Mail Cubic pricing rates.
The rates do vary by zone, which is based on the distance the package will be traveling. To find out zone information for your package, enter your origin zip code into the USPS zone chart here. Here’s the pricing list.
| 2020 USPS Cubic Pricing Chart | ||||||||
| Cubic Tier | Zone 0,1,2 | Zone 3 | Zone 4 | Zone 5 | Zone 6 | Zone 7 | Zone 8 | Zone 9 |
| 0.1 | $7.02 | $7.35 | $7.56 | $7.80 | $7.98 | $8.15 | $8.42 | $11.40 |
| 0.2 | $ 7.46 | $7.80 | $8.02 | $8.71 | $9 | $9.22 | $9.56 | $13.15 |
| 0.3 | $8.04 | $8.26 | $8.55 | $9.65 | $10.98 | $11.58 | $12.29 | $19.12 |
| 0.4 | $8.21 | $8.57 | $8.93 | $10.31 | $12.78 | $14.02 | $16.02 | $24.28 |
| 0.5 | $8.34 | $8.84 | $9.42 | $11.15 | $14.98 | $16.89 | $19.24 | $29.88 |
Going back to our example, if we wanted to ship a package measuring 8.4 x 5 x 7 inches, weighing 10 pounds, and traveling from San Francisco to Miami (Zone 8), it would cost $9.56 via USPS Priority Mail Cubic pricing. If you were to ship it via USPS Priority Mail, it would cost $37.78—a 75 percent savings!
Questions? Contact our sales team or create a free Shippo account to get started.
Find your package’s dimensions in the charts below to estimate the qualifying USPS Cubic pricing tier.
| 1 in. tall box | ||||||||||||||||||
| Length (in.) | Width (in.) | |||||||||||||||||
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | |
| 1 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.1 |
| 2 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.1 |
| 3 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.1 |
| 4 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.1 |
| 5 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.1 |
| 6 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.1 |
| 7 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.1 |
| 8 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.1 |
| 9 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.1 |
| 10 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.2 |
| 11 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.2 | 0.2 | 0.2 |
| 12 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.2 | 0.2 | 0.2 | 0.2 |
| 13 | 0.1 | 0.1 | ||||||||||||||||