What Are The Sizes Of Usps Flat Rate Boxes?

USPS Flat Rate Box Sizes, Prices, and How it Works

USPS Priority Mail Flat Rate boxes are an like shooting fish in a barrel-to-use, cost-effective shipping pick. You lot can hands send like the experts; merely know the USPS Flat Rate box sizes, prices, and how information technology works before y'all buy.

How Does USPS Apartment Charge per unit Shipping Work?

The USPS Priority Post Apartment Rate service will ship your package anywhere in the U.S. in one-three business days for a flat fee. To ship with this service, follow these like shooting fish in a barrel steps:

Guild free Apartment Rate boxes from the USPS. You have to use the branded Flat Rate boxes to get the Apartment Rate aircraft price, and you tin order them online or pick them upward at your local Post Role.
Sign up for a complimentary Shippo account to access the all-time rates on USPS Flat Charge per unit aircraft and print your labels from the comfort of your office or home.
Bonus! Decide if a USPS Apartment Rate box is the cheapest pick for the items yous're looking to send, since it'south non always the most affordable option.

What are the 2021 USPS Apartment Rate Box Sizes and Prices?

As yous'll see below, Shippo offers discounted shipping rates when compared to what you'd observe at your local Post Office. No volume or coding requirements. To sign up for a gratuitous Shippo account, visit www.goshippo.com/register/.

2021 USPS Priority Post Apartment Rate Shippo vs. Retail Rates
Products	Dimensions	Shippo Charge per unit	Retail Rate	Savings Using Shippo vs. Retail	% Savings with Shippo
Flat Charge per unit Envelope	12 ½" x 9 ½"	$vii.forty	$7.95	$0.55	7%
Legal Flat Rate Envelope	15" x nine ½"	$seven.70	$8.25	$0.55	7%
Padded Flat Rate Envelope	12 ½" ten ix ½"	$8.00	$eight.55	$0.55	6.five%
Minor Flat Rate Box	Outside: eight 11/16" x 5 vii/sixteen" ten i ¾" Inside: 8 ⅝" 10 v ⅜" ten 1 ⅝"	$vii.90	$eight.45	$0.55	6.5%
Medium Apartment Charge per unit Box – 1 (Top-Loading)	Outside: 11 ¼" ten eight ¾" x 6" Inside: 11" 10 8 ½" x 5 ½"	$13.75	$15.50	$1.75	xi%
Medium Flat Rate Box – 2 (Side-Loading)	Outside: 14" x 12" x 3 ½" Inside: 13 ⅝" x 11 ⅞" 10 iii ⅜"	$13.75	$15.50	$1.75	11%
Big Flat Rate Boxes	Outside: 12 ¼" ten 12 ¼" x vi" Within: 12" x 12" x five ½"	$19.xxx	$21.ninety	$2.lx	12%

Is Priority Mail service the Same as Flat Rate?

USPS Priority Postal service is 1 of the most-pop service levels the Post offers, and for good reason. It'southward cost effective and encompasses three widely-used shipping options: Priority Postal service Apartment Rate (which we discuss above), Priority Mail service weight-based, and Priority Postal service Cubic .

To send via Flat Charge per unit, you need to employ the Apartment Rate branded boxes. To use Cubic and weight-based options, y'all will demand to utilize your own packaging or USPS Priority Mail boxes.

Which is Cheaper: Apartment Rate or Priority Post?

Generally speaking, the USPS Apartment Rate boxes are a great option for heavy items that are traveling long distances. We ran the numbers to find out exactly when you should use a Flat Rate box and when y'all should use your ain packaging and ship via USPS Priority Post weight-based or Cubic instead.

When to Use USPS Apartment Charge per unit Envelopes

USPS Apartment Rate Envelopes are virtually Always the cheapest option.
However, use your own envelope for packages weighing exactly one lb. and traveling locally.
And if your parcel weighs less than 1 lb., use your own envelope and ship via USPS Showtime-Class Parcel Service.

Use your own envelope (NOT a Flat Rate envelope) for the following scenarios:

Flat Rate Envelope (12 one/2″ x 9 i/2″) – $7.40
Qualifications for Using Own Packaging	Cost to Ship	Savings
Weighs 0.5-i lb. and traveling less than l miles (Zone 0,1,two)	$7.16	$0.24
Legal Flat Rate Envelope (15″ x 9 1/two″) – $7.70
Qualifications for Using Own Packaging	Cost to Send	Savings
Weighs 0.5-1 lb. and traveling less than 600 miles (Zone 0-4)	$7.sixteen – $7.67	Up To $0.54
Padded Flat Charge per unit Envelope (12 1/two″ x 9 1/2″) – $8.00
Qualifications for Using Own Packaging	Cost to Ship	Savings
Weighs 0.five-1 lb. and traveling less than 600 miles (Zone 0-5)	$vii.sixteen – $7.88	Up to $0.84
Weighs 2 lbs. and traveling less than 50 miles (Zone 0,1,2)	$7.79	$0.21

When to Apply USPS Apartment Rate Boxes

For 1 – xx lb. packages, choose Flat Charge per unit for long distances and your own box for short distances.
For <1 lb. packages, use your own box and ship via USPS First-Class Package Service.
For >20 lb. packages, use a Flat Rate box.

Use your own box (NOT a Apartment Rate box) for the following scenarios:

Sm. Flat Rate Box (8 5/8″ x v 3/8″ 10 1 five/eight″) – $7.90
Qualifications for Using Own Packaging	Cost to Ship	Savings
Weighs 0.5-20 lbs. and traveling less than 600 miles (Zone 0-4)	$7.16 – $seven.81	Up to $0.74
Med. Apartment Rate Box (11 ane/4″ x 8 iii/4″ x vi″) – $13.75
Qualifications for Using Own Packaging	Cost to Transport	Savings
Weighs 0.5-2 lbs. and traveling anywhere except U.S. Territories (Zone 0-eight)	$7.16 – $11.69	Up to $half dozen.59
Weighs three-twenty lbs. and traveling less than 1400 miles (Zone 0-6)	$eight.00 – $xiii.58	Up to $five.75
Lg. Flat Rate Box (12 1/4″ x 12 ane/4″ x 6″) – $19.xxx
Qualifications for Using Own Packaging	Cost to Ship	Savings
Weighs 0.5-1 lb. and traveling to any U.S. Country including Hawaii and Alaska	$7.16 – $11.69	Upwards to $12.14
Weighs two-4 lbs. and traveling anywhere except U.S. Territories (Zone 0-8)	$7.79 – $eighteen.96	Up to $eleven.51
Weighs 5-20 lbs. and traveling less than 1800 miles (Zone 0-7)	$8.twenty – $18.08	Up to $xi.x

Keep in heed that the maximum weight is seventy pounds. And, when sealing a Flat Rate envelope or box, the container flaps must be able to close inside the normal folds.

Is Priority Mail service (Weight-based) or Flat Rate Faster?

Technically speaking, they are all office of the Priority Post mail stream, so they all ship inside 1-3 business concern days.

Are There Whatsoever Other Restrictions?

At that place are specific regulations and standards for mailing restricted, prohibited, and hazardous materials, including cigarettes and smokeless tobacco. You also can't ship airbags, ammunition, explosives, or gasoline. For more details, visit the USPS Shipping Restrictions page.

How Exercise I Get a USPS Priority Mail Apartment Charge per unit Label?

Information technology takes only a few minutes to set up a free Shippo account, and and then you can print the label from your office or warehouse. (To get a clearer picture upfront of how y'all tin can salve on USPS shipping rates past using Shippo, experience gratis to check out our USPS shipping estimator.) Braze the label to the USPS Priority Mail Apartment Rate box. So, put it in your mailbox or schedule a pick-up with your local postal service carrier in the Shippo dashboard.

Make certain the label you lot're using matches the packaging. For example, if you are using a Priority Mail service Express Apartment Charge per unit box, you need to employ a Priority Mail Limited Flat Charge per unit label.

If you liked this post, you may too be interested in a video that our co-founder Laura Behrens Wu did with the co-founder of packaging solution company Lumi on aircraft with the USPS.

Shippo is a multi-carrier API and web app that helps retailers, marketplaces, and platforms connect to a global network of carriers. Businesses use Shippo to get real-fourth dimension rates, print labels, automate international paperwork, track packages and facilitate returns. Shippo provides the tools to help businesses succeed through e-commerce shipping.

Michelle McNamara is a Senior Marketing Manager at Shippo