Postage by weight

Media Mail against Ground Advantage at USPS's current published prices.

Short answer: if your item qualifies, Media Mail is cheaper. It costs less than published commercial Ground Advantage in 627 of 630 weight-and-zone combinations from 1 to 70 lb (exceptions start at 19 lb, Zone 1). A 1 lb package is $4.39 by Media Mail and $8.55 by commercial Ground Advantage to Zone 4. Ground Advantage is faster and can carry anything; Media Mail takes 2-8 days and only qualifying media.

Rates verified on Oct 14, 2026

Holiday prices are in effect. Ground Advantage and Priority Mail carry temporary holiday prices from Oct 4, 2026 to Jan 17, 2027, on top of an 8% time-limited increase since Apr 26. Media Mail isn't affected. What the holiday prices add per package · USPS changes

Price

Enter a weight.

Common weights, Zone 4

USPS Notice 123, effective Oct 4, 2026. Media Mail is billed by the pound (8 oz pays the 1 lb price).
Weight	Media Mail	Ground Advantage, commercial	Ground Advantage, retail
8 oz	$4.39	$7.86	$8.80
1 lb	$4.39	$8.55	$11.10
2 lb	$5.13	$8.91	$13.50
3 lb	$5.86	$10.07	$14.20
5 lb	$7.34	$11.67	$16.60
10 lb	$11.02	$15.09	$20.20

Full tables: Media Mail, 1-70 lb · Ground Advantage, all zones

Shipping guides: books · clothes · trading cards · video games · next USPS price change

What qualifies for Media Mail

USPS lists what you can send by Media Mail: books (at least 8 pages), 16 mm or narrower films, printed music and test materials, video and sound recordings (including tapes, albums, CDs and DVDs), playscripts and manuscripts, printed educational reference charts, medical loose-leaf pages and binders, and computer-readable media. Video games, computer drives and digital drives don't qualify. USPS may open any Media Mail package to inspect it, and delivery takes 2-8 days. If an item doesn't qualify, the recipient or you can be charged the higher postage, so use Ground Advantage instead (USPS: mail and shipping services).

Ground Advantage takes packages up to 70 lb. USPS still lists 4, 8, 12 and 15.999 oz steps, but since July 12, 2026 every published commercial weight under 1 lb costs the same ($7.33 in Zone 1 at current holiday prices). At retail, 4 and 8 oz share one price ($8.40) and anything over 8 oz costs the same as 1 lb ($10.05). Above 1 lb, it's priced by the pound, rounded up.

Sources

Rates verified on Oct 14, 2026 from each official page below.

Media Mail for 1 lb: $4.39.

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