USPS postage calculator: weight, zone and box size

Enter a weight, a zone and, if the box is bigger than a shoebox, its size. You get what USPS charges for Media Mail, for Ground Advantage at the Post Office counter (retail) and on an online label (commercial), and for Priority Mail, with the billed weight, dimensional weight and size fees. Prices are from USPS's price list in effect since Oct 4, 2026.

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 (USPS says 2-5 days, against 2-8 for Media Mail) and isn't limited to books and media; it takes packages up to 70 lb.

Rates verified on Oct 19, 2026

Holiday prices are in effect. Ground Advantage and Priority Mail carry USPS's temporary holiday prices from 12 a.m. CT Oct 4, 2026 to 12 a.m. CT Jan 17, 2027, on top of the 8% time-limited increase in place since Apr 26, 2026, which ends the same day. Media Mail isn't affected. What the holiday prices add per package · what happens on Jan 17, 2027

Price

Enter a weight.

USPS prices by weight, Zone 4

USPS Notice 123, effective Oct 4, 2026, holiday prices included. Ground Advantage and Priority Mail to Zone 4, small box (1 cubic foot or less); Media Mail is one price for every zone.
Weight	Media Mail	Ground Advantage, online	Ground Advantage, Post Office	Priority Mail, online
1 lb	$4.39	$8.55	$11.10	$10.80
2 lb	$5.13	$8.91	$13.50	$11.19
3 lb	$5.86	$10.07	$14.20	$13.08
5 lb	$7.34	$11.67	$16.60	$16.37
10 lb	$11.02	$15.09	$20.20	$20.27
20 lb	$18.39	$20.71	$28.55	$29.34

Distance changes Ground Advantage, not Media Mail: a 1 lb commercial Ground Advantage label is $8.01 to Zone 1 and $11.22 to Zone 8 at holiday prices (until Jan 17, 2027). Pick your zone in the calculator above.

Full tables: USPS shipping cost by weight · Media Mail, 1-70 lb · Ground Advantage, all zones and fees · Priority Mail

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

How the calculator prices a package

Weight: Ground Advantage under 1 lb is priced at 4, 8, 12 and 15.999 oz; from 1 lb, every service here rounds a fraction of a pound up to the next pound, and Media Mail has a 1 lb minimum (DMM 283.1.1, DMM 173). Since July 12, 2026 every published commercial Ground Advantage weight under 1 lb costs the same ($7.33 to Zone 1). At the counter, 4 and 8 oz share one price ($8.40) and 12 oz up to 1 lb another ($10.05).
Box size: over 1 cubic foot, Ground Advantage and Priority Mail charge for the greater of the weight and the dimensional weight, length x width x height (each side rounded up to the inch) divided by 139 and rounded up (DMM 283.1.4). USPS's Media Mail rules charge "per pound or fraction thereof" with no dimensional-weight rule (DMM 173.1.2), so Media Mail is priced by weight only.
Size fees (Ground Advantage): $4.50 over 22 in. long, $10.00 over 30 in., $21.00 over 2 cubic feet; over 108 in. in length plus girth, the oversized price replaces the weight price (up to 130 in.). The calculator adds these from the sides you enter; it can't see the $4.50 fee for tubes, rolls, cans and some liquids (all Ground Advantage fees).
Limits: 70 lb for all three services; 108 in. in length plus girth for Media Mail and Priority Mail, 130 in. for Ground Advantage (DMM 101.3.2; DMM 283.1.1 for online labels). Length is the longest side and girth the distance around the thickest part.

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 you include anything that isn't allowed, USPS says "you (or your recipient) will have to pay higher postage rates," so use Ground Advantage instead (USPS: mail and shipping services; Media Mail questions, item by item).

Sources

Rates verified on Oct 19, 2026 from each official page below.

Media Mail for 1 lb: $4.39.

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