---
title: "USPS Commercial Base and Plus pricing: what replaced them"
description: "USPS now prints one Commercial price for domestic labels; Base and Plus are international only. Retail vs commercial at 1, 5 and 10 lb, and who gets each."
canonical: https://resellerindex.com/usps/commercial-pricing/
last_updated: 2026-10-31
publisher: "The Reseller Index"
---

# USPS commercial pricing: what replaced Commercial Base and Commercial Plus

**For domestic shipping, USPS now prints two prices: Retail, what the Post Office counter charges, and Commercial, for postage bought online or through an approved label service or meter.** "Commercial Base" and "Commercial Plus" are older names: the Notice 123 effective Oct 2, 2022 still split domestic Priority Mail and Priority Mail Express commercial prices into the two, and the one effective Jan 22, 2023 lists a single Commercial price for each. Today's Notice 123 (effective Oct 4, 2026) uses Base and Plus only for three international services.

Anyone can get commercial prices: USPS says all Click-N-Ship users get them automatically, with a free USPS.com account ([USPS](https://www.usps.com/ship/online-shipping.htm)). A 1 lb Ground Advantage package to Zone 5 costs $9.29 online against $11.70 at the counter; Media Mail is the exception, one price either way.

Rates verified on Oct 28, 2026

Free printable USPS cheat sheet: package prices, extra-service fees and stamps: https://resellerindex.com/usps/commercial-pricing/#subscribe

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## Retail vs commercial at 1, 5 and 10 lb

Zone 1: same 3-digit ZIP area, or up to 50 miles; Zone 5: up to about 1,000 miles; Zone 8: beyond Zone 7 (over about 1,800 miles) ([DMM 608.9](https://pe.usps.com/text/dmm300/608.htm)). Online is cheaper in every one of these 18 cases, by $0.23 (Priority Mail, 1 lb, Zone 5) to $20.37 (Priority Mail, 10 lb, Zone 8), or 2% to 35% off the counter price.

*USPS Ground Advantage: USD per package, weight not over. USPS Notice 123 effective Oct 4, 2026, with the holiday prices in effect to 12 a.m. CT Jan 17, 2027. Box of 1 cubic foot or less.*

| Weight and zone | Post Office (retail) | Online (commercial) | Online saves |
| --- | ---: | ---: | ---: |
| 1 lb, Zone 1 | $10.05 | $8.01 | $2.04 (20%) |
| 1 lb, Zone 5 | $11.70 | $9.29 | $2.41 (21%) |
| 1 lb, Zone 8 | $13.65 | $11.22 | $2.43 (18%) |
| 5 lb, Zone 1 | $13.75 | $10.35 | $3.40 (25%) |
| 5 lb, Zone 5 | $18.85 | $14.53 | $4.32 (23%) |
| 5 lb, Zone 8 | $27.45 | $20.24 | $7.21 (26%) |
| 10 lb, Zone 1 | $16.75 | $12.56 | $4.19 (25%) |
| 10 lb, Zone 5 | $24.25 | $17.81 | $6.44 (27%) |
| 10 lb, Zone 8 | $40.85 | $26.39 | $14.46 (35%) |

*Priority Mail: USD per package, weight not over. USPS Notice 123 effective Oct 4, 2026, with the holiday prices in effect to 12 a.m. CT Jan 17, 2027. Box of 1 cubic foot or less.*

| Weight and zone | Post Office (retail) | Online (commercial) | Online saves |
| --- | ---: | ---: | ---: |
| 1 lb, Zone 1 | $11.50 | $9.44 | $2.06 (18%) |
| 1 lb, Zone 5 | $14.05 | $13.82 | $0.23 (2%) |
| 1 lb, Zone 8 | $17.95 | $16.07 | $1.88 (10%) |
| 5 lb, Zone 1 | $15.10 | $12.04 | $3.06 (20%) |
| 5 lb, Zone 5 | $24.20 | $23.27 | $0.93 (4%) |
| 5 lb, Zone 8 | $39.00 | $30.93 | $8.07 (21%) |
| 10 lb, Zone 1 | $18.60 | $15.15 | $3.45 (19%) |
| 10 lb, Zone 5 | $30.75 | $29.53 | $1.22 (4%) |
| 10 lb, Zone 8 | $63.40 | $43.03 | $20.37 (32%) |

Priority Mail costs more than Ground Advantage online in each of these cases (1 lb to Zone 5: $13.82 against $9.29). Every weight and zone: [Ground Advantage rates](https://resellerindex.com/rates/ground-advantage/) · [Priority Mail prices](https://resellerindex.com/rates/priority-mail/) · [postage calculator](https://resellerindex.com/calculators/postage/)

## Where each price is sold

- **Retail:** the Post Office counter. USPS's price page lists each domestic service "at the Post Office" and "for Commercial Pricing" ([USPS prices](https://www.usps.com/business/prices.htm)).
- **Commercial, through USPS:** Click-N-Ship on USPS.com sells Ground Advantage, Priority Mail and Priority Mail Express labels; USPS: "All users automatically get discounted commercial pricing when you order with Click-N-Ship." ([USPS](https://www.usps.com/ship/online-shipping.htm)).
- **Commercial, through a label service:** DMM 223.1.2 makes Priority Mail commercial prices available to Click-N-Ship customers, registered users of USPS-approved PC Postage products, permit imprint customers and IBI postage meter users ([DMM 223.1.2](https://pe.usps.com/text/dmm300/223.htm)). For Ground Advantage, DMM 283.1.2 lists PC Postage, IBI meters, permit imprint and USPS Returns ([DMM 283.1.2](https://pe.usps.com/text/dmm300/283.htm)). Label services and selling platforms can also set their own prices.
- **Business Rate Card:** "Business users: Sign up for non-published, discounted prices for Priority Mail, USPS Ground Advantage, and their return services." ([USPS Click-N-Ship page](https://www.usps.com/ship/online-shipping.htm)). As USPS says, those prices aren't published, so this page can't show them.

## What "Commercial Base" and "Commercial Plus" mean now

- **Domestic: one Commercial price.** Notice 123 effective Oct 4, 2026 heads its domestic Priority Mail Express, Priority Mail, Ground Advantage and Media Mail price tables Retail or Commercial, with separate cubic tables for commercial Priority Mail and Ground Advantage ([Notice 123](https://pe.usps.com/text/dmm300/Notice123.htm)). The split into Base and Plus is in the edition effective Oct 2, 2022 ([archive PDF](https://pe.usps.com/Archive/PDF/DMMArchive20221002/Notice123.pdf)) and gone from the one effective Jan 22, 2023 ([archive PDF](https://pe.usps.com/Archive/PDF/DMMArchive20230122/Notice123.pdf)).
- **International: both names remain** for Priority Mail Express International, Priority Mail International and First-Class Package International Service, each with a Commercial Base and a Commercial Plus table ([Notice 123](https://pe.usps.com/text/dmm300/Notice123.htm)).
- **If a tool still says "Commercial Base" on a domestic label,** it is using the old name; compare its price with Notice 123's Commercial price for the same weight and zone, such as $26.39 for 10 lb of Ground Advantage to Zone 8.

## Media Mail: the same price at the counter and online

Notice 123 prints a Media Mail Retail table and a Media Mail Commercial table, and their single-piece prices are the same at every weight from 1 to 70 lb: $4.39 for 1 lb, $7.34 for 5 lb, $11.02 for 10 lb and $55.23 for 70 lb ([Notice 123](https://pe.usps.com/text/dmm300/Notice123.htm), checked Oct 28, 2026). So an online Media Mail label costs what the counter charges. [Media Mail rates](https://resellerindex.com/rates/media-mail/)

## When and where you can mail a label you bought online

### Can I mail a label after the date printed on it?

Not without a date correction, for a PC Postage or meter label. The Domestic Mail Manual's section on postage meters and PC Postage, the label systems USPS authorizes, says: "A date correction indicium is required for any mailpiece not deposited by the date of mailing in the indicium" ([DMM 604.4.5.1](https://pe.usps.com/text/dmm300/604.htm#a_4_5_1)). The deposit rule for metered mail reads the same way: a piece with a complete date "must be deposited or presented on that date", except that one entered after the day's last scheduled collection may carry the next collection's date ([604.4.6.2](https://pe.usps.com/text/dmm300/604.htm#a_4_6_2)).

**Worked example:** a 2 lb Ground Advantage label to Zone 5 costs $10.50 online ([Notice 123](https://pe.usps.com/text/dmm300/Notice123.htm)). Printed for yesterday, it needs a date correction on the piece or on a USPS-approved label (604.4.5.1). If your label service can't print one, ask it for a refund within 30 days of printing ([DMM 604.9.3.10](https://pe.usps.com/text/dmm300/604.htm#a_9_3_10)) and buy a new label dated the day you mail: you pay $10.50 again, and the first $10.50 comes back once the refund is granted, less any processing fee the service charges, which the same section allows. Every refund deadline: [refunds for unused labels](https://resellerindex.com/usps/services/refund-unused-label/). (DMM 604 read Oct 31, 2026.)

### Can I print a label at home and mail it from another town?

It depends on the service. DMM 604.4.6.3 lets meter and PC Postage pieces of Priority Mail Express, Priority Mail, retail First-Class Mail, retail Ground Advantage, retail Media Mail and Library Mail go in "at any Postal Service facility", as long as zone-priced postage covers the zone counted "from the ZIP Code of the office where the mailpiece is deposited". Commercial Ground Advantage, the price online labels pay, isn't on that list, so it falls under the rule for everything else: deposit it "at a postal facility within the ZIP Code shown in the indicia" ([DMM 604.4.6.3](https://pe.usps.com/text/dmm300/604.htm#a_4_6_3)).

**Worked example:** zones count from the ZIP Code, so the town matters. The same 2 lb Ground Advantage label bought online costs $10.50 to a buyer in Zone 5 and $12.55 to a buyer in Zone 7, $2.05 apart ([Notice 123](https://pe.usps.com/text/dmm300/Notice123.htm)). Mailing while you travel? Buy a Ground Advantage label with the ZIP Code you'll mail from; a Priority Mail label may go in anywhere if its postage covers the zone from there. (DMM 604 read Oct 31, 2026.)

## Questions

### What is USPS commercial pricing?

USPS's lower price list for postage paid online or through an approved system: Click-N-Ship, PC Postage label services, permit imprint and IBI postage meters ([DMM 223.1.2](https://pe.usps.com/text/dmm300/223.htm); for Ground Advantage, [DMM 283.1.2](https://pe.usps.com/text/dmm300/283.htm) and [USPS's Click-N-Ship page](https://www.usps.com/ship/online-shipping.htm)). Retail is the Post Office counter price. A 1 lb Ground Advantage package to Zone 5 is $9.29 online and $11.70 at the counter ([Notice 123](https://pe.usps.com/text/dmm300/Notice123.htm)).

### Do I need a business account to get commercial prices?

No. USPS's Click-N-Ship page says: "All users automatically get discounted commercial pricing when you order with Click-N-Ship." A USPS.com account is free. Businesses can also sign up for USPS's Business Rate Card, which the same page describes as "non-published, discounted prices" for Priority Mail and Ground Advantage ([USPS](https://www.usps.com/ship/online-shipping.htm)).

### What happened to USPS Commercial Plus pricing?

For domestic shipping it's gone. The Notice 123 in effect from Oct 2, 2022 still listed separate Commercial Base and Commercial Plus prices for Priority Mail and Priority Mail Express ([USPS archive](https://pe.usps.com/Archive/PDF/DMMArchive20221002/Notice123.pdf)); the one effective Jan 22, 2023 lists a single Commercial price for each ([USPS archive](https://pe.usps.com/Archive/PDF/DMMArchive20230122/Notice123.pdf)). Today the two names appear only for international services: Priority Mail Express International, Priority Mail International and First-Class Package International Service ([Notice 123](https://pe.usps.com/text/dmm300/Notice123.htm)).

### Is Media Mail cheaper online?

No. Notice 123's Media Mail Retail and Media Mail Commercial prices are the same at every weight from 1 to 70 lb: $4.39 for 1 lb either way ([Notice 123](https://pe.usps.com/text/dmm300/Notice123.htm); [Media Mail rates](https://resellerindex.com/rates/media-mail/)).

### Is a Flat Rate box cheaper online too?

Yes: the Flat Rate Envelope is $13.90 at the Post Office and $11.97 online, and every Flat Rate envelope and box has a lower commercial price ([Notice 123](https://pe.usps.com/text/dmm300/Notice123.htm); [Flat Rate prices](https://resellerindex.com/rates/priority-mail-flat-rate/)).

### Do the holiday prices apply to commercial prices?

Yes. USPS's temporary holiday add-on applies to retail and commercial Ground Advantage and Priority Mail prices alike, from 12 a.m. CT Oct 4, 2026 to 12 a.m. CT Jan 17, 2027, and the prices on this page include it ([USPS, Aug 25, 2026](https://about.usps.com/newsroom/national-releases/2026/0825-usps-announces-temporary-price-change-for-2026-holiday-shipping-season.htm)).

## Where to buy this label online

- **USPS Click-N-Ship** (free USPS.com account). USPS says all users automatically get its discounted commercial pricing. It sells Ground Advantage, Priority Mail and Priority Mail Express labels. ([USPS](https://www.usps.com/ship/online-shipping.htm))
- **Pirate Ship** ($0). Its pages say it has no monthly fees, payment fees or label fees. ([home page](https://www.pirateship.com/) and [commercial pricing page](https://www.pirateship.com/usps/commercial-pricing))

A third tool helps when you need something these two don't list, such as importing orders from TikTok Shop, Walmart or Amazon: Shippo's integrations page lists TikTok, Walmart and Amazon among its marketplaces, and Pirate Ship's lists none of the three. ([Shippo integrations](https://goshippo.com/integrations) and [Pirate Ship integrations](https://www.pirateship.com/integrations/shipping))

From each company's own pages, checked Oct 28, 2026. The free options come first, and no link in this box pays us.

## Sources

Rates verified on Oct 28, 2026 from each official page below.

- [USPS Notice 123, Price List (effective Oct 4, 2026): domestic Retail and Commercial prices; Commercial Base and Commercial Plus for international services](https://pe.usps.com/text/dmm300/Notice123.htm)
- [USPS: Mailing & Shipping Prices (Post Office and commercial starting prices)](https://www.usps.com/business/prices.htm)
- [USPS: Online Shipping with Click-N-Ship (commercial pricing for all users, Business Rate Card)](https://www.usps.com/ship/online-shipping.htm)
- [USPS Domestic Mail Manual 223.1.2: who gets Priority Mail commercial prices](https://pe.usps.com/text/dmm300/223.htm)
- [USPS Domestic Mail Manual 283.1.2: how Ground Advantage commercial prices are paid](https://pe.usps.com/text/dmm300/283.htm)
- [USPS Domestic Mail Manual 608.9: postal zones](https://pe.usps.com/text/dmm300/608.htm)
- [USPS Domestic Mail Manual 604.4.5, 604.4.6 and 604.9.3: mailing dates, where labels are deposited, label refunds (read Oct 31, 2026)](https://pe.usps.com/text/dmm300/604.htm)
- [USPS Notice 123 effective Oct 2, 2022 (Postal Explorer archive): domestic Commercial Base and Commercial Plus](https://pe.usps.com/Archive/PDF/DMMArchive20221002/Notice123.pdf)
- [USPS Notice 123 effective Jan 22, 2023 (Postal Explorer archive): one domestic Commercial price](https://pe.usps.com/Archive/PDF/DMMArchive20230122/Notice123.pdf)
- [USPS: temporary price change for 2026 holiday shipping (Aug 25, 2026)](https://about.usps.com/newsroom/national-releases/2026/0825-usps-announces-temporary-price-change-for-2026-holiday-shipping-season.htm)

---

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