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USPS Flat Rate is one of the best value postage shipping solutions. The service simplifies calculating the costs of mailing your clients and customers, and saves you time and money by reducing the administrative burden of sending your business mail.
If you’re not familiar with costs for USPS Flat Rate postage and packaging, read on.
USPS Flat Rate Envelope Shipping Prices
Current USPS Flat Rate Priority Mail envelope prices are:
Flat Rate Envelope | $7.75 (commercial base) $8.95 | 12 1/2″ x 9 1/2″ | Letters Essays Manuscripts |
Window Flat Rate Envelope | $7.75 (commercial base) $8.95 | 10″ x 5″ or 12 1/2″ x 9 1/2″ | Pre-addressed Envelopes |
Small Flat Rate Envelope | $7.75 (commercial base) $8.95 | 10″ x 6″ | Folded Documents Christmas cards Passports |
Padded Flat Rate Envelope | $8.45 (commercial base) $9.65 | 12 1/2″ x 9 1/2″ | Clothing Books Video Games DVDs and Blu Rays Jewelry |
Legal Flat Rate Envelope | $8.05 (commercial base) $9.25 | 15″ x 9 1/2″ | Resumes Certificates Transcripts |
Pricing correct as of 05-10-2022
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USPS Flat Rate Box Shipping Prices
Current USPS Priority Mail Flat Rate box prices are as follows. (Be aware that Post Office pricing is the same as purchasing online):
Small Flat Rate Box | $8.25 (commercial base) $9.45 | Outside: 8 11/16″ x 5 7/16″ x 1 3/4″ Inside: | Brochures Small Electronics |
Medium Flat Rate Box 1 (top-loading) | $14.25 (commercial base) $16.10 | Outside: 11 1/4″ x 8 3/4″ x 6″ Inside: | Office Supplies Shoes |
Medium Flat Rate Box 2 (side-loading) | $14.25 (commercial base) $16.10 | Outside: 14″ x 12″ x 3 1/2″ Inside: | Office Supplies Shoes |
Large Flat Rate Box | $19.20 (commercial base) $21.50 | Outside: 12 1/4″ x 12 1/4″ x 6″ Inside: | Laptop Computers Gifts |
APO/FPO/DPO Flat Rate Box | $17.70 (commercial base) $20.00 | Outside: 12 1/4″ x 12 1/4″ x 6″ Inside: | Sending Gifts to the troops |
Large Flat Rate Board Game Box | $19.20 (commercial base) $21.50 | Outside: 24 1/16″ x 11 7/8″ x 3 1/8″ Inside: | Board Games |
Tips and Tricks
Weight Limits
There’s a weight limit of 70lb for all packages shipped via USPS Flat Rate. To put that in perspective, here are some things that weigh about 70 lb:
- Ten laptops
- Nine gallons of water
- One office swivel chair
Free packaging
The costs above apply to shipping with USPS. However, the actual Flat Rate boxes and envelopes are free. This means, if you so choose, you can order free packaging from USPS, then use it to ship your mail with a completely different delivery service. Bear in mind that boxes and envelopes ship within two to eight days of ordering.
Next Steps
If your mail matches the required dimensions for USPS’s Flat Rate Priority Mail service, great. But if you want complete control over how your mail looks, you may prefer to ship using your own packaging, rather than the USPS-branded boxes and envelopes.
If that’s the case, renting or leasing a postage meter is the way to go.
Postage meters help you to weigh and calculate postage costs for all your packages without having to buy stamps from the Post Office. Your business will benefit from lower costs of metered postage as opposed to buying online or in branch.
Expert Market can help you compare postage meter quotes. Simply fill out a short webform and we’ll put you in touch with top postage meter suppliers.
Sabrina writes about tech for business as well as consumer software. She covers topics ranging from digital marketing to ecommerce fulfilment, security systems, franking machines, and more. Having run her own successful small business, Sabrina knows first-hand how much there is to keep on top of. Writing with your company’s needs in mind, she distils truly useful product information (without the sales pitch).