UPS Shipping Rates & Services

A-Guide-to-UPS-Shipping-Rates

Whether you’re shipping within Canada or to a global destination, choosing to ship with UPS (United Postal Service) is a smart choice when you demand dependability, fast, and cost-effective mail service. UPS offers multiple shipping rates to meet your budget and timeline, and if you’re wondering which rate is best for your unique requirements, we’ve gathered some useful information to help.


UPS Shipping rates are determined by the size and weight of the package you are sending, as well as the type of shipping service you choose (overnight, ground, etc.). You can measure and weigh your package and receive an accurate quote off of the UPS website or their shipping rate guide.

Or you can automatically calculate shipping costs using your integrated shipping tools if you are using a commerce platform to sell and ship products. 

All packages are trackable for added peace of mind and security.


Interested in finding out how PluginHive can integrate UPS shipping services right into your Shopify, WooCommerce, or other commerce-based web platforms? Reach out for a conversation with our customer support team. 


UPS Overnight Shipping

UPS offers overnight shipping by 8:00 am or 10:30 am to more zip codes and postal codes than FedEx. You can trust that your sensitive documents will make it to their recipient faster than most other carriers – you have a restful, trusting sleep while your packages and letters are delivered on time. If you prefer to have your package delivered at a specific time of the day, UPS can also flexibly work with your business or team whenever it works best for you. 

Depending on when your packages need to be delivered, you can choose between either UPS Next Day Air Early (arrives by 8:00 am to most major cities and by 9:30 am to most other destinations) or UPS Next Day Air (arrives by 10:30 am), both of which will get your parcels delivered at the start of the next day (or whatever time you need it to arrive). 


UPS Second-Day Air

Like Next Day shipping, UPS Second-Day Air offers shipping guaranteed within two business days. This shipping option does come with a few restrictions and exceptions, however. It’s only available with shipping to commercial destinations within the United States and does not ship to residential addresses. So, if you’re a B2B brand, this option is perfect as you can easily ship products between commercial locations for a reasonable price. 

UPS Second-Day Air is not available in States that offer same-day express air shipping. 


ups offer

UPS Ground Shipping

UPS Ground Shipping is also known as UPS Standard. Like other shipping carriers, it offers quick delivery but through standard ground shipping. If your parcel doesn’t require a timely arrival or you don’t have the budget to pay for express options, UPS Standard is a great and still dependable option. 

UPS Ground Shipping provides guaranteed delivery dates upon shipping – with a transit number to keep you up to date on delivery. If you’re shipping between major or large urban cities, you can typically expect a delivery date of about 5 business days. 


UPS Shipping Rates in the United States

UPS offers Americans the choice between daily or retail shipping rates, depending on whether you have scheduled pick-ups or use one of UPS’s many retail locations to ship your parcels. You can determine your daily rate or retail rate by using the UPS Zone Charts (daily) & (retail) based on your origin zip code. Once you have your charts, you can easily find out the cost of shipping using various rates based on the destination zip code. 

Keep in mind, there may be surcharges for fuel and value-added service pricing, which includes Saturday processing fees, signature on delivery, and more. 


UPS Shipping Rates in Canada

UPS offers much of the same services within Canada as well, although they may be given different names such as UPS Expedited instead of Second-Day Air. Having UPS in both the United States and Canada can be beneficial for shipping to cross-border customers as tracking numbers remain the same and parcels have less of a chance of being lost.

UPS provides an online shipping calculator that will estimate shipping fees and delivery dates based on your location as well as the destination. For example, a small 2-pound package shipping from Ottawa to Vancouver is provided with various options. 

  • An overnight delivery guarantee using Next Day Air Early is given an estimated cost of just over $75 CAD. The package would arrive by 9 AM tomorrow.
  • UPS Express would be delivered by 10:30 AM tomorrow for a cost of just over $50 CAD.
  • UPS Expedited has guaranteed delivery of 2 business days from today for a cost of just under $40 CAD. 
  • UPS Standard guarantees a delivery 5 business days from tomorrow for a cost of just over $35 CAD.

UPS is one of the best mail and courier services in North America, gaining an excellent reputation for on-time, reliable, cost-effective services. To learn more about UPS and whether it may be an option for your eCommerce retail business, you can review their website here. 

When using UPS Shipping as part of your eCommerce business, be sure to integrate an automated shipping label application into your platform.


PluginHive works with WooCommerce, Shopify, and most other shipping applications to ease the shipping process whether you stick to one or multi-carrier shippers. Reach out to learn more today. 


Want to know more about how UPS handles international shipments?
Read more at UPS International Shipping Rates & Services.