USPS Rate Changes: July 13 2025 Rate Card, New Discounts & Price Updates

Latest USPS Pricing Update: July 13, 2025

The United States Postal Service (USPS) is a cornerstone of American eCommerce logistics. It ships billions of packages annually, offering reliable service at affordable prices.

On July 13, 2025, USPS will implement new pricing changes that may increase or decrease your shipping costs depending on your shipping zones, package sizes, and delivery services. Whether you sell on Shopify, eBay, Amazon, or your own store, understanding these updates is important to protect your margins, adjust pricing and optimize your shipping strategy.

This updated rate guide will provide you with accurate, up-to-date information on USPS pricing from July 13th 2025. We’ll also share exclusive tips for how you can use Easyship to save on USPS rates.

What Are The New USPS Price Changes?

The USPS mid-year price change is effective from July 13, 2025, and involves a range of adjustments across most USPS postal services:

New USPS Rate Changes (July 2025):

Use our free USPS Rate Calculator to compare the latest rates quickly.

Why Is USPS Making Changes?

These updates fall under USPS' 10-year Delivering for America plan, aiming for financial sustainability while managing rising costs and network modernization. USPS rate adjustments reflect economic conditions, delivery trends, and CPI-indexed recalibrations.

For business, this practically means that the USPS is making changes to rates based on the shipping zone, package size and weight to better align their postal delivery costs with the pricing of services. Generally, this results in higher costs for higher volume services, regional deliveries and hard to reach locations, meanwhile less common deliveries that occur closer to central hubs become cheaper.

How Much Have USPS Rates Changed?

Let’s explore what the changes mean for USPS Priority Mail and Ground Advantage in July 2025.

Summary Of Priority Mail Rate Changes:

Lightweight Packages (0.5–5 lbs):

• Save up to $0.51 (up to 7% drop) in Zones 1–4.
• Easyship Discounts: Save up to $1.29 (15.56%) on 3 lb shipments.

Midweight Packages (6–10 lbs):

• Zone 5 saw increases up to $4.30 (28.03%).
• Easyship Discounts: Save up to $1.21 (11.22%) on 6 lb shipments in Zone 3.

Heavyweight Packages (11–20 lbs):

• Zone 8 rates decreased up to $2.51 (5%).
• Zones 1–7 increased up to $4.17 (22.10%).
• Easyship Discounts: Save up to $1.46 (10.73%) on 12 lb shipments in Zone 1.

USPS Cubic Pricing:

• Tier 2 (0.10–0.20 ft³): Up to $0.73 (9.5%) cheaper in Zone 1.
• Easyship Discounts: Save up to $1.29 (15.56%) on Tier 3 shipments in Zone 3.

Flat Rate Packages:

• Medium Flat Rate Box: $1.70 (10.76%) increase.
• Easyship Discounts: Save up to $1.30 (15.48%) on Flat Rate Envelopes and Large Boxes.

Summary of Ground Advantage Rate Changes:

Lightweight Packages (Ounces):

• Rates increased up to $0.29 (6.6%) across most zones.

Packages Weighing 1–20 lbs:

• Rates remained flat across all zones.

Cubic Pricing:

• Rates unchanged for cubic-weighted packages up to 20 lbs.

July 2025 USPS Shipping Rate Changes

What are the new USPS Ground Advantage Rates?

The new USPS Ground Advantage rate card for July 13, 2025 to January 18, 2026 are outlined in this table for every package type, weight and zone. Want to know exactly what your next shipment will cost? Try Easyship for free.

What are the new USPS Priority Mail Rates?

The latest USPS Priority Mail rate card for July 13, 2025 to January 18, 2026 is detailed in this table for every package type, weight and zone. Use Easyship's free shipping calculator for an all-inclusive, transparent shipping quote for eCommerce.

What are the new 2025 Media Mail Rates?

Media Mail continues to offer one of the most cost-effective solutions for shipping educational and media-based content. As of July 13, 2025, the USPS has reduced Media Mail rates by up to 3.6%, with savings reaching $0.16 depending on weight and destination.

This makes Media Mail especially valuable for businesses and individuals shipping:

• Books (at least 8 pages)
• CDs, DVDs, and audio recordings
• Printed music and test materials
• Bound educational reference charts
• Educational media such as academic scripts and film

Here’s what you need to know about Media Mail pricing in 2025:

• Pricing starts at $4.63, making it the lowest-cost USPS shipping method for qualifying items.
• No dimensional weight pricing applies to Media Mail.
• Delivery typically takes 2 to 8 business days depending on the destination.
• Tracking is included, but insurance is optional.
• Only eligible items may be shipped via Media Mail—USPS may open packages to verify contents.

Pro tip: If you're shipping media in bulk, using Easyship’s platform can still unlock additional savings and streamline fulfillment alongside other USPS services like Ground Advantage, Priority Mail or Priority Mail Express.

Why The USPS Rate Increase Matters to eCommerce Businesses

Shipping often makes up a substantial share of eCommerce operating costs. USPS has long been a cost-effective solution for small, lightweight parcels.

With Zone 5 increases and ultralight ounce-rate hikes, sellers must reassess fulfillment strategies to sustain profitability. Is the USPS still the cheapest option for your brand? Or do similar ground services from UPS or FedEx make more sense based on individual delivery requirements and final-mile delivery address?

It's important to also consider the ease of scheduling courier pick-ups and the availability of drop-off locations. Easyship allows you to manage all your pick-up scheduloing and drop-off requirements in one dashboard.

How To Access USPS Discounts (Up To 89% Off):

What Are The Top USPS Alternatives For 2025

While USPS remains a dominant and cost-effective shipping provider in the United States, several competitors are gaining traction for eCommerce brands by offering better quality shipping services and lower delivery costs.

The best USPS alternatives for July 2025 to January 2026 are:

• ‍UPS provides strong tracking and often undercuts USPS on lightweight packages with discount services like Ground Saver.
• ‍FedEx excels with express and high-value goods with lower pricing on larger, oversized shipments using FedEx One Rate.
• DHL Express is ideal for international shipping and time-definite deliveries, offering fast and reliable service across global markets.
• ‍Sendle leverages a network of regional carriers to offer affordable and eco-conscious shipping—particularly attractive to small businesses seeking transparency and local optimization while often beating USPS rates.

Step-by-Step Guide: 8 Ways To Prepare For USPS Rate Changes

Take the following 8-steps to prepare and reset your business for the year ahead. USPS are the first to come out and say it, but they won't be the last carrier to increase prices in 2025.

1. Calculate New USPS Rates

Visit Easyship's free shipping rate calculator to get an accurate cost estimate for the latest 2025 USPS rates. Identify how these changes will impact your average margin on your best sellers and across your total inventory. Particularly if you can access historical data on your most common shipping zones, weights, and box sizes.

2. Audit Shipping Expenses & Seasonal Trends

Take time to analyze your historical shipping data for the last 12 to 15 months. This will allow you to see any notable delivery trends and volume changes that might occur with seasonality. Next, you can review your shipping analytics year-on-year to understand what to expect in 2025. Once you have established this baseline trend and any seasonal spikes, apply the new pricing to forecast the impact and identify areas to save on shipping costs.

3. Optimize Packaging & Box Selection

How heavy are your items? How are they wrapped up, protected and boxed? Are you always using the lightest possible packaging? Easyship offers a range of best practice tips on how to reduce shipping expenses and find the cheapest way to ship a package by optimizing your packaging and box selection. In fact, our intelligent auto box selection feature does exactly that—minimizing your box selection to save on shipping.

How To Optimize Packaging for USPS:

• Select the smallest box that safely fits your items.
• Switch to Flat Rate boxes for predictable pricing.
• Measure and enter package dimensions accurately to avoid surcharges.
• Ensure you only use lightweight protective materials.

4. Add Transparent Shipping & Delivery Options

How many delivery options do you provide your customers at checkout? Can they select an express or next-day delivery? Or are they limited to a single, flat rate that provides little context or transparency on when they’ll receive their package? In 2025, it’s time to upgrade your checkout experience.

Provide clear and upfront information about shipping costs and options to build trust with your customers. By offering real-time shipping rates at checkout, customers can choose the delivery speed and cost that best suits them, reducing surprises at checkout. Include multiple options, such as faster or cheaper delivery, to cater to varying needs and budgets. Transparent communication can improve cart conversion rates and customer satisfaction.

5. Include Multi-Carrier Shipping Tools

Leverage shipping technology to compare rates and optimize your shipping choices. Free multi-carrier shipping tools like Easyship allow you to evaluate pricing across multiple carriers, including USPS, UPS, FedEx, and DHL Express. These intelligent platforms automate carrier selection, helping you secure the best rates for each package based on weight, size, and destination. This flexibility ensures that you’ll always find the cheapest shipping option—no matter the carrier.

6. Adjust Your Pricing Strategy

As expenses rise across the board, make sure you review your product pricing strategy to ensure profitability. A growing trend in eCommerce is first-order profit, where retailers move away from heavy first-time discounts in order to ensure every order is positively contributing to their bottom line.

Similarly, it’s important to revisit your pricing model to reflect increased shipping expenses, particularly when these costs are not being passed on. Slightly raising product prices can absorb some of the added costs. Alternatively, implement free shipping thresholds to encourage larger orders that offset higher shipping fees. Ensure any changes are communicated clearly to customers to maintain trust and avoid bill shock.

7. Explore Volume Discounts

Still paying post office prices? High-volume shippers can often benefit from discounted rates negotiated directly with USPS or through third-party platforms like Easyship. If you’re making a consistent number of shipments every month and are willing to commit to USPS for your volume, you can contact a USPS representative to discuss customized pricing. 

Alternatively, most online sellers can benefit immediately from the pre-negotiated discounts available on Easyship. Sign up for free and instantly access bulk discounts up to 91% off to lower per-package shipping costs and enhance profit margins. Plus, you’ll get the advantage of being able to compare discounted rates from USPS, UPS, FedEx, DHL Express, and hundreds more in one global account. 

8. Managing Customer Expectations

To retain trust and minimize cart abandonment, focus on transparent shipping policies and clearly showcase the delivery options available to online buyers. Be specific and display estimated delivery times and shipping costs at checkout. Offer free or discounted shipping promotions during peak seasons to align with customer expectations. Address common concerns with detailed tracking updates to reassure buyers and improve their overall experience.

USPS Rate Change FAQs

When do the new USPS rates take effect?
The mid-year rate changes will occur on July 13, 2025. This new USPS rate card will likely run until January 2026.

How often does USPS increase prices?
Typically twice a year — January and July. For 2025, the dates were January 19 and July 13, 2025. For 2026, it's likely the USPS will increase rates again on January 18, 2026.

Why is USPS changing their pricing and rate card?
USPS regularly updates their pricing, making changes to rates based on package weight and shipping zones to better align postal delivery costs and the pricing of their services. Generally, this makes more regional and hard to reach locations more expensive to ship to for businesses and consumers, meanwhile deliveries that occur closer to central hubs become cheaper. To see this in action, try Easyship's free USPS shipping rate calculator.

How can businesses avoid USPS surcharges?
To reduce the impact of rising shipping costs it is important to use accurate weights and dimensions. Free shipping software tools like Easyship can help to reduce box size, dimensional weight calculations, and automatically compare rates and discounts to find the cheapest shipping service for small business. Meanwhile USPS flat rate boxes can help give certainty and avoid surprise surcharges.
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What tools can help manage USPS changes?
Use Easyship's free shipping tools to access exclusive USPS discounts, automate shipping rules, and compare over 550 carrier services in one dashboard including USPS, UPS, FedEx, Sendle and more.