Shipping Cost Estimator
Estimate shipping costs across economy, standard, and express tiers. Includes dimensional weight calculation and zone-based pricing.
Package Details
Enter your package specifications and shipping route.
Estimated Rates
Enter your package details and click Estimate to see rates.
Results will appear here after you estimate.
Understanding Shipping Costs
Shipping costs are determined by several factors: package weight, dimensional weight, distance (zone), service speed, and carrier-specific surcharges. Understanding these factors helps ecommerce businesses price shipping accurately and protect margins.
Dimensional Weight (DIM Weight)
Carriers charge based on whichever is greater: actual weight or dimensional weight. DIM weight is calculated as (Length x Width x Height) / DIM Divisor. The standard DIM divisor is 139 for most US carriers. This means a large but light package may cost more to ship than a small but heavy one.
Shipping Zones
Carriers divide the country into zones based on the distance between origin and destination. Shipping within the same zone (local) is cheapest, while cross-country shipments pass through multiple zones and cost more. Strategically positioning inventory in multiple fulfillment centers can dramatically reduce average shipping zones and costs.
Choosing the Right Tier
Economy shipping works well for non-urgent, low-value items. Standard covers most ecommerce orders where customers expect 3–5 day delivery. Express is reserved for high-value, time-sensitive purchases. Offering multiple tiers at checkout lets customers self-select, balancing cost and speed.
How Nventory Helps
Nventory integrates with major carriers and compares live rates across services to find you the best price for every shipment. Automated shipping rules, multi-warehouse routing, and bulk label generation reduce costs and cut fulfillment time. Rate shopping across carriers can save 15–30% on average shipping spend.
Want automated rate shopping and multi-carrier label generation?