USPS holiday price increase 2026: retail and commercial increases
The short version
- The holiday increase runs from October 4, 2026 to January 17, 2027 on Priority Mail Express, Priority Mail, USPS Ground Advantage and Parcel Select only; First-Class Mail, Media Mail and international are unchanged.
- Commercial Ground Advantage, the product most online sellers ship, rises $0.40 to $3.15 per package in zones 1 to 4 and $0.55 to $7.70 in zones 5 to 9, with cubic tiers priced the same as their weight equivalents.
- Priority Mail Flat Rate rises $0.85 commercial and $1.00 retail, with Large Flat Rate Boxes at $1.75 and $2.10; the Priority Mail Express Flat Rate Envelope rises $2.35 either way.
- The holiday amounts are added to the temporary 8% transportation increase in force since April 26, 2026, so a package in the last quarter carries both.
- Against the private carriers' economy ground products, the USPS light-parcel increase of $0.40 to $0.55 is well below the FedEx Ground Economy demand surcharge of $2.55 to $4.05 and at or below the UPS Ground Saver surcharge of $0.50 to $0.75 for most of the season; a smaller seasonal increase does not by itself make the total price lower.
USPS raises prices on four package products from 12 a.m. Central on October 4, 2026 until 12 a.m. Central on January 17, 2027: Priority Mail Express, Priority Mail, USPS Ground Advantage and Parcel Select. The increase is a fixed amount per package, set by product, weight band and zone, from $0.40 on a light commercial Ground Advantage or Parcel Select package in zones 1 to 4 to $20.80 on a retail Priority Mail Express package over 25 lb in zones 5 to 9. It is added to prices that already carry the temporary 8% transportation increase in force since April 26, 2026, which ends on the same January date.
USPS filed the change with the Postal Regulatory Commission on August 25, 2026 as docket CP2026-10, and the Commission approved it on September 9. The amounts below are the published retail and commercial increases from the USPS release of August 25. How they reach a particular shipper depends on how the postage is bought: a shipping platform, a reseller or a negotiated service agreement may pass the commercial figure through as published, or price differently, so confirm with whoever sells you the postage how the adjustment applies to your rates.
What changes and when
The change is a temporary price adjustment rather than a surcharge line: the published price of each affected product rises by the amount in the tables for the period, and returns to the underlying price at 12 a.m. Central on January 17, 2027. The four products are the domestic competitive parcel products. Priority Mail Express and Priority Mail are affected in both retail and commercial pricing, including Flat Rate; USPS Ground Advantage is affected in both, including cubic pricing; Parcel Select is a commercial product and is affected at all entry points. This holiday adjustment does not affect other products: First-Class Mail and letters, Media Mail, Library Mail, Bound Printed Matter and the international services are outside the filing.
USPS published the increases as a fixed dollar amount per package in four weight bands and two zone groups, rather than as a percentage, which is why a light local package rises less than a dollar and a heavy cross-country express package rises more than twenty.
Retail increases, per package
Retail is the price at a Post Office counter or on usps.com without a commercial account.
| Product and weight | Zones 1 to 4 | Zones 5 to 9 |
|---|---|---|
| Priority Mail, 0 to 3 lb | $0.50 | $1.00 |
| Priority Mail, 4 to 10 lb | $0.80 | $2.10 |
| Priority Mail, 11 to 25 lb | $1.25 | $4.30 |
| Priority Mail, 26 to 70 lb | $3.90 | $9.10 |
| USPS Ground Advantage, 0 to 3 lb | $0.50 | $0.75 |
| USPS Ground Advantage, 4 to 10 lb | $0.80 | $1.40 |
| USPS Ground Advantage, 11 to 25 lb | $1.25 | $2.75 |
| USPS Ground Advantage, 26 to 70 lb and oversized | $3.90 | $7.50 |
| Priority Mail Express, 0 to 3 lb | $1.40 | $2.35 |
| Priority Mail Express, 4 to 10 lb | $2.45 | $6.30 |
| Priority Mail Express, 11 to 25 lb | $5.05 | $11.70 |
| Priority Mail Express, 26 to 70 lb | $12.70 | $20.80 |
| Priority Mail Large Flat Rate Box | $2.10 | |
| All other Priority Mail Flat Rate | $1.00 | |
| Priority Mail Express Flat Rate Envelope | $2.35 | |
Commercial increases, per package
Commercial is the price through a shipping platform, a meter, a USPS commercial account or a negotiated service agreement, which is where nearly all business volume is priced. Cubic-priced Priority Mail and Ground Advantage rise by the same amount as the weight band shown beside each tier.
| Product and weight | Zones 1 to 4 | Zones 5 to 9 |
|---|---|---|
| Priority Mail, 0 to 3 lb and cubic tiers 1 to 3 | $0.40 | $0.85 |
| Priority Mail, 4 to 10 lb and cubic tiers 4 to 5 | $0.65 | $1.75 |
| Priority Mail, 11 to 25 lb | $1.05 | $3.85 |
| Priority Mail, 26 to 70 lb | $3.15 | $9.10 |
| USPS Ground Advantage, 0 to 3 lb and cubic tiers 1 to 3 | $0.40 | $0.55 |
| USPS Ground Advantage, 4 to 10 lb and cubic tiers 4 to 9 | $0.65 | $1.05 |
| USPS Ground Advantage, 11 to 25 lb and cubic tier 10 | $1.05 | $1.75 |
| USPS Ground Advantage, 26 to 70 lb and oversized | $3.15 | $7.70 |
| Priority Mail Express, 0 to 3 lb | $1.40 | $2.35 |
| Priority Mail Express, 4 to 10 lb | $2.10 | $5.55 |
| Priority Mail Express, 11 to 25 lb | $4.90 | $10.50 |
| Priority Mail Express, 26 to 70 lb | $12.55 | $18.20 |
| Priority Mail Large Flat Rate Box | $1.75 | |
| All other Priority Mail Flat Rate | $0.85 | |
| Priority Mail Express Flat Rate Envelope | $2.35 | |
| Parcel Select, 0 to 3 lb, all entries | $0.40 | |
| Parcel Select, 4 to 10 lb, all entries | $0.50 | |
| Parcel Select, 11 to 25 lb, all entries | $0.80 | |
| Parcel Select, 26 to 70 lb and oversized, all entries | $2.35 | |
How the holiday increase combines with April's 8% adjustment
On March 25, 2026 USPS filed a separate time-limited price change of about 8% on the same four products, which it attributed to transportation costs. It took effect on April 26, 2026 and runs to January 17, 2027, the same end date as the holiday change. The holiday filing does not replace it. From October 4 to January 17 a Priority Mail, Ground Advantage, Priority Mail Express or Parcel Select package carries the April increase in its base price and the holiday amount on top. Because the April change was a percentage and the holiday change is a fixed amount, the combined effect is largest in proportion on light, short-zone packages, where a $0.40 increase on a package that already rose 8% can be another 8% or more.
What it means for a typical shipper
A seller sending 2,000 commercial Ground Advantage packages a week, 1 to 3 lb, split evenly between the two zone groups, pays $0.40 on half of them and $0.55 on the other half: $950 a week, or $14,250 across the fifteen weeks. The same volume on Priority Mail is $1,250 a week and $18,750 for the period. A shipper using Priority Mail Express for heavy zone 5 to 9 packages pays $18.20 more on each one, which on a hundred a week is $27,300 for the period. All three assume the published commercial increase passes through in full.
Compared like for like with the private carriers' economy ground products in the same weeks, the USPS light-parcel increase is the smallest of the three for most of the season. FedEx Ground Economy carries a demand surcharge of $2.55 per package in the early and late windows and $4.05 from November 23 to December 27. UPS Ground Saver carries $0.50 and $0.75. Commercial Ground Advantage rises $0.40 in zones 1 to 4 and $0.55 in zones 5 to 9 for the whole period, with no higher peak window, so it is below UPS at every point except the long-zone amount against the UPS early and late rate, where it is $0.05 higher. For heavy ground packages the order changes: Ground Advantage at 26 to 70 lb rises $7.70 in zones 5 to 9, more than either carrier's per-package ground demand surcharge, before any additional handling or oversize demand charge the private carriers add on packages that meet their size rules. Express products are a separate comparison: Priority Mail Express rises $2.35 for light zone 5 to 9 packages, against $2.55 at FedEx overnight services and $2.50 at UPS Next Day Air at peak. None of this says which carrier is cheaper; a smaller seasonal increase on a higher base price is still a higher price. The full FedEx, UPS and USPS schedules, and an estimate at your volume on any of the three, are in our peak season surcharge calculator.
What shippers should do before October 4
- Re-rate a week of shipments with the holiday amount added by product, weight band and zone group; the tables above are all that is needed, and the answer is a fixed dollar figure rather than a percentage guess.
- Check where the April 8% already moved lanes between USPS and a private carrier, because the holiday amount changes the comparison again, and in the opposite direction for heavy zone 5 to 9 packages, where USPS rises by more than a FedEx or UPS demand surcharge.
- If a shipping platform, reseller or negotiated agreement supplies your USPS postage, confirm how it applies the adjustment. The published commercial increase is the reference point, not a guarantee of what any particular account will see.
- Diary January 17, 2027: both temporary increases are scheduled to end that morning. Check the first invoices after it against the January price schedule that applies to your account, so that the removal of both adjustments can be seen, rather than assuming a price that has not fallen by the full amount is wrong; another rate change or a contract term may intervene.
Frequently asked questions
When does the USPS holiday price increase start and end in 2026?
The temporary increase starts at 12 a.m. Central Time on October 4, 2026 and ends at 12 a.m. Central Time on January 17, 2027. USPS filed it with the Postal Regulatory Commission on August 25, 2026 as docket CP2026-10, and the Commission approved it on September 9, 2026.
Which USPS products are affected by the 2026 holiday price increase?
Four domestic package products: Priority Mail Express, Priority Mail, USPS Ground Advantage and Parcel Select, in both retail and commercial pricing where both exist, including Flat Rate and cubic pricing. No other product changes. First-Class Mail, Media Mail, Library Mail, Bound Printed Matter and all international services keep their current prices.
How much does USPS Ground Advantage go up for the 2026 holidays?
Commercial Ground Advantage rises $0.40 per package for 0 to 3 lb in zones 1 to 4 and $0.55 in zones 5 to 9, then $0.65 or $1.05 for 4 to 10 lb, $1.05 or $1.75 for 11 to 25 lb, and $3.15 or $7.70 for 26 to 70 lb and oversized. Retail Ground Advantage rises $0.50 or $0.75 for 0 to 3 lb, up to $3.90 or $7.50 for the heaviest band. Cubic tiers rise by the same amount as the weight band shown beside them.
How much does Priority Mail Flat Rate go up during the 2026 peak season?
Commercial Priority Mail Flat Rate products rise $0.85 per package, with Large Flat Rate Boxes at $1.75. Retail Flat Rate rises $1.00, with Large Flat Rate Boxes at $2.10. The Priority Mail Express Flat Rate Envelope rises $2.35 at both retail and commercial prices.
Does the USPS holiday increase come on top of the April 2026 price increase?
Yes. The temporary transportation-related increase of about 8% that took effect on April 26, 2026 on the same four products runs until January 17, 2027, and the holiday amounts are added to prices that already include it. Both end at 12 a.m. Central on January 17, 2027.
Is the 2026 USPS holiday increase a surcharge or a price change?
USPS files it as a temporary price adjustment, so the published price of each product rises for the period rather than a separate surcharge line appearing on a label or invoice. In practice it behaves like the FedEx and UPS demand surcharges: a fixed per-package amount for a defined season. The published retail and commercial figures are the reference; how a platform, reseller or negotiated agreement passes them through is something to confirm with that provider.
How does the USPS holiday increase compare with FedEx and UPS peak surcharges?
Compared with the private carriers' economy ground products, the USPS light-parcel increase is the smallest for most of the season. Commercial Ground Advantage rises $0.40 in zones 1 to 4 and $0.55 in zones 5 to 9 for the whole period; the FedEx Ground Economy demand surcharge is $2.55 rising to $4.05 at peak, and the UPS Ground Saver surcharge is $0.50 rising to $0.75, so USPS is at or below UPS except for its $0.55 long-zone amount against the UPS $0.50 early and late rate. For heavy ground packages USPS rises by more: $7.70 on Ground Advantage at 26 to 70 lb in zones 5 to 9, against per-package ground demand surcharges of $4.05 and $0.75, before any size-based demand charges the private carriers add. Express products compare separately, and a smaller seasonal increase does not by itself mean a lower total price.
Sources
- USPS, U.S. Postal Service announces temporary price change for 2026 holiday shipping season, August 25, 2026, with the retail and commercial tables.
- Postal Regulatory Commission, docket CP2026-10, filed August 25, 2026 and approved September 9, 2026; the filing and order are in the Commission's daily listings under that docket number, and the notice in the Federal Register.
- USPS, U.S. Postal Service announces transportation-related, time-limited price change, March 25, 2026: the 8% adjustment effective April 26, 2026 to January 17, 2027.
- FedEx, demand surcharges, and UPS, demand surcharges, 2026-27 schedules as published by each carrier.