Dimensional Weight Shipping Calculator
Use the calculator below to determine your dimensional weight and see how much you’ll save on shipping with eFulfillment Service.
Let Us Cut Your Shipping Weight in Half!
Dimensional weight affects shipping costs
We lower your cost by offering the best dimensional shipping weight to our clients.
Use the calculator to the right to enter sample package dimensions and compare your billable weight between eFulfillment Service and other 3PLs for Ground and Home Delivery shipping services.
See How Much Money We Save You!
When dimensional (DIM) weight is greater than the actual weight, you pay dimensional weight. Because we reduce your DIM weight, below are two examples of the savings you get with us compared with other 3PLs.
Example 1
Example 2
Actual Weight of Package
Ship Weight with Us
Ship Weight with Others
SAVINGS WITH US
1 pound
1 pound
2 pounds
$1.32
Actual Weight of Package
Ship Weight with Us
Ship Weight with Others
SAVINGS WITH US
3 pounds
3 pounds
6 pounds
$1.44
In both of these examples, your DIM weight would be greater than the actual weight if you used other fulfillment companies, which means your billable shipping weight would be higher. With eFulfillment Service, because we pass along our DIM weight savings to you, your billable shipping weight would have matched the actual package weight, significantly reducing your cost.
Frequently Asked Questions
Dimensional weight explained
To properly define dimensional (DIM) weight, or volumetric weight, consider that a shipping carrier is using dimensional weight to make more money on light but bulky packages. Some carriers are smartly calling this weight a chargeable or billable weight. Meaning, for online order fulfillment, the DIM weight for a package is the highest value between the actual package weight or the result of the package volume, divided by a shipping company’s DIM weight divisor. And that figure is used by the carrier to determine what they will charge or bill for shipping.
Imagine a truck filled with 10 huge packages that each weigh only a pound … billed by weight, that shipment would only be worth the same amount as a 10 lb. bag of sugar. Whereas a truck filled with 10 lb. bags of sugar would be very lucrative because hundreds of them could fit in the truck, side by side, stacked up.
The dimensional weight or volumetric weight formula takes the volume of the package and divides it to identify the weight that package should use for calculating shipping fees, in order for the carrier to make enough money. Different carriers have different divisors. The actual weight of the package and the DIM weight are compared, whichever is higher is defined as the dimensional, DIM or volumetric weight. And that higher figure is the weight used to calculate the fee for shipping the online order.
Volume divided by DIM divisor
(Length x width x height) ÷ (DIM divisor)
Fulfillment companies can negotiate better divisors, but many don’t share those discounts with clients. When an ecommerce merchant is choosing a fulfillment partner, they should ask about the DIM weight divisor being used to determine the weight of online orders.
Of course the easiest way to find out the DIM weight of your package is to use the eFulfilment Service dimensional weight shipping calculator at the top of this webpage.
Dimensional weight versus actual weight
Before getting into the details of dimensional weight versus actual weight, ecommerce retailers should know: similar to volume shipping discounts, there are better DIM weight divisors for volume shippers, too. eFulfillment Service passes along our best divisors to our clients—and the difference can be as much as half, meaning that eFulfillment Service clients will be able to ship our example below, the lampshade package, for 10 lbs. (not 19 lbs.) Read on to find out more about how dimesional and actual weight affect shipping fees …
For internet retailers, understanding when to use dimensional weight versus actual weight can be the difference in making a profit on an online order, or losing money. Dimensional (DIM) weight, sometimes called volumetric weight, generally applies to larger packages. While each U.S. shipping carrier has its own rules, DIM weight applies to most packages larger than a cubic foot (.03 cu. m).
To get the actual weight of an online order is easy—put it on a scale. For DIM weight, follow this formula: length x width x height of the package, then divide that answer by the carrier’s DIM weight divisor. Use whichever weight is higher and use the shipping rate for that higher weight.
For example, if a carrier applies DIM weight to any package larger than 1 cu. foot (.03 cu. m), and uses a DIM weight divisor of 139, then the formula is (length x width x height) ÷ 139.
Example: Online order for a 5 lb. lampshade fits in a 13 in x 18 in x 11 in box.
Actual weight (from a scale): 5 lbs.
DIM weight for a carrier using a DIM weight divisor of 139: 19 lbs.
(13 x 18 x 11) ÷ 139
2574 ÷ 139
18.51, round up to the nearest pound, or 19 lbs.
With a fulfillment partner’s pass along discount, like eFulfillment Service’s, your DIM weight could be 9-10 lbs.
Since the DIM weight of 19 lbs. is higher than the actual weight of 5 lbs., the carrier will charge the DIM weight for this order.
Let’s say that same lampshade was made of stained glass, and the actual weight was 25 lbs. In that case, the carrier would charge for the actual weight of 25 lbs, because the DIM weight of 19 lbs. is less.
If an online retailer only charges a customer for shipping an actual weight of 5 lbs. and then is charged to ship 19 lbs., the loss in revenue can be catastrophic to the profit of that online order. Additionally, if a merchant’s fulfillment partner passes along its discounted DIM divisor, like eFulfillment Service does, that same shipment could ship using a DIM weight of 9 or 10 lbs., resulting in significant savings.
Understanding the difference between shipping rates for actual weight versus dimensional weight and the potential for discounts is vital for sellers.
Dimensional weight formulas for FedEx, UPS, USPS, DHL
Here are the published, or retail, dimensional weight formulas for the major online order shipping carriers. If you are a client of eFulfillment Service, you’ll get different divisors passed along to you that will give you lower shipping rates for some services. Ask your eFulfillment Service account executive for details on your shipping rates and dim weight options.
DIM weight is: Volume (length x width x length) ÷ DIM weight divisor
FedEx
FedEx formula for DIM weight:
length x width x height ÷ 139
UPS
UPS shows two rates: daily service weights apply to companies that have daily pick up at their locations; retail service weights apply to those consumers taking a package to a UPS store and dropping it off.
UPS formula for DIM weight for daily rates:
length x width x height ÷ 139
UPS formula for DIM weight for retail rates:
length x width x height ÷ 166
U.S. Postal Service
U.S. Postal Service (USPS) formula for DIM weight:
length x width x height ÷ 166
DHL
DHL formula for DIM weight
length x width x height ÷ 166
Dimensional weight, also referred to as volumetric weight, billable weight or chargeable weight, is generally applied to larger packages. The U.S. Postal Service starts applying DIM weight rules for parcels larger than one cubic foot (.03 cu. m), in inches, that is any package that is 12 inches x 12 inches x 12 inches = 1,728 cubic inches.
Ecommerce retailers need to pay attention to DIM weight calculations for online orders, making note of how that will increase shipping charges for larger, bulkier packages. Compare the actual weight to the dimensional or DIM weight formulas above. Whichever weight is higher, actual or DIM, that will be the figure that shipping companies use as the weight to calculate the shipping charge for an online order.
Note: We update our dimensional weight shipping calculator when carriers change divisors.
Dimensional weight chart and examples table
Different shipping carriers have different DIM weight divisors. Below are the DIM weights for popular box sizes for US Postal Service (USPS), FedEx, UPS and DHL, without any discounts. UPS shows two rates: daily service weights apply to companies that have daily pick up at their locations; retail service weights apply to those consumers taking a package to a UPS store and dropping it off.
Check out the next FAQ, Dimensional weight with eFulflillment Service vs. other 3PLs, for more examples of how working with eFulfillment Service on large boxes can save you money.
Box Dimensions in inches | USPS DIM Weight | FedEx DIM Weight | UPS Daily DIM Weight | UPS Retail DIM Weight | DHL DIM Weight | EFS Pass Along DIM Weight |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
6 x 5 x 4 | NA | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
5 x 6 x 5 | NA | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
9 x 7 x 4 | NA | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 |
7 x 7 x 6 | NA | 3 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
13 x 12 x 4 | NA | 5 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 3 |
10 x 9 x 7 | NA | 5 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 3 |
11 x 11 x 6 | NA | 6 | 6 | 5 | 5 | 3 |
27 x 8 x 4 | NA | 7 | 7 | 6 | 6 | 4 |
13 x 10 x 8 | NA | 8 | 8 | 7 | 7 | 4 |
14 x 12 x 10 | NA | 12 | 12 | 11 | 11 | 6 |
15 x 15 x 4 | NA | 7 | 7 | 6 | 6 | 4 |
15 x 14 x 12 | 16 | 18 | 18 | 16 | 16 | 9 |
17 x 16 x 5 | NA | 10 | 10 | 9 | 9 | 5 |
17 x 16 x 13 | 22 | 26 | 26 | 22 | 22 | 13 |
19 x 18 x 14 | 29 | 34 | 34 | 29 | 29 | 18 |
23 x 18 x 16 | 40 | 48 | 48 | 40 | 40 | 24 |
23 x 18 x 4 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 6 |
25 x 20 x 6 | 18 | 22 | 22 | 18 | 18 | 11 |
26 x 22 x 11 | 38 | 46 | 46 | 38 | 38 | 23 |
Dimensional weight with eFulfillment Service vs. other 3PLs
When you work with eFulfillment Service, we pass along our DIM weight divisor, so that you benefit from our volume discounts. Combined with our low shipping rates, the result is a significant savings for our clients.
Let’s look at some examples:
We collected retail rates from FedEx, UPS and the U.S. Post Office, using published rates from their website for 5 lb. and 10 lb. packages in four different box sizes, traveling to Zone 5 (our average distance). See how these shipping prices compare to what you’re paying. We’ve outlined our enterprise tiered pricing in combination with our pass-along DIM weight discounts in the table.
The value of working with eFulfillment Service for our low shipping rates and pass along DIM weight discounts saves merchants significantly.
Actual weight is 5 lbs. USPS Shipping FedEx Shipping UPS Daily Shipping eFulfillment Ground Shipping Savings per Order as much as
11" x 11" x 6" $13.25 $17.43 $15.71 $8.78 $8.65
17" x 16" x 5" $13.25 $19.17 $20.86 $8.78 $12.08
17" x 16" x 13" $33.65 $29.98 $34.56 $8.78 $25.78
26" x 22" x 11" $63.90 $47.23 $60.77 $12.55 $51.35
Actual weight is 10 lbs. USPS Shipping FedEx Shipping UPS Daily Shipping eFulfillment Ground Shipping Savings per Order as much as
11" x 11" x 6" $22.20 $19.17 $21.61 $8.95 $13.25
17" x 16" x 5" $22.20 $19.17 $21.61 $8.95 $13.25
17" x 16" x 13" $33.65 $29.98 $34.56 $9.28 $25.28
26" x 22" x 11" $63.90 $47.23 $60.77 $12.55 $51.35
Use our dimensional weight shipping calculator above to find out the typical DIM weight of your online orders, then get in touch with our team to find out more about how we can help you save on shipping costs overall.
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