Each carrier ground tier has its own ceiling and schedule. Quoting all of them at once is the only way to see the difference.
Three carriers, one word, four products
Ground is the default surface tier at every carrier, but the products underneath the name differ on schedule, on ceiling and on who they will deliver to. Everything here came from the carriers own pages on the same day.
| Product | Days published | Delivery schedule | Ceiling published |
|---|---|---|---|
| USPS Ground Advantage | 2 to 5 days | Regular route delivery Monday to Saturday | 70 lb, 130 in length plus girth |
| UPS Ground | One to five business days | Monday to Saturday, no Sunday delivery | 150 lb, 108 in length, 165 in length plus girth |
| FedEx Ground | 1 to 5 business days in the contiguous US | Monday to Friday, business addresses | 150 lb, 108 in length, 165 in length plus girth |
| FedEx Home Delivery | 1 to 5 days in the contiguous US | Every day of the week, residential addresses | 150 lb |
The Postal Service ceiling is the one that catches people out. A carton that UPS or FedEx will happily carry at 100 lb has no USPS option at all, and a box over 130 inches of length plus girth drops out of the Ground Advantage list even when it is light.
What the three grounds actually quoted
Published ranges converge. Real quotes do not. Below is the same 12 by 10 by 6 in box at 5 lb leaving Newark for a mid-country city and a far coast one. The price column holds complete charges rather than raw postage.
| Destination | Carrier and service | Price | Window on the rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chicago, IL 60601 | USPS Ground Advantage | $14.02 | 8-9 business days |
| Chicago, IL 60601 | UPS Ground | $14.55 | 2-3 business days |
| Chicago, IL 60601 | FedEx surface | No row returned | Not applicable |
| Seattle, WA 98101 | USPS Ground Advantage | $19.64 | 8-9 business days |
| Seattle, WA 98101 | UPS Ground | $19.30 | 7-8 business days |
| Seattle, WA 98101 | FedEx Ground Economy | $20.50 | 8-9 business days |
Chicago produced the sharpest contrast of the whole capture run: 53 cents between the two ground rows and six business days between their windows. Seattle bunched much tighter, with $1.20 covering all three prices and every window inside two days. No FedEx row appeared among the five rates returned on the Chicago quote, so that cell stays empty.
Ground does not mean it stays on the road
Carriers move surface parcels however the network needs to that week, and none of the three publishes a transport mode on its product page. Judge the tier by its price and its window, since those are the only two things any carrier will actually commit to paper.
The residential surcharge lives here
Every carrier prices a home delivery differently from a dock delivery, which is why the same box costs more to a house than to a shop. The rates on this page are all-in, so that difference is already inside the numbers you see.
Ground is where dimensional pricing bites hardest
A light box in a big carton gets billed on the space it takes up. If your ground quote looks wrong for the weight, the box size is almost always the reason, and shrinking it is the fastest saving available.
Ground shipping questions
What does ground shipping mean?
It is the standard surface tier each carrier sells: USPS Ground Advantage, UPS Ground, FedEx Ground for businesses and FedEx Home Delivery for residences. It is the default option behind most store checkouts and the cheapest tracked way to move a normal parcel.
How long does ground shipping take?
Carriers publish similar ranges: 2 to 5 days for USPS Ground Advantage, one to five business days for UPS Ground, and 1 to 5 business days for FedEx Ground inside the contiguous US, all checked 2026-07-28. Real quotes vary widely by lane, and ours ran from 2-3 up to 8-9 business days.
Which carrier has the cheapest ground service?
It changes lane by lane. From Newark on 2026-07-28, USPS Ground Advantage led to Chicago at $14.02 against $14.55 for UPS Ground, while UPS led to Seattle at $19.30 against $19.64 and $20.50. Differences that small are not worth predicting, only quoting.
What are the weight limits on ground services?
USPS caps a parcel at 70 lb and 130 inches of length plus girth. UPS and FedEx both publish 150 lb, 108 inches of length and 165 inches of length plus girth. Anything past those ceilings needs a freight quote instead of a parcel label.