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The Cheapest Way to Ship to Canada in 2024

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How Much Does it Cost to Ship to Canada?

How to send a package from USA to Canada? What is the best and cheapest way to ship from US to Canada? Having a land border means cheaper and faster transportation. However, even for the Canadian destinations very close to your US dispatch point, you should be prepared to bear all the conventional costs of international shipping. The good news is that, besides cargo aviation, you can use ground service options, which are usually the cheapest way depending on your needs. The cost of shipping to Canada depends on three main factors, duties, destination, and carrier service. It seems, according to the shipping cost results from the tables below, that the cheapest way to ship to Canada is with USPS. Other courier options for your package may have higher shipping costs, but there may be other advantages such as speed or service worth that extra cost.
When shipping from the US to Canada, avoiding duties is possible if the value of your products is under $20 CAD (~$14 USD). If the parcel exceeds the limit, it's subject to taxes, which is usually handled by the carrier. Advice: Consider self-accounting to save on regulatory fees when your ship to Canada's costs need controlling.

Other than that, how much orders weigh, volume, and the required speed of delivery determine how much international shipping to Canada would cost your business. Depending on specifics, there are usually many affordable options for your package from different couriers.
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How Long Does it Take to Ship to Canada?

Shipping to Canada from the US might take anywhere from 1-16 days depending on the shipping options chosen. The duration of the shipment depends on the mean of transportation you choose, either ground or air shipping. Also, it is important to consider if you need express shipping or you are fine with the economy shipping. You can expect the cheapest shipping within Canada to also be the slowest, and the balance between speed and cost is one of the things to consider with any package or courier.

What Carriers to Use When Shipping to Canada?

Does UPS, USPS and FedEx ship to Canada? Yes, besides the big three — UPS, USPS, and FedEx — you can employ carriers like DHL, or Purolator, one of the Canadian largest courier services.

There is no way to make shipping to Canada free for your business, but USPS is the next best thing with the lowest rates and a good track record in making deliveries between the two countries. They have a number of options with USPS priority mail international - the least expensive way to ship to Canada, but also extremely reliable.
Companies like DHL, FedEx, and UPS charge a premium for their services, but they're known for a number of service options, and will perfectly handling all duties and taxes when shipping to Canada from the US.

Due to the formalities of how shipping to Canada works, you still need to personally attain additional certifications for certain categories of imported goods, even when using premium shipping services.
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The Cheapest Shipping to Canada From the US — parcel under 3 lbs

We compared the shipping rates to Canada by the main carriers for a lightweight package in a standard small box from New York City to Toronto to examine who offers the cheapest shipping to Canada.
As you can see above, the cheapest shipping to Canada is with USPS. However, USPS has the longest delivery times. It takes on average 6-10 days to mail a package from the US to Canada with USPS. USPS Priority Mail International uses flat rate shipping to Canada. The price of flat rate shipping depends on the destination not weight, however, there is a weight limit of 70 lbs.

The Cheapest Shipping to Canada From the US — to send a large parcel over 3lbs

A standard medium box with the same destination point, other things being equal.
The cheapest way to ship to Canada is with USPS, however, this is also the slowest delivery option.

FedEx and UPS offer the fastest delivery options but can be costly. The package size and weight can have a significant impact on overall cost, and any affordable way to ship to Canada needs to balance all of these factors to assess which options are the most cost-effective services.

What Are the Items Prohibited from Shipping to Canada?

In addition to the general list of prohibited and restricted items concerning all international deliveries, there are specific regulations when shipping to post offices or residential addresses in Canada.

  1. While strollers are allowed, Canada has banned packages of baby walkers from importation or retail due to a potential hazard to the babies.
  2. Used mattresses are prohibited from shipping into the country by the Canadian health department.
  3. Due to a current embargo, products made in Iran are prohibited from shipping in a package to Canada.
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How to Achieve the Cheapest Shipping to Canada
The following steps can be only made with Calcurates multi-carrier shipping software for Magento 2, Shopify, and WooCommerce
  • 1
    Pack a parcel and set the weight, width and height of the complete package. Make sure that you use accurate details to get accurate pricing.
  • 2
    Enter the delivery address into the shipping calculator (you might try it for free with Calcurates for the whole month)
  • 3
    The shipping calculator will provide you with the current shipping rates, discounts, and shipping options available for Canada Post for your package.
  • 4
    Choose the delivery option with the lowest shipping rate
  • 5
    Generate a shipping label with Calcurates to order your shipment

Calculate International Shipping Costs with Calcurates

Available for any Magento, Shopify and WooCommerce e-commerce
Shipping from the US to Canada is more manageable than dealing with overseas deliveries, but there are still many stipulations and additional fees to pay attention to. Fortunately, you can automate most of the routine tasks with Calcurates, a shipping extension that shows the optimal rates and carriers for every order.

With Calcurates, you don't have to delve into specifics of how to calculate shipping costs using Canada Post and USPS together; it will compute charges automatically, taking into account all the factors involved such as delivery distance, currency, weight and so on.

With Calcurates, you will always have options, allowing you to take full advantage of Canada Post and USPS without the complexity of managing a multiple courier solution yourself. Available for Magento, Shopify and WooCommerce.
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