Dimensional/Weight

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UPS dimensional weight

UPS bills the greater of what your parcel weighs and what its size implies. Below is the divisor, the rounding rule most calculators ignore, and a worked example you can check against your own invoice.

UPS — US Daily Rates (in / lb)

Daily Rates (account holders). UPS rounds each fractional measurement UP to the next whole inch (1.1 counts as 2), then the result up to the next whole pound. Walk-in Retail Rates use a different divisor — check your rate card.

Worked example

Box as measured18 × 14 × 12 in
Billed dimensions18 × 14 × 12 in
Volume3,024 in³
Divisor139
Dimensional weight22 lb
Actual weight6 lb
Chargeable22 lb

Divisor 139, checked 2026-08-24. Carrier source

UPS rounds every measurement up to the next whole unit, then rounds the result up to the next whole pound. In the example above that costs you 16 lb of empty space — you pay for 22 lb on a parcel weighing 6 lb.

UPS — International (cm / kg)

UPS rounds each measurement to the NEAREST whole centimetre for international parcels — not up, as it does for US domestic. Any fraction of the result increases to the next half kilogram.

Worked example

Box as measured46 × 36 × 30 cm
Billed dimensions46 × 36 × 30 cm
Volume49,680 cm³
Divisor5,000
Dimensional weight10 kg
Actual weight8 kg
Chargeable10 kg

Divisor 5,000, checked 2026-08-24. Carrier source

UPS rounds every measurement to the nearest whole unit, then rounds the result up to the next 0.5 kg. In the example above that costs you 2 kg of empty space — you pay for 10 kg on a parcel weighing 8 kg.

Try it with your own box

The calculator applies UPS's own rounding rule, then works backwards to the largest box that would still bill on actual weight — the number that tells you how much packaging headroom you have before dimensional weight takes over.

Open the calculator →

Negotiated rates differ. The divisors above are the published figures. Contract customers frequently have a different divisor written into their agreement, and that one governs your invoice. Check your rate card before budgeting from these numbers.

Other carriers

Every divisor side by side, with rounding rules and the figures we chose not to publish: carrier divisor cheat sheet. For Q4, see the peak surcharge tracker and exposure calculator.