TL;DR: UK to USA shipping rates via TradeWind start at £12.80 for a 1kg parcel (UPS Worldwide Economy DDP label) and rise to £101 for 30kg. US import duty is added per HS code and shown as one landed total before you pay — your buyer pays £0 at the door. No monthly fee, no contract. Get an exact quote on the shipping calculator or book at /ship.
UK to USA shipping rates — weight bands, 2026
This is the full UK to USA shipping rate card, the same figures our checkout charges. The label price is UPS Worldwide Economy DDP — the cheapest credible DDP service on the UK→US lane — shown against Royal Mail's PDDP service for comparison. One important thing to be clear about: the label price is not "all-in". US import duty is calculated per HS code against your declared value and added on top, then shown as one landed total before you pay. Every band includes full UPS tracking and the same 4–7-day transit.
| Weight | UPS Worldwide Economy DDP (TradeWind) | Royal Mail PDDP |
|---|---|---|
| Up to 1kg | £12.80 | £19 |
| 1–2kg | £15.50 | £24 |
| 2–5kg | £27 | — (over 2kg cap) |
| 5–10kg | £41 | — (over 2kg cap) |
| 10–20kg | £71 | — (over 2kg cap) |
| 20–30kg | £101 | — (over 2kg cap) |
Label prices. US import duty is calculated from your HS code and declared value and added — pre-paid — at checkout, so your buyer pays nothing on delivery. Live quotes show the full landed figure before you pay.
For a live rate on a specific parcel and destination, use the interactive UK→USA shipping calculator. For the UPS-Worldwide-Economy-specific breakdown, see UPS Worldwide Economy UK rates.
UK to USA shipping cost per kg
The headline metric most shippers want is cost per kilo — and it drops steeply as the parcel gets heavier, because the fixed handling is spread over more weight. That is why consolidating several small orders into one heavier parcel almost always beats shipping them separately. Figures below are label price ÷ weight, before per-HS-code US import duty.
| Weight | Label price | Cost per kg |
|---|---|---|
| 1kg | £12.80 | £12.80/kg |
| 2kg | £15.50 | £7.75/kg |
| 5kg | £27 | £5.40/kg |
| 10kg | £41 | £4.10/kg |
| 20kg | £71 | £3.55/kg |
| 30kg | £101 | £3.37/kg |
Prices verified 2026, GBP. Duty is calculated against your declared customs value and HS code at the booking step and pre-paid via the DDP service, so the buyer pays £0 at the door. Estimate your landed cost with the UK→US duty calculator.
What drives your UK to USA shipping rate
Two shipments of the same weight can price differently. Four factors decide the rate:
- Actual weight. The rate card is banded — "up to 1kg", "1–2kg", and so on. A 1.1kg parcel is billed in the 1–2kg band, so rounding up your packaging can quietly push you into the next band.
- Dimensional (volumetric) weight. A large but light parcel is billed on the space it occupies, not the scale weight. UPS takes length × width × height (cm) ÷ 5000 and charges on whichever is greater — dim or actual. Right-size your box to avoid paying for air.
- Destination and service. Economy (4–7 days) is the cheapest tier; UPS Standard and Express Saver cost more for faster transit. Within the US, remote and West-coast destinations can add a day but the label band is the same.
- DDP duty. This is the variable that moves most. US import duty is set by the HS code of the goods and your declared customs value — so two identical-weight parcels carrying different products land at different totals.
Who pays the duty — and why the rate isn't "all-in"
You pay the duty, at booking, via DDP. TradeWind calculates the US import duty from your HS code and declared value, pre-pays it to the carrier, and adds it to your label cost as one landed total shown before you commit. Your US customer pays £0 at the door — no brokerage fee, no customs invoice, no refused-parcel risk. Because the duty depends on what you ship and its value, we never quote a single "all-in" number: the £12.80 is the label, and the landed total is £12.80 + the per-HS-code duty, always visible before you pay.
This is the mandatory model on the UK→US lane since the US $800 de-minimis exemption ended in 2025. Non-DDP parcels now attract $5–15 brokerage fees at the door and high refusal rates, which is why every rate on this page is a DDP rate. For the full mechanics see what is DDP and UPS Worldwide Economy DDP.
How these rates compare
| Service | 1kg label | Transit | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| UPS Worldwide Economy DDP (TradeWind) | £12.80 | 4–7 days | Most UK→US ecommerce, 500g–30kg |
| Royal Mail International PDDP | £19 | 5–7 days | Under-500g parcels (caps at 2kg) |
| UPS Standard | £26 | 3–5 days | Time-critical orders |
| UPS Express Saver | £42 | 1–3 days | Genuine urgency |
Label prices, before per-HS-code US import duty. Live quotes show the full landed figure before you pay.
Get your exact UK to USA shipping rate
The rate card above is the published starting point; your exact figure depends on weight, dimensions and the duty on your goods. Price a specific parcel on the UK→USA shipping calculator, or estimate the duty portion with the UK→US duty calculator. Ready to ship? Get a live rate at /ship in about 30 seconds — no account needed, guest checkout is fine. Every plan and the full published rate card are on pricing. Shipping business-to-business or at volume? See B2B USA shipping. For the carrier-specific detail, read the UPS Worldwide Economy UK rates page.