Methodology
Short version: we only publish figures we read on the provider's own website or in official USPS documents, each one gets a link and a checked date, and the calculator does plain arithmetic on those published fees.
Sources we accept
- Prices, fees, storage periods, location counts and Form 1583 steps: only from the provider's own pages (pricing, FAQ, terms of service, help center).
- USPS rules: the Domestic Mail Manual (section 508), PS Form 1583 and the Federal Register.
- Business-use claims (LLC, IRS, bank) are quoted as the provider's own claim, not as fact.
- User experiences come from public forum threads. We link them, label them as individual reports, and never turn them into a score.
- Review sites and other comparison sites are not used as sources for any figure.
Checked dates
All provider data in this version was read on Oct 21, 2026 (Pacific time). Some pages blocked automated reading, so we read them through a web reader instead. When a provider's newer page and older terms disagree, we show both (for example Traveling Mailbox's notary requirement).
How the cost calculator works
- For each provider and each of its plans, start with the plan price (monthly, or the annual price divided by 12).
- Add items over the plan's monthly allowance × the published overage fee.
- Add scanning: page-pool plans (Traveling Mailbox, PhysicalAddress.com) charge pages over the allowance; per-order plans (iPostal1, PostScan Mail) charge each open beyond the free ones, plus extra pages; all-inclusive plans (LegalZoom/Earth Class Mail, Stable) only add per-page fees above their page limit.
- Add shredding, forwarding handling (per shipment and per item) and check-deposit fees as published.
- Keep the cheapest plan for your numbers.
Left out: postage, sales tax, one-time notary fees, packages, storage fees, discounts and promotions. If a provider charges for something but doesn't publish the price, the calculator flags it with "+ not published" and leaves it out of the total rather than guessing. For providers whose price depends on the address, we use the lowest published price and label it.
The calculator code is the same at build time and in your browser, so the example tables on the site and the interactive results match.
What we don't do
- No star ratings, scores or "best overall" badges.
- No invented or estimated fees.
- No reviews written as if we were customers. We haven't opened accounts with these providers.
Corrections and updates
Fees change. We plan to re-check every provider's pricing page on a regular schedule and update the checked date. If you spot an out-of-date number, the provider's page linked next to it is the source of truth.