Virtual mailbox pricing looks simple until your first bill shows up. The plan said $10 a month. Then you opened a few letters, forwarded a tax form, left a package in storage a little too long, and suddenly the month cost $35.
I have paid for US business mail handling for years while living in Bali, so I have learned to read these price lists the way a provider writes them. The headline price is the floor, not the cost. What you really pay depends on how many items you get, how many you open, how often you forward, and a handful of small fees that rarely make it onto the pricing page banner.
In this guide I will show you the real starting prices for the major providers as of November 2026, every hidden fee worth knowing about, the cheapest virtual mailbox options for different kinds of users, and 3 worked total-cost examples so you can see what a month actually costs.
All prices below come from each provider’s own pricing page or help center, checked in November 2026. Plans change often, so confirm the final number at checkout. Where a provider did not publish a number I could verify, I say so instead of guessing.
Virtual mailbox pricing at a glance
Here are the verified entry prices and the fees that matter most.
| Provider | Entry price (Nov 2026) | Included on entry plan | Extra open and scan | Forwarding handling | Check deposit |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Traveling Mailbox | $15/month Basic | 40 envelopes, 35 page scans | $0.50 per page over limit | $2 per shipment plus postage | $4.95 per check plus postage |
| iPostal1 | $9.99/month (personal), $14.99 (business) | Envelope images up to plan limit | Small fee, bundles of 5, 10 or 20 requests | Real-time shipping rates | Offered, fee not published |
| Anytime Mailbox | From $9.99 | Varies by location | Varies by location | Varies by location | Varies by location |
| PostScan Mail | From $10/month Starter | 30 items | $2 per envelope up to 10 pages | $2 first item, $0.50 each extra, plus shipping | Not offered |
| US Global Mail | $49/month Scale billed annually ($65 billed monthly), varies by address | Unlimited exterior scans, 360 opened scans per year | $3 per extra open and scan | Not published | No handling fee, you pay shipping |
| PO Box Zone | $99/year Lowest cost | Unlimited letter processing | $1 per letter up to 10 pages | $5.50 per mailout plus postage | Not published |
A few notes on the table. Anytime Mailbox is a network of independent mail centers, and its help center says plans and inclusions vary by location. iPostal1 lists some of its extras as a “small fee” without a public number. I did not fill those gaps with guesses.
How virtual mailbox pricing works
Every provider builds its price from the same handful of levers.
Location
Address location is the first lever. iPostal1 puts its addresses into Standard, Select, Premium and Prestige tiers. Standard starts at $9.99, and the higher tiers add $10, $20 or $30 per month. US Global Mail says its prices vary by address, with a Manhattan address costing more than one in Houston. Anytime Mailbox lets each location set its own price.
Mail volume
Most plans cap how many incoming items you can receive each month. Traveling Mailbox’s Basic plan covers 40 envelopes. PostScan Mail’s Starter covers 30 items. Go over and you pay per item. Traveling Mailbox charges $0.25 per extra envelope, and PostScan Mail charges $0.50 per extra received item.
Scans
The envelope image is usually included. Opening the envelope and scanning the contents is where plans differ the most. Some include a page allowance. Others charge for every open and scan.
Recipients
Most plans include 1 or a few named recipients. Adding people or business names costs extra. PostScan Mail charges $5 per month per additional recipient, and US Global Mail lists $5 per extra recipient.
Billing cycle
Annual billing is almost always cheaper. Traveling Mailbox and iPostal1 both say an annual plan gives you 2 months free. PostScan Mail’s annual Starter is $100 per year versus $10 per month.
The fees that do not show up in the headline price
This is the section to read twice. These are the costs that turn a $10 plan into a $30 month.
Open and scan fees
If your plan does not include content scans, every letter you want to read costs money. PostScan Mail charges $2 per envelope for up to 10 pages, then $0.25 per extra page. US Global Mail charges $3 for each open and scan beyond your plan’s allowance. PO Box Zone charges $1 per letter for up to 10 pages. Traveling Mailbox includes 35 page scans on Basic and charges $0.50 per page after that.
Forwarding fees
Forwarding always costs postage plus a handling fee. How the handling fee is counted matters. Traveling Mailbox charges $2 per shipment, not per item. PostScan Mail charges $2 for the first item and $0.50 for each additional item. PO Box Zone charges a flat mailout fee per forwarding, which ranges from $5.50 on its cheapest plan down to zero on its High use plan. International forwarding postage can be far more than the handling fee, so batch your forwards.
Storage fees
Free storage does not last forever. As of November 2026:
- Traveling Mailbox stores mail free for at least 30 days, and packages free for 30 days, then charges $0.10 per pound per day for packages.
- PostScan Mail gives 14 days free for mail on monthly plans (30 on annual), then $0.05 per envelope per day. Packages get 3 free days (7 on annual), then $0.10 per pound per day.
- iPostal1 gives 30 days free for letters and small to medium packages, then $1.10 per letter per month.
- US Global Mail gives 30 days of free physical storage on Scale and 60 on Teams, then $0.05 per piece per day.
Check deposit fees
If you get paper checks, this can be your biggest line item. Traveling Mailbox charges $4.95 per check plus postage. US Global Mail says it charges no handling fee for check deposits, though you pay shipping. PostScan Mail’s help center says it does not offer check deposit at all.
Shredding fees
Many providers shred for free. Traveling Mailbox, US Global Mail and VirtualPostMail all list free shredding. PostScan Mail charges $1 per item for the first 10 pages.
Form 1583 notarization
Before any provider can receive your mail, USPS requires a signed PS Form 1583 with 2 IDs. You sign in front of the provider’s agent, in person or over real-time video, or in front of a notary. iPostal1 lists $25 for 1 online notarization. Other providers include video verification in signup or charge their own fee, so check during checkout. My Form 1583 guide explains the options.
Location upgrades and extra users
Premium city addresses cost more. Extra users on team plans cost more too. US Global Mail lists $25 per additional user per month.
Provider-by-provider pricing as of November 2026
Here is a closer look at each one.
Traveling Mailbox
Traveling Mailbox has 3 plans. Basic is $15 per month with 40 envelopes and 35 page scans. Extended is $25 with 100 envelopes and 80 page scans. Small Business is $55 with 200 envelopes and 180 page scans. Only Extended and Small Business roll unused scans to the next month. Junk mail is shredded free and does not count toward your limits. Active-duty military and veterans get 10% off. Read the Traveling Mailbox review for more.
iPostal1
iPostal1 starts at $9.99 per month for the Virtual Mailing Address plan (personal use), $14.99 for Virtual Business Address, and $39.99 for Virtual Office with phone and fax. Each plan has volume options, and location tiers add up to $30 per month. Yearly plans give 2 months free. See the iPostal1 review.
Anytime Mailbox
Anytime Mailbox advertises plans from $9.99 a month, and its FAQ says the cheapest plans are $4.99. Because each of its more than 2,000 locations sets its own plans, compare the exact page for the address you want. See the Anytime Mailbox review. If you are torn between the 2 biggest networks, read Anytime Mailbox vs iPostal1.
PostScan Mail
PostScan Mail lists Starter from $10, Standard from $20 and Premium from $30 per month, with annual versions from $100, $200 and $300 per year. Business plans start at $100 per month. It also sells package lockers from $4.95 per month. See the PostScan Mail review.
US Global Mail
US Global Mail’s Scale plan is $49 per month billed annually ($65 billed monthly) and Teams is $99 per month billed annually ($129 billed monthly), both varying by address, plus a custom Enterprise tier. Scale includes unlimited exterior scans and 360 opened scans per year. See the US Global Mail review.
PO Box Zone
PO Box Zone bills annually. Lowest cost is $99 per year, Moderate use is $150, and High use is $250. All include up to 6 names and unlimited letter processing. Addresses are in Nevada and Wyoming.
VirtualPostMail
VirtualPostMail’s pricing page says it has no setup fees, no contracts, no cancellation fees and a 30-day money-back guarantee, with free 60-day physical storage and free shredding on all mailbox plans. I could not verify current dollar amounts from its public pricing page, so check VirtualPostMail’s current plans directly. See the VirtualPostMail review.
Northwest Registered Agent
Northwest is a registered agent first, but it sells mail forwarding from $49 per year with 15 scans included, or $99 per year with 20 scans and an office lease. That is a budget option for LLC owners with very little mail. See Northwest’s mail forwarding options if you also need a registered agent.
Total cost examples
Let me put real numbers on 3 common situations. These use the published fees above and leave out postage, which depends on weight and destination.
Example 1: Light personal user
You get 15 letters a month and want 3 of them opened. Each is a few pages.
- PO Box Zone Lowest cost: $8.25 per month (from $99 per year) plus 3 scans at $1 = about $11.25
- PostScan Mail Starter: $10 plus 3 open and scans at $2 = about $16
- Traveling Mailbox Basic: $15, and 3 short letters fit inside 35 page scans = about $15
The cheapest sticker price wins here. Low volume rewards the cheap plans.
Example 2: Small online business
You get 60 items a month, open 20 of them (about 3 pages each), receive 2 paper checks, and forward 1 batch.
- Traveling Mailbox Extended: $25, with 60 envelopes and 60 pages inside the 100 and 80 limits. Add 2 checks at $4.95 and $2 forwarding = about $36.90 plus postage.
- PostScan Mail Standard: from $20 with 60 items and 5 free open and scans on monthly billing. The other 15 at $2 = $30. Add $2 forwarding = about $52 plus shipping. No check deposit, so you would forward checks yourself.
- US Global Mail Scale: $49 on annual billing ($65 month to month), and 20 opens per month fits inside 360 per year. Check deposits carry no handling fee = about $49 to $65 plus shipping.
Here the mid-priced plan with included scans beats the cheap plan by a lot.
Example 3: Digital nomad with an LLC
This is close to my world. You get about 30 items a month, open 10, and forward internationally once a quarter.
- Traveling Mailbox Basic: $15, since 30 envelopes and roughly 30 pages fit inside 40 and 35. Add $2 handling per quarterly forward.
- PostScan Mail Starter: $10 plus 10 open and scans at $2 = $30, plus forwarding.
For anyone who actually reads their mail, included scans matter more than the base price. My virtual mailbox for expats guide covers international forwarding in more depth.
The cheapest virtual mailbox for each kind of user
There is no single cheapest virtual mailbox. There is a cheapest one for how you use it.
- Cheapest for very low volume: PO Box Zone at $99 per year, or Northwest at $49 per year if you mainly need an LLC mailing address and rarely get mail.
- Cheapest monthly entry price: iPostal1 from $9.99, Anytime Mailbox advertised from $9.99 (its FAQ says the cheapest plans are $4.99), PostScan Mail from $10.
- Cheapest if you open a lot of mail: plans with included page scans, like Traveling Mailbox.
- Cheapest if you deposit many checks: US Global Mail, which charges no check handling fee.
If you want a USPS-only option, a PO Box is still the cheapest mail service in many towns, though USPS sets prices by location on its PO Box page. I compare both in virtual mailbox vs PO Box.
For the cheap “PO box style” options, see my virtual PO box guide.
Monthly or annual billing: when to commit
Annual billing saves real money. On Traveling Mailbox’s Basic plan, paying yearly works out to about $12.50 per month instead of $15. PostScan Mail’s Starter drops from $10 to about $8.33 per month on the annual price.
But I would not pay for a full year on day 1. Start monthly, live with the service for 1 or 2 months, and see how many items you really get and how many you open. Then switch to annual on the plan that fits.
There is a good reason to wait. Prepaid annual plans are often hard to refund. iPostal1’s FAQ says prepaid yearly plans are non-refundable after the first 30 days. Once your address is on bank accounts and state filings, switching also takes work, so you want to be sure before you lock in.
How to keep your virtual mailbox costs down
A few habits that save real money.
- Count before you buy. Track your mail for 1 month and pick a plan that fits it.
- Pay yearly once you are sure. Several providers give 2 months free.
- Mark junk fast. Some providers shred junk for free and do not count it against your limits.
- Batch your forwards. Per-shipment fees reward fewer, bigger shipments.
- Unsubscribe from paper. Switch bank and utility statements to email so they never hit your mailbox.
- Pick a Standard location unless a city truly matters.
- Clear storage before the free window ends.
One last thing on cancelling. USPS rules in Domestic Mail Manual section 508 require a CMRA to keep remailing your mail for at least 6 months after your agreement ends. Update your address everywhere before you switch so you are not paying to forward old mail.
Frequently asked questions
How much does a virtual mailbox cost per month?
Entry plans start around $10 per month as of November 2026. iPostal1 starts at $9.99, Anytime Mailbox advertises plans from $9.99 (cheaper at some locations), PostScan Mail starts at $10 and Traveling Mailbox at $15. In my small business example below, the monthly total lands between about $37 and $52 before postage.
What is the cheapest virtual mailbox?
On sticker price, PO Box Zone at $99 per year and PostScan Mail at $100 per year are among the lowest I verified. Northwest’s mail forwarding starts at $49 per year but includes only 15 scans. The cheapest overall depends on how many letters you open and forward.
Are there setup fees?
Most providers I checked do not list a setup fee. VirtualPostMail says it has none. The one-time cost you may see is notarization for Form 1583, which iPostal1 lists at $25.
Why do virtual mailbox prices vary by location?
Rent and labor costs differ by city. iPostal1 uses location tiers that add $10 to $30 per month, and US Global Mail says its price varies by address.
Is a virtual mailbox tax deductible?
If you use it for your business, it is usually a business expense. Tax rules depend on your situation, so check with your accountant.
Related articles
- Virtual mailbox: how it works and how to choose
- Cheapest virtual PO box options
- Mail scanning service explained
- The best virtual mailbox services
- More Mailbox Basics guides
Trevor Fenner is an ecommerce entrepreneur and digital nomad. At Mailbox Paradise, he covers virtual mailboxes, business addresses and remote mail handling through provider research and practical comparisons.