Last update on March 4th, 2023 at 08:37 pm
In today’s world, working abroad for months or years at a time is more common than ever. Moving overseas has never been easier, but it will never be ‘easy’ per se.
One of the many challenges expats faces is what they do with their mail and packages. The answer is you use a reliable solution that can handle it.
Say goodbye to driving to your local Post Office! Instead, you only need to have your smartphone or computer connected to the internet. Then, you’ll have a digital copy of your mail whenever needed.
Fortunately, many mailbox services offer excellent mail handling services for expats, and we’re here to help you choose the one that’s best for you. First, we will look at some of these and then answer some commonly asked questions to help you make up your mind.
Best Mail Forwarding Service Providers
- Anytime Mailbox
- iPostal1
- PostScan Mail
- Traveling Mailbox
- Earth Class Mail
- VirtualPostMail
- US Global Mail
With that in mind, let’s dive into our list of the best mail forwarding services for travelers and businesses.
Anytime Mailbox
Anytime Mailbox is a mailbox forwarding service that helps individuals and businesses manage their digital mailbox with label scanning, lead generation, etc. It’s a good choice for travelers and expats to manage their snail mail and view it anywhere using their website and mobile apps.
With over 1400 locations across the US and internationally, you can choose your real mailing address. Additionally, you can select from open & scan, forwarding, and shredding features.
Anytime Mailbox has locations in Arizona, California, Florida, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Texas, Washington, Georgia, Colorado, Utah, Virginia, Australia, Belgium, Canada, the Caribbean, China, India, and more.
- Anytime Mailbox provides a physical mailing address at one of its many locations across the United States and internationally.
- Users can view and manage their mail online, including forwarding, scanning, shredding, and storage options.
- Anytime Mailbox offers various forwarding options, including first-class mail, priority mail, and overnight delivery.
- Anytime Mailbox allows multiple users to access the same mailbox, which is particularly useful for businesses with multiple employees needing mail access.
- Anytime Mailbox will pre-sort and shred junk mail and deposit checks in your bank.
Anytime Mailbox Pricing:
Prices start as low as $5.99 per month. You’ve got the option to pay monthly or annually. Also, you’re free to cancel anytime.
Pros:
- Check your mail online 24/7 using PC, Mac, Apple iOS, and Android apps.
- FREE unlimited online storage for your mail scanning.
- Check deposit service available in some selected locations.
Cons:
- Some locations might be expensive compared to others.
iPostal1
iPostal1 is a cloud-based platform that allows you to view and manage your postal mail remotely. ipostal1 offers nice Email notifications, picking up and receiving mail. It also allows you to have a physical address to receive your postal mail items using this address.
- iPostal1 provides users with a virtual mailbox that they can access from anywhere in the world through their mobile device or computer.
- Users can choose to have their mail forwarded to any address they specify, anywhere in the world.
- iPostal1 offers users a professional business address that can be used for marketing, website, and business card purposes.
- iPostal1 offers a mobile app that allows users to access their virtual mailboxes from their mobile devices.
iPostal1 has over 2500 locations and street addresses across the US and globally. In addition, they’ve got digital mailbox locations in Illinois, Alabama, Nevada, South Carolina, Texas, New Mexico, New York, Pennsylvania, Washington, California, Colorado, Delaware, Georgia, Iowa, Maryland, and hundreds more in the US. Also, you can find international locations in Canada, China, the Czech Republic, the UK, and others.
ipostal1 pricing:
ipostal1 offers four plans with four colors: green, blue, silver, and gold. There is no contract, and you can downgrade or cancel.
- Green: $9.99/month or $99/year (2 months FREE with the yearly plan)
- Blue: $14.99/month or $149/year (2 months FREE with the annual plan)
- Silver: $24.99/month or $249/year (2 months FREE with the yearly plan)
- Gold: $39.99/month or $399/year (2 months FREE with the yearly plan)
Pros:
- Real US street address
- Flexible shipment scheduling
- Personal Online Mailbox
- Free App for Android and iPhone
- Shipping to unlimited addresses, $100 insurance (UPS, FedEx, DHL)
- 24/7 digital access to all your mail items, 2 GB secure cloud storage
- 30-day storage
- See a picture of the outside of every mail item
- iPostal1 deposit checks directly into your bank account
- Two free months with the yearly plan
- Virtual Office services are available
Cons:
- Prices vary by mailbox location.
- Only 2 GB of digital mail storage
Traveling Mailbox
Traveling Mailbox offers a mailbox forwarding service and the ability to manage your snail mail from anywhere in the world, 24/7 using your laptop or smartphone. You can choose to scan, shred, or even forward mail.
- Traveling Mailbox provides users with a physical mailing address at one of its many locations across the United States.
- Customers can deposit checks remotely using Traveling Mailbox’s check deposit feature, which allows them to take a photo of the check and upload it to their account.
- They also offer a mobile app allowing users to access virtual mailboxes from their mobile devices.
- Traveling Mailbox takes security and privacy seriously, with bank-level encryption and secure data centers to protect customer information.
Traveling Mailbox offers a feature called ScanPak. This feature sends prepaid mail to your current address (business or home). You can fill this envelope with papers you don’t want to lose, such as your business cards, notes, and other similar documents. After receiving this envelope from you, they will scan all these documents/items and upload them for you within 24hrs of receiving your mail.
Traveling Mailbox pricing
Basic: $15/mo:
- 40 incoming envelopes/mo
- 35-page scans/mo
- Three mailbox recipients
- FREE mail shredding
Extended: $25/mo
- 100 incoming envelopes/mo
- 80-page scans/mo
- Five mailbox recipients
- FREE mail shredding
Small Business: $55/mo
- 200 incoming envelopes/mo
- 180-page scans/mo
- Ten mailbox recipients
- FREE mail shredding
PostScan Mail
PostScan Mail offers virtual mailbox services to individuals and businesses. They can receive mail, scan and open your postal mail items and upload them to your account, so you can decide what to do with them. In addition, you can forward your mail anywhere or send it to the trash if you don’t want it.
- PostScan Mail’s virtual mailbox service is designed for companies of all sizes and individuals who want to digitalize their postal mail.
- Customers can view and manage their mail from anywhere and choose to have their mail scanned, forwarded, shredded, or stored.
- PostScan Mail offers package receiving services that allow customers to receive packages at their virtual mailbox address.
- PostScan Mail allows users to filter their mail based on specific criteria, such as sender, keyword, or date range, to find the mail they need quickly.
Enjoy a professional mail handling service that gives you the benefits of throwing out unwanted mail for you.
The company has +400 locations in the US and internationally locations. PostScan Mail locations are in Florida, California, New York, Arizona, Georgia, Texas, Colorado, Delaware, Illinois, Michigan, Nevada, New Jersey, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Virginia, Switzerland, Canada, the UK, and more.
Pros:
- 400+ US and International locations
- Prestigious mailing address
- Phone support, Chat, and Email/Help Desk are available
- Manage your mail from anywhere using a computer device or smartphone
- Local mail & package pickup are available
- 30-day money-back guarantee
- Unlimited recycling of junk mail
- Content scans with the ability to download PDF
- Shipment tracking and delivery updates
Cons:
- Some locations may be slightly more expensive than others
- Limited international locations
PostScan Mail pricing
- Starter plan; $15/month
- Standard plan; $20/month
- Premium plan; $30/month
Earth Class Mail
Earth Class Mail is a popular virtual mailbox provider in the United States, especially among businesses. Its solutions are designed for startups, small businesses, or large businesses. They offer advanced features like viewing, opening & scan, searching, or downloading mail pieces through your mailbox. In addition, you can integrate with QuickBooks, Dropbox, Google Drive, a CheckStream Deposit service, top-notch security, and multiple recipients.
Pros:
- You can use the address for a registered agent service
- Check deposit service (scan & deposit checks)
- 30 days of free physical mail storage
- All plans include 50 pieces of mail per month
- Unlimited cloud storage for mail
Cons:
- Expensive compared to other virtual mailbox providers
- Addresses are only based in the US
- Most addresses are PO Box addresses, which isn’t great as a business address.
Earth Class Mail Pricing:
- Personal Mailbox: $19/month (for expats and remote professionals)
- Shared Mailbox: $29/month (for families and groups of travelers)
- Premium Mailbox: $79/month (for small businesses and offices)
All mailbox plans include:
- 50 pieces of mail per month
- Free secured shredding services
- 30 days of physical mail storage
Virtual Post Mail
Better, faster, easier. This is how Virtual Post Mail aims to deliver its online postal mailbox forwarding services.
Virtual Post Mail is a mailbox forwarding service with innovative mail services that help business owners and individuals handle their postal mail without being tied down by physical paper and location. They offer mail scanning, mail forwarding, package forwarding, check deposit, free registered agent, etc.
The company has limited locations in the US, including (Los Angeles, California – Nevada – and Delaware).
They also offer package forwarding options anywhere in the world. Each package received will have its shipping label scanned for online viewing. Manage your mail and packages online just like your email. Package forwarding features include: Combining packages, selecting your forwarding carrier and shipment method, scheduling forwarding dates, adding insurance, and tracking shipments.
You can receive packages from all couriers, including FedEx, UPS, and USPS.
Pros:
- Permanent Mailbox Address
- Free Registered Agent Service
- Free Secure Mail Shredding
- Check Deposit
- Free 60-Day Physical Mail Storage
- Unlimited Digital Storage
- Package Forwarding
Cons:
- A limited number of locations
- No mobile app
Virtual Post Mail pricing:
They offer four plans, one address, and special pricing rates for shipping.
- Starter: $20/month (25 free mail/mo, 10 free scans, 2 free recipients)
- Extra Recipients/recipient/month $5
- Plus: $35/month (Unlimited free mail/mo, 50 free scans, five free recipients)
- Extra Recipients/recipient/month $3
- Business: $60/month (Unlimited free mail/mo, 100 free scans, ten free recipients)
- Extra Recipients/recipient/month $2
- Premium: $90/month (Unlimited free mail/mo, 150 free scans, 20 free recipients)
- Extra Recipients/recipient/month $2
Additional Services Pricing:
- Check deposit: $10 / deposit, including one check and USPS First Class with tracking. $1 extra/check-in, same deposit.
- Extra Scans: $1 / scan over the included free scans. Covers the first ten pages and $0.25 / page after that.
URL: https://www.virtualpostmail.com/
US Global Mail
US Global Mail is one of the largest mail forwarding service providers in the United States, with only one real street address in Houston, Texas, operating since 2002. Their service includes free shredding, low-cost shipping rates, unlimited incoming mail items, and exterior mail scans. Their solution is specifically designed for individuals, travelers, and digital nomads but perhaps isn’t the best choice for businesses looking for a virtual address outside Texas. However, if you’re looking for a basic virtual mailbox service with a low-budget cost, this is for you!
Pros:
- 30-day money-back guarantee
- 45 days of free storage for digitally scanned mail (basic plan)
- Pre-sort junk mail
- Up to 80% off on shipping prices (plus plan)
Cons:
- Digital mail storage isn’t free.
- Also, interior mail scans aren’t included in plans.
- Only one real street address
US Global Mail Pricing:
Their pricing plans and shipping costs are pretty low.
- Personal Basic Plan starts at $9.95
- Personal Plus Plan starts at $14.95
- Business Plan starts at $24.95
Most Frequently Asked Questions About Mail Forwarding?
What is a Mail Forwarding Service?
A mail forwarding service is a private mailbox service that provides expats and travelers with a prestigious mailing address that you can use and have your mail forwarded to it. As you instructed, these mail and packages will be collected and sent to your office or home address, or they will scan and email them to you.
What is the Best Mail Forwarding Service?
Here are some of the best mail forwarding companies:
- Anytime Mailbox
- PostScan Mail
- Traveling Mailbox
- iPostal1
- Earth Class Mail
- VirtualPostMail
What is the Best International Mail Forwarding Service?
iPostal1 is the best international mail forwarding service due to its many global locations worldwide.
What is the Cheapest Mail Forwarding Service?
Anytime Mailbox is considered to be the cheapest mail forwarding service, as their pricing starts from $5.99 per month for some locations.
What is the Best Mail Forwarding Service for RVers?
Ipostal1 is the best mail forwarding service for RVers, thanks to their mail forwarding service and the great features they have.
What is the Best Mail Forwarding Service for Expats & Digital Nomads?
Travelling Mailbox is a very popular mail forwarding service for expats and Digital Nomads to control their postal mail at a reasonable cost.
How Do Mail Forwarding Services Work?
When you subscribe to a mail forwarding service, you’ll get a unique mailing address, and the service provider will be able to receive your mail on your behalf. When the mail arrives at the service provider facility, they will scan it and allow you to select what you need to do with it.
How Much Do Mail Forwarding Services Cost?
Mail forwarding prices start at just $5.99 monthly for Anytime Mailbox services and $9.99 for iPostal1 services. While it can be higher for some other providers, it depends on your chosen location.
Are Mail Forwarding Services Legal?
Yes, the mail forwarding service is 100% legal for businesses and individuals to use and receive mail to another street address rather than a personal address.
Are Mail Forwarding Services Safe?
Mail forwarding is safe and reliable as they offer better security and privacy than a traditional mailbox or PO box. In addition, almost all forwarding companies have physical security features like guarded rooms and a dedicated team who have passed background checks to protect valuable mail.
Who Benefits Most from Mail Forwarding Service?
The real question is, who wouldn’t benefit from this service? Mail forwarding service offers a virtual mailbox with various advantages for families, individuals, and students or a virtual mailroom for small or large businesses. Everyone will get something out of this beneficial product.
All you need to do is fill in a consent form required by the US postal service to ensure your mail doesn’t fall into the wrong hands, have it notarized, and attach two forms of identification. Then you’re ready to enjoy your mail forwarding and all it offers!
Is it Right for You?
If you’re a busy bee, an online shopper, a business owner, a traveler, a digital nomad, or run a big household, this is for you. Whether you want an end to paper clutter, are looking for a mailroom solution for your business, or want an efficient way to manage your mail, a mail forwarding service can help you out. Save up on valuable time and wasted energy and look into better ways to get things done. This service will do wonders for small, medium, or large businesses with its wide range of features.
We hope you enjoyed this article. If so, you might enjoy these resources:
- 5 Best Virtual Mailbox Services in Canada
- Best Virtual Mailbox Services for Travelers
- Best Parcel Forwarding Services for Online Shoppers
- 5 Best Japan Forwarding Services
So now you know the best mail forwarding service providers to forward your mail and packages.
