Pricing and billing
3PL fee sheet decoded: pick, pack, storage, receiving, what is normal
A one-page reference card for a 3PL fee sheet: the six lines that make up most of the invoice, the unit each is billed in, the 2025 survey average and the normal range. Plus the five lines outside the six that deserve a question.
A normal 3PL fee sheet in 2026 has six lines that matter: pick and pack on the first item (about $2 to $3), each additional item ($0.30 to $0.75), pallet storage ($15 to $40 a month), bin storage ($1 to $5 a month), receiving ($5 to $15 a pallet) and returns ($1 to $7 each). Anything else on the sheet is either a minimum, a surcharge or a markup, and those are the lines to question.
The six lines on every fee sheet
Most 3PL quotes use the same six line items. The names change from one warehouse to the next, so the table below gives each line, the unit it is billed in, the average from a 2025 survey of more than 600 warehouses, and the range you will see on most rate cards. The survey averages come from The Fulfillment Advisor (January 11, 2026) and the Fulfill.com summary of the same study (updated October 29, 2026).
| Line | Also called | Billed per | 2025 survey average | Normal range |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pick and pack, first item | Base pick, order fee, fulfillment fee | Order | $3.20 | $2 to $3 on most quotes; $0.99 to $2.00 on some published rate cards |
| Additional item | Each additional unit, incremental pick | Unit after the first | $0.48 | $0.30 to $0.75 |
| Pallet storage | Pallet position, pallet space | Pallet per month | $20.17 | $15 to $40, most $18 to $25 |
| Bin or shelf storage | Bin, slot, location, cubic foot | Bin per month, or cubic foot per month | $3.08 a bin; $0.46 a cubic foot | $1 to $5 a bin; $0.45 to $0.55 a cubic foot |
| Receiving | Inbound, put-away, check-in | Pallet, carton, unit or hour | $10.52 a pallet; $39.88 an hour | $5 to $15 a pallet; $30 to $60 an hour; $250 to $600 per container |
| Returns processing | Reverse logistics, RMA fee, restock | Return | $4.06 | $1 to $7 |
Two notes on reading it. The pick and pack line is where multi-unit orders get expensive, because the second unit onward is billed separately. A three-unit order at the averages is $3.20 plus two times $0.48, or $4.16, before packaging. And bin storage is the right unit for light goods with few SKUs; pallet storage is for cases. If a quote puts 20 light SKUs on pallets, ask for bins. Red Stag (August 21, 2026) says unconsolidated pallet storage can raise warehousing costs by 40% to 60%.
What each line usually includes
Pick and pack covers finding the item, putting it in a box or mailer, and applying the label. Packaging is sometimes bundled into that fee and sometimes itemized; The Fulfillment Advisor puts packaging materials at $0.25 to $1.00 per order and a shipping label fee at $0.10 to $0.25 when it is charged at all. Ask which it is before comparing two quotes, since a $2.50 pick with packaging included beats a $2.00 pick with a $0.75 mailer added.
Receiving is billed separately from storage. It is usually billed per pallet when the inbound is palletized and per hour when it is loose cartons, mixed SKUs or an unscheduled delivery. A floor-loaded container is its own line at $250 to $600.
Returns processing usually means receiving the return, opening it, inspecting the item and putting it back on the shelf. Some sheets split that into receive and inspect ($3 to $5) and restocking ($2 to $4), per The Fulfillment Advisor. If the sheet lists both, the per-return cost is the sum.
The lines that are not in the six
These are the lines that turn a reasonable per-order rate into a surprising invoice. Each one deserves a question.
- Monthly minimum. The 2025 survey average was $517 a month, up from $337.50 in 2024, and published rate cards run from $0 to $750. At 150 orders a month, a $517 minimum adds $3.45 to each order if your variable charges fall short of it. Our orders-a-month article has the break-even math.
- Account management. Survey average $102.88 a month, range $30 to more than $1,000. It is sometimes called a platform fee, software fee or support fee. Ask what it buys that the pick fee does not.
- Setup or onboarding. One-time, $250 to more than $1,000, survey average $333 to $425. Often waived in exchange for a contract term. Price the term.
- Long-term storage. Charged by 48.6% of surveyed warehouses. Red Stag describes it as 1.5 to 3 times the standard pallet rate once inventory sits idle past 30, 60 or 90 days. Ask for the trigger date and the multiplier in writing.
- Postage markup. The Fulfillment Advisor's table shows outbound shipping marked up 14.6% to 16.2% on average, and Red Stag puts the range at 0% to 12%. Shipping is 50% to 70% of total fulfillment cost on that same page, so a markup on it outweighs any savings on the pick fee. Our hidden fees article lists the question that exposes each of these.
How to compare two sheets in ten minutes
Take one real month of orders. Count orders, units, units per order, inbound pallets and returns. Price each sheet with those counts, line by line, then add the minimum if the subtotal is under it. The 2,000 light orders article walks through that build-up with the survey numbers. Then ask for the postage rate on your three most common parcels. If one 3PL marks postage up and the other does not, that line decides it on its own.
If you are still deciding between a 3PL and packing in-house, start with the five numbers that decide it.
What our sheet looks like
At BoxHero, the fee sheet is the first two lines and storage. Pick and pack is one base rate per order plus a smaller rate for each additional unit, quoted on your actual order mix. Storage is a flat monthly rate for the space your inventory occupies. Receiving is $0, with the count-in included. Returns are the first 10 a month included, then $2 per return covering receiving, inspection and restocking or quarantine.
The lines in the second list do not appear. There is no monthly minimum, no setup or integration fee, no account management or software fee, no long-term storage surcharge and no contract term. Postage is billed at the rate the carrier charged, nothing added, after rate shopping across 12+ carriers. On the 2 lb Brooklyn to Chicago example on that page, UniUni priced at $4.90 against USPS at $5.85, $3.60 under UPS. Orders in by 3:30pm ET ship the same day from 905 Remsen Ave. Send us one month of orders and we will fill in the six lines for you.
