Head to head · checked October 31, 2026
Earth Class Mail vs Stable
These are the two business-first services we track, and on paper they look alike: a real street address, every letter opened and scanned with no scan fee, free shredding, junk mail that doesn't count against your limit, and $3 for each item over the plan. The differences are in the allowances and the extras. Earth Class Mail, now sold as LegalZoom Virtual Mail, starts cheaper but includes only 5 items. Stable costs more up front but includes 30. Check deposits, recipients, the Form 1583 process and cancellation rules also split them. Every figure below comes from the two companies' own pages, read on October 31, 2026.
Side by side
| Earth Class Mail | Stable | |
|---|---|---|
| Cheapest plan | Starter MailBox $39/mo, auto-renews; 5 mail items "digitized monthly with no scanning fees" [source] | Grow $59 month-to-month or $49/mo billed yearly; 30 pieces a month (360 a year on yearly billing) [source] |
| Over the allowance | $3 per item; junk mail excluded from the limit [source] | $3 per piece; junk mail "does not count against your plan's monthly total" [source] |
| Open & scan | Every item scanned; free up to 20 pages per document, then $0.15 per color page [source] | "Free open & scan requests", automatic or on request; no page limit stated [source] |
| Shredding | Free [source] | Included [source] |
| Forwarding handling | $1.25 per shipment + $1 per item + postage (international $5 per shipment + $1 per item) [source] | Cost of postage only; it says it can "combine mail and packages going to the same address" [source] |
| Recipients (names on the box) | 2 on Starter, 5 on Essentials, 15 on Premium; $5/mo each beyond that [source] | Unlimited on every plan [source] |
| Logins (users) | 1 seat on Starter (up to 2), 3 on Essentials and Premium (up to 10); $19/mo per extra seat [source] | 1 user included; $20/mo each on Grow (3 max), $30/mo each on Scale [source] |
| Free storage | Letters 30 days then $1.50/mo; packages 10 days then $15 per lb per month [source] | Mail 30 days and packages 15 days, then "securely dispose[d] of" [source] |
| Addresses | 53 street addresses in 44 states; no in-person pickup ("Our service is entirely virtual") [source] | 39 listed cities, custom locations on request; terms bar presenting the address as a place people can visit [source] [terms] |
| Package limits | Items over 20 lb or larger than 19 × 14 × 12 in. "will not be accepted" [source] | Not stated on the pricing page |
| Personal use | Separate personal plans at the same prices: Personal $39, Family $59, Family & Business $119 [source] | Every plan is pitched at businesses ("startups, solopreneurs, freelancers") [source] |
| Registered agent | Says "you must still maintain a registered agent to receive legal service of process" [source] | Add-on at $25/mo per state; "A Stable plan is required to purchase a registered agent" [source] |
Plans and allowances
Both count received pieces, not scans, so the plan you need depends on how much mail arrives. Earth Class Mail's allowances are monthly. Stable's yearly plans give an annual pool (360 pieces on Grow, 600 on Scale), and its monthly plans reset each billing cycle at 30 and 50. [Stable fair use] A pool helps a business with a busy tax season and quiet summers.
| Plan | Per month | Pieces included | Recipients |
|---|---|---|---|
| Earth Class Mail Starter MailBox | $39 | 5 | 2 |
| Earth Class Mail Essentials MailBox | $59 | 25 | 5 |
| Earth Class Mail Premium MailBox | $119 | 50 | 15 |
| Earth Class Mail Startup MailRoom | $179 | 80 | 25 |
| Earth Class Mail Business MailRoom | $299 | 150 | 50 |
| Stable Grow | $59 monthly, $49 billed yearly | 30 (360/yr) | Unlimited |
| Stable Scale | $99 monthly, $83 billed yearly | 50 (600/yr) | Unlimited |
| Stable Custom | Contact sales | Custom | Unlimited |
Sources: [LegalZoom Virtual Mail plans] [Stable pricing]. Stable gives 50% off Grow for a year "if you plan to use your Stable address to form a company or if your annual revenue is less than $1 million", and says you can ask to extend it if you still qualify. [source] Earth Class Mail's page shows its plans as auto-renewing monthly prices; we didn't find annual pricing.
Three business months, priced
Plan price plus each company's published fees, using the cheapest plan for that month. Every piece is opened and scanned (both include that), postage and tax are left out, and nobody here gets Stable's discount. These come from the same engine as our cost calculator.
| Provider | Plan and fees | Month |
|---|---|---|
| Earth Class Mail | Starter $39 + 3 extra items × $3 | $48.00 |
| Stable, billed yearly | Grow $49 | $49.00 |
| Stable, monthly | Grow $59 | $59.00 |
| Provider | Plan and fees | Month |
|---|---|---|
| Earth Class Mail | Essentials $59 + $1.25 shipment + 5 × $1 + 3 checks × $10 | $95.25 |
| Stable, billed yearly | Grow $49 + 10-check plan $50 (cheaper than 3 × $20) | $99.00 |
| Stable, monthly | Grow $59 + 10-check plan $50 | $109.00 |
| Provider | Plan and fees | Month |
|---|---|---|
| Earth Class Mail | Essentials $59 + 20 extra items × $3 + 2 × ($1.25 + 10 × $1) + check plan $39 with 7 extra checks × $2 | $194.50 |
| Stable, billed yearly | Scale $83 + 25-check plan $100 | $183.00 |
| Stable, monthly | Scale $99 + 25-check plan $100 | $199.00 |
Take the checks out and the picture changes: the solo month is $65.25 at Earth Class Mail against $49 or $59 at Stable, and the team month is $141.50 against $83 or $99. So Stable's bigger allowances and postage-only shipping win once you're past a handful of pieces, and Earth Class Mail's cheaper check deposits pull it back level when checks are a big part of your mail. For the small team, Earth Class Mail's Premium plan ($119 for 50 pieces) costs the same as Essentials plus overage, so either works. Stable's page doesn't say whether you can add pay-as-you-go checks on top of the 10-check plan; if you could, 12 checks would cost $90 instead of $100. [Stable check pricing]
Check deposits
| Earth Class Mail | Stable | |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $10 per check, or a $39/month check subscription with 5 checks, then $2 each; expedited $20 per check [source] | "Pay-as-you go: $20/check; 10 checks/month — $50/month; 25 checks/month — $100/month", with "further bulk discounts available upon request" [source] |
| How it works | Checks are mailed to your bank; expedited deposits get free overnight shipping for Bank of America, JPMorgan Chase and Wells Fargo, and "all other deposits are shipped through USPS" [source] | Mail-in to your bank, or electronic: Stable deposits the check and the money lands in a Stable holding account "in 1 to 5 days, depending on check amount", then moves to your bank [source] |
| Limits | None stated on the pricing page | Electronic deposits are US-only; "Mercury and Brex do not accept mail-in check deposits" [source] |
Once the check reaches your bank, federal Regulation CC sets how fast the money must be available, whichever service mailed it. See check deposit fees compared for that and for the other seven providers.
Form 1583, refunds and cancelling
| Earth Class Mail | Stable | |
|---|---|---|
| USPS Form 1583 | Online only. Verify yourself (photos of two IDs and a selfie, then e-sign) or on a free video call with an online notary from its partner; "If you don't have a social security number, you'll need to complete your form with a notary." [source] | No notary. Stable pre-fills the form and checks your photo ID, a second ID showing your residential address ("no P.O. Boxes or virtual addresses") and a verification photo, in "about 1 business day or less". [source] [ID list] |
| When billing starts | "Billing starts upon account creation and is not dependent on the completion or approval of USPS Form 1583." [source] | Not stated on the pages we read |
| Refunds | LegalZoom's guarantee: a Virtual Mail subscription fee can be refunded if you ask within 30 days of the first purchase, but "you will still be responsible for all usage fees incurred". [source] | The pricing page says "All plans come with ... a 30-day money back guarantee"; its terms (last updated 12/01/2025) say "All fees are non-refundable and non-cancellable". Get the guarantee confirmed in writing before you rely on it. [pricing] [terms] |
| Cancelling | Free to close at the end of the billing cycle (it bills in arrears). A $50 option keeps 6 months of account access, with usage fees such as $3 per received item and $5 per domestic shipment plus $1 per item and postage. Reopening within 3 months costs $99. [source] | Written notice to [email protected]. Subscriptions renew automatically, and on termination fees for the rest of the current term become due. [terms] |
| Mail after you leave | Shredded for 6 months after closing, then returned to sender; "USPS rules do not allow for mail forwarding." [source] | The terms set "Do Not Forward Mail" instructions under USPS DMM 508.1.8.3; changing that needs a signed agreement and prepaid postage and fees, "typically to cover a period of at least six months". [terms] [USPS DMM 508] |
For context, the USPS rule for mail receiving companies says the company "must remail mail intended for the addressee (customer) for at least 6 months after the termination date", with new postage, but that obligation "need not be fulfilled if the CMRA customer provides written instructions" not to remail, which can sit in the service agreement. [USPS DMM 508.1.8.4] Stable's terms are that kind of instruction (they cite the older section number, 1.8.3). Either way, neither will forward your mail for free after you leave, so update your address with banks, the IRS and your state before you cancel. Both are commercial mail receiving agencies (CMRAs) under USPS rules; see our Form 1583 guide. If the address goes on an LLC filing or a bank account, read virtual mailbox for an LLC or bank account first, and for government forms see USCIS, IRS and DMV rules.
Which to pick
- Pick Earth Class Mail if you get only a few pieces a month, deposit more than a couple of paper checks, want a personal or family plan, or want one of its 53 addresses in a state Stable doesn't list. Remember billing starts at signup, before your Form 1583 clears.
- Pick Stable if you get 10 or more pieces a month, forward mail often (postage only), need many names on one box, want electronic check deposits, or qualify for the 50% first-year discount. Ask Stable to confirm its 30-day money-back guarantee in writing, since its terms say fees are non-refundable.
- Neither fits? Cheaper consumer mailboxes are in the full comparison table. See also Traveling Mailbox vs Anytime Mailbox, mail forwarding costs compared and virtual mailbox vs PO Box vs UPS Store.
Official sites: LegalZoom Virtual Mail (Earth Class Mail) · Stable. We have no affiliate deal with either company. We don't rate or rank providers, and nothing here is a review. How we make money.
General information from each company's own pages, read October 31, 2026; not legal or financial advice. Postage, sales tax and notary fees are excluded. Prices change, so check both pricing pages before you sign up.