In the world of virtual mailboxes, US Global Mail and Earth Class Mail are two well-known providers. Both services allow you to receive postal mail at a U.S. address, have it scanned, stored, or forwarded, and manage it all online. However, recent developments and customer feedback reveal significant differences in their reliability, speed, and customer focus. In this updated comparison, we take a professional look at how US Global Mail stands apart from Earth Class Mail – from address stability and technology to customer service and company ethos.

Clear Comparison: Why People Choose US Global Mail

Choosing a virtual mailbox or mail forwarding service is an important decision – you’re trusting an entity with your important documents, personal mail, and the address that represents you or your business. Based on the comprehensive comparison, US Global Mail offers a superior solution to Earth Class Mail. Here’s a quick summary of why:

1. Address Stability

• US Global Mail: Never change your address again. We own and operate secure facilities in Houston, New York, California, Nevada, and Delaware — so your address won’t change unexpectedly. Ever.

• Earth Class Mail: Frequently shuts PO-box based addresses. From Dallas to Beaverton—sudden moves, sudden fees, no warning.

2. Speed & Reliability

• US Global Mail: Mail is processed same day it is received. Scans within 2-4 business hours.

• Earth Class Mail: Users report delays of 15–20 days before scans. Mail first ships to central processing hubs, adding 2-5 days of delays before you see your mail.

  

3. Pricing Transparency

• US Global Mail: All plans include free scans. Inexpensive scan bundles available after free mail scans are over. Custom plans available for higher mail scanning needs. 60 days of free storage on Virtual Teams and Enterprise Plans. All-inclusive, flat-rate plans. No surprise fees.

• Earth Class Mail: Nickel-and-dimes with extras: scan fees, check deposit fees, add-ons, cancellation penalties.

4. Free Check Deposits

• US Global Mail: Free check deposits. $0 Fees. Deposit in bulk via mail or deposit digitally using your bank’s mobile app.
• Earth Class Mail: Additional $39/month or $10/check.

5. Consistent Operational Support

• US Global Mail: Real humans, direct support, fast responses. Rated 4.4/5 stars on Trustpilot

• Earth Class Mail: Customers report ignored tickets, miscommunication, conflicting info. Rated 1.6/5 stars on Trustpilot

6. Enterprise Ready Workflows:

• US Global Mail: Our tech-forward platform comes with lost of features and instant notifications. Set rules for how each piece of mail is handled — forward checks, bills, contracts, discard junk, automate scans and shipments, create folders and set rules by recipient or sender. Coming soon: automatic check detection along with AI summaries and workflow highlights.

• Earth Class Mail: Their once innovative platform has stagnated and even basic integrations have faltered per user feedback.

Company Background and Ownership

One key difference lies in each company’s ownership and priorities. US Global Mail is a privately-owned, tech-first company that has been in business since 1999, with its leadership directly focused on customer satisfaction. US Global Mail is backed by 25 years of trust. We were built to serve, not to sell—because we answer to customers, not investors.

In contrast, Earth Class Mail was acquired in late 2021 by LegalZoom (NASDAQ: LZ, a publicly traded company. As a result, Earth Class Mail is now part of a larger corporate family – meaning its ultimate accountability is to LegalZoom’s shareholders. This distinction can influence how each service operates:

• Customer vs. Shareholder Focus: US Global Mail, as a private company, is answerable to its customers first, allowing it to prioritize user experience and adapt quickly to customer needs. Earth Class Mail, being under a public corporation, may have to balance customer needs with shareholder expectations and broader corporate strategies.

• Agility and Innovation: US Global Mail prides itself on being technology-driven and agile, rolling out improvements to its platform based on direct customer feedback. By not being tied to a big corporate structure, US Global Mail can implement new features or policy changes more rapidly in response to user requests. Meanwhile, Earth Class Mail’s integration into LegalZoom’s ecosystem might slow its pace of innovation or shift its focus toward complementing LegalZoom’s other services.

Address Stability: Permanent vs. Ever-Changing

One of the most critical differences is address stability. If you’re using a virtual mailbox for a business or personal mail, you want the mailing address to remain consistent over time. On this front, US Global Mail offers a clear advantage.

Earth Class Mail’s Unstable Addresses: Earth Class Mail advertises that it has dozens of addresses across the U.S., but many of these are not truly permanent or even physical street addresses. In fact, over half of Earth Class Mail’s ~80 available addresses are actually just USPS PO boxes. Relying on a PO box as your “virtual address” can be problematic – USPS PO boxes only accept Postal Service deliveries (no FedEx/UPS), often cannot be used to register a business or open a bank account, and they don’t project a professional image for a company. Even more concerning, Earth Class Mail’s network of third-party mail centers has proven to be unstable. The company has, on multiple occasions, had to shut down certain address locations and force customers to change to a new address with little notice. Their own support documents acknowledge scenarios where they “can no longer support an address at this location due to circumstances beyond our control” and must quickly move customers’ mailing addresses elsewhere. In some cases, if your chosen city has no alternate facility, Earth Class Mail will re-route you to an address in another state (often their Beaverton, Oregon hub) without choice.

For businesses and organizations, these forced address changes can be more than a nuisance – they can damage your credibility. Imagine having to notify a large list of clients, donors, or partners that your mailing address changed twice in one year. Unfortunately, some Earth Class Mail customers have faced exactly that scenario. A recent customer recounted how Earth Class Mail changed their address (due to a post office closure) and assured them it was a rare event – only to force another address change just six months later. The customer, who runs a non-profit, was rightly alarmed that they had to send out yet another address update to their donor base, fearing it made them look unprofessional. They explicitly sought out US Global Mail because we offer “permanent address” stability – something Earth Class Mail could not provide in their experience.

Here is an example of a location offered on their website.

“The Perfect Portland Address” is a PO Box. With a PO Box, you are unable to use that address for business formation, banks, and even Google listing! Google does not accept PO Boxes for the postcard verification.  

Earth Class Mail’s reviews reflect these address and stability issues. Longtime users report “multiple address changes” in a short span, calling it a major reason for leaving. In one notable review from January 2025, a business customer who had been loyal for 5+ years said “STAY FAR AWAY… ever since they merged with LegalZoom, things went downhill — they just don’t care. Caveat emptor]”.

US Global Mail’s Permanent Addresses: In stark contrast, US Global Mail offers a handful of permanent street addresses in key locations (such as Texas, California, Nevada, New York, and Delaware) that we directly own and operate. Because we control these facilities, the likelihood of an address ever changing or shutting down is practically zero. When we say “Permanent Address,” we mean it – some of our addresses have been serving customers for decades without changes. Even when we partner with third-party locations in additional cities, we vet those partners rigorously and have long-term relationships to ensure stability. We know how disruptive an address change can be, so we do everything possible to spare our customers from that headache. If absolute permanence is critical, we guide customers to choose from our owned facility addresses for 100% peace of mind.

Speed of Service and Technology

When it comes to how quickly you actually get your mail and the technology behind the service, US Global Mail outpaces Earth Class Mail by a wide margin. This is an area where our “tech-first” approach really shows.

Earth Class Mail’s Slow, Centralized Processing: Earth Class Mail uses a centralized network of processing centers. In practice, this means that even if you sign up for an address in, say, Miami or Seattle, your mail isn’t processed there. Most Earth Class Mail addresses (especially those that are not at their two primary hubs) merely forward your mail to one of their main operations facilities – historically in Beaverton, Oregon or sometimes New York City – where the envelopes are finally scanned and uploaded. This extra forwarding step introduces delays at every stage. According to one competitive analysis, Earth Class Mail customers often won’t see a notification for new mail until 2-4 days after it arrived at the original address, because it’s sitting in transit to the processing center. If your address is in a city without a processing center, you could be waiting an additional 1–3 business days on top of that for the mail to be shipped internally to Oregon or NY. And the delays don’t stop there – Earth Class Mail also does not always process outgoing requests immediately. Users have noted that if you request a physical mail item to be forwarded from Earth Class Mail, you might have to wait “at least another 1 or 2 days” for them to prepare it for shipment after you make the request.

Worse yet, since becoming part of a larger company (Legal Zoom), Earth Class Mail’s speed issues have amplified. Numerous recent customers complain that scanning turnaround times have slowed dramatically. One 10-year Earth Class Mail user wrote in late 2024 that in the past year the service had become “absolutely abysmal,” noting “It now takes up to TWENTY DAYS for them to receive and scan in mail” (yes, nearly three weeks just to see an envelope’s contents!). They lamented that bills wouldn’t show up in their online inbox until over a month after being mailed, which is completely unacceptable if you have time-sensitive mail. Such reports are alarming but appear increasingly common in Earth Class Mail’s feedback channels.

This slowdown could be due to overwhelmed facilities, reduced staffing, or other growing pains after their acquisition – but the why doesn’t matter to you as a customer. What matters is that you get your mail quickly and reliably. And that’s where US Global Mail shines.

US Global Mail’s Fast, Real-Time Processing: We have engineered our system for speed and efficiency. US Global Mail processes your incoming mail the same day it arrives at our facility, often within just a few hours. In fact, on our business plans we typically scan new mail within 2–4 hours of receipt. We then send you an instant notification so you know you’ve got mail waiting. Our motto is “Mail in minutes, not days” – and we back it up. Need something shipped out? We’ll ship it the same day you request it, with no arbitrary hold-ups. There are no extra hops or hidden transit delays because your mail is processed on-site at the address you chose. Each of our primary addresses is a fully-equipped mail processing center. For example, if you pick our Houston address, all your mail is handled right in Houston by our team, not forwarded to somewhere else. This distributed but direct processing model means no bottlenecks: we don’t have one or two giant centers trying to handle the entire country’s volume – each of our locations is a processing center and they are spread out intelligently, with systems fine-tuned for speed.

From a technology standpoint, we’ve continually invested in a modern, user-friendly platform. You can access your virtual mailbox via web or mobile, get real-time updates, and easily request actions (open & scan, forward, shred, etc.) with a click. Our platform even leverages automation to make life easier: for instance, junk mail is automatically filtered and recycled before it ever hits your inbox, sparing you the clutter and fees of unwanted mail. Earth Class Mail, by comparison, does not pre-sort your junk mail – everything is scanned unless you manually discard it, which can waste time and money. US Global Mail’s system can also consolidate shipments, search your mail contents, and integrate with your workflows. For businesses, we offer features like FREE check deposit, support for multiple users or addresses in one account, permissions and controls among other enterprise features.

It’s worth noting that Earth Class Mail does offer mobile apps and an API, positioning itself as a tech-forward solution on paper. However, recent feedback suggests their execution has faltered. Some users have reported that Earth Class Mail’s promised integrations (for example, with services like Zapier or various cloud storage apps) “don’t really work well” in practice. In contrast, US Global Mail’s technology is robust and reliable – honed over decades of serving tens of thousands of users. We focus on features that genuinely save you time and keep you in control: automations, tags for organizing mail, instant search, and more are part of the experience. The goal is simple: when you use US Global Mail, handling postal mail becomes as fast and convenient as managing email.

Customer Service and Support

Even the best technology can falter if not backed by strong customer support. Here again, US Global Mail distinguishes itself from Earth Class Mail. We have built our reputation on attentive, responsive service, whereas Earth Class Mail’s customer service has drawn criticism.

US Global Mail – “Customers First” Service: Being a family-run and privately held company, US Global Mail has a culture of treating every customer “as if it were our first”. Our support team is readily available to help via phone, email, and live chat, and we strive to resolve issues or answer questions promptly. We are proud of our high customer satisfaction scores and it shows in our reviews: US Global Mail consistently earns top ratings in the industry for service quality and responsiveness.

Earth Class Mail – Support Struggles: Earth Class Mail, unfortunately, has developed a reputation for poor customer support in recent times. Users have reported long wait times and unresponsiveness from Earth Class Mail’s support channels. Here are some real life reviews of ECM customers online:

We have been customers of Earth Class Mail (Now: LegalZoom Virtual Mail) for over a decade and, until recently, were satisfied with the service. However, since the company was acquired by LegalZoom, the quality has plummeted dramatically, culminating in a recent experience that has forced us to cancel our account and warn others.

STAY FAR AWAY FROM EARTH CLASS MAIL!!! They used to be GREAT, but now are the exact opposite. Our company was a loyal 5+ year customer, but after multiple address changes, price changes and weak customer service, we finally made the difficult decision to move elsewhere.

They take very long to process mail. This is bad for cashflow.

I’m not sure what happened but ECM has gone from fair to absolutely abysmal. I’ve used them for about 10 years and at this point they take over TWENTY days to process mail, or more. We have some that have been sitting there with an envelope image and no scan for FIFTEEN DAYS, that’s on top of the time that it takes for the piece to show up on the system.

Another aspect is expertise. Handling mail involves navigating USPS regulations, security protocols, and sometimes unique customer requests (like handling sensitive documents or coordinating complex forwarding instructions). US Global Mail’s staff are highly experienced in the mail forwarding industry – many of our team members have been with us for years, accumulating deep knowledge. Earth Class Mail underwent management changes in the past couple of years (after the LegalZoom acquisition) and by many accounts lost some of the knowledgeable, customer-focused staff they used to have. Long-term customers noticed that what was once a great service started declining “under different management”. The personal touch diminished, and getting competent answers grew harder. This is a common pattern when a smaller company gets absorbed into a larger entity – the support experience becomes more corporate and less empathetic.

At US Global Mail, we work hard to maintain a personal touch and accountability. We know that when it comes to your mail, issues can be time-sensitive or sensitive in nature, and you need a reliable partner. Our customer service philosophy can be summed up as: fast, friendly, and fixing the problem on the first go. We don’t pass the buck. From helping a customer navigate a USPS Form 1583 for address setup, to walking them through using the online dashboard, to proactively resolving a mail scanning issue, we aim to make every interaction pleasant and productive. This commitment is reflected in our high retention rate – many of our customers have been with us for years or even decades.

Features Pricing

Talking of pricing, US Global Mail’s philosophy is to deliver more for less. Our plans start at just $19.95 per month for and support multiple recipients and businesses. All our plans come with a rich set of features included at no extra charge – things that Earth Class Mail would bill as premium add-ons. For instance, check deposit is free with USGM (we’ll deposit checks to your bank as part of the service). We also include generous free storage for your physical mail (30 – 90 days depending on your plan), free secure shredding of discarded mail, and unlimited mail receipt. There are no nickel-and-dime fees for things like recycling junk mail – we do that automatically for you. Our plans and pricing is transparent and all inclusive.

US GLOBAL MAIL PLANS

LEGAL ZOOM (ECM) PLANS

Extras for ECM: $39/mo for 5 check deposits (or $10/check); storage fees after 30 days; shipping ≈ $5 + $1/item domestic, $15/lb packages; interior scans often cost extra; PO‑box dependent; cancellation and overage fees apply.

Why US Global Mail Wins

• Better value: USGM’s Essentials at $20/mo packs free check deposits, generous scans, and speedy processing—things ECM charges extra for or penalizes you for.

• Flexible & fair: Interior scanning priced per page only after your allotment; ECM forces expensive monthly check-deposit subscriptions.

• True street addresses: USGM offers real physical addresses; ECM relies heavily on PO boxes, invalid for registrations and unreliable.

• Rapid service: Same-day mail handling with multi-hour scans; ECM can take days—or weeks—per user reviews.

Tashi Nibber

Tashi Nibber is the CMO at US Global Mail, the leading virtual mailbox and virtual address service in the US. US Global Mail provides mail scanning, mail management and check deposit services to expats, entrepreneurs and virtual teams.