Large parcel delivery: what a large parcel courier costs, what makes a parcel large, what a large parcel delivery service actually includes, and where to find cheap courier services uk large items

What the companies publish for this

How to find out which band your parcel is in

1. Measure the box, not the thing inside it. Every band in this record is measured on the outside of the packed parcel. A 44cm item in a 47cm box is a Medium Parcel as far as Royal Mail is concerned.
2. Take the longest side first. Royal Mail's Small Parcel allows 45cm x 35cm x 16cm and its Medium Parcel 61cm x 46cm x 46cm. One long side is what pushes most parcels up a band.
3. Then weigh it. A parcel has to be inside both the size and the weight limit. Royal Mail's Small Parcel is capped at 2kg and its Medium Parcel at 20kg.
4. Check whether the carrier charges by size at all. Evri's published table separates Small from Standard only below 2kg; above that it prices on weight alone, at £6.59 for 2-5kg and £6.68 for 5-10kg.

What the published figures actually say about large parcels

Royal Mail is the only company in this record that publishes a full grid, and it is the clearest place to see what large costs. Its 2nd Class Medium Parcel is £6.25 bought online and £6.95 in a branch, against £3.95 and £4.25 for the Small Parcel underneath it. That is the whole large-parcel premium on the cheapest service it sells: about £2.30, for a box that can be three times the volume.

Evri's published table tells the same story from the other side. Below 2kg it prices Small and Standard separately, £3.04 and £3.29 for 0-1kg and £3.52 and £4.79 for 1-2kg. Above 2kg the size column disappears and 2-5kg is a flat £6.59. For a parcel that is bulky but light, that is often cheaper than the size-banded alternative.

Parcelforce publishes no size bands at all on its home page, only a weight ladder that starts at £11.95 up to 5kg. It is a different product aimed at a different sender, and reading it beside the two above is the fastest way to see that.

Where large stops and heavy begins

The two are priced separately and it matters which one you have. A large parcel is one that has failed a dimension; a heavy parcel is one that has failed a weight. A duvet is the first, a box of books is the second, and the cheapest carrier for one is frequently not the cheapest for the other.

Above the size bands, most carriers price on chargeable weight, which is the greater of what the parcel weighs and what its volume implies. That is why a large light box can be quoted as though it weighed far more than it does, and why measuring before you book is worth the two minutes.

What is not in any of these figures

Every price above is carriage for a parcel inside the band it names. Fuel and remote-area surcharges, cover above whatever compensation is included free, Saturday or timed delivery, and any customs charge if the parcel is leaving the UK are added on top of all of them.

None of the four companies that publish a price publishes those surcharges in the same place, which is the single most consistent finding in this record. Read the band, then read the surcharge page, then compare.

Bands price at their ceiling, which changes the arithmetic

A 12kg parcel and a 19kg parcel both fall in Parcelforce's published up to 20kg band and both cost 17.95 pounds. There is no reward for being comfortably under a limit, and that single fact decides whether splitting or combining a consignment saves money.

Consolidating a 12kg and a 13kg parcel into one 25kg consignment moves you from two charges at 17.95 pounds to one at 21.40. Splitting a 21kg parcel into two 10.5kg ones moves you from one charge at 21.40 to two at 14.20, which is worse. Work out which band each option lands in before deciding.

Questions people ask about this

What counts as a large parcel in the UK?

It depends whose band you are in. Royal Mail calls anything over 45cm x 35cm x 16cm or 2kg a Medium Parcel, up to 61cm x 46cm x 46cm and 20kg. Evri stops distinguishing sizes above 2kg and prices on weight. Both were read on 10 September 2026.

How much does large parcel delivery cost?

Royal Mail publishes £6.25 online and £6.95 in a branch for a 2nd Class Medium Parcel, and Evri publishes £6.59 for 2-5kg. Those are the two cheapest published figures for a parcel above the small band in this record.

Is it cheaper to send one large parcel or two small ones?

Often two small ones, on the published figures. Two Royal Mail 2nd Class Small Parcels at £3.95 each online come to £7.90 against £6.25 for one Medium, so the single parcel wins there; but two Evri 0-1kg Smalls at £3.04 come to £6.08 against £6.59 for one 2-5kg. It turns on which band each option lands in, which is why the bands are worth reading.

Do carriers measure the parcel themselves?

Yes. Every carrier here reserves the right to re-measure and re-weigh in its own depot and to charge the difference, which is why the measurement that matters is the packed box rather than the item.

Sending this abroad

• Australia: what carriers publish for a parcel, from their own price pages
• Bahrain: what carriers publish for a parcel, from their own price pages
• Belgium: what carriers publish for a parcel, from their own price pages
• Brazil: what carriers publish for a parcel, from their own price pages
• Bulgaria: what carriers publish for a parcel, from their own price pages
• Canada: what carriers publish for a parcel, from their own price pages
• China: what carriers publish for a parcel, from their own price pages
• Croatia: what carriers publish for a parcel, from their own price pages
• Cyprus: what carriers publish for a parcel, from their own price pages
• the Czech Republic: what carriers publish for a parcel, from their own price pages
• Egypt: what carriers publish for a parcel, from their own price pages
• France: what carriers publish for a parcel, from their own price pages
• Germany: what carriers publish for a parcel, from their own price pages
• Greece: what carriers publish for a parcel, from their own price pages
• Guernsey: what carriers publish for a parcel, from their own price pages
• Hong Kong: what carriers publish for a parcel, from their own price pages
• Hungary: what carriers publish for a parcel, from their own price pages
• India: what carriers publish for a parcel, from their own price pages
• Ireland: what carriers publish for a parcel, from their own price pages
• the Isle of Man: what carriers publish for a parcel, from their own price pages
• Italy: what carriers publish for a parcel, from their own price pages
• Japan: what carriers publish for a parcel, from their own price pages
• Jersey: what carriers publish for a parcel, from their own price pages
• Kenya: what carriers publish for a parcel, from their own price pages
• Libya: what carriers publish for a parcel, from their own price pages
• Lithuania: what carriers publish for a parcel, from their own price pages
• Malaysia: what carriers publish for a parcel, from their own price pages
• Malta: what carriers publish for a parcel, from their own price pages
• Mauritius: what carriers publish for a parcel, from their own price pages
• Montenegro: what carriers publish for a parcel, from their own price pages
• the Netherlands: what carriers publish for a parcel, from their own price pages
• New Zealand: what carriers publish for a parcel, from their own price pages
• Northern Ireland: what carriers publish for a parcel, from their own price pages
• Norway: what carriers publish for a parcel, from their own price pages
• Pakistan: what carriers publish for a parcel, from their own price pages
• Poland: what carriers publish for a parcel, from their own price pages
• Portugal: what carriers publish for a parcel, from their own price pages
• Qatar: what carriers publish for a parcel, from their own price pages
• Romania: what carriers publish for a parcel, from their own price pages
• Saudi Arabia: what carriers publish for a parcel, from their own price pages
• Singapore: what carriers publish for a parcel, from their own price pages
• South Africa: what carriers publish for a parcel, from their own price pages
• South Korea: what carriers publish for a parcel, from their own price pages
• Spain: what carriers publish for a parcel, from their own price pages
• Thailand: what carriers publish for a parcel, from their own price pages
• the UAE: what carriers publish for a parcel, from their own price pages
• the USA: what carriers publish for a parcel, from their own price pages
• Vietnam: what carriers publish for a parcel, from their own price pages