Chargeable weight calculator

What this means for what you pack

• Dense things are cheap to send. Food, tinned goods, books and dried produce almost always price on actual weight.
• Bulky light things are expensive. Bedding, duvets, pillows, foam and loosely packed clothing are the usual culprits — this is why we tell students to buy bedding in the UK rather than ship it.
• Packing tighter genuinely saves money. Compressing soft items and filling empty space reduces the volumetric figure, and therefore the bill.
• Several small boxes can beat one large one, if it means less wasted air inside them.

Common questions

What is chargeable weight?

The weight your shipment is actually priced on. It is the greater of two numbers: what the box weighs on the scales, and its volumetric weight, which is worked out from its size. Whichever is higher is what you pay for.

How is volumetric weight calculated?

Multiply length by width by height in centimetres, then divide by 6000. A box of 60 × 40 × 40cm is 96,000 cm³, which divided by 6000 gives 16.0kg. If that box only weighs 10kg on the scales, you are still charged for the higher figure.

Why am I charged for space rather than weight?

Because an aircraft runs out of room before it runs out of weight allowance. A light, bulky box occupies space that a heavier, denser box could have used, so it is priced on the space it takes up.

Which of my items will be affected?

Anything light and bulky: bedding, duvets, pillows, foam, empty containers, clothing packed loosely. Dense items such as food, books and tinned goods are almost always charged on actual weight.

Does this apply to sea cargo too?

Sea freight is usually priced by volume rather than weight, often per cubic metre, so the calculation is different. Ask us if you are shipping by sea and we will tell you how your consignment would be measured.

See also: prices · how to compare quotes properly · air cargo · what to ship as a student