Actual weight versus chargeable weight
Work out whether the box you are shipping or its actual weight decides what the line charges.
Quick answer
Chargeable weight is the larger of two numbers: what the parcel actually weighs, and what its outer dimensions imply once divided by the carrier’s divisor. A light parcel in a big box is billed on the box, not on the scale.
Chargeable weight result
The box decides: its volumetric weight is heavier than the parcel on a scale.
Volumetric ÷ actual = 3.33
The two sides differ by 233.3% of the actual weight, which is wide enough that a repack or a smaller box usually changes the bill more than a lighter item would.
How the calculation runs
Parameters and the date they were checked
Parameters checked 2026-10-06. The defaults on this page are the values we recorded when we last read the relevant pages, and they are listed with the same date on the sources page. Change any rate, fee or day count and the tool labels itself manual, so a figure you supplied is never mistaken for one we recorded.
Three ways to use it
- Measure the packed box, not the item: length, width and height in centimetres, largest side first is fine.
- Keep the divisor at 6000 unless your line card shows a different one; a divisor you type yourself is labelled as a custom value.
- If the volumetric side wins, re-run this tool after merging in the merge planner: consolidation rarely changes the actual weight but often changes the box.
Questions this tool gets
Why does the same parcel give two different numbers?
A line bills on the larger of the two: what the parcel actually weighs and what its box would weigh if the space it takes were filled. On light, bulky hauls the box decides; on dense, small ones the scale decides. This page computes both so you can see which side is in charge before the line tells you.
Which divisor should I use if my line does not say?
Start at 6000, which is the value most line cards in this corridor publish, then repeat the calculation at 5000. The 5000 case is the pessimistic one: it makes the volumetric side heavier, so it shows you the worst case you could be billed for. Anything outside 5000, 6000 and 8000 is accepted here but labelled as a custom value.
Where it stops being reliable
Boundaries and exceptions
- Any single side below 1 cm or above 200 cm is rejected: at that size the shape is usually a data-entry slip rather than a parcel.
- A chargeable weight above 100 kg returns a note only. That size class normally moves on a dedicated line, and this page does not cover dedicated-line tariffs.
- A divisor outside 5000, 6000 and 8000 still calculates, but the result is marked as resting on a custom divisor you supplied.
- The tool does not know your line’s rounding rule: some lines round up to the next whole kilogram, others to the next half. The comparison here is on the unrounded numbers.
Stops that use this number
- Stop 6: Merge and pack — Merging trades a second freight charge for a bigger volumetric weight. Run both sides.
- Stop 7: Freight and customs — Freight is charged on chargeable weight. Customs is decided on declaration fields you fill in.
Readings behind it
- Chargeable weight without the guesswork — Chargeable weight is the larger of the scale reading and the volume divided by the line’s divisor.
- Joyagoo shipping lines: 8 types scored on 5 rules — The cheapest line for a light bulky box is rarely the cheapest line for a dense one.
- Three hauls, three merge timings, three totals — Merging three light parcels into one saves 0.53 billable kilos at divisor 6000 and 0.40 at 8000.
Other tools: all nine. The reading protocol and the cost waterfall are the two tools that exist only on this site.