What is Volumetric weight?
Reviewed by CA Apurav GargLast reviewed
In short
Volumetric weight is a parcel's weight worked out from its size: length × width × height divided by the courier's divisor. Couriers charge on the higher of this and the actual weight, called the chargeable weight.
Why couriers use it
A van or an aircraft fills up by space as often as by weight. A large, light parcel such as a pillow, a lampshade or a box of empty bottles takes the room of several heavy ones. Volumetric weight lets the courier charge for the space a parcel takes, not just what it weighs on the scale.
How it is worked out
Volumetric weight (kg) = length × width × height in cm ÷ divisor
- Measure the outside of the packed box at its longest, widest and tallest points, including any bulge.
- The divisor is set by each courier or marketplace. Most Indian couriers and shipping aggregators use 5,000 for domestic parcels, and the large marketplaces use 5,000 for their own shipping fees. Some carriers or services use 4,000, 4,500 or 6,000, and international air cargo generally uses 6,000. Your contract or rate card states the divisor that applies to you.
Chargeable weight is the higher of the actual weight and the volumetric weight. It is then rounded up to the courier's weight slab, often the next half kilogram (some carriers use whole kilograms, and slabs can widen for heavier parcels), so a parcel just over a slab is billed for the whole next slab.
Where it shows up in your costs
- Your own website orders: the courier or shipping aggregator bills forward shipping, and return shipping on RTOs, at the chargeable weight.
- Marketplace orders: the weight-handling or shipping fee deducted in the settlement is set by weight slab. It is based on the dimensions and weight recorded for the product, so a wrong listing can raise every order's fee.
- Fulfilment centres: storage and handling fees may also depend on size.
Weight disputes
Couriers and aggregators re-measure parcels at their hubs, often with automatic scanners, and bill the difference when they find more than you declared. These weight discrepancy charges arrive after the order and are easy to miss. To keep them down:
- Record the dimensions and weight of each packed SKU, measured carefully, and declare those exact figures.
- Keep dated photos of the packed parcel on a scale and against a measuring tape. Most aggregators ask for this proof when you dispute a charge.
- Check the weight-discrepancy report every cycle and dispute wrong charges within the courier's time limit.
How to lower it
Right-size the packaging. A box only slightly larger than the product, or a poly mailer for soft goods, often halves the chargeable weight. Packaging changes can save more than renegotiating the rate, because they cut the weight billed on every order, including RTOs.
Example in rupees
A cushion packed in a box of 40 cm × 30 cm × 25 cm that weighs 1.2 kg on the scale, sent by a courier that uses a divisor of 5,000:
| Step | Figure |
|---|---|
| Volume: 40 × 30 × 25 | 30,000 cubic cm |
| Volumetric weight: 30,000 ÷ 5,000 | 6.0 kg |
| Actual weight | 1.2 kg |
| Chargeable weight (the higher) | 6.0 kg |
Repacked in a box of 35 cm × 25 cm × 15 cm, the volumetric weight falls to 13,125 ÷ 5,000 = 2.625 kg, which a courier charging in half-kilo slabs bills as 3.0 kg, half the weight billed before.
If the shipping rate were ₹40 for each half-kilo slab, that one change would cut the charge from ₹480 to ₹240 a parcel. The rates are illustrative; check your own courier or marketplace rate card.
Related terms
Work it out for your business
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General information only, not professional advice. Rules and rates change — check the official source before you act.