Shipping Charges in India: Volumetric Weight, Zones and Free Shipping
You charge ₹50 for shipping. The courier bills 1.5 kg for a 0.6 kg parcel and sends you a ₹203 invoice. Here is the arithmetic that stops it.
In this post · 8 sections
You sell cushion covers and charge ₹50 for shipping, which felt generous when you set it. Each order goes out in a 30 × 25 × 10 cm box and weighs 0.6 kg. The courier does not bill 0.6 kg. It bills 1.5 kg, and to a customer in another state that parcel costs over ₹200 before GST.
That gap is volumetric weight, and it is the most common reason small sellers find their shipping line deep in the red at the end of the month. The fix is arithmetic you can do on a calculator in two minutes.
Key takeaways
- Couriers bill the higher of the actual weight and the volumetric weight (L × B × H in cm ÷ 5,000 for most Indian couriers).
- Rates go up in 0.5 kg slabs, so 0.51 kg costs the same as 1 kg.
- Zone matters as much as weight: on Shiprocket's Lite plan, the same 0.5 kg parcel costs ₹51 within a city and ₹103 to the North East via Delhivery Surface.
- COD adds a fee of a fixed amount or a percentage, whichever is higher, and a returned parcel costs you freight in both directions.
- A free-shipping threshold pays for itself only if the extra item it nudges carries more margin than the shipping you absorb.
Billed weight is the higher of two numbers
Every parcel has two weights:
- Dead weight: what the packed parcel weighs on a scale, box and filler included.
- Volumetric weight: how much space it takes in a van. Shiprocket's volumetric weight calculator uses length × width × height in centimetres divided by 5,000, and says the courier charges on whichever is higher.
Shiprocket's weight terminology page calls this the "applied weight", notes that 5,000 is the factor for most of its courier partners (it can vary), and sets 0.5 kg as the minimum. Delhivery's help page uses the same ÷ 5,000 for both surface and express.
Delhivery adds two details worth knowing if you ship with it directly. Parcels packed in flyers (plastic mailers) are charged only on dead weight up to 1 kg. And at manifest it uses dead weight as-is for parcels under 1 kg, switching to the higher of the two above that. Aggregators and couriers each have their own rules, so check the one in your account rather than assuming.
Slabs: why 0.6 kg costs the same as 1 kg
Indian rate cards price the first 0.5 kg, then each additional 0.5 kg. Shiprocket's public rate card lists exactly that for its standard courier options: a base rate and an "Additional 0.5Kg" rate. Your billed weight is rounded up to the next slab, so a 0.6 kg parcel pays for two.
Worked example: the cushion-cover box
| Step | Calculation | Result |
|---|---|---|
| Dead weight | Scale reading | 0.6 kg |
| Volumetric weight | 30 × 25 × 10 = 7,500 ÷ 5,000 | 1.5 kg |
| Billed weight | Higher of the two | 1.5 kg |
| Slabs | 1.5 ÷ 0.5 | 3 slabs (first + 2 additional) |
You pay for two and a half times the weight you are actually sending. Hold that thought; it comes back when we change the box.
Zones: where the parcel goes
Couriers group PIN-code pairs into zones, and both forward and return freight depend on the zone. Shiprocket's zone explainer (last updated December 2022, still the naming its rate card uses) defines five:
| Zone | Shiprocket's definition |
|---|---|
| A: Within city | Pickup and delivery PIN codes in the same city |
| B: Within state/region | Both PIN codes in the same state or region |
| C: Metro to metro | Both PIN codes in metro cities |
| D: Rest of India | Anywhere else in India, excluding the North East and J&K |
| E: Special | One or both ends in the North East states, J&K, Kerala or Himachal Pradesh |
For a seller in Jaipur, a buyer in Jaipur is Zone A, Udaipur is Zone B, Pune is Zone D and Guwahati is Zone E. Most small stores ship the majority of orders in B, C and D.
What it actually costs
Shiprocket publishes its rate card per plan. These are the figures for Delhivery Surface on the free Lite plan, read from Shiprocket's rate card on 19 October 2026. Shiprocket's support pages quote plan rates exclusive of GST, so add GST to every number below. Paid plans (₹199, ₹499 and ₹799 a month on Shiprocket's pricing page) cost less per parcel.
| Delhivery Surface, Lite plan | Zone A | Zone B | Zone C | Zone D | Zone E |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| First 0.5 kg | ₹51 | ₹57 | ₹66 | ₹71 | ₹103 |
| Each additional 0.5 kg | ₹48 | ₹56 | ₹63 | ₹66 | ₹97 |
| RTO, first 0.5 kg | ₹51 | ₹57 | ₹66 | ₹71 | ₹103 |
| COD fee | ₹52 or 3.3% of order value, whichever is higher |
Other couriers on the same card sit close by. Xpressbees Surface, for instance, starts at ₹45 in Zone A and ₹97 in Zone E. Rates change often, so treat these as a snapshot and recheck before you set prices.
Same product, smaller box
Now repack the 0.6 kg cushion cover. Here is what the three-slab box costs against a 25 × 20 × 8 cm box (4,000 ÷ 5,000 = 0.8 kg volumetric, billed as 1 kg) and against a product light enough to stay inside one slab in a mailer.
| Packing | Billed weight | Zone A | Zone B | Zone C | Zone D | Zone E |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 30 × 25 × 10 cm box, 0.6 kg | 1.5 kg | ₹147 | ₹169 | ₹192 | ₹203 | ₹297 |
| 25 × 20 × 8 cm box, 0.6 kg | 1 kg | ₹99 | ₹113 | ₹129 | ₹137 | ₹200 |
| Saving per order | ₹48 | ₹56 | ₹63 | ₹66 | ₹97 | |
| Mailer, product under 0.5 kg | 0.5 kg | ₹51 | ₹57 | ₹66 | ₹71 | ₹103 |
Delhivery Surface, Shiprocket Lite plan, before GST. At 300 orders a month mostly in Zones B to D, the smaller box alone is worth roughly ₹17,000 to ₹20,000 a month. No marketing change you make this week will do that.
COD fees and RTO: the costs that hide
Shiprocket's COD charges article says the fee is a fixed COD charge or a percentage of the order value, whichever is higher. With Delhivery Surface on Lite at ₹52 or 3.3%, the flat ₹52 applies to every COD order below about ₹1,576. On a ₹600 order that is almost 9% of the sale.
Return to origin is worse. When a COD buyer refuses the parcel, you pay freight out and freight back. The rate card lists RTO freight for the first slab at the same price as forward freight, and Shiprocket's passbook explainer says the COD fee is reversed when a shipment goes RTO. A 0.5 kg Zone D refusal therefore costs ₹142 plus GST, for no sale.
Spread those costs across the orders that do get delivered. Say 30 of every 100 orders are COD and 1 in 5 of those comes back (an example, not a benchmark), with an average forward rate of ₹63:
- 6 returns × ₹126 (out and back) = ₹756, spread over 94 delivered orders = about ₹8 each
- 24 delivered COD orders × ₹52 = ₹1,248, spread over 94 orders = about ₹13 each
- Real cost per delivered order: ₹63 + ₹8 + ₹13 = about ₹84 before GST
Our cash on delivery guide covers how to cut fake COD orders. For pricing, the lesson is simpler: budget for the ₹84, not the ₹63.
Flat rate or free shipping above a threshold?
Take a store with a ₹750 average order, a 50% gross margin (₹375 per order before shipping) and parcels that stay under 0.5 kg. Using a typical zone mix (20% A, 30% B, 20% C, 25% D, 5% E), Delhivery Surface on Lite averages about ₹63 a parcel before GST. Call it ₹75 per order once GST and a little COD and RTO leakage are included.
| Policy | Buyer pays | You absorb | Margin left on a ₹750 order |
|---|---|---|---|
| Flat ₹79 on every order | ₹79 | ₹0 | ₹375 |
| Flat ₹49 on every order | ₹49 | ₹26 | ₹349 |
| Free above ₹999, ₹79 below | ₹79 below, ₹0 above | ₹0 below, ₹75 above | ₹375 (₹450 on a ₹1,050 order) |
| Free above ₹499 | ₹0 on most orders | ₹75 | ₹300 |
| Free on everything | ₹0 | ₹75 | ₹300 |
A ₹499 threshold on a ₹750 average order is the same as free shipping for everyone: it costs you ₹75 an order and changes nobody's basket. A threshold earns its keep when it sits a little above your current average, so buyers add one more item to reach it.
The test: the margin on the extra item has to exceed the shipping you give away. If a buyer at ₹750 adds a ₹300 item to cross ₹999, that item brings ₹150 of margin at 50%, comfortably more than the ₹75 you absorb. If your add-on items are ₹99 accessories at 30% margin, the threshold loses money and a modest flat fee is the better deal.
Two practical rules. If you ship heavy or bulky goods to Zones D and E often, do not offer free shipping everywhere; charge by zone or set the threshold higher. And if you sell outside India, keep a separate international rate; domestic maths does not carry over.
Packaging that cuts volumetric weight
- Measure the packed parcel, not the product. The 2 cm of bubble wrap on every side adds 4 cm to each dimension.
- Stock three or four box sizes instead of one "fits everything" carton. The table above shows what one size down is worth.
- Use mailers for soft goods. Clothing, cushion covers and fabric ship well in poly or paper mailers, and Delhivery charges flyers on dead weight up to 1 kg.
- Fold and flatten. A kurta folded into thirds in a 25 × 20 cm mailer bills less than the same kurta laid flat in a shirt box.
- Cut filler before you cut quality. Empty space you fill with paper is space you pay for.
- Know when it does not matter. If your product is dense (pickle jars, books, ceramic mugs), dead weight already decides the bill and box tweaks save little. Focus on zones and COD instead.
If you are still deciding between an aggregator and doing local deliveries yourself, we compared the two in Shiprocket vs local pickup.
How this works in Selzix
In Selzix you set domestic delivery charges as a flat fee, free delivery, or free above an order value, or as distance-based rates in three tiers worked out from your pickup PIN code: local (same first three PIN digits), the rest of your state, and the rest of India. There is no separate tier for special zones like the North-East, so build that cost into your rest-of-India rate. International orders get a separate rate, or you can sell domestically only.
Indian stores can connect Shiprocket or Delhivery to create labels, book pickups and track shipments. You can also use any other courier and add its tracking number to the order, and buyers follow progress on an order-tracking page. Courier charges are billed by the courier or aggregator, not Selzix, and Selzix does not calculate volumetric weight for you, so do the box maths above when setting your rates.
Frequently asked questions
Is the volumetric divisor always 5,000?
For most Indian couriers and aggregators, yes: Shiprocket and Delhivery both document L × B × H ÷ 5,000. Shiprocket notes the factor can vary by courier partner, so check the rate card or contract in your account.
Why was I charged more than the rate calculator showed?
Usually a weight discrepancy: the courier measured a larger box or heavier parcel than you entered, so the parcel moved up a slab. Check the charged weight in your aggregator's weight reconciliation section and dispute it with photos if your figures were right.
Should I pass the COD fee on to the buyer?
Many sellers add a small COD fee or offer a prepaid discount, because the courier's fixed COD charge (₹52 on the plan above) is a large slice of a low-value order. Whatever you choose, include COD and RTO in your shipping budget.
Do higher Shiprocket plans really save money?
Per-parcel rates fall on paid plans, which cost ₹199 to ₹799 a month. Shiprocket also refunds the plan fee if you hit a monthly shipment target (100, 500 or 1,000 shipments depending on the plan). Compare the per-parcel saving times your monthly volume against the fee.
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