Carriers bill for the space a parcel takes up as well as for what it weighs. Enter the size and weight of your parcels: the calculator gives their volumetric weight, the chargeable weight (the greater of the two, rounded up as the carrier does) and the workings. The rules in DHL Express’s 2026 Service & Rate Guide for the UK are built in; for another carrier, enter the divisor or density in its terms.
Measure your parcels
Enter the length, width and height in centimetres, packaging included, as the parcel will be handed to the carrier, then its weight on the scales. For several parcels of the same size, give how many; for different sizes, add a line. With no actual weight, a parcel counts at its volumetric weight.
Choose the carrier’s rule
With DHL Express Worldwide or DHL Economy Select, each piece’s volumetric weight is length × height × width in centimetres ÷ 5,000, and, under DHL’s terms of carriage, each piece is billed on the greater of its actual and volumetric weight, rounded up as the 2026 guide says. For another carrier or a negotiated contract, choose “Other divisor”: enter the divisor (cm³ per kg) or density (kg per m³) in its terms, say whether weights are compared piece by piece or for the whole shipment, and choose the rounding.
Read and keep the result
The chargeable weight leads, followed by the volume, the volumetric weight, the actual weight and which of the two is greater. With a DHL rule, a piece over 70 kg (actual or volumetric) or with a longest side over 100 cm or a second-longest side over 80 cm is flagged, as DHL adds a surcharge. Copy the result, export it as a CSV file or save it to Priostack.
Volumetric weight (kg) = length × width × height (cm) ÷ divisor.
Chargeable weight of a piece = the greater of its actual and volumetric weight, rounded up under the carrier’s rule.
A density of D kg per m³ is the same as a divisor of 1,000,000 ÷ D: 200 kg per m³ is 5,000, and 250 kg per m³ is 4,000.
Example: three 60 × 40 × 40 cm boxes with DHL Express Worldwide
Each box weighs 6 kg but takes up 96,000 cm³: 96,000 ÷ 5,000 = 19.2 kg of volumetric weight, rounded up to 19.5 kg per piece, so 58.5 kg for the three. Above 30 kg the shipment is rounded up to the next whole kilogram: 59 kg. The scales say 18 kg, so 41 kg is billed on top of the actual weight.
