Volumetric Weight Calculator — find your chargeable weight
Enter your parcel's length, breadth, height and dead weight to see the volumetric weight and the chargeable weight couriers actually bill you on. Free, no login.
Volumetric weight = (L × B × H) ÷ divisor. Most Indian couriers use 5000 for surface; a few express/air lanes use a stricter 4500. You're charged on the higher of dead weight and volumetric weight.
Couriers bill the chargeable weight, then round up to the next 0.5 kg slab.
Get your custom rate cardThe volumetric weight formula
Volumetric weight = (length × breadth × height) ÷ divisor, with all dimensions in centimetres. Most Indian couriers use a divisor of 5000 for surface shipments; a few air and express services apply a stricter 4500. So a 30 × 20 × 10 cm carton works out to (30 × 20 × 10) ÷ 5000 = 1.2 kg of volumetric weight, regardless of what it weighs on the scale.
Why couriers charge on volume, not just weight
A delivery van or aircraft runs out of space long before it runs out of payload. A light but bulky parcel — think cushions, empty bottles, foam — consumes cube that could have carried denser, higher-paying freight. To price that fairly, couriers bill the higher of dead weight and volumetric weight and round up to the next 0.5 kg slab. Once you know your chargeable weight, RouteOneX ships it on the best-value courier for that weight and pincode — and you can trim wasted air by using a snugger box.
Questions about this tool
Volumetric (dimensional) weight converts a parcel's size into a weight. It's calculated as length × breadth × height (in cm) ÷ a divisor — 5000 for most Indian surface shipments. A large but light box takes up truck or aircraft space it doesn't pay for by dead weight alone, so couriers charge on volume instead.
Couriers compare your parcel's actual (dead) weight on the scale with its volumetric weight and bill you on whichever is higher. That figure is the chargeable weight, and it's usually rounded up to the next 0.5 kg slab.
Vehicle and aircraft capacity is limited by space as much as by mass. A 30×20×10 cm carton of pillows weighs little but fills a lot of cube, so pricing purely by dead weight would let bulky-light parcels ship almost free. Volumetric weight keeps pricing fair to the space consumed.
For surface shipments across most Indian couriers, yes — 5000. Some air or express lanes apply a stricter 4500, which raises the volumetric figure. Use the toggle to see both, and confirm the divisor on your rate card.
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