There is no single cheapest way to move your things abroad. It depends on how much you are sending, how soon you need it, and where it is going. As a rule of thumb: for one or two cases you need soon, a door-to-door courier service or airline excess baggage usually makes most sense. For a lot of boxes and no rush, sea freight often wins on price. Air freight sits in between.
The best test is your own items. Our price page compares every option side by side for what you enter: our door-to-door services, sea freight where it is offered for larger shipments, and an estimate of what an airline would charge as excess baggage when you tell us your airline. Each comes with an all-in price for our charges. This guide explains how the options differ, so you can read those numbers sensibly.
The four options in plain terms
Door-to-door courier
Your cases or boxes are collected from your door and delivered to the door at the other end. On most door-to-door services, each item is priced on its chargeable weight: the real weight or the size-based weight (length x width x height in cm, divided by 5,000), whichever is higher, rounded up to the next 0.5 kg. So the price grows with every piece you add. It is the simplest option and usually the fastest of the ways to send things separately.
Air freight
Your boxes travel as cargo, usually grouped with other people's shipments. Air freight is often priced per shipment rather than per piece, with a minimum charge, and the service may end at an airport or a depot rather than your door. It is normally slower than a courier and much faster than sea.
Sea freight
Your boxes share space in a container with other shipments. Sea freight is mainly priced by volume, in cubic metres, usually with a minimum charge. It is slow, measured in weeks or months rather than days. It suits larger amounts because once you have paid the minimum, each extra box adds comparatively little. Always check what the price covers at the destination end, as port handling, customs clearance and final delivery can be charged separately.
Airline excess baggage
You pay your airline to check in extra bags or extra weight on your own flight. It arrives when you do and goes through customs with you as part of your baggage. Fees are set by the airline, often per bag or per kilo, they vary widely and they change. You also have to get the bags to the airport and handle them through it. Airlines usually price checked bags by number and weight, within size limits, rather than by a size-based weight formula.
Side by side
| Option | Speed | How the price builds | Best suited to | Door to door? | Makes sense when |
|---|
| Door-to-door courier | Fastest of the sent options: days rather than weeks on most routes | Per item, on chargeable weight. Each piece adds roughly its own price. | One to a few cases or boxes | Yes | You need things soon, have a few items, and want them collected |
| Air freight | Slower than courier, much faster than sea | Per shipment, on chargeable weight, often with a minimum charge | Several boxes | Often not. It may end at an airport or depot. | You have too much for courier pricing to suit, but cannot wait for sea |
| Sea freight | Weeks to months | Mainly by volume, with a minimum. High starting price, small cost per extra box. | Many boxes, larger loads | Varies. Check what is included. | You have a lot to send and no rush |
| Airline excess baggage | Arrives with you | Set by the airline, per bag or per kilo. Can climb quickly. | One or two extra bags within the airline's limits | No. Airport to airport, and you carry it. | You are flying anyway and need the things the moment you land |
Where sea freight starts to make sense
The two price patterns are what decide it. A courier price is close to a straight line: two cases cost roughly twice one case, five cost roughly five times. Sea freight starts with a bigger fixed chunk, the minimum charge and the handling at each end, and then each extra box adds a smaller amount.
So for one or two cases, a courier is nearly always cheaper. As the pile grows, the courier total keeps climbing at the same rate, while the sea total climbs slowly. At some point the lines cross. On long-haul routes, such as to Australia or New Zealand, that tends to happen once you are past a few large boxes. On short routes within Europe, road-based courier services are usually cheap enough that sea freight rarely wins for normal household amounts.
To get a feel for volume: a large suitcase of 78 x 52 x 31 cm takes up about 0.13 cubic metres. A large box of 65 x 50 x 45 cm takes up about 0.15. Two of either is roughly a quarter of a cubic metre. That same large suitcase has a size-based weight of 25.5 kg on a courier service, even if it weighs less. Our guide to size-based weight explains why.
Questions to ask before choosing sea freight
- Is it door to door, or does it end at a port or depot?
- Which destination charges are included, and which are extra?
- How long will it realistically take, door to door?
- Do the destination's customs rules need you to be in the country, or need forms before arrival? Our destination guides, such as sending belongings to Australia, cover this.
- What cover applies, and up to what limit?
How airline excess baggage compares
Excess baggage has real strengths. It arrives when you do, there is no separate collection to arrange, and it is ideal for the things you need on your first day. The catches are cost and effort. Fees can add up fast, especially per kilo on long-haul flights. Each bag has to stay within the airline's weight and size limits, and you have to lift, wheel and queue with it. It is worth checking whether your airline charges less for bags added in advance than at the airport.
Bags you check in on a flight follow passenger rules, which are not the same as the rules for things sent as cargo. Some items you can carry on a plane cannot be shipped at all. See dangerous goods you cannot send for why.
If you tell the price page which airline you are flying with, it shows an estimate of the excess baggage charge next to our own options. Airline fees change, so check your airline's own figure on the day you decide.
Costs that are easy to miss
- Import duty and taxes. These are set by the destination country and are not part of our price. Many countries give relief on used personal belongings when you move home, with conditions. For example, see moving to Spain, France or Ireland.
- Destination charges on freight. Port or airport handling, customs clearance and the last leg to your door.
- Size-based weight on courier services, which hits big, light items hardest.
- Getting to and from the airport with excess baggage or air freight.
- Boxes and packing materials.
- Cover. Loss or damage is covered only up to the limits our transport partner gives us on that route, shown before you book. On some routes there is no cover beyond your price back if we fail to take reasonable care. We do not sell insurance, but you can buy it directly from an insurer. See insuring belongings you ship.
A quick way to decide
- How much are you sending? One or two cases points to courier or excess baggage. Many boxes points to freight.
- How soon do you need it? If you need it on arrival, excess baggage. Within days, courier. Weeks or months is fine, sea.
- Can you carry it? If not, rule out excess baggage.
- Do you need it at your door? Check whether a freight option ends at a port, airport or depot.
- Split it if that helps. Essentials by courier or excess baggage, the rest by sea.
Questions people ask
It depends on the airline, the route, the weight and the size of the bag. A heavy, compact bag can be good value as excess baggage on some airlines and expensive on others. The price page puts an airline estimate next to our door-to-door prices, so you can compare for your own bags.
Can I use sea freight for just one suitcase?
You may find a service that takes it, but minimum charges usually make sea poor value for a single case. We offer sea freight for larger shipments where it is available on your route, and the price page shows it when it applies.
What if I need some things quickly and the rest can wait?
Split the shipment. Send what you need for the first weeks by courier or as excess baggage, and the rest by sea. Make one packing list for each shipment, so each one is clear about what is inside.
What to do next
Measure and weigh each case or box, then enter them on the price page with your destination and, if you like, your airline. You will see the options for your own items side by side.
