How much will you actually pay to send a parcel abroad, and how long will it take for the parcel to reach the recipient?
A comparative analysis of prices and delivery times offered by postal service providers for cross-border parcel deliveries shows that offers can vary considerably between providers, and that the quoted price or estimated delivery time does not always match the actual experience. It is therefore advisable to check both the price and the estimated delivery time before posting a parcel.
These differences were clearly demonstrated in a practical test involving the dispatch of parcels weighing up to 2 kg from Ljubljana to Zagreb, which was carried out in April 2026. The cheapest service cost €11.50, and the parcel was delivered in just under a day. The fastest service delivered the parcel in less than two hours, but cost €248.88 – more than twenty times as much. With other providers, delivery usually took between around 20 hours and 2 days, whilst one of the cheapest options took as long as 6 days.
A comparison with the information obtained before dispatch also revealed discrepancies. In one instance, the actual price was lower than the quoted price (€11.50 instead of €15.01), whilst in another, the parcel took 6 days to arrive instead of the predicted 3 to 4 days.
It is therefore advisable to check the following before posting:
the final price including VAT and any additional charges,
the estimated delivery time and whether it is guaranteed,
whether the courier will collect the parcel from your address and when; some only collect it the day after the order is placed.
Compared with 2025, delivery times have mostly remained unchanged or have varied by approximately one day. Prices for the services analysed have risen by an average of 5.3 per cent, with the sharpest increase – 8.5 per cent – seen for the fastest delivery of parcels weighing up to 2 kg.
The analysis compares in more detail the prices and delivery times for parcels weighing up to 2 kg and up to 10 kg to eight destinations in Europe and around the world, from Berlin and Tallinn to Los Angeles and Singapore. For the Ljubljana–Zagreb route, it also allows for a direct comparison between the advertised service and the actual delivery performance.
