Royal Mail, InPost, DPD, UPS, DHL, Parcel2Go, Yodel and Evri side by side: drop-off, collection, tracking, weight limits, cover and which marketplaces sell their labels.
Side by side
In our order of preference. Each fact is checked on the courier’s own site; N/A means we couldn’t confirm it.
| 1Royal Mail3.25/5 | 2InPost | 3DPD2.25/5 | 4UPS | 5DHL Parcel UK | 6Parcel2Go | 7Yodel2/5 | 8Evri2.25/5 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hand it over at | Post officePostboxParcelShop | LockerParcelShop | ParcelShopLockerPost office | ParcelShopLocker | ParcelShop | ParcelShopLocker | LockerParcelShop | ParcelShopLocker |
| Home collection | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Tracking | Some services | All services | All services | All services | N/A | All services | N/A | All services |
| Heaviest parcel | 20 kg | 15 kg | 30 kg | 70 kg | 30 kg | N/A | N/A | 15 kg |
| Standard cover | Up to £20 | Up to £50 | Up to £50 | N/A | N/A | N/A | Up to £50 | Up to £20 |
| Large Letters | Yes | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | Yes | N/A | Yes |
| Labels sold by |    | | | | | N/A | |  |
Courier by courier
Who each one suits, and what to watch for, in our order of preference.
Royal Mail
Our pick #1
The only service here with a Large Letter band: up to 353 × 250 × 25 mm and 750 g, posted through a postbox slot. Parcels go up to 20 kg from a Post Office, a Collect+ store or a Customer Service Point. 1st and 2nd Class carry cover up to £20 but no tracking, so pay for a Tracked service on anything you can’t afford to lose.
Best for
- Trading cards, jewellery and other flat items sent as Large Letters
- Dropping prepaid items in a postbox on your way past
- Buyers on eBay, Etsy or Vinted who pick Royal Mail at checkout
Watch out for
- Standard 1st and 2nd Class have no tracking.
- Special Delivery items have to go over a Post Office counter.
InPost
Our pick #2
You buy a QR code in the InPost app, scan it at a locker and shut the door, with no printer involved. Price goes by size (small, medium or large), with a 15 kg limit and a largest compartment of 41 × 38 × 64 cm at lockers and InPost Shops. Cover to £50 is included, and you can upgrade it to £500 in the app.
Best for
- Vinted sellers without a label printer
- Dropping parcels off late at night or on a Sunday at a locker
- Light but bulky items, since size sets the price
Watch out for
- Measure the parcel before you buy the code: to change the compartment size, you cancel and rebuy in the app, because the locker can’t change it.
- Home collection runs through its partner service, InPost Direct, outside the main app.
DPD
Our pick #3
You book on DPD’s sending site, then drop the parcel at a DPD Pickup shop, a 24/7 locker or a Post Office counter in chosen branches, or pay for a driver to collect. Tracking comes with every parcel, and £50 cover is included, with extra cover up to £1,000. Collections take up to 30 kg.
Best for
- Vinted and eBay sellers who see DPD offered at checkout or in the label tool
- Heavier boxes up to 30 kg booked for collection from your door
Watch out for
- Drop-off points and lockers take 20 kg at most, so anything heavier needs a collection.
- A locker fits a box up to 37 × 68 × 55 cm, so measure before you walk there.
UPS
Our pick #4
UPS handles heavy boxes: its tariff runs to 70 kg a parcel, and you can schedule a collection from home on ups.com. Lighter parcels up to 20 kg can go to a UPS Access Point shop or locker instead. Every shipment gets free tracking.
Best for
- Heavy or boxed items like electronics and homeware
- eBay sellers comparing carriers in the label tool
Watch out for
- Access Points take parcels up to 20 kg and 97 cm long, so book a collection for anything bigger.
- Read UPS’s liability terms before posting anything valuable, and declare a higher value if you need it.
DHL Parcel UK
Our pick #5
DHL’s UK parcel arm (now DHL eCommerce UK) collects from your door or takes parcels at around 3,500 ServicePoint shops. Collections go up to 30 kg, ServicePoint drop-offs up to 15 kg. You choose a liability option when you book, so pick one that covers the item’s value.
Best for
- Parcels between 15 and 30 kg collected from home
- Importing eBay or Etsy orders into its Smart Send booking tool
Watch out for
- ServicePoints refuse anything over 15 kg.
- DHL’s terms leave you carrying the risk if your chosen liability option is below the item’s value.
Parcel2Go
Our pick #6
Parcel2Go is a booking site: you compare several couriers’ prices, book through it, and either the courier collects the parcel or you drop it off. Parcel2Go includes tracking free on its parcel services, and it books letter services too. The courier you pick sets the weight limit and the cover.
Best for
- Comparing courier prices for one awkward or heavy parcel
- Booking a home collection without opening accounts with each courier
Watch out for
- Your claim goes through Parcel2Go and the courier’s terms, so check the cover on the service before you pay.
- Marketplace orders booked here ship on the Parcel2Go label, so skip the platform’s own label.
Yodel
Our pick #7
Yodel now belongs to InPost, and its sending service runs as InPost Direct: the old Yodel Direct pages redirect there. You book online, then drop off at an InPost locker or shop, or have a driver collect from your door, with £50 cover on its door delivery services. eBay still lists Yodel as a carrier in its label tool.
Best for
- eBay sellers who see a Yodel label priced lowest in the label tool
- Booking a door-to-door collection for a few parcels at once
Watch out for
- Yodel’s branding is moving to InPost, so look for InPost lockers and shops.
- Check InPost Direct’s site for current weight limits before you book.
Evri
Our pick #8
A parcel courier you reach through ParcelShops in corner shops and supermarkets, Evri lockers, or a driver collecting from your door. Parcels go up to 15 kg with tracking, and cover up to £20 comes included. Its Postable service takes letterbox-sized packets up to 1 kg, but without that free cover.
Best for
- Clothing and soft parcels from Vinted and Depop sales
- Living nearer a ParcelShop than a post office
- Booking a courier to collect a pile of parcels from home
Watch out for
- Citizens Advice’s 2025 parcel league table scored Evri 2.25 out of 5, level with DPD and behind Royal Mail on 3.25, so track anything you can’t afford to lose.
- Postable parcels carry no compensation, even if the contents are worth more than £20.
- Anything worth more than £20 needs the paid full cover, up to £999.
