InPost lockers, Royal Mail and Evri compared on our checked prices: which service is cheapest for a flat item, a 2 kg parcel and a heavy box.
Updated 6 October 2026
Before you start
InPost lockers, Royal Mail and Evri compared on our checked prices: which service is cheapest for a flat item, a 2 kg parcel and a heavy box.
Prices checked 6 October 2026 against each courier's own price page. Every figure below is the published online price for a parcel you book yourself, without marketplace discounts, and none is a live quote. Couriers change prices, often in spring, so check the link before you buy a batch of labels.
The cheapest option depends on two numbers: how thick the parcel is and how much it weighs. Size sets the band, and weight sets the price inside it. Measure and weigh first, and the choice takes a minute.
Kit for this
The products this guide uses, with typical UK prices.
30 kg digital postal scale
Covers the parcels most home sellers ship, up to 30 kg. Choose it when the 40 kg scale is out of stock.
Typical price£12 to £20
See on Amazon
Grey mailing bags, 10 x 14 in, 100 pack
Self-seal poly bags add almost no weight, so a single garment posts as a small parcel. You can't see through the opaque grey film, and a label lies flat on it.
Typical price£8 to £13
See on Amazon
Royal Mail Click & Drop
Imports orders from eBay, Etsy and other marketplaces, buys postage and prints to a thermal printer. Use it for the orders where you choose the courier; the platform labels its own.
Typical priceFree
Visit site
Parcel2Go
Suits you if you post the odd bulky parcel, such as a pair of boxed trainers, and want to compare couriers before booking. You can choose a home collection or a drop-off shop, and its free Smart Send tool gathers orders from several marketplaces.
Typical priceCheck current pricing
Visit siteThe guide
Each step in the order you'll need it.
The short answer by parcel type
Flat and light, up to 25 mm thick and 750 g: Royal Mail 2nd Class Large Letter, from £1.55 to £2.70 by weight. A card in a rigid mailer or a pair of earrings in a padded envelope goes this way.
Folded clothes up to 8 cm deep: InPost locker to locker small, £1.99, as long as the buyer picks a locker. Shoe boxes up to 19 cm deep go InPost medium at £2.59.
A small parcel up to 2 kg sent to a home address: Royal Mail Tracked 48 at £3.75. Evri ParcelShop at £3.04 to £3.52 is a little cheaper, with tracking too, but scores lower for reliability (below).
Kit for this step
Our checked prices side by side
InPost locker to locker: small £1.99, medium £2.59, both tracked, up to 15 kg, sizes up to 64 × 38 × 8 cm and 64 × 38 × 19 cm.
Royal Mail: 2nd Class Large Letter £1.55 to £2.70, 1st Class Large Letter £3.20 to £3.30, Tracked 48 Large Letter £2.90, Tracked 48 Small Parcel £3.75, 2nd Class Small Parcel £4.40, Tracked 48 Medium Parcel £5.70 to £12.25 and 2nd Class Medium Parcel £7.00 to £13.70.
Evri small parcel from a ParcelShop: £3.04 to £3.52, tracked, up to 2 kg and 45 × 35 × 16 cm.
Tracked can cost less than untracked
On Royal Mail's online prices, a Tracked 48 Small Parcel at £3.75 undercuts 2nd Class Small Parcel at £4.40, and Tracked 48 Medium Parcel starts below 2nd Class Medium Parcel too. For parcels, check tracked prices before you assume untracked is cheaper.
Tracking also protects you. Vinted, eBay and Etsy all ask for proof of delivery when a buyer says a parcel never came. A tracked label under £4 costs less than most refunds.
Locker prices depend on the buyer
The InPost figures are locker to locker: you drop at a locker and the buyer collects from one. Send to a home address and the price goes up, so check the InPost app before you quote free postage.
On Vinted the buyer picks and pays for the carrier at checkout, so the choice of locker is theirs. Buy InPost yourself for eBay, Depop or direct sales where you set the postage.
Weight steps that catch you out
Royal Mail Large Letter prices step up by weight: the 2nd Class band runs from £1.55 to £2.70 across its weights up to 750 g. A padded envelope and a card backer can add 40 g, enough to cross a step.
Medium Parcel prices climb in steps up to 20 kg, from £5.70 tracked. Weigh the packed parcel on a scale with all its packaging, and round up.
Kit for this step
Heavy boxes over 2 kg
Royal Mail Tracked 48 Medium Parcel takes up to 20 kg and 61 × 46 × 46 cm. InPost lockers take up to 15 kg at a flat size price, which makes a heavy but compact box of books cheap by locker.
Past 20 kg, or longer than a locker or a Royal Mail medium parcel, you need a courier collection. A comparison site such as Parcel2Go shows several couriers' prices for one size and weight.
Kit for this step
Check reliability before saving 50p
Citizens Advice's 2025 parcel league table scored Royal Mail 3.25 out of 5 and Evri 2.25. Saving 30p on Evri can cost you a refund on a lost item, so pay the difference on anything you would struggle to replace.
Included cover differs too: InPost includes up to £50, Royal Mail and Evri up to £20. Above that, buy extra cover or Special Delivery.
Checklist
Run through it before each one goes out.
- 1Measure the packed parcel's thickness first
- 2Weigh the packed parcel with its packaging
- 3Under 25 mm and 750 g: Royal Mail Large Letter
- 4Locker buyer: InPost small or medium
- 5Home delivery up to 2 kg: compare Tracked 48 with Evri
- 6Over 20 kg: book a collection through a comparison site
Setups
Complete kits for one kind of seller, costed and laid out.
Questions
What is the cheapest way to send a parcel in the UK?
For folded clothes going locker to locker, InPost small at £1.99 on our 6 October 2026 check. For flat items under 25 mm thick, Royal Mail 2nd Class Large Letter from £1.55.
Is Evri cheaper than Royal Mail?
For a small parcel up to 2 kg, slightly: Evri ParcelShop costs £3.04 to £3.52 against £3.75 for Royal Mail Tracked 48. Royal Mail scored higher in Citizens Advice's 2025 league table.
Is 2nd Class cheaper than Tracked 48?
For Large Letters, yes. For Small Parcels, no: Tracked 48 at £3.75 cost less than 2nd Class at £4.40 when we checked Royal Mail's online prices.
Are these Post Office counter prices?
No. They are online prices for labels you buy yourself. Counter prices for the same service are often higher, so buy online and drop off.
How often do you check these prices?
The date at the top shows the last check. Royal Mail and the couriers publish price changes ahead of time, and we update the postage data when they do.
What is the cheapest way to post something heavy?
Up to 15 kg and locker sized, InPost charges by size alone. Up to 20 kg, Royal Mail Tracked 48 Medium Parcel. Heavier than that, compare courier collections.