# Best parcel scales for posting from home

> Parcel and pocket scales ranked by how often they save a UK home seller from a postage surcharge, with the reason for each pick.

Weigh a parcel too light and you or the buyer can face a surcharge. Weigh it too heavy and you overpay for postage.

Two scales cover most of what you post: a platform scale for parcels and a pocket scale for letters and card mailers. The pocket scale costs about £8 to £14 and the 40 kg platform scale £15 to £25.

1. **[40 kg digital parcel scale](https://sellersetups.com/product/parcel-scale-40kg)** (£15 to £25): Weighs everything from a letter to a boxed pair of boots, with a display you can read under a box.
   - Good for: Most home sellers; Boxed trainers and bundles
   - Not for: Weighing a single card to the gram
2. **[500 g precision pocket scale](https://sellersetups.com/product/pocket-scale-500g)** (£8 to £14): For cards and small items that sit within a few grams of a postage limit.
   - Good for: Card mailers and letters; Items near a weight band
   - Not for: Anything over 500 g
3. **[30 kg digital postal scale](https://sellersetups.com/product/parcel-scale-30kg)** (£12 to £20): A cheaper platform scale for lighter parcels. Choose it if you want to spend less or the 40 kg one is out of stock. Stay with the 40 kg model if you post heavy boxes.
   - Good for: A cheaper platform scale; Lighter parcels
   - Not for: Heavy boxed items near its limit

## How we chose

- Accurate at the weights where postage bands change
- Display readable with a box on top
- Big enough platform for your usual parcel
- Price against the surcharges it helps you avoid

## Platform or pocket

A platform scale handles boxed trainers, bundles of clothes and anything up to its limit. A pocket scale reads to a tenth of a gram, so you can tell whether a card mailer sits a gram or two under a weight band.

Keep both if you post both: the pocket scale for Large Letters and the platform for parcels.

## Weighing before you buy postage

Weigh the packed parcel, with the label and tape on, before you buy postage. Boxes and bubble wrap add more weight than the item alone suggests.

Check the weight bands on the carrier’s current price guide. Royal Mail’s Large Letter limit is 750 g, for example.

## Keeping it accurate

Tare the scale on a flat surface and check it now and then with something of known weight, like an unopened bag of sugar.

Replace the batteries when the display dims, because the reading drifts on a weak battery.

## Questions

### Do I need parcel scales to sell online?

If you buy postage by weight, yes. If you guess, you risk paying too much or the carrier holding your parcel for underpaid postage.

### Is a kitchen scale good enough?

For small items, often. A platform scale takes parcels too big for a kitchen scale's bowl, and you can still read its display beside the box.

### What weight do I need to weigh up to?

Check your heaviest parcel. A 30 or 40 kg scale covers more than most parcels you post from home.

### Should I weigh with the label on?

Yes. The label and tape add weight too.

### Do I need a pocket scale for cards?

If you post lots of card mailers near a weight band, it helps. Otherwise the platform scale will do.

### How do I check my scale is accurate?

Weigh something with a known weight, like a sealed 1 kg bag of sugar, and compare.