An Post vs couriers: which is cheaper, by weight

That is the whole answer, and it is more useful than the version most pages give, which is that one is cheaper than the other. Neither is. The crossover sits between a packet and a parcel, and once you know which of the two you are holding, the decision makes itself.

Cheapest courier price we hold for a parcel sent within Ireland, against An Post’s published counter price for a parcel of that weight. A positive difference means the courier is cheaper.

Courier prices from our weekly market check, run Friday, 14 August. An Post prices are the standard rates published on anpost.com, on the card effective 3 February 2026 and read 14 August 2026. The two columns move on different clocks, so both dates are on the page.

The gap is widest at 15 kg: €11.85 from GLS against An Post’s €16.00, a difference of €4.15 on a single parcel.

Most people comparing An Post with a courier are comparing the wrong An Post product. An Post prices small flat items as packets, and packets are where it is unbeatable.

Packet rates and size rules from anpost.com, read 14 August 2026.

An Post standard post stops at 20 kg. Couriers do not. We hold prices at 25 kg, 30 kg, where An Post has no product at all and the comparison is not a comparison, it is the only option. The heaviest band we price within Ireland comes in at €15.85.

There is also a shape ceiling that catches people out before the weight one does: length up to 1.5 m, and length plus girth up to 3 m, where girth is twice the depth plus twice the width. The size limits, and what each weight band actually fits.

Worth knowing before you compare anything. An Post services turn up in our check because partner booking sites resell them, and those resold prices are not the same as the price on the wall in the post office.

At every band where we hold both, the resold price is above the counter price. So if you have decided on An Post, walk in with the parcel. Booking An Post through a comparison, ours included, is the dearer way to buy it.

Prices from our weekly market check, run Friday, 14 August.

An Post is quoted on 20 of the 30 destinations we price. It is worth knowing which, because on the lanes it does not cover the comparison is between couriers only.

No An Post price came back in the last check for Northern Ireland, United Kingdom, France, United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, China, Japan, United Arab Emirates. On those lanes every price on this site is a courier price.

That includes the two busiest lanes out of the country. If you are posting to Britain, An Post carries it, but not through the booking sites we check, so compare the counter price yourself against the courier prices we hold for the UK.

Prices from our weekly market check, run Friday, 14 August.

Price is not the only axis, and three of these matter more than a euro or two.

A counter, in every town

No booking, no printer, no collection window to be in for. You walk in with the parcel and walk out without it. For one parcel, occasionally, that is worth more than the saving.

Northern Ireland at domestic rates

An Post prices Northern Ireland in the same zone as the Republic, and no customs declaration is needed either way. Courier prices to Northern Ireland are worth comparing against that, particularly on anything light.

No printer, no problem

Most cheap courier prices assume you will print a label at home. Where that is not possible, the counter is not competing with the cheapest online price, it is competing with the cheapest one you can actually use. Within Ireland at 2 kg, the cheapest service we hold that does not need a printer is €8.85 with GLS, GLS Euro Parcel.

Every domestic price we hold or the cheapest way to send a parcel in Ireland.