Courier companies
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What is Parcel Monkey?
Parcel Monkey is the easy to use price comparison website for sending packages in the US and overseas.
Our clever shipping calculator will give you an instant quote to ship your package, help you find discounted rates with top couriers and compare prices to find the best deals.
Why use us?
Choosing a courier company to ship your package can be a daunting and confusing experience, especially if you don't ship regularly.
If you've got a package to send, a quick Google search will give you multiple package shipping companies to choose from, all offering similar but slightly different services, with names like Ground, Standard, Flatrate and Expedited. If you're not familiar with shipping it can be hard to know what type of courier service you need and which courier company you should trust with your package.
To help you make a decision, this page covers everything you need to know about courier companies. Just click the link to go to a specific section.
What is a courier?
A courier company is a logistics business that delivers packages and documents from one place to another.
Unlike state-operated post offices, companies that offer courier delivery services are usually privately-owned and offer more competitive services, such as- door-to-door package delivery seven days a week, same day and overnight services and some even boast 24/7 services.
Most couriers will also offer fully tracked international package delivery services to a wide range of global destinations.
US courier companies
If you're sending a package in the US or from the US overseas, there are three main courier brands you may be familiar with: UPS, FedEx and USPS. These three logistics giants dominate the US courier and parcel market, with UPS taking the crown as the most commonly used courier in the US.
Out of the three, UPS is the biggest and in 2021 generated a revenue of over 97.2 billion U.S dollars, an increase of 15% from 2020. UPS's closest rival is FedEx with a revenue of $84 billion in 2021. The USPS claimed a revenue of $77bn.
When it comes to shipping a package, there isn't a significant difference between UPS and FedEx, although UPS is often favored for its low-cost ground services for shipping heavy items. Both shipping companies offer an excellent range of fully tracked delivery services for individuals sending domestic and international packages, along with specialist freight services for businesses shipping large volumes.
If you're looking for an express courier to ship internationally from the US, the other name you may come across is DHL. Although DHL is a German logistics company, it was founded in the US and still has a big presence in the US parcel market. Renowned for its international shipping expertise and express delivery times, DHL is often the courier of choice for businesses and individuals needing to send packages overseas.
For more information on courier companies in the US, follow the links below.
US freight forwarders
Freight forwarders and couriers operate very differently, however when you book a freight forwarding service through Parcel Monkey you'll be unlikely to tell the difference.
Unlike a courier, freight forwarders don't carry out any deliveries themselves, they act as an intermediary working with a variety of shipping partners to negotiate the best rates.
At Parcel Monkey, we work with a number of freight forwarders which enable us to offer our customers super-low prices for international shipping. In fact, some of our cheapest international delivery services are offered by Asendia and Pitney Bowes, both of which are freight forwarders.
For more information on Asendia and Pitney Bowes, follow the links below.
Courier companies in Europe
FedEx and UPS are global courier companies and both have hubs in Europe, however, if you need to send a package in Europe or import an item from Europe to the US, there are a number of other courier brands you could explore.
DHL, with its German heritage, is one of the more obvious choices and offers package delivery services throughout Europe and the rest of the world, but there are some other big players too.
In France, the La Poste Groupe includes the local postal service in France, as well as DPD, Colissimo and Chronopost, all well-known courier brands for shipping packages throughout France and the rest of Europe.
For importing items from the UK, one of the UK's most popular couriers is Parcelforce. Parcelforce Worldwide is a trading name of Royal Mail (the UK postal service) and offers international and domestic parcel delivery services for both large and small items.
For more information on courier companies in Europe, follow the links below.
Couriers outside the US and Europe
Most of the big couriers that are active in the US and Europe, also operate globally, however, some destinations will have one or two other brands which are more prevalent.
Aramex, for example, has headquarters in Dubai and is widely recognised in the UAE for shipping in the Middle East. In Australia, Australia Post is one of the leading delivery services, like the United States Postal Service in the USA.
Choosing a courier company that has a well-established network in the country you're shipping to will help keep costs down and reduce delivery times, particularly if you're shipping to a remote location or an island.
If you want to find out which courier companies operate in a specific country, try getting a quote through our shipping calculator. Simply enter the country you're shipping from and to, along with the weight of your package and we'll show you a list of couriers that ship to that destination.
You can find out more about some of the courier companies outside the US and Europe by clicking the links below.
