Comparing Evri vs Royal Mail for UK Shipping

With Evri and Royal Mail processing millions of parcels daily, it is no wonder the two companies are well known in the UK. With both being established brands, there is often an instinctive reaction when getting the notification your parcel is out for delivery with the particular company. But is Royal Mail more reliable than Evri? How do the prices compare for both companies? 

As a business owner you know how many crucial factors there are to get right to run a successful business. With delivery satisfaction being more important than ever to encouraging returning customers, when it comes to choosing the right carrier for your business, there are a few things to consider before you sign on the dotted line. 

In this guide:

• Royal Mail Services

• How much does it cost to send with Royal Mail? 

• Evri Services

• Returns

• Parcel size and weight restrictions 

• How much does it cost to send with Evri? 

• Is Royal Mail or Evri faster? 

• How do prices compare between Royal Mail and Evri? 

• Shipping with more than one carrier 

Let’s look a bit closer at Royal Mail and Evri before drawing direct comparisons later on. 

Royal Mail 

Whether it’s sending letters to family members at Christmas or ordering new beauty products, customers in the UK have been waiting for post to arrive from the Royal Mail for centuries. 

Priding themselves on excellent delivery and a variety of options to suit every business and customer, Royal Mail offer a number of delivery options to choose from. 

Services they offer

Compared to Evri or other couriers, Royal Mail has a number of service options spanning 1-2 day to Next Working Day. 

As a business you can choose from sending your parcel through Guaranteed, Tracked, Standard delivery options, and even by set times (e.g. by 9am or 1pm the next day). Have something important to send? You can select Signed-Upon Delivery and Tracked so not only can you see where the parcel has got to, you can ensure someone at the customer’s end will be home to sign for it. For any age-related parcels such as medicine or alcohol, you can also select ID verification to ensure the right package arrives in the right hands. 

With a few different options available, the best service for you will depend on the weight and size of the parcel and when you need it to arrive. 

For example, if you want to send a high volume of parcels, 24 and 28 might be your best option. If you have a special item on its way to your customer, then selecting Special Delivery Guaranteed will be a better choice. 

It all depends on what you and your customer prefer, for example - there may be end-to-end tracking and notifications in some services but they might not require a signature on receipt. It all depends on what you are sending and when it needs to arrive to your customer. 

For a top level guide to services and the weights, and delivery timeframe, check out our table below: 

How much does it cost to send with Royal Mail? 

As we mentioned earlier, the cost of sending a parcel will depend on the size, type of parcel (e.g. a letter or a parcel), and how much it weighs. 

For a rough idea of costs, the following table can help you see how much the various services start from price-wise, as stated on the Royal Mail website. 

For more information on Royal Mail for business, head to their website. 

*Prices accurate as of August 2024 

Evri

Evri, formerly known as Hermes, is one of the UK’s most recognised delivery services. Processing up to 3.7 million parcels a day, Evri claims to have successfully delivered 700 million parcels in 2023, over 220 countries and territories. 

Whether it’s collecting from businesses, homes, workplaces, lockers or ParcelShops, Evri offers a 24/7, 7-day-a-week service for customers. 

Services they offer

Evri has many long-term partnerships with UK retail brands, and they have services to provide your business too. 

There are two delivery options available: Standard Delivery and Next Day Delivery. 

Standard Delivery usually takes 2-4 days for parcels to arrive at the customer’s address and Next Day requires parcels to be dropped off at a Locker or ParcelShop between 12 noon. For a different price, weekend deliveries are also available. For more specific details, you can fill in your parcel details for a quote on their website. 

Weekend delivery options are available via:

1. ParcelShops - open 7 days a week, customers can collect and return their parcels.

2. Lockers - 24/7 - you can drop off whenever it suits you.

3. Couriers - working 7 days a week, you can book in parcel collections on Saturdays from nearly every address in the UK. Do note though, this option is not available on Sundays.

Returns 

Whilst you do your best to ensure customers do not want to return their order, in the likelihood that they do, they can take parcels to a ParcelShop or Locker, and arrange a courier collection via the Evri website or app. Using a printer or a QR code (ideal for customers who no longer have printers at home), the parcel will be on its way back to your warehouse or distribution centre within 24 and 48 hours. They also receive notifications of when the parcel has been picked up, before it reaches you. 

With a growing out-of-home network in the UK, there are 8,500+ Evri ParcelShops and Lockers, open 7 days a week. Evri also claims that 80% of the population are a 10-minute walk away from a ParcelShop or Locker - making it easier for collecting and returning. 

Evri parcel weight and height limits 

Parcels sent via Evri must weigh up to 15kg maximum. Prices for delivery are based on the parcel’s weight so choosing the right weight for your parcel is key. Choose from:

Postable parcels (under 1kg and can go through a letterbox) 

• 1-2kg

• 2-5kg

• 5-10kg

• 10-15kg 

For postable parcels and large letters (anything that can fit through a letterbox), they can measure:

• Up to 35cm long

• Up to 23cm wide

• Between 1 and 3cm deep

• Weigh between 250g and 1kg 

If you are using a ParcelShop or Courier service, the maximum length is 120cm, and if you’re using a Locker, the limit is 66cm x 41cm x 38cm 

How much does it cost? 

Sending a parcel with Evri starts at £2.62 and Next Day Delivery starts at £3.20. The full price of sending your parcel depends on:

1. The weight and size of your parcel 

2. How fast you want your delivery to reach your customer 

*Pricing accurate as of August 2024 

Royal Mail vs Evri 

Royal Mail has often had a strong reputation for sending parcels in the UK, though there were delays and limited services due to strikes in 2022. Evri, formerly known as Hermes, has had more of a negative reputation over the years - while some local drivers are hailed in their communities, on a wider scale, customers have complaints around missed, lost, or damaged parcels. Moving to Evri in their rebrand is one of the company’s ways of trying to improve services. 

Is Royal Mail or Evri faster? 

The speed of the delivery depends on the route from your business to your customer’s address, however both companies offer fast courier services within the UK. 

The next-day service offered by Royal Mail guarantees a delivery timeframe, and Royal Mail Guaranteed means parcels can arrive in 1 working day, by 1pm, unlike Evri, but the cost for this feature is much higher than Evri’s alternatives. 

With so many post boxes and offices around the UK, Royal Mail might be a more popular choice for some customers and businesses alike - a lot of which comes down to personal preference. 

How do prices compare between Royal Mail and Evri? 

With regards to finding the best solution for your business, assessing the different services and the prices of using each service can help speed up the decision-making process. 

Evri pricing and Royal Mail Pricing: Pricing accurate as of August 2024 

Shipping with more than one carrier

If you are at this point in this guide and are wondering about using two different types of carrier, then buying shipping labels with Veeqo can help! If for example you wanted to ship parcels with both Evri and Royal Mail, automated shipping can help speed up the process and help keep track of your deliveries. You can buy up to 100 shipping labels in one click, keep customers informed, or even split your order into several parcels without any hassle. 

Choosing between Evri and Royal Mail really comes down to finding the best option for the volume, average weight, and speed in which your parcels need to go from you to your customer. Hopefully this guide has given you some first steps to help decide which would be best. And if you still can’t decide between the two? Our Rate Shopping Feature is always here to help you deliver via a number of your preferred shipping carriers. 

Sign-up to Veeqo today, for free, and gain access to discounted shipping rates and multichannel inventory management software.