When it comes to international shipping these are some terms that we commonly come across.
This can often be often confusing. But don’t we worry. We’ll make it simple for you. Standard and express shipping are two of the most popular shipping options offered by international courier companies like Shipbuz. Let’s try to understand the difference between these two.
Standard shipping
Standard shipping also known as regular shipping or economy shipping does not include shipping overnight or any special provisions to deliver fast. It is suitable for less urgent, heavy packages. It is a time-definite delivery solution that enables you to ship and send packages around the world at more economical rates than express. In simple words it’s a shipping option that’s slower and cheaper than express. It is very suitable for sending consignments that are not time critical. It’s a popular shipping option among price sensitive customers.Despite being cheaper it still offers some features similar to that of express like predefined delivery times, end to end tracking etc…
Key features:
- In expensive
- Affordable way to internationally ship bulky items
- Tracking
- Door to door delivery
Express shipping
Express shipping is the right choice when you need to send your packages as quickly as possible. With express shipping, you can ship and send your packages, large or small, to anywhere in the world.
It refers to expedited shipping. Consignments booked under express shipping are delivered at very short time frames. It ensures time bound delivery with real-time tracking. It’s very suitable for sending consignments that are time sensitive and or valuable in nature. For example express shipping option offered by leading global carriers ensured safe and timely delivery of covid-19 vaccines around the globe.Speed and cost are two important features that differentiate between express and standard. Express is faster and more expensive than standard shipping shipping. Packages booked under express are delivered on or before the specified delivery time. Most other features remain more or less same.
Key features
- Online shipping and real-time tracking updates
- Proof of delivery
- Delivery notifications
- Customs clearance and a wide range of non-standard export and clearance services
“Speed and cost are two important features that differentiate between express and standard shipping. Express is faster and more expensive than standard shipping. Packages booked under express are delivered on or before the specified delivery time. Most other features remain more or less same”
Now that we understood the difference between the two let’s do a quick comparison between the two:
| Standard | Express | |
| *Speed (from India) | 4 to 12Business days | 3 to 5Business days |
| Cost | Low | Comparatively expensive |
| End to end tracking | Yes | Yes |
| Mode of transit | By air | By air |
| Duties and taxes shouldered by | Receiver | Receiver |
| Door to door delivery | Yes | Yes |
| Documentation support | Yes | Yes |
| Customs clearance | Yes | Yes |
| Proof of delivery | Yes | Yes |
*Under normal circumstances to most countries. Actual delivery time depends on destination.
Conclusion
Now that we know the difference between the two we should now be able to decide which type of service to choose from depending on your budget, what you are sending, how fast you want the delivery. For sending personal packages we recommend standard shipping if the package is bulky. For smaller packages like say for e.g. 1kg we suggest using express. The same logic applies to commercial shipments as well. In other words if you don’t want an urgent delivery and your package is bulky and if you are looking at saving some money then standard is what you should be going for. For faster delivery go with express.