Chargeable Weight Calculator
Actual against volumetric, and which one you pay.
Calculate chargeable weight for air, express and road freight: the greater of actual and volumetric weight, with the density that decides which applies.
Identical cartons. For a mixed load, run each size and add the results.
Total for all cartons, including packaging and the pallet if it ships on one.
Chargeable weight
80.0 kg
billed on volume
Divisors are the published conventions rather than quotes. Confirm the one in your carrier's tariff, some contracts negotiate it.
How the Chargeable Weight Calculator works
Carriers sell space, not mass, so they bill whichever is greater: what the shipment weighs or what the space it occupies would weigh at a standard density. For anything light and bulky the second number wins, often by a multiple, and a shipper quoting on scale weight alone is quoting on a figure the carrier will never use.
Also known as: volumetric weight calculator · dim weight calculator · billable weight calculator
Not financial advice. Marketplace fees change, and they vary by country, plan and seller status. Every rate here is an editable default, not a quoted price, check the platform's current fee schedule before you price a product against it. This is not tax or business advice.
Frequently asked questions
What is chargeable weight?
The greater of actual gross weight and volumetric weight. Volumetric weight is the volume divided by the carrier's divisor: 6,000 cm³ per kg for IATA air freight, 5,000 for international express, around 3,000 for European road groupage.
Why is my shipment charged at more than it weighs?
Because it is less dense than the divisor assumes. The IATA 6,000 divisor implies 167 kg per cubic metre. A pallet of cushions at 60 kg per cubic metre occupies nearly three times the space its weight would pay for, so the volume is billed instead.
What density do I need to avoid volumetric charging?
At or above the divisor's implied density: 167 kg/m³ for air, 200 kg/m³ for express, 333 kg/m³ for road. Below that the volume is billed. This calculator shows your actual density next to the threshold so you can see how far off you are.
Is sea freight charged the same way?
No. Sea LCL uses revenue tons, the greater of the cubic metres and the metric tonnes, so one cubic metre and one tonne are treated as the same billable unit. That works out to a 1,000 kg/m³ threshold, far denser than any air divisor.
Put this calculator on your own site
Free to use, on any site, commercial or not. Paste this where you want it to appear. It is a plain iframe, so it works in WordPress, Squarespace, Wix, Webflow, Ghost and anything else that accepts HTML.
<iframe src="https://www.thecalclibrary.com/embed/chargeable-weight-calculator" width="100%" height="640" style="border:1px solid #e2e8f0;border-radius:12px" loading="lazy" title="Chargeable Weight Calculator"></iframe>The only condition is that the credit line stays visible. It sits inside the frame, so you do not have to do anything to keep it.