Postal Providers and Their Services

Published: 10 December 2019

The European Commission’s website provides a transparent summary of the prices of parcel delivery services between the various European countries, offering a chance to compare the tariffs of the most popular European parcel delivery services. The website “Parcel Price Transparency Tool” is not merely intended for consumers, but can also be useful for SMEs, particularly in the peak period of Christmas gift orders. The link to the site is also available on the website of the National Media and Infocommunications Authority (NMHH)

The tariff comparison site provides the opportunity of comparing the parcel delivery prices of European Union countries, as well as Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway effective on 1 January by selecting the countries of origin and destination, with prices updated every year on 31 March. The website compares the public tariffs of the most frequently used weight categories, including half, one and two kilogram categories in the case of envelope parcels and one, two and five kilogram categories in the case of boxed parcels. Additionally, it differentiates between registered and track and trace parcels. The website also features the standard category which, however, is non-existent in Hungary.

Not only does the website of public tariffs on cross-order parcel delivery services, which can be visited throughout the year, provide assistance for consumers, but—particularly in the festive period of online Christmas orders—it can also be useful for SMEs when dispatching their products to another European country.

The tariffs were collected by the national postal regulatory authorities—including the National Media and Infocommunications Authority—from parcel delivery service providers with fifty or more employees, or which operate in more than one EU country. The transparency-improving website covers over 46 thousand services of over 400 service providers with headquarters in the EU.

The National Media and Infocommunications Authority is working on developing a domestic postal tariff comparison portal as well, which is scheduled to be completed by the following year.

This image is a banner with a Santa who holds a postal parcel in his hands. On the left side there is a text: Parcel price transparency tool. Did you know how much it costs to ship a parcel across Europe? At the bottom there is a button with this label: Check it out here! By clicking on the image you'll be redirected to the website operated by the European Commission (EC). At the very bottom, we see the logo of the EC.