Tutorials

Volumetric Weight: What Is It and How Do You Calculate It?

When you ship a package internationally, you often think about its actual weight. However, some carriers use another metric: volumetric weight. This measurement takes into account the space your package occupies in the airplane, and it may be used instead of the actual weight to determine the shipping cost.

1 December 2025
• 4 min

What Is Volumetric Weight?

Volumetric weight represents the amount of space a package takes up in an airplane.
Airlines have limits not only on weight but also on volume.
The cost of shipping is therefore calculated based on the higher value between the actual weight and the volumetric weight.

This means that a lightweight but bulky package can be charged more than a small, dense, and compact one.

How to Calculate Volumetric Weight

The formula for calculating volumetric weight is as follows:

The dimensions must be expressed in centimeters (cm), and the result in kilograms (kg).

Concrete example:

Let’s take two packages with the same actual weight (3 kg) but different dimensions:

Package 1: 40 cm x 25 cm x 30 cm
⇒ Volumetric weight = (40 × 25 × 30) / 5000 = 6 kg
👉 Billing will be based on 6 kg because the volumetric weight exceeds the actual weight.
Package 2: 32 cm x 15 cm x 25 cm
⇒ Volumetric weight = (32 × 15 × 25) / 5000 = 2.4 kg
👉 Billing will be based on 3 kg because the volumetric weight is lower than the actual weight.

In short, 1 kg of lead and 1 kg of feathers are not equal when it comes to volumetric weight:
the lead will always weigh 1 kg, while the feathers, which are bulkier, may be billed for several kilos!

The applied weight (actual or volumetric) is indicated in our price simulator available on our website.