Delivery times across Europe by country: 2026 table

Delivery time is the promise customers remember and the one a shop controls least. You choose a carrier, and the carrier decides how many days it takes. What you can choose is which carrier, in which country, and from where the parcel starts.

This article lists the delivery time every domestic service states, country by country, as our shipping options page showed it on 29 September 2026. These are the times the carriers give for their own service — "next working day", "within 3 working days" — not averages we tracked parcel by parcel. Where a carrier states nothing, we left it out.

How long does domestic delivery take in each country? #

Three patterns stand out. Central Europe is fast: in Austria, Czechia and Slovakia every listed service states next day. The north is slower: in Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Norway every service states 3 working days. And the same carrier can differ by service: DPD in the Netherlands states 2 working days to the door but 4 to a pickup point; in Belgium it is the reverse.

Is next-day delivery worth the extra cost? #

The table below puts the cheapest small-parcel service next to the cheapest one that is faster, for the markets where they differ. Prices are domestic, include our flat platform fee, and were measured on the same day.

In some countries the cheapest service is also the fastest, so there is nothing to trade: in Poland DPD to a point (about zł 14.49) states next day, in Austria Österreichische Post (€7.91) does, and in Italy the InPost locker service (€4.46) is both the cheapest and among the 2-day services. Everywhere else it is a real choice, and the gap is what the carrier charges for speed.

A rule of thumb that follows from the table: where the faster option costs less than a euro more (the Netherlands, Belgium), make it the default — customers notice days more than cents. Where it costs three euros or more (France, Germany, Portugal), keep the cheaper service as default and offer speed as a paid choice at checkout. Whether that faster service goes to a point or the door is its own trade-off; see pickup point vs home delivery.

How much slower is cross-border shipping? #

Most shops ship from one country to all the others. To see what that costs in time, we checked the same small parcel from the Netherlands into three markets and compared it with a domestic parcel inside each of them, on the same day.

Cross-border can be fast — UPS states next day from the Netherlands to a pickup point in France or Spain — but you pay for it: in Spain next day cost €15.15 from abroad against €6.50 domestically. The cheaper cross-border services take 4 to 5 working days. For carrier rates at 2, 5 and 10 kg in every country, see the European shipping rates index.

What else adds days to delivery? #

• Hand-over. The carrier’s clock starts when the parcel is dropped off or collected. An order that sits until tomorrow’s drop-off adds a day before any of the times above start counting.
• Working days. "Next working day" after a Friday drop-off is Monday. Public holidays differ per country, and a holiday at the destination counts, not at your office.
• Pickup points. The stated time is until the parcel is at the point; the customer still has to collect it.
• Remote postcodes. Islands and mountain areas can take longer than the stated time. The carrier’s own postcode checker is the reference.

How to get domestic delivery times without a warehouse #

With local fulfilment through AirPost, a verified person in your customer’s country holds a batch of your stock and ships each order as a domestic parcel — so the first table applies instead of the cross-border one. You pay the label, the fee you agree with your sender, and our €0.85 platform fee per parcel. No subscription, no minimum volume.

1. 1

   Check the hand-over time

   On each sender’s profile you see how quickly they usually take an order away after accepting it, once they have 5 or more shipments. Senders who do it fast carry a "Ships within 12 hours" badge.

2. 2

   Choose the service per country

   Under each product you pick the service per destination country — standard or express, point or door. The times shown are the ones in the tables above.

3. 3

   Promise what the table supports

   Add the hand-over to the carrier’s time and put that in your checkout. Under-promising by a day is cheaper than a support ticket.

Where to place stock first is a separate question — where to hold stock in Europe weighs it country by country.