Shipping internationally from Singapore can be surprisingly expensive if you walk into a courier office and pay retail rates. A 2kg parcel to the United States can cost anywhere from S$60 to S$120 depending on the carrier and service level. But there are ways to cut those costs by up to 60%.
Singapore has four main international courier options: SingPost, DHL Express, UPS, and FedEx. Each has different strengths.
SingPost is the most affordable for lightweight items under 2kg via registered mail, but tracking is limited and delivery can take 2-4 weeks. For e-commerce sellers who need reliability, SingPost's economy service is too slow.
DHL Express offers fast delivery (2-4 business days) but is typically the most expensive option for parcels over 1kg. DHL is strong for documents and samples but costs add up for regular shipments.
FedEx offers two international services: International Priority (2-3 days) and International Economy (4-6 days). FedEx Economy is often the sweet spot between speed and cost, especially for parcels between 1-30kg.
UPS is competitive on certain routes, particularly to North America, but generally matches or exceeds FedEx pricing in Southeast Asia.
The biggest savings come from using a shipping aggregation platform — a service that negotiates bulk rates with carriers and passes the discount to you. Because these platforms consolidate volume from hundreds of shippers, they get rates that individual businesses cannot access.
This is exactly how ShipAnywhere works. By pooling shipping volume, we negotiate corporate-level FedEx rates and offer them to businesses of any size. A 5kg parcel to Australia that costs S$85 at the FedEx counter might cost only S$35-40 through ShipAnywhere.
See how much you can save on your next international shipment.
Try ShipAnywhere FreeFor items under 500g with no time pressure, SingPost registered mail remains the cheapest option at around S$10-15. But for anything heavier, time-sensitive, or valuable, a courier with full tracking and insurance is worth the premium.
The break-even point is usually around 1-2kg. Above that weight, aggregated FedEx rates through platforms like ShipAnywhere become competitive with or cheaper than postal services, while offering dramatically faster delivery and full tracking.
The cheapest way to ship overseas from Singapore depends on your parcel's weight, destination, and urgency. For most businesses and regular shippers, using an aggregation platform to access discounted FedEx rates offers the best combination of price, speed, and reliability.