Pricing
How does courier pricing work?
A plain-English explanation of how courier rates are built, what changes them, and what never appears on your invoice.
The short answer
Courier pricing has two parts: a base fee for the vehicle and service speed, plus a per-mile rate for the distance driven. Faster tiers like rush and emergency carry higher base and per-mile rates. There are no hidden valley-crossing or fuel surcharges. Pallet and freight jobs use flat per-pallet pricing that starts at $325.
The two parts of every courier rate
Every courier quote is built from a base fee and a per-mile rate. The base fee covers the vehicle type and the service speed you select. The per-mile rate covers the actual distance the driver travels from pickup to drop-off. Add those two numbers together and you have the full price of the run.
A routine delivery in a sedan on a short route will have a lower base fee and a lower per-mile rate than an emergency run in a cargo van covering more ground. This two-part model keeps pricing straightforward: you pay for the vehicle you need and the miles it covers, nothing else. There are no mandatory surcharges layered on top of that formula.
Pallet and freight jobs follow a different model. Instead of base-plus-mileage, they are priced per pallet: $325 for the first pallet, $200 for each additional one, and $75 if a forklift is needed on site. This flat-pallet approach makes it easy to budget freight runs of any size.
What changes your rate
Four factors move the final number on a courier quote. Everything else is fixed into the formula.
- Vehicle type: a sedan costs less than a cargo van or box truck because the vehicle is smaller and lighter to operate.
- Service tier: routine, rush, and emergency service each carry a different base fee and per-mile rate. Faster commitments cost more.
- Distance: the farther the driver travels between pickup and delivery, the more per-mile charges accumulate.
- Pallet count: freight jobs are priced per pallet. Each additional pallet beyond the first adds a flat amount, and a forklift on site adds a fixed fee.
Service tiers and what they mean
Three standard tiers cover almost every courier need. The tier you pick sets both the base fee and the per-mile rate.
| Tier | Target window | Use it for |
|---|---|---|
| Routine (4-hour window) | Delivery within 4 hours of pickup | Non-urgent documents, parcels, scheduled runs |
| Rush or direct (2-hour window) | Delivery within 2 hours of pickup | Time-sensitive business deliveries, same-day legal and banking docs |
| Emergency (1 hour or less) | Driver dispatched immediately, fastest route | Stat medical specimens, AOG aircraft parts, urgent court filings |
Why flat surcharges are not on your bill
Some courier companies add surcharges on top of the base rate: a fuel surcharge, a peak-hour fee, or an East Valley to West Valley crossing charge. No. 1 Courier does not use any of those. Distance is already captured in the per-mile rate, so a longer cross-valley run is priced by the miles driven, not by a separate zone fee.
The only add-on that applies to freight jobs is the forklift fee, and that reflects an actual service requested at the site. Everything else, including pickups during morning or evening rush hour, weekends, and medical or specimen deliveries, is covered by the base-plus-mileage formula. What you are quoted is what you pay.
Related questions
Why do couriers charge per mile?+
Per-mile pricing reflects the actual cost of the run: fuel, driver time, and vehicle wear all scale with distance. Charging per mile keeps pricing fair for short local runs while covering the real cost of longer cross-metro deliveries.
What is the difference between rush and emergency service?+
Rush service targets delivery within a 2-hour window from pickup. Emergency service commits to under 1 hour from the moment you call, with the driver dispatched immediately. Emergency carries a higher rate because it pulls a driver off the nearest available run and sends them directly.
Do you charge a fuel surcharge?+
No. No. 1 Courier does not add a fuel surcharge. The per-mile rate already accounts for fuel and vehicle operating costs, so the rate you are quoted is the rate you pay.
How is pallet pricing different from parcel pricing?+
Parcel and document deliveries use the base-plus-mileage formula. Pallet and freight jobs are priced per pallet: $325 for the first pallet, $200 for each additional pallet, and $75 if a forklift is needed. This flat-per-pallet approach makes freight quotes easy to calculate regardless of the route distance.
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