March 3, 2021
12 min Read
10 Best Courier Services to Use in Malaysia for 2021
The trend in the ecommerce industry is steadily increasing. If you are someone who is planning to start an ecommerce business or operates an online store, you know how important it is to choose the best courier services.
But which courier services are the best ones here in Malaysia? How do they stack up against each other? How about the fees?
In this article, you will learn the top-performing courier services to use in Malaysia. We also got a neat little table for you down below that will give you an immediate comparison between all of them.
Now, let’s go through each one of them and see what they got.
Lalamove is one of the most popular courier services in Asia. In Malaysia, many people see it as a premier courier service highly used by a lot of online sellers and restaurants. To use it, all you need to do is download its app.
Once you have the app, you can then opt for a quick service and easily book a driver. Since Lalamove has more than 40,000 drivers, finding a driver to cater to your delivery needs won’t take too long.
Lalamove can deliver both small (parcels, food, and groceries) and large goods (furniture, hardware, textiles) around the clock, though the time allotted might vary depending on the lockdown status.
As for the pricing, it widely varies depending on the location as well as that of the vehicle that will be used.
With Lalamove, there are five types of vehicles available:
Most deliveries only need a motorcycle, which is the cheapest among them all. The base fare (0 - 4 km) costs RM 4.00, with an additional RM 1.00 per kilometer. To see a more detailed list of the pricing per vehicle, check out their pricing page.
Aside from courier services, Lalamove also has additional offers including food delivery, Buy4U (they buy the goods and deliver them to you), and lorry rental (for moving and bulk deliveries with heavy lifting helpers).
Take note that Lalamove could only deliver as long as the location is within Klang Valley. They don’t offer insurance coverage with their services, though you are still entitled to complimentary insurance coverage of up to RM 100 for regular users and RM 400 for corporate clients.
J&T Express is one of Lalamove’s fiercest competitors in Asia. It is popular for ecommerce sellers and shoppers since it is Shopee’s partner courier service. To date, J&T Express has more than 4,000 offices, 3,00 drop-points, 200 gateways, and 50,000 employees in Malaysia.
What is cool about J&T Express is that you can actually use its website for a “smart order” and provide the information needed for your delivery. Unfortunately, you still have to visit a drop-point center to hand off your package.
On the other hand, Shopee sellers could avail of an option where drivers will pick up their packages from their homes.
As for how much it costs, it varies widely depending on where the package is sent and where it is received.
For example, a document (less than 2 kg) sent from somewhere in Kelantan and Terengganu will only cost RM 5.00 when sent to a location within the same cities. Outside of that will costs RM 7.00 as long as it is still within Peninsular Malaysia.
On the other hand, the same document sent and received within Sabah costs RM 6.00. However, when sent to Peninsular Malaysia, it will cost RM 10.00. J&T Express Kelantan & Terengganu posted more information on the pricing per location on their Facebook page.
If you need more detailed information on the rate, J&T Express has a shipping rate calculator on their website where you can enter the sender and receiver postcode, goods type, weight, and dimension, and get the exact rate for that delivery.
Skynet Express is known as one of the best courier services for small online businesses. Currently, it has more than 1,000 employees and more than 500 vehicles on the road that services customers across all states in Malaysia.
What differentiates Skynet Express from other courier services is that you can use them to deliver a package during weekends since they operate 24/7 except for public holidays.
In terms of pricing, the base charge starts as low as RM 6.50, though this only applies to documents and packages that weigh 0.5 kg or less. Above that, the base charge rises to RM 8.50 and beyond as the weight increases.
Skynet Express has a shipping rate page for both domestic and international deliveries. Though they also have a shipping rate calculator on their homepage, it is better to use their dedicated page since the one on the homepage seems a little buggy.
They also have a mobile application called SkynetGo. You can use it to track your deliveries by scanning the barcode or entering the Skynet AWB Number. Unfortunately, they do not have a functionality yet that will allow you to book a delivery or even provide details in advance.
Many people are quite confused between Pos Malaysia and Pos Laju. To erase any confusion, you should know that they are one and the same. Post Malaysia is the parent company of Pos Laju as well as other mail types company under their umbrella.
One of Pos Malaysia’s strengths is that they offer different types of delivery services. To date, they have three types of delivery services:
Delivery rates start at RM 7.00. You can check the postage calculator within Pos Malaysia’s homepage and find out how much your delivery will cost depending on the mail type and on the weight.
If you compute with Pos Laju as the mail type, you can input the receiver and sender postcode to have a more definite rate on your delivery. You can also use the Pos Laju SendParcel system to get your quotation.
What is unique with Pos Malaysia’s Pos Laju is their “pay with credit now” payment option. You can link your credit card to the SendParcel system and if you don’t have one, you can also choose to top up your credits via bank deposit.
GD Express has been established in 1997. As of June 2020, they already have a fleet of 1,300 trucks and vans, with a total employee count of 4,384. This makes GD Express a suitable courier service partner for large ecommerce entities and bulk orders.
As for the pricing, GD Express is a bit more expensive especially when the package is small. For example, a 1 kg parcel from Jalan Galloway to Bukit Lanjan will already cost RM 13.15 when received at a drop point or RM 15.10 when picked up.
However, it is worth noting that GD Express is one of those courier services that can handle big deliveries and packages. If you are a wholesale seller or a big ecommerce platform, check out their domestic rates calculator to see how much you have to pay for your delivery needs.
On the other hand, even if GD Express may seem more expensive than others, a lot of people make use of their domestic express carrier which includes same-day delivery service and diplomatic service, which is a premium service for those with urgent requests on the same day.
They also have late pick-up and early delivery services in case you need a courier during non-working hours. These special arrangements can be made while still enabling next-day deliveries.
City-Link Express was founded in Malaysia and has since expanded beyond to other nations in Asia including Singapore, Thailand, Indonesia, Hong Kong, and many others.
This courier service is also popular among Shopee users as well as independent ecommerce platforms because of its Application Programming Interface (API) integration for ecommerce website development.
Its delivery services are also quite cheap. Sending and receiving a 1 kg document anywhere within Kuala Lumpur only costs RM 6.15, with a base charge of RM 4.27. It then increments once the document or parcel weighs more than 3 kg.
City-Link Express has a rate calculator that you can use to compute the exact price you need to pay in using their services.
This courier service also has attractive freight services. Using their delivery is extremely convenient since they handle all the customs paperwork. When the package is fragile or valuable, they also have a ParcelGuard service, their loss or damage insurance service.
Pgeon is the newest courier service on this list, as it was only founded in 2016. It popularized what it calls “Pgeon Points”, which are retail outlets (like 7/11 and 99SpeedMart) that collaborate with Pgeon to allow its customers to drop off or pick up their parcels.
As of now, Pgeon has more than 3,000 of these Pgeon Points all across Malaysia.
More importantly, they also offer the cheapest rates, which is only RM 5.50 for any parcels up to 5 kg within Malaysia. You can use the rates calculator found on Pgeon’s homepage to find out how much the delivery costs according to the available services.
The main problem that Pgeon hopes to solve is when customers are busy with a full schedule and do not have enough time to go to a drop point to receive the package. Pgeon Points are like pigeon holes where you can literally leave or get your parcel anytime you can.
Since most Pgeon Points operate either 24/7 or until late/early morning, you can rest assured that your package is still there when you go out from the office. Pgeon also has a free SMS service that will alert you when your parcel has been delivered to your preferred point.
Even if Aramex only has 11 locations in Malaysia, it is still highly popular among ecommerce shoppers and sellers. One of the reasons is that Aramex has three payment methods available which are:
As for the rate, Aramex is a bit pricey. Parcels sent from Petaling Jaya to Kuala Lumpur costs RM 15.20. Aramex has their own rate calculator that will tell you how much it will cost to deliver your package within and outside Malaysia.
Aside from delivery, Aramex also offers other services including:
These additional services are why Aramex is a favorite among ecommerce sellers despite having only 11 locations within Malaysia. They will handle your product storage, order fulfillment, and even assign a forwarding import box for suppliers to drop and ship your products.
DHL is one of the most renowned courier services around the world. In fact, wherever you go, there is always a DHL drop point near you that you can go to send and receive packages. Since it is so established, you can rest easy and trust their services.
Its shipping services are vast. It can cater to domestic and international needs via air, ocean, and road freight. As for parcels and documents to and from Europe and Asia, DHL also has rail freight.
The downside to using a renowned courier service like DHL is its rates. For example, a delivery from Petaling Jaya to Kuala Lumpur for a 1 kg shipment already costs RM 62.84 to RM 87.00, depending on the available pickup dates.
To get a proper quote, check out DHL’s shipment quotation page.
The value in using a service like DHL is the inclusions that come with the offer. All shipments already include:
Environmentalists would also love DHL since they have a GoGreen Climate Neutral add-on, which is a carbon emission offset for the shipment.
TA-Q-BIN, despite its outdated-looking website, is actually popular among food sellers and buyers. It has a very rare type of service, a “cool” or “frozen” courier service, which is ideal when transporting food from one place to another.
Of course, they still offer the traditional document and parcel courier service. In fact, their pricing scheme is quite clear on their website as shown below:
With TA-Q-BIN’s cool delivery, you can pack free dessert, seafood, pre-cooked feed, or anything that needs a temperature-controlled environment. Your package will be stored in a chill and frozen container so the food stays fresh while being transported.
Take note that your parcel must be properly packaged. Anything with juices and sauces must be in a plastic bag to avoid spillage. TA-Q-BIN will not cater to nonhalal foods as well as food items or ingredients with foul smells like Durian.
In case you run a restaurant and it is hard for you to receive an order during the day, TA-Q-BIN also has a free night delivery service from 6 to 9 pm in the evening.
Fortunately, these services are perfect for ecommerce sellers. One particular company, City-Link Express, is useful especially to those that built their ecommerce website from scratch because of the service’s API integration.
If you are an online seller who is looking for good courier services and you do not have a website yet, you can actually start now for as low as RM 8.40 per month. The business plan only costs RM 19.00 per month in case you need more features.
When deciding which one to use, carefully examine the services, rates, and offers included. It is also a good idea to check beforehand the location where the courier service is available (whether it picks up or delivers on that particular location).
All the pricing shown above is an indication of how much their services cost. These could easily change based on their promotions. In addition, delivery times may also vary as cities and states undergo various lockdown statuses.
But which courier services are the best ones here in Malaysia? How do they stack up against each other? How about the fees?
In this article, you will learn the top-performing courier services to use in Malaysia. We also got a neat little table for you down below that will give you an immediate comparison between all of them.
|
Courier Service |
Shipping Costs (1 kg) |
Ideal For |
|
Lalamove |
RM 4.0 |
Sellers and buyers that prefer pickup services |
|
J&T Express |
RM 5.0 |
Shopee sellers and buyers |
|
Skynet Express |
RM 8.50 |
Sellers and buyers that need a 24/7 service |
|
Pos Malaysia |
RM 7.00 |
Sellers and buyers that need to use a credit payment method |
|
GD Express |
RM 13.15 |
Big deliveries and bulk shipments |
|
City-Link Express |
RM 6.15 |
Independent ecommerce sellers |
|
Pgeon |
RM 5.50 |
Sellers and buyers that could not place/pick their deliveries during the day |
|
Aramex |
RM 15.20 |
Sellers and buyers that prefer credit payment and cash on delivery |
|
DHL Malaysia |
RM 62.84 |
High-value shipments |
|
TA-Q-BIN Malaysia |
RM 14.00 |
Frozen or chilled deliveries |
1. Lalamove
Lalamove is one of the most popular courier services in Asia. In Malaysia, many people see it as a premier courier service highly used by a lot of online sellers and restaurants. To use it, all you need to do is download its app.
Once you have the app, you can then opt for a quick service and easily book a driver. Since Lalamove has more than 40,000 drivers, finding a driver to cater to your delivery needs won’t take too long.
Lalamove can deliver both small (parcels, food, and groceries) and large goods (furniture, hardware, textiles) around the clock, though the time allotted might vary depending on the lockdown status.
As for the pricing, it widely varies depending on the location as well as that of the vehicle that will be used.
With Lalamove, there are five types of vehicles available:
- Motorcycle
- Car (Sedan)
- Van
- 4 x 4 Pickup
- Lorry (1 and 3-Ton Types)
Most deliveries only need a motorcycle, which is the cheapest among them all. The base fare (0 - 4 km) costs RM 4.00, with an additional RM 1.00 per kilometer. To see a more detailed list of the pricing per vehicle, check out their pricing page.
Aside from courier services, Lalamove also has additional offers including food delivery, Buy4U (they buy the goods and deliver them to you), and lorry rental (for moving and bulk deliveries with heavy lifting helpers).
Take note that Lalamove could only deliver as long as the location is within Klang Valley. They don’t offer insurance coverage with their services, though you are still entitled to complimentary insurance coverage of up to RM 100 for regular users and RM 400 for corporate clients.
2. J&T Express
J&T Express is one of Lalamove’s fiercest competitors in Asia. It is popular for ecommerce sellers and shoppers since it is Shopee’s partner courier service. To date, J&T Express has more than 4,000 offices, 3,00 drop-points, 200 gateways, and 50,000 employees in Malaysia.
What is cool about J&T Express is that you can actually use its website for a “smart order” and provide the information needed for your delivery. Unfortunately, you still have to visit a drop-point center to hand off your package.
On the other hand, Shopee sellers could avail of an option where drivers will pick up their packages from their homes.
As for how much it costs, it varies widely depending on where the package is sent and where it is received.
For example, a document (less than 2 kg) sent from somewhere in Kelantan and Terengganu will only cost RM 5.00 when sent to a location within the same cities. Outside of that will costs RM 7.00 as long as it is still within Peninsular Malaysia.
On the other hand, the same document sent and received within Sabah costs RM 6.00. However, when sent to Peninsular Malaysia, it will cost RM 10.00. J&T Express Kelantan & Terengganu posted more information on the pricing per location on their Facebook page.
If you need more detailed information on the rate, J&T Express has a shipping rate calculator on their website where you can enter the sender and receiver postcode, goods type, weight, and dimension, and get the exact rate for that delivery.
3. Skynet Express
Skynet Express is known as one of the best courier services for small online businesses. Currently, it has more than 1,000 employees and more than 500 vehicles on the road that services customers across all states in Malaysia.
What differentiates Skynet Express from other courier services is that you can use them to deliver a package during weekends since they operate 24/7 except for public holidays.
In terms of pricing, the base charge starts as low as RM 6.50, though this only applies to documents and packages that weigh 0.5 kg or less. Above that, the base charge rises to RM 8.50 and beyond as the weight increases.
Skynet Express has a shipping rate page for both domestic and international deliveries. Though they also have a shipping rate calculator on their homepage, it is better to use their dedicated page since the one on the homepage seems a little buggy.
They also have a mobile application called SkynetGo. You can use it to track your deliveries by scanning the barcode or entering the Skynet AWB Number. Unfortunately, they do not have a functionality yet that will allow you to book a delivery or even provide details in advance.
4. Pos Malaysia
Many people are quite confused between Pos Malaysia and Pos Laju. To erase any confusion, you should know that they are one and the same. Post Malaysia is the parent company of Pos Laju as well as other mail types company under their umbrella.
One of Pos Malaysia’s strengths is that they offer different types of delivery services. To date, they have three types of delivery services:
- Mail (letter or postcard)
- Parcel (online shipping platform)
- Pos Laju (the actual courier service)
Delivery rates start at RM 7.00. You can check the postage calculator within Pos Malaysia’s homepage and find out how much your delivery will cost depending on the mail type and on the weight.
If you compute with Pos Laju as the mail type, you can input the receiver and sender postcode to have a more definite rate on your delivery. You can also use the Pos Laju SendParcel system to get your quotation.
What is unique with Pos Malaysia’s Pos Laju is their “pay with credit now” payment option. You can link your credit card to the SendParcel system and if you don’t have one, you can also choose to top up your credits via bank deposit.
5. GD Express
GD Express has been established in 1997. As of June 2020, they already have a fleet of 1,300 trucks and vans, with a total employee count of 4,384. This makes GD Express a suitable courier service partner for large ecommerce entities and bulk orders.
As for the pricing, GD Express is a bit more expensive especially when the package is small. For example, a 1 kg parcel from Jalan Galloway to Bukit Lanjan will already cost RM 13.15 when received at a drop point or RM 15.10 when picked up.
However, it is worth noting that GD Express is one of those courier services that can handle big deliveries and packages. If you are a wholesale seller or a big ecommerce platform, check out their domestic rates calculator to see how much you have to pay for your delivery needs.
On the other hand, even if GD Express may seem more expensive than others, a lot of people make use of their domestic express carrier which includes same-day delivery service and diplomatic service, which is a premium service for those with urgent requests on the same day.
They also have late pick-up and early delivery services in case you need a courier during non-working hours. These special arrangements can be made while still enabling next-day deliveries.
6. City-Link Express
City-Link Express was founded in Malaysia and has since expanded beyond to other nations in Asia including Singapore, Thailand, Indonesia, Hong Kong, and many others.
This courier service is also popular among Shopee users as well as independent ecommerce platforms because of its Application Programming Interface (API) integration for ecommerce website development.
Its delivery services are also quite cheap. Sending and receiving a 1 kg document anywhere within Kuala Lumpur only costs RM 6.15, with a base charge of RM 4.27. It then increments once the document or parcel weighs more than 3 kg.
City-Link Express has a rate calculator that you can use to compute the exact price you need to pay in using their services.
This courier service also has attractive freight services. Using their delivery is extremely convenient since they handle all the customs paperwork. When the package is fragile or valuable, they also have a ParcelGuard service, their loss or damage insurance service.
7. Pgeon
Pgeon is the newest courier service on this list, as it was only founded in 2016. It popularized what it calls “Pgeon Points”, which are retail outlets (like 7/11 and 99SpeedMart) that collaborate with Pgeon to allow its customers to drop off or pick up their parcels.
As of now, Pgeon has more than 3,000 of these Pgeon Points all across Malaysia.
More importantly, they also offer the cheapest rates, which is only RM 5.50 for any parcels up to 5 kg within Malaysia. You can use the rates calculator found on Pgeon’s homepage to find out how much the delivery costs according to the available services.
The main problem that Pgeon hopes to solve is when customers are busy with a full schedule and do not have enough time to go to a drop point to receive the package. Pgeon Points are like pigeon holes where you can literally leave or get your parcel anytime you can.
Since most Pgeon Points operate either 24/7 or until late/early morning, you can rest assured that your package is still there when you go out from the office. Pgeon also has a free SMS service that will alert you when your parcel has been delivered to your preferred point.
8. Aramex
Even if Aramex only has 11 locations in Malaysia, it is still highly popular among ecommerce shoppers and sellers. One of the reasons is that Aramex has three payment methods available which are:
- Credit card
- Amarex account
- Cash on delivery (scheduled pickups)
As for the rate, Aramex is a bit pricey. Parcels sent from Petaling Jaya to Kuala Lumpur costs RM 15.20. Aramex has their own rate calculator that will tell you how much it will cost to deliver your package within and outside Malaysia.
Aside from delivery, Aramex also offers other services including:
- Ecommerce
- Logistics
- Small business solutions
- Developers solutions center
- Drop and ship
- Shop and ship
- Information management
These additional services are why Aramex is a favorite among ecommerce sellers despite having only 11 locations within Malaysia. They will handle your product storage, order fulfillment, and even assign a forwarding import box for suppliers to drop and ship your products.
9. DHL Malaysia
DHL is one of the most renowned courier services around the world. In fact, wherever you go, there is always a DHL drop point near you that you can go to send and receive packages. Since it is so established, you can rest easy and trust their services.
Its shipping services are vast. It can cater to domestic and international needs via air, ocean, and road freight. As for parcels and documents to and from Europe and Asia, DHL also has rail freight.
The downside to using a renowned courier service like DHL is its rates. For example, a delivery from Petaling Jaya to Kuala Lumpur for a 1 kg shipment already costs RM 62.84 to RM 87.00, depending on the available pickup dates.
To get a proper quote, check out DHL’s shipment quotation page.
The value in using a service like DHL is the inclusions that come with the offer. All shipments already include:
- A door-to-door express parcel and document delivery
- Track and trace
- Electronic proof of delivery in real-time
- Courier pickup scheduling or money-back guarantee (depending on the price offered)
Environmentalists would also love DHL since they have a GoGreen Climate Neutral add-on, which is a carbon emission offset for the shipment.
10. TA-Q-BIN Malaysia
TA-Q-BIN, despite its outdated-looking website, is actually popular among food sellers and buyers. It has a very rare type of service, a “cool” or “frozen” courier service, which is ideal when transporting food from one place to another.
Of course, they still offer the traditional document and parcel courier service. In fact, their pricing scheme is quite clear on their website as shown below:
With TA-Q-BIN’s cool delivery, you can pack free dessert, seafood, pre-cooked feed, or anything that needs a temperature-controlled environment. Your package will be stored in a chill and frozen container so the food stays fresh while being transported.
Take note that your parcel must be properly packaged. Anything with juices and sauces must be in a plastic bag to avoid spillage. TA-Q-BIN will not cater to nonhalal foods as well as food items or ingredients with foul smells like Durian.
In case you run a restaurant and it is hard for you to receive an order during the day, TA-Q-BIN also has a free night delivery service from 6 to 9 pm in the evening.
The Best Courier Services in Malaysia
As you can see, there are different courier services in Malaysia that you can use to handle your delivery needs. Some of them have additional services that cater to special needs such as delivering food and high-value items.Fortunately, these services are perfect for ecommerce sellers. One particular company, City-Link Express, is useful especially to those that built their ecommerce website from scratch because of the service’s API integration.
If you are an online seller who is looking for good courier services and you do not have a website yet, you can actually start now for as low as RM 8.40 per month. The business plan only costs RM 19.00 per month in case you need more features.
When deciding which one to use, carefully examine the services, rates, and offers included. It is also a good idea to check beforehand the location where the courier service is available (whether it picks up or delivers on that particular location).
All the pricing shown above is an indication of how much their services cost. These could easily change based on their promotions. In addition, delivery times may also vary as cities and states undergo various lockdown statuses.
