Shipping to Germany from Italy: Courier Rates,Timeline, and Compliance

Shipping to Germany from Italy costs €25.80 to €55 for a standard 1 to 5 kg parcel and takes 2 to 15 business days, depending on the service you pick. Poste Delivery International Express is fastest at around 2 business days. Poste Delivery Europe takes about 3 days. 

The cheapest option, Poste Delivery International Standard, takes 10 to 15 days.Since Italy and Germany both sit inside the EU single market, there's no customs duty, no import VAT, and no customs form to fill out. However, if it is a commercial shipment, you need to have your commercial invoices handy despite a VAT-free transaction. 

Business shippers still need to track the EU's €10,000 VAT threshold once they're selling regularly to German customers.

If you're shipping more than a handful of orders a month, checking rates across Poste Italiane, BRT, GLS, DHL, and UPS by hand eats time you don't have. 

Easyship pulls live rates from 550+ couriers side by side, including Italy's major domestic carriers, so you can pick the cheapest or fastest option for each Germany-bound order in seconds, with savings of up to 91% off retail rates.

How Much Does it Cost to Send a Parcel to Germany from Italy via Poste Italiane?

Price depends on weight, package size, and how fast you need it there. Germany sits in Poste Italiane's Zona 1, the same pricing tier as most of the EU.

Sources: Poste Italiane Delivery Europe price list, April 2026

BRT, DHL, GLS, and UPS don't publish flat retail rate cards for outbound Italy shipments to Germany the way Poste Italiane does. You get an instant quote through their portals, or you compare all of them at once through a rate tool like Easyship. (Might be suggest Easyship?)

What Affects the Price?

• Weight and dimensions. Poste Italiane, BRT, GLS, and DHL all charge on actual or volumetric weight, whichever is higher.
• Service speed. Express services (2 days) cost roughly double the standard 3-day service.
• Package format. A small envelope or flat pack costs less than a boxed parcel at the same weight.
• Declared value and coverage. Higher-value shipments cost more to insure.

Which Courier is Cheapest?

Poste Italiane's Delivery Europe service usually beats the express couriers on price for standard EU parcels, but its cheapest tier (International Standard) is also its slowest at 10 to 15 days. BRT, GLS, and UPS can undercut Poste Italiane on speed-adjusted price, especially for business accounts with negotiated rates.

How Long Does Shipping to Germany from Italy Take?

Poste Delivery International Express delivers in about 2 business days from drop-off. Poste Delivery Europe takes about 3 business days. 

The budget Poste Delivery International Standard service takes 10 to 15 business days, since it moves through a slower ground and consolidation network. There's no customs hold-up to plan around, since Italy and Germany are both in the EU customs union.

What Customs Regulations Apply When Shipping to Germany from Italy?

None, for standard goods. Germany and Italy are both EU member states, so shipments between them move without customs control, import duty, or VAT at the border. 

This is the opposite of shipping from a non-EU country: as of 1 July 2026, the EU charges a flat €3 duty on parcels under €150 entering from outside the bloc. That rule doesn't touch intra-EU shipments at all.

Do You Need to Charge German VAT?

If your total EU-wide cross-border sales are €10,000 or less per year, you charge your home-country VAT (e.g., Italy's 22%). 

Once you exceed €10,000, you charge the customer's local VAT rate (e.g., Germany's 19%) on future cross-border sales only, not earlier ones.

You report this VAT through the EU One Stop Shop (OSS), filing a single return in your home country instead of registering separately in Germany.

For example, an Italian shop sells €8,500 across the EU and charges Italian VAT. A €2,000 sale to Germany pushes total cross-border sales above €10,000, so future sales are charged at each customer's local VAT rate (e.g., 19% in Germany) and reported through OSS.

What Paperwork Do You Need?

For personal shipments, none. 

For business shipments, keep a commercial invoice, and make sure both parties have a valid VAT number if you're claiming VAT-free treatment on a B2B sale. No CN22 or CN23 customs form is required.

What Items are Prohibited While Shipping to Germany from Italy?

Here's UPS Italy's list, broken into prohibited vs. restricted items.

Source: UPS Italy, List of Prohibited Items

A courier that finds a prohibited item in a package can also charge a separate administration fee on top of any other charges. Checking the list before shipping is cheaper than checking it after.

How Do You Address a Parcel to a German Address?

German addresses follow a fixed order: recipient name, street name and house number, postal code (PLZ) and city, then country. Unlike Italian addresses, there's no province abbreviation to add.

Anna Schmidt

Hauptstraße 45

10115 Berlin

GERMANY

Skip commas between the street line and the postal code and city line.

What's the Best Shipping Solution for Business Customers?

The best shipping solution for business customers is a platform that compares Poste Italiane, BRT, GLS, DHL, and UPS automatically and shows real-time rates at checkout. If you're shipping 100 or more orders a month, checking each courier by hand doesn't scale, and neither does tracking VAT thresholds manually.

To make things easier, you can consider Easyship, which compares 550+ couriers in one dashboard, shows live checkout rates on your Shopify or WooCommerce store, and includes up to $10,000 in shipment coverage. 

The same dashboard covers shipping to other EU destinations too, so you're not rebuilding your carrier setup for every new market.

Ready to ship to Germany from Italy?

Sign up on Easyship for free today!

FAQs

How much does it cost to send a parcel from Italy to Germany? 

A standard 1 kg parcel costs €39.89 with Poste Delivery Europe, or around €49.00 with Poste Delivery International Express for 2-day delivery.

How long does delivery from Italy to Germany usually take? 

Poste Delivery International Express delivers in about 2 business days. Poste Delivery Europe takes about 3 business days. The budget standard service takes 10 to 15 business days.

Do I have to pay customs duty shipping from Italy to Germany? 

No. Italy and Germany are both EU member states, so standard shipments between them move without customs duty or import VAT.

Do I need a customs form to ship to Germany from Italy? 

No. Intra-EU shipments don't need a CN22 or CN23 declaration.

Which courier is cheapest for shipping to Germany from Italy? 

Poste Italiane's Delivery Europe service usually offers the lowest standard rate, though BRT, GLS, and UPS can beat it on speed-adjusted price for business accounts. Compare live rates to be sure.

Do I need to charge German VAT if I sell to customers in Germany? 

Only after your total EU-wide cross-border sales to consumers pass €10,000 a year. Below that, Italian VAT applies; above it, Germany's 19% rate applies via the One Stop Shop.

Does Poste Italiane include tracking to Germany? 

Yes, tracking comes as standard on its international parcel services.