{
 "name": "D2C shipping decision data, India, 2026",
 "publisher": "D2C Acquisition.Lab",
 "url": "https://d2c-acquisitionlab.com/guides/shiprocket-vs-nimbuspost-vs-delhivery-india",
 "license": "CC BY 4.0 (cite d2c-acquisitionlab.com)",
 "updated": "2026-08-27",
 "temporal_status": "Rates manually verified against provider pricing pages in July 2026; NOT a live feed. Confirm on the provider's own calculator before committing volume.",
 "rate_rows": [
  {
   "provider": "Shiprocket",
   "plan": "Lite",
   "platform_fee": "₹0/month",
   "base_rate_per_500g": "₹26",
   "cod_fee": "COD ₹36 fixed or 2% (higher)",
   "cod_remittance": "D+8 working days, payouts Mon/Wed/Fri; early D+4 at 0.49% to D+2 at 0.99%",
   "verified_date": "July 2026",
   "source": "shiprocket.in pricing",
   "provenance": "Verified external",
   "volume_fit": "Up to ~5 orders/day"
  },
  {
   "provider": "Shiprocket",
   "plan": "Business",
   "platform_fee": "₹199/month",
   "base_rate_per_500g": "₹25",
   "cod_fee": "same COD structure",
   "cod_remittance": "same cycle",
   "verified_date": "July 2026",
   "source": "shiprocket.in pricing",
   "provenance": "Verified external",
   "volume_fit": "Early volume"
  },
  {
   "provider": "Shiprocket",
   "plan": "Advanced",
   "platform_fee": "₹499/month",
   "base_rate_per_500g": "₹23",
   "cod_fee": "same COD structure",
   "cod_remittance": "same cycle",
   "verified_date": "July 2026",
   "source": "shiprocket.in pricing",
   "provenance": "Verified external",
   "volume_fit": "50-200 orders/month"
  },
  {
   "provider": "Shiprocket",
   "plan": "Pro",
   "platform_fee": "₹799/month",
   "base_rate_per_500g": "₹20",
   "cod_fee": "same COD structure",
   "cod_remittance": "same cycle",
   "verified_date": "July 2026",
   "source": "shiprocket.in pricing",
   "provenance": "Verified external",
   "volume_fit": "High volume"
  },
  {
   "provider": "NimbusPost",
   "plan": "Essential",
   "platform_fee": "₹0 platform fee",
   "base_rate_per_500g": "₹25.50",
   "cod_fee": "COD ~₹27-40 by courier",
   "cod_remittance": "T+3; early 1-2 days for a plan-dependent fee",
   "verified_date": "July 2026",
   "source": "nimbuspost.com pricing",
   "provenance": "Verified external",
   "volume_fit": "Up to 300 orders/month"
  },
  {
   "provider": "NimbusPost",
   "plan": "Lift",
   "platform_fee": "₹0 platform fee",
   "base_rate_per_500g": "₹24",
   "cod_fee": "same",
   "cod_remittance": "same",
   "verified_date": "July 2026",
   "source": "nimbuspost.com pricing",
   "provenance": "Verified external",
   "volume_fit": "300-1,000 orders/month"
  },
  {
   "provider": "NimbusPost",
   "plan": "Elite",
   "platform_fee": "₹0 platform fee",
   "base_rate_per_500g": "₹19",
   "cod_fee": "same",
   "cod_remittance": "same",
   "verified_date": "July 2026",
   "source": "nimbuspost.com pricing",
   "provenance": "Verified external",
   "volume_fit": "1,000+ orders/month"
  },
  {
   "provider": "Delhivery",
   "plan": "Direct (Delhivery One)",
   "platform_fee": "₹0, pay per shipment",
   "base_rate_per_500g": "volume-quoted (₹40-55 at low volume)",
   "cod_fee": "COD ~₹40-50 or ~2%",
   "cod_remittance": "D+2 standard (within 48 hours)",
   "verified_date": "July 2026",
   "source": "delhivery.com rate calculator",
   "provenance": "Verified external",
   "volume_fit": "Any volume; best value at 30+/day"
  }
 ],
 "decision_matrix": [
  {
   "question": "Cheapest to start",
   "answer": "An aggregator free tier: Shiprocket Lite (₹26/500g) or NimbusPost Essential (₹25.50/500g), ₹0 commitment. Direct courier contracts only beat them at volume."
  },
  {
   "question": "Fastest remittance (COD cash flow)",
   "answer": "Delhivery direct: D+2 standard. At the free aggregator tiers NimbusPost T+3 beats Shiprocket D+8; paying Shiprocket 0.49-0.99% buys D+4/D+2."
  },
  {
   "question": "Best for COD-heavy brands",
   "answer": "Compare the COD FEE, not the freight: ₹36 fixed (Shiprocket) beats 2% only above ₹1,800 order value. Below ₹500 AOV, COD fees are the biggest single line after freight."
  },
  {
   "question": "Best if RTO runs high",
   "answer": "Whoever you ship with, you pay forward AND reverse on every RTO. The decision is NDR workflow quality and reverse rates, not the forward card; model it with the RTO drag formula below."
  },
  {
   "question": "Best for fragile products",
   "answer": "Packaging first, courier second: ~11% of unit loads arrive damaged (Shiprocket packaging data). Drop-test your pack, then prefer couriers with fewer hub transfers on your lanes; test with 10 shipments."
  },
  {
   "question": "Best for low AOV (under ₹500)",
   "answer": "The math is unforgiving: landed shipping runs 14-21% of a ₹599 order. Under ₹500, push prepaid share up and consider marketplace fulfilment; own-site COD at ₹399 rarely survives."
  },
  {
   "question": "Best at scale (30+ orders/day)",
   "answer": "A direct Delhivery account alongside your aggregator: volume-quoted rates, D+2 remittance, and negotiating power you never get inside an aggregator panel."
  },
  {
   "question": "Best for returns/exchanges flow",
   "answer": "Aggregators win on workflow (one-panel reverse pickups across couriers). Verify the REVERSE rate separately: it is often priced above forward and never shown on the headline card."
  },
  {
   "question": "Aggregator vs direct, in one line",
   "answer": "Aggregator = flexibility and courier redundancy while you learn your lanes; direct = rate and remittance advantage once your volume and lane pattern are stable."
  },
  {
   "question": "True delivered cost",
   "answer": "Freight + COD fee + 18% GST on charges + weight-dispute risk + RTO drag. The full model, on a real order, is the next section: the headline rate is barely half of it."
  }
 ],
 "true_delivered_cost_model": {
  "label": "Illustrative - the same ₹799 skincare SKU as our unit economics reference; never a benchmark",
  "inputs": {
   "aov": 799,
   "freight_zone_c_0_5kg": 38,
   "cod_fee_fixed": 36,
   "gst_on_charges_pct": 18,
   "rto_rate": 0.25,
   "reverse_freight": 80,
   "packaging_loss": 15,
   "burnt_cac": 250
  },
  "chain": {
   "landed_shipping": 87,
   "landed_pct_of_aov": 10.9,
   "rto_drag_per_delivered_order": 142,
   "effective_logistics_per_delivered_order": 229,
   "effective_pct_of_aov": 28.7,
   "cm1": 428,
   "cm2": 178,
   "cm2_after_rto": 36,
   "max_sustainable_cac_at_15pct_cm2": 308
  },
  "provenance_of_chain": "Lab calculation",
  "warning": "Chain values describe the stated illustrative inputs ONLY. They are not Indian D2C averages or benchmarks. The generally applicable parts are the verified fee inputs (rate_rows) and the chain method."
 },
 "reference_facts": [
  {
   "metric": "volumetric divisor",
   "value": "L x B x H (cm) / 5000; chargeable weight = higher of dead vs volumetric",
   "provenance": "Verified external",
   "source": "courier T&Cs via Shiprocket/ClickPost"
  },
  {
   "metric": "damage in transit",
   "value": "~11% of unit loads arrive damaged",
   "provenance": "Verified external",
   "source": "Shiprocket packaging data"
  },
  {
   "metric": "NDR save window",
   "value": "30-50% of NDRs savable with sub-24h response; save rate halves past 48h",
   "provenance": "Verified external",
   "source": "aggregator NDR data"
  },
  {
   "metric": "weight dispute window",
   "value": "typically 7 days to dispute a discrepancy before it auto-accepts",
   "provenance": "Verified external",
   "source": "aggregator panels"
  },
  {
   "metric": "RTO drag formula",
   "value": "rate/(1-rate) x (forward + reverse + packaging + burnt CAC) per delivered order",
   "provenance": "Lab convention",
   "source": "our costing convention (Margin Waterfall)"
  }
 ]
}