Dense and heavy
Books, tools, hardware, machine parts. Weight that is real rather than volumetric is where the per-kilo saving lands hardest.
Road freight is by a wide margin the cheapest way to move weight out of Bangalore. It is also the slowest, and below 3 kg it costs more than flying. This page is the arithmetic for deciding which side of that line you are on.
Surface is DTDC’s road product. It runs on the same booking, the same AWB and the same proof of delivery as an air shipment — the only differences are the price and the time in transit.
The 3 kg minimum is the whole story. Surface is billed from 3 kg regardless of what you hand over, which means 1 kg and 3 kg cost exactly the same. Run the comparison at 1 kg and Surface loses on every single zone: ₹259 against ₹196 within Karnataka, ₹311 against ₹236 across the south, ₹484 against ₹415 to most of India. If you are shipping a single kilo, book Standard — it is both cheaper and days faster.
From 3 kg upward the picture inverts, and it keeps getting better. To most of India, 3 kg is ₹484 on Surface against ₹830 on Standard. At 10 kg it is ₹1,614 against ₹2,593 — about 38% saved. At 25 kg, ₹4,036 against ₹6,481. At 50 kg, ₹8,072 against ₹12,962, which works out to ₹161 a kilo. Across the southern states the 50 kg slab is ₹5,186, or ₹104 a kilo. Nothing else on the card gets close.
What you pay for that is time. Surface reaches the southern states in three to four days and most of India in five to eight, against two to five days on Standard. To the north-east and J&K it can run seven to thirteen days. If the delivery date is fixed, this is the wrong tier — read the air freight page instead.
Two points on the ladder for each zone: the 3 kg minimum you cannot go below, and the 25 kg slab where the saving against air is at its most obvious.
| Service | Rate | Transit |
|---|---|---|
| Rest of Karnataka | ₹259 up to 3 kg · ₹2,161 at 25 kg | 2–3 days |
| Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Goa | ₹311 up to 3 kg · ₹2,593 at 25 kg | 3–4 days |
| Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata | ₹380 up to 3 kg · ₹3,169 at 25 kg | 4–5 days |
| Gurgaon, Faridabad & the rest of NCR | ₹484 up to 3 kg · ₹4,036 at 25 kg | 4–5 days |
| Rest of India | ₹484 up to 3 kg · ₹4,036 at 25 kg | 5–8 days |
| North-east, J&K, Himachal, Andaman & Nicobar | ₹674 up to 3 kg · ₹5,619 at 25 kg | 7–13 days |
GST included. Slabs continue to 50 kg on every zone — the full ladder for a given destination is on its own page. Above 5 kg the air product changes to AC1, which also carries a 3 kg minimum.
Books, tools, hardware, machine parts. Weight that is real rather than volumetric is where the per-kilo saving lands hardest.
Cartons going to a dealer on a predictable cycle, where the date is known a week ahead and speed buys nothing.
Kitchenware and linen. Pack tight — a loose 40 × 30 × 30 cm carton is already 7.2 kg before anything goes in it.
Anything with a shelf life, anything with a deadline, and anything under 3 kg.
Three kilograms. Lighter shipments are accepted but billed at the 3 kg rate, so 1 kg and 3 kg cost the same. There is no thirty-kilogram floor on this service and never has been on the card we book from.
Above 3 kg, always, and by a lot. At 1 kg, no — Standard is cheaper on every zone. The crossover sits between the 1 kg and 3 kg slabs everywhere, which makes the decision unusually simple.
Two to three days within Karnataka, three to four to the southern states, four to five to Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata and NCR, five to eight across the rest of India, and seven to thirteen to the north-east. Each destination page carries its own figure.
Yes, on the same AWB and the same dtdc.com tracking as an air booking. There are fewer scan points on the road network, so expect longer gaps between updates.
That is a truck job, not a courier booking — see packers and movers. As a rule of thumb, if it fits in cartons and totals under about 50 kg, surface cargo is cheaper than any share of a truck.
Send us the destination and the approximate weight. If your shipment is under 3 kg we will tell you to book Standard instead.
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