The terms “courier” and “parcel” are well-known in the logistics and delivery industries. However, the majority of people are perplexed by these terms. They either mistook a courier service for a parcel delivery service or the other way around.

However, it would be incorrect to say that these terms have nothing in common because they all refer to the delivery of a package.

Then, what exactly differentiates these two terms from each other?

To be honest, there are very few differences between these two terms. To begin with, a parcel delivery generally refers to small, individual deliveries. Courier delivery, on the other hand, specializes in large and heavy deliveries (both individual and company deliveries).

Likewise, there are a few other things that separate these two terms.

• Parcel delivery is inexpensive because it follows the standard delivery pattern, which involves collecting parcels from various locations and sorting them out. They then deliver it to the address specified in the postal information.
  
  Your packages will almost certainly be handled by various people and departments throughout all of these processes. As a result, if your package contains anything other than papers or low-value items, it’s likely to be damaged. 
  
  Yes, that’s what a parcel delivery does. The work is all similar to that of a postal office.

• The courier service, on the other hand, is more expensive than parcel delivery because it is handled by a logistics company. The same company handles the entire shipping process, from collection to home delivery and customs clearance. 
  
  As a result, there is little or no risk of package damage.

Furthermore, depending on the destinations, parcel deliveries appear to take some time to deliver goods.  While courier services deliver goods on time according to the costs and possibilities. 

With this much information, I’m sure you can see why these two are so dissimilar despite their similarities.