What this shipment size actually costs, and whether consolidating up to the next bracket would be cheaper.
Shipping 500KG from China to Saudi Arabia costs approximately USD 3,979, based on a published rate of USD 1,326.4 per cubic metre (about USD 7.96 per kg at 1 CBM = 167 KG), converting 500 kg to 3 CBM at the standard 166.7 kg per CBM. Treat it as a planning estimate for the freight: what you actually pay depends on the product, its HS code, the declared value and the exchange rate on the day, and duty assessed by Zakat, Tax and Customs Authority (ZATCA) is quoted separately. The real figure can come in above or below this.
Rates last updated 2026-09-30. Indicative only — published channel prices for planning, not a quotation. Your actual cost depends on the product and its HS code, chargeable weight, declared value, duty and tax at destination and the exchange rate on the day, and can come in above or below these figures.
| Service | Mode | Rate | Billed as | Total (500 KG) | Details |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Best Value Sea · Freight – Class A Furniture | 🚢 Sea Freight | USD 1,326.4/CBM ≈ USD 7.96/KG | 3 CBM | USD 3,979 | View Details → |
| Heavy Cargo – Class A Furniture | ✈️ Air Freight | USD 46.2/KG | 500 KG | USD 23,080 | View Details → |
1 CBM = 167 KG
— sea LCL lanes are sold by the cubic metre. Volume converts to weight as
L × W × H (cm) ÷ 6000, so one cubic metre is treated as
167 KG.
The ≈ /KG figure is that conversion applied to the CBM rate, for comparison against the air rows.
Shipments under 1 CBM are billed at the 1 CBM minimum.
Freight is not billed on the number on your bathroom scale. It is billed on chargeable weight: the greater of actual gross weight and volumetric weight, where volumetric weight is L × W × H (cm) ÷ 6000. Denser cargo pays on its weight; light bulky cargo pays on the space it occupies. Whichever is higher is the one you pay — never the lower.
Worked example — how the conversion runs, not a quotation. 500 kg ÷ 167 kg/CBM = 3 CBM. On a per-CBM channel the estimate is the CBM rate × 3 — not the CBM rate × 500.
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Detailed per-weight pricing for every active route from China to Saudi Arabia. Each tier reflects the published rate at that exact weight — useful for accurate budgeting at common shipment sizes.
| Volume | Approx. weight | Rate (USD/CBM) | Shipment total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 CBM | ≈ 167 KG | USD 1,386.62 | USD 1,386.62 |
| 2 CBM | ≈ 333 KG | USD 1,344.95 | USD 2,689.90 |
| 3 CBM | ≈ 500 KG | USD 1,326.43 | USD 3,979.29 |
| 5 CBM | ≈ 833 KG | USD 1,317.17 | USD 6,585.86 |
| 8 CBM | ≈ 1,333 KG | USD 1,324.12 | USD 10,592.93 |
| 12 CBM | ≈ 2,000 KG | USD 1,347.26 | USD 16,167.18 |
| 20 CBM | ≈ 3,333 KG | USD 1,338.01 | USD 26,760.11 |
| 30 CBM | ≈ 5,000 KG | USD 1,305.60 | USD 39,167.94 |
| Weight | Rate (USD/KG) | @ 500 KG |
|---|---|---|
| 1 KG | USD 59.83 | USD 29,915.00 |
| 2 KG | USD 52.88 | USD 26,440.00 |
| 3 KG | USD 50.57 | USD 25,285.00 |
| 4 KG | USD 49.41 | USD 24,705.00 |
| 5 KG | USD 48.72 | USD 24,360.00 |
| 6 KG | USD 49.41 | USD 24,705.00 |
| 7 KG | USD 48.92 | USD 24,460.00 |
| 8 KG | USD 48.54 | USD 24,270.00 |
| 9 KG | USD 48.25 | USD 24,125.00 |
| 10 KG | USD 48.02 | USD 24,010.00 |
| 11 KG | USD 48.46 | USD 24,230.00 |
| 12 KG | USD 48.25 | USD 24,125.00 |
| 13 KG | USD 48.08 | USD 24,040.00 |
| 14 KG | USD 47.92 | USD 23,960.00 |
| 15 KG | USD 47.79 | USD 23,895.00 |
| 16 KG | USD 47.68 | USD 23,840.00 |
| 17 KG | USD 48.39 | USD 24,195.00 |
| 18 KG | USD 48.25 | USD 24,125.00 |
| 19 KG | USD 48.13 | USD 24,065.00 |
| 20 KG | USD 48.02 | USD 24,010.00 |
| 21 KG | USD 47.92 | USD 23,960.00 |
| 22 KG | USD 47.83 | USD 23,915.00 |
| 23 KG | USD 48.05 | USD 24,025.00 |
| 30 KG | USD 47.56 | USD 23,780.00 |
| 50 KG | USD 47.19 | USD 23,595.00 |
| 100 KG | USD 46.63 | USD 23,315.00 |
| 150 KG | USD 46.59 | USD 23,295.00 |
| 200 KG | USD 46.49 | USD 23,245.00 |
| 505 KG | USD 46.21 | USD 23,105.00 |
| 850 KG | USD 46.27 | USD 23,135.00 |
| 1700 KG | USD 46.35 | USD 23,175.00 |
| 2500 KG | USD 46.33 | USD 23,165.00 |
| 3400 KG | USD 46.08 | USD 23,040.00 |
The rate above is quoted on one specific trade term. Change the term and you change how much of the journey to Saudi Arabia is already inside the price. The table below maps the eleven common Incoterms® against the twelve cost stages of a door-to-door shipment, so you can see exactly where our responsibility ends and yours begins.
| Term | 1 Loading on truck | 2 Export customs declaration | 3 Carriage to port of export | 4 Unloading at port of export | 5 Loading on vessel / aircraft | 6 Main carriage | 7 Cargo insurance | 8 Unloading at port of import | 9 Loading on truck at import | 10 Carriage to destination | 11 Import customs clearance | 12 Import duties & taxes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| EXW Ex Works | Buyer Buyer — Loading on truck | Buyer Buyer — Export customs declaration | Buyer Buyer — Carriage to port of export | Buyer Buyer — Unloading at port of export | Buyer Buyer — Loading on vessel / aircraft | Buyer Buyer — Main carriage | Buyer Buyer — Cargo insurance | Buyer Buyer — Unloading at port of import | Buyer Buyer — Loading on truck at import | Buyer Buyer — Carriage to destination | Buyer Buyer — Import customs clearance | Buyer Buyer — Import duties & taxes |
| FCA Free Carrier | Seller Seller — Loading on truck | Seller Seller — Export customs declaration | Buyer Buyer — Carriage to port of export | Buyer Buyer — Unloading at port of export | Buyer Buyer — Loading on vessel / aircraft | Buyer Buyer — Main carriage | Buyer Buyer — Cargo insurance | Buyer Buyer — Unloading at port of import | Buyer Buyer — Loading on truck at import | Buyer Buyer — Carriage to destination | Buyer Buyer — Import customs clearance | Buyer Buyer — Import duties & taxes |
| FAS Free Alongside Ship | Seller Seller — Loading on truck | Seller Seller — Export customs declaration | Seller Seller — Carriage to port of export | Seller Seller — Unloading at port of export | Buyer Buyer — Loading on vessel / aircraft | Buyer Buyer — Main carriage | Buyer Buyer — Cargo insurance | Buyer Buyer — Unloading at port of import | Buyer Buyer — Loading on truck at import | Buyer Buyer — Carriage to destination | Buyer Buyer — Import customs clearance | Buyer Buyer — Import duties & taxes |
| FOB Free On Board | Seller Seller — Loading on truck | Seller Seller — Export customs declaration | Seller Seller — Carriage to port of export | Seller Seller — Unloading at port of export | Seller Seller — Loading on vessel / aircraft | Buyer Buyer — Main carriage | Buyer Buyer — Cargo insurance | Buyer Buyer — Unloading at port of import | Buyer Buyer — Loading on truck at import | Buyer Buyer — Carriage to destination | Buyer Buyer — Import customs clearance | Buyer Buyer — Import duties & taxes |
| CFR Cost and Freight | Seller Seller — Loading on truck | Seller Seller — Export customs declaration | Seller Seller — Carriage to port of export | Seller Seller — Unloading at port of export | Seller Seller — Loading on vessel / aircraft | Seller Seller — Main carriage | Buyer Buyer — Cargo insurance | Buyer Buyer — Unloading at port of import | Buyer Buyer — Loading on truck at import | Buyer Buyer — Carriage to destination | Buyer Buyer — Import customs clearance | Buyer Buyer — Import duties & taxes |
| CIF Cost, Insurance and Freight | Seller Seller — Loading on truck | Seller Seller — Export customs declaration | Seller Seller — Carriage to port of export | Seller Seller — Unloading at port of export | Seller Seller — Loading on vessel / aircraft | Seller Seller — Main carriage | Seller Seller — Cargo insurance | Buyer Buyer — Unloading at port of import | Buyer Buyer — Loading on truck at import | Buyer Buyer — Carriage to destination | Buyer Buyer — Import customs clearance | Buyer Buyer — Import duties & taxes |
| CPT Carriage Paid To | Seller Seller — Loading on truck | Seller Seller — Export customs declaration | Seller Seller — Carriage to port of export | Seller Seller — Unloading at port of export | Seller Seller — Loading on vessel / aircraft | Seller Seller — Main carriage | Negotiable Negotiable — Cargo insurance | Seller Seller — Unloading at port of import | Seller Seller — Loading on truck at import | Seller Seller — Carriage to destination | Buyer Buyer — Import customs clearance | Buyer Buyer — Import duties & taxes |
| CIP Carriage and Insurance Paid | Seller Seller — Loading on truck | Seller Seller — Export customs declaration | Seller Seller — Carriage to port of export | Seller Seller — Unloading at port of export | Seller Seller — Loading on vessel / aircraft | Seller Seller — Main carriage | Seller Seller — Cargo insurance | Seller Seller — Unloading at port of import | Seller Seller — Loading on truck at import | Seller Seller — Carriage to destination | Buyer Buyer — Import customs clearance | Buyer Buyer — Import duties & taxes |
| DAT Delivered At Terminal (DPU) | Seller Seller — Loading on truck | Seller Seller — Export customs declaration | Seller Seller — Carriage to port of export | Seller Seller — Unloading at port of export | Seller Seller — Loading on vessel / aircraft | Seller Seller — Main carriage | Negotiable Negotiable — Cargo insurance | Seller Seller — Unloading at port of import | Buyer Buyer — Loading on truck at import | Buyer Buyer — Carriage to destination | Buyer Buyer — Import customs clearance | Buyer Buyer — Import duties & taxes |
| DAP Delivered At Place | Seller Seller — Loading on truck | Seller Seller — Export customs declaration | Seller Seller — Carriage to port of export | Seller Seller — Unloading at port of export | Seller Seller — Loading on vessel / aircraft | Seller Seller — Main carriage | Negotiable Negotiable — Cargo insurance | Seller Seller — Unloading at port of import | Seller Seller — Loading on truck at import | Seller Seller — Carriage to destination | Buyer Buyer — Import customs clearance | Buyer Buyer — Import duties & taxes |
| DDP Delivered Duty Paid | Seller Seller — Loading on truck | Seller Seller — Export customs declaration | Seller Seller — Carriage to port of export | Seller Seller — Unloading at port of export | Seller Seller — Loading on vessel / aircraft | Seller Seller — Main carriage | Negotiable Negotiable — Cargo insurance | Seller Seller — Unloading at port of import | Seller Seller — Loading on truck at import | Seller Seller — Carriage to destination | Seller Seller — Import customs clearance | Seller Seller — Import duties & taxes |
Buyer takes over at the seller's door and carries every cost from there. Lowest quoted price, highest buyer workload.
Seller clears the goods for export and hands them to the carrier the buyer nominated.
Sea and inland waterway only. Seller delivers alongside the vessel; loading is on the buyer.
Sea and inland waterway only. Risk passes once the goods are on board. The most common buying term.
Seller pays the main carriage but carries no insurance obligation; risk still passes on loading.
As CFR, plus the seller must buy and pay for cargo insurance (minimum cover unless you agree more).
Any mode. Seller pays carriage through to the named destination; insurance is not obligatory.
As CPT, plus the seller must insure the cargo through to the named destination.
Seller delivers unloaded at the named terminal. Renamed DPU (Delivered at Place Unloaded) in Incoterms® 2020.
Seller delivers to your address ready for unloading; import clearance and duty stay with the buyer.
Seller carries everything through to your door, duty and tax included. Highest quoted price, least buyer workload.
Two things worth flagging. Under CIF and CIP the seller is obliged to buy cargo insurance and pay the premium; under every other term insurance is optional, and we recommend buyers arrange their own cover so a loss or damage in transit is recoverable. And this table is a working summary for planning purposes — the binding definitions are the ones published by the International Chamber of Commerce in the Incoterms® rules, so confirm the exact term wording in your sales contract before you ship.
Shipments around 500 KG are the core of a consolidation service. You are buying space in a shared box, so your neighbours matter: a consol carrying difficult cargo clears slower than one that does not, and the delay lands on everyone in it. This is also the point where full-container starts to appear on the horizon — not on weight, but on volume, once the cargo runs past roughly five or six cubic metres.
The switch is decided by volume, not weight. Groupage is billed per cubic metre with a one-cubic-metre floor, so its cost climbs in a straight line with your cube. A container is a flat price for the box whether you fill it or not. Those two lines cross somewhere between roughly 12 and 15 m³ on most lanes — below that a consol is cheaper, above it you are paying groupage rates for space a 20GP would have given you outright.
| Box | Usable cube | Payload | What it suits |
|---|---|---|---|
| 20GP | 33 m³ | ≈ 28 t | Dense cargo — the payload runs out long before the cube does. |
| 40GP | 67 m³ | ≈ 26 t | Twice the space for far less than twice the price. The default for most consolidated buyers. |
| 40HQ | 76 m³ | ≈ 26 t | The extra foot of height pays for itself on anything light and stackable. |
Two things move the crossover on a real booking. Cargo denser than about 167 kg per cubic metre hits a container's payload limit before its cube, so the box fills on weight and the calculation shifts down. And a container starts accruing free-time charges at destination the moment it is discharged — demurrage on the quay, detention off it — which is a cost a consol never hands you. If your cargo sits near the line, send the packed dimensions and we will price both against each other rather than guess.
Shipping to Saudi Arabia by air or sea? Plan cartons and container loading in 3D before requesting a quote.
Optimize cartons before tendering cargo to Saudi Arabia: build the packing plan in 3D and download it for your supplier or forwarder.
Open Packing Tool →Not sure if your Saudi Arabia cargo fills a 20GP or needs a 40HQ? Simulate cartons, crates, pallets, and mixed box sizes in the 3D container planner.
Open Container Planner →| Method | Transit Time | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Ocean LCL (groupage) | 30–50 calendar days | Shared box to the quay in Saudi Arabia, then inland |
| Ocean FCL | 28–45 calendar days | Your own box, quay to door in Saudi Arabia |
| Courier | 3–7 business days | Integrator door to door — expensive at this size |
Reference figures that shape cost and transit on the China-Saudi Arabia route:
| Main sea gateways | Jeddah Islamic Port, King Abdulaziz (Dammam), Jubail |
|---|---|
| Destination customs authority | Zakat, Tax and Customs Authority (ZATCA) |
| De-minimis / duty-free threshold | SAR 1,000 |
| Import tax & duty regime | VAT 15%; duty 5–15% (some goods up to 25%) |
| Local currency | SAR |
| Typical port/airport dwell time | 4–8 days |
| Peak / busy season | Sep–Nov |
| Conformity & certification | SABER / SASO certificate of conformity required |
| Main air gateways | JED (Jeddah), RUH (Riyadh), DMM (Dammam) |
Thresholds and bands here are planning references for buyers, not rulings — confirm the exact HS-code rate for your goods before shipping.
Historical freight rates from China to Saudi Arabia for 500 KG shipments. Data sourced from live carrier price feeds.
Every duty and tax figure quoted on this page is our working estimate for planning, not a ruling. The binding rate for your consignment is whatever ZATCA (Saudi Zakat, Tax and Customs Authority) applies against your declared HS code on the day of entry, and their published guidance is the source to check before you commit stock.
Most landed-cost surprises trace back to classification rather than freight. the WCO Harmonized System defines the heading structure every customs administration builds on, and ITC Market Access Map will show you the duty a given heading attracts in this destination.
For ocean cargo, restricted commodities move under the IMO's IMDG Code, and the container has to be declared and stowed accordingly. Batteries, flammables and corrosives all have a compliant ocean path; what causes rolled bookings is finding out about them after the container is packed.
If this is your first shipment into Saudi Arabia, the Saudi Arabia Country Commercial Guide covers the practical import environment in more depth than a rate page reasonably can, and it is written by a party with no stake in your booking.
Pricing into Saudi Arabia currently opens at USD 1,326.43/CBM on Sea Freight – Class A Furniture. At 500 KG, the estimated total is approximately USD 3,979, duty included. Final landed cost depends on the VAT 15%; duty 5–15% (some goods up to 25%) applied by Zakat, Tax and Customs Authority (ZATCA).
Imports into Saudi Arabia are assessed by Zakat, Tax and Customs Authority (ZATCA). The applicable regime is: VAT 15%; duty 5–15% (some goods up to 25%). The duty-free / de-minimis position is SAR 1,000. Under our DDP service these charges are pre-paid and included in the per-KG price, so there is nothing to settle on arrival.
Chargeable weight is the greater of actual gross weight and volumetric weight, where volumetric weight is L × W × H in centimetres divided by 6000. One cubic metre therefore equals 167 kg. If a consignment weighs 300 kg but measures out to only 200 kg volumetric, it is charged on the 300 kg — the higher of the two always wins. Sea LCL and sea DDP channels are published per cubic metre rather than per kilogram, with a one cubic metre minimum. Where a page knows only a weight, it converts at 167 kg per CBM to show an indicative volume — 500 kg shows as about 3 CBM. Send real dimensions for a firm figure.
For regulated goods entering Saudi Arabia, plan for: SABER / SASO certificate of conformity required. Missing conformity paperwork is the most common cause of clearance holds with Zakat, Tax and Customs Authority (ZATCA), so confirm requirements for your HS code before the cargo leaves China.
Capacity to Saudi Arabia tightens around Sep–Nov, on top of the China-side surcharge windows of Chinese New Year (Jan/Feb) and Golden Week (early Oct). Booking 1–2 weeks earlier during these windows protects both space and rate.
Ocean cargo for Saudi Arabia discharges at Jeddah Islamic Port, King Abdulaziz (Dammam), Jubail; air arrives via JED (Jeddah), RUH (Riyadh), DMM (Dammam). Which one your consignment routes through is decided by the sailing or allocation we book, and it moves the inland cost far more than it moves the ocean cost. We pick the gateway with the best onward delivery time to your final address and price it into the DDP rate.
Yes. An air consignment carries an AWB that goes live within a day of departure; an ocean booking is followed on the bill of lading through the line's own portal. We push status at the points that matter — sailed, arrived, released by Zakat, Tax and Customs Authority (ZATCA), delivered — rather than at every terminal scan.
An entry with Zakat, Tax and Customs Authority (ZATCA) stands on five things: a commercial invoice carrying HS codes and a declared value you can defend, a packing list whose weights and dimensions match the cargo, the bill of lading or air waybill, a certificate of origin where one lowers the duty, and whatever product certification applies (SABER / SASO certificate of conformity required). We prepare and file the set; you supply the truth behind it.
The rates above answer the cost question. This covers the mechanics — useful if you have not shipped to Saudi Arabia before and are still working out how to structure the order.
Ocean Freight 101 - What Is LCL Ocean Freight — Flexport. Published on YouTube by a third party; we link it because it explains the process well, not because we produced it or endorse the provider.
Rates above are lane rates and apply to general cargo. Packing specification, HS classification and the clearance step that matters are all commodity-specific — these guides cover them industry by industry.
Duty and tax position, certification, typical port dwell and what actually holds shipments at this border — plus who files the entry.
Saudi Arabia clearance requirements →I need three things to price your cargo. Give me sixty seconds and I can quote today.
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