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Nationwide · Guaranteed options

Same Day Courier Service, Anywhere in the UK

For the sofa, the fridge or the wardrobe that has to be there today. Porta matches you with a vetted independent driver already heading your way, prices the job postcode to postcode, and lets you pay to pin the deadline down rather than hope.

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Same-day available • No hidden fees

What you can send same-day

The heavy, awkward pieces the parcel networks will not carry, and the smaller ones where the deadline matters more than the size.

  • Sofas, beds, wardrobes and single pieces of furniture
  • Fridges, washing machines and large appliances
  • Boxed and bulky business stock
  • Marketplace and auction wins that need collecting today
  • Awkward, heavy or oversized items the parcel networks turn away
  • Smaller consignments too, where the timing matters more than the size
Large item courier Furniture courier Marketplace collections Man with a van
Two people carrying a sofa to a Porta van on a terraced street

The same-day options, and what each does

There is no single same-day price, because same-day is not one thing. It is two decisions: how quickly your item gets collected, and how tightly the arrival time is pinned down. Each is priced separately, so you buy the bit that matters rather than one expensive bundle.

Getting it collected

  • Collection today

    Your item is picked up today rather than slotted into the next available run.

  • Delivery straight after collection

    A dedicated run with no other drops in between. The fastest option.

Pinning down the delivery

  • Two-hour arrival window

    Seven windows between 6am and 8pm, so you are not waiting in all day.

  • Guaranteed delivery by 5pm

    A delivery deadline you can plan a working day around.

  • Guaranteed delivery by 10pm

    The cheaper guarantee, for when the evening is early enough.

One real quote, in full

Same-day is priced on the journey, so a headline rate would tell you nothing. Here is one actual quote broken down: a three-seat sofa from London to Manchester (about 200 miles).

London to Manchester

Sofa, booked normally
from £120
Collection today
+ £36
Two-hour window
+ £12
Guaranteed by 5pm
+ £17
Collected today, guaranteed by 5pm
from £185

A shorter route costs less on both counts: the base and the same-day options both come down with the distance. That is why every job is quoted rather than sold at one flat rate, and why your two postcodes set the price.

Prices include VAT. The figures above are a real example for the route named; same-day options are priced by distance, so your own job will differ. The price you are quoted at booking is the price that applies. Get a live quote for your own postcodes.

A Porta van setting off on a British A-road in early morning light

A driver already heading your way, not a van sent out specially.

Porta, a dedicated courier, or a parcel network

Three different things get called a same-day courier and they suit different jobs. Taking a 60-mile large-item delivery as the example, this is roughly how they compare.

Porta

Priced on the actual journey, from the figures shown above

Best for: Large, awkward and heavy items over distance

You are matched with a vetted independent driver already heading that way, so you are not paying for an empty return leg. The saving grows with the distance.

A dedicated same-day courier

Typically billed per mile, plus a collection charge

Best for: Urgent local work, sub-hour response in a city

A van is sent to you and comes back empty, and the return leg is on your invoice. Genuinely hard to beat inside a city, and it climbs quickly once the miles add up.

A national parcel network

Cheapest for an everyday boxed parcel

Best for: Standard parcels with no fixed deadline

Hard to beat on price for a small standard parcel. What they will not do is carry a sofa or a fridge, or hold a specific same-day deadline on a run that never changes hands.

The reason the numbers cross over is the empty return leg. A dedicated courier sends a van to you and bills you for it coming back. Porta matches a driver already going that way, so the further the job travels, the better that trade looks. It is also why the same match cuts empty miles and makes the delivery lower-emission than sending a van out specially.

When same-day works, and when it does not

Same-day works best for a single large or awkward item going a real distance, booked early in the day. It works less well for a full house move or an item that is not ready to leave. Four things worth knowing before you book.

Ask in the morning, not at four
Same-day works because a driver near you has a gap left in the day. At nine that gap is real. By late afternoon it has been taken by someone who asked earlier, and the drivers still free are further away. The same request gets a better answer at 9am than at 4pm.
Distance changes the price, not the possibility
Quotes are worked out on the postcode-to-postcode distance, so a long same-day job is not off the table, it simply costs more than a short one. This is where Porta tends to beat a dedicated courier rather than lose to one.
One awkward item beats a houseful
A sofa, a fridge or a single wardrobe slots into a run someone is already doing. A full flat move needs a dedicated booking and a proper slot, which is rarely a today job.
It has to be ready when the driver arrives
Same-day leaves no slack for an item that still needs taking apart or a collection nobody can get to. Have it dismantled, boxed and reachable before the window opens, so the driver can load and go rather than wait.

Same-day or next-day: which one you actually need

The difference is simple: same-day collects and delivers inside the same working day to a deadline you set, while next-day gives the driver room to combine your job with others going the same way, which usually makes it cheaper. Most people who ask for same-day do not strictly need it, so the question worth asking is what happens if it arrives tomorrow morning instead.

Pay for same-day when
  • A tenancy or a key handover ends today
  • A seller will relist the item if it is not collected
  • A house has no working fridge or washing machine
  • A trade customer cannot open tomorrow without the stock
  • Missing the deadline costs more than the premium does

You are not really buying speed, you are buying certainty. The guaranteed options exist so you can hold someone to it.

Book next-day instead when
  • Tomorrow morning would genuinely be fine
  • You are flexible on the collection window
  • The item is going a long way and cost matters more than hours
  • Nothing downstream depends on it landing today

It is usually kinder on the price, because the driver can combine your job with others heading the same way instead of building the day around yours.

There is a middle option people miss. If the collection has to happen today but the delivery can wait, buy collection today on its own and skip the guaranteed deadline. That is the usual shape for a marketplace buy: get it off the seller's hands before they change their mind, and let the delivery land when it lands.

What decides the price

Four things decide the price of a same-day courier: the distance, what you are sending, how tightly you pin the timing, and the access at each end. The quote is settled before you commit, and there is no hourly meter ticking up while a driver sits in traffic or waits at a locked gate.

Distance

Priced postcode to postcode on the real journey rather than a zone map. It is why a cross-town job and a cross-country job are nowhere near the same number.

What you are sending

Size, weight and how awkward it is to carry. A single armchair is a different job from a wardrobe that needs two people and a doorway it barely fits through.

How tightly the timing is pinned

The options on the rail above are priced separately, so you buy only the certainty you need instead of one expensive bundle.

Access at both ends

Stairs, lifts, narrow lanes and permit parking all change how long a job takes. Not hidden charges, but they do need to be on the booking.

A dedicated courier sends a van out to you and charges for it coming home again, empty or not. Porta matches your job to a driver already travelling that way, so the miles are shared rather than billed twice. That is the same reason the delivery burns fewer empty miles.

A Porta driver closing the van doors on a city street at first light

What happens once you have booked

Same-day is the booking most likely to make someone anxious, because the whole point is that it cannot slip. So here is the day, plainly.

  1. You get a price and book it. Two postcodes and a description of the item produce a fixed quote with the same-day options priced separately, so you can see exactly what the deadline is costing before you commit to it.
  2. A vetted driver is matched to the job. Porta is a platform rather than a carrier, so the van belongs to an independent driver whose identity, licence and insurance were checked before they joined. On a same-day booking the match is looking for someone with the right vehicle who is genuinely near enough to make it.
  3. Collection happens inside your window. If you paid for a two-hour slot, that is the window to be available in. Most people underestimate how much this matters: the item needs to be ready, accessible and, where relevant, already dismantled.
  4. You get updates, and on most jobs a photo. A picture of the item loaded and strapped in the van before it sets off turns a nervous afternoon into a known quantity.
  5. It arrives by the deadline you paid for. Same driver, same van, no depots and no handovers in between, which is the structural reason a single-driver job can hold a deadline that a hub-and-spoke network struggles with.

Most parcel networks miss deadlines at the handover points rather than on the road. A job that never changes hands has far fewer places to go wrong.

Same-day for businesses

Commercial urgency is a different shape. The price matters less than whether the deadline is real, because missing it shows up as a closed shop, an idle fitting team or a customer who does not come back.

  • A consignment of boxed stock that has to reach a shop before it opens
  • A replacement appliance for a rental property
  • Display or event equipment needed before doors open
  • Office furniture that cannot wait for a scheduled slot

Not only the bulky stuff: urgent documents and small parcels are carried on the same direct-run basis, which is exactly what time-critical business paperwork needs when it cannot wait for the next scheduled collection.

Boxed business stock being loaded into a Porta van outside a shop

Same-day courier by city

Same-day is nationwide, so you do not need to find your town on this list to book. These are the cities we get asked about most.

Same-day courier questions

Can you guarantee same-day delivery?

Yes, once your booking is confirmed. Guaranteed delivery by 5pm and by 10pm are priced options you can add at checkout, alongside collection today, a two-hour arrival window and delivery straight after collection. The part that is not guaranteed in advance is whether a suitable driver is free near you, which is why you get a live quote first rather than a promise.

How much does a same-day courier cost?

A same-day courier is priced on the journey rather than a flat rate, so what you pay depends on the distance and the timing options you add. As a real example, a three-seat sofa from London to Manchester starts from £120, or from £185 collected today with a two-hour window and delivery guaranteed by 5pm. A shorter route costs less, on both the base and the same-day options. You see the full price before you book, and there is no hourly meter.

How long does a same-day courier take?

Same-day means collection and delivery within the same working day, to a deadline you choose. Where a driver is free nearby, collection is often within a few hours of booking, and mornings give you far more choice than afternoons. Adding collection today prioritises your job, and you can pin the arrival with a guaranteed delivery by 5pm or by 10pm. Because it is a direct run with no depot stops, it is usually quicker than a networked parcel that passes through sorting hubs.

Do you cover the whole UK?

Yes, same-day is available nationwide rather than in a handful of cities, and the price reflects the distance involved. Long same-day jobs are where Porta tends to be better value than a dedicated courier, because you are not paying for a van to travel back empty.

What can you send same-day?

Large and awkward items are the speciality: furniture, appliances and single heavy pieces. Smaller consignments are accepted too. For a full flat or house move, a man with a van booking with a proper slot is usually the better fit.

What is the difference between same-day and next-day?

Same-day means collection and delivery inside the same working day, with the deadline you choose, and it is a paid premium. Next-day gives the driver more room to combine your job with others heading the same way, which usually makes it cheaper. If the deadline is genuinely today, pay for the guarantee. If it is not, next-day is better value.

Who actually does the delivery?

Porta is a platform rather than a carrier. You are matched with an independent driver whose identity, licence and insurance have been checked before they join the network. Porta prices the job, matches the driver and keeps you updated from collection to delivery.

Can I send documents or a small parcel same-day?

Yes. Same-day documents and parcels are one of the things Porta does, and it comes into its own when the deadline is the whole point: urgent legal paperwork, signed contracts, or anything that genuinely has to be there today. Because it is a direct run with one driver and no sorting hubs, it never sits in a depot overnight. For an everyday parcel with no deadline a standard network will be cheaper, but that is not really a same-day job.

Will I get updates while it is in transit?

Yes. You get updates from collection through to delivery, and on most jobs a photo of your item loaded and secured in the van before it sets off.

Can I pay for collection today without a guaranteed delivery time?

Yes, and it is often the sensible choice. The options are priced separately rather than bundled, so if the item needs to be off the seller's hands today but the delivery can wait, you can buy the collection without the delivery deadline and pay less.

Why can a single driver hold a deadline when a parcel network cannot?

Because nothing changes hands. Networks tend to miss deadlines at the handover points between depots rather than out on the road. A same-day Porta job is the same driver and the same van from collection to delivery, with no depots in between, so there are far fewer places for it to go wrong.

Is same-day available at weekends?

Yes. Porta operates seven days a week, including weekends and bank holidays, so a weekend deadline is treated like any other day. Availability depends on a driver being free in your area, but same-day weekend collections run right across the UK.

Do you do same-day for businesses?

Yes. The bulky end is where Porta fits best: a consignment of boxed stock that has to reach a shop before opening, a replacement appliance for a rental property, event or display equipment, or office furniture that cannot wait for a scheduled slot. Urgent same-day documents and parcels are covered too, on the same direct-run basis, which suits time-critical business paperwork where the deadline is the product.

Helpful reading

Need it there today?

Enter two postcodes and see the live options, including what a guaranteed deadline costs on your job.

  • Collection today, from a driver near you
  • Delivery guaranteed by 5pm or 10pm, once booked
  • Large and awkward items, and time-critical parcels alike
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