Special Delivery Guaranteed is Royal Mail's money-back-guaranteed next-day service, and from 1 July 2026 its price depends heavily on three things: which delivery window you choose (9am or 1pm, or Next Day for account customers posting on a Saturday), how much compensation cover you want, and how you're paying. The gap between the cheapest and most expensive combination is substantial.
By 1pm: the standard guaranteed option
On a Mailmark franking machine, Special Delivery Guaranteed by 1pm starts at £9.95 for an item up to 100g with £750 inclusive-style compensation, rising to £12.95 for £1,000 cover and £19.95 for £2,500 cover. Prices climb gently by weight: £10.95/£13.95/£20.95 at 500g, £11.95/£14.95/£21.95 at 1kg, £15.95/£18.95/£25.95 at 2kg, and £22.95/£25.95/£32.95 at 10kg. On Account, the by-1pm rates are considerably cheaper — from £8.35 (100g, £750 cover) up to £23.35 (2kg, £2,500 cover), because Account rates exclude VAT while franking rates for this service include it.
By 9am: paying a premium for a guaranteed early window
Special Delivery Guaranteed by 9am costs roughly four to five times more than the equivalent by-1pm service at the same weight, reflecting the operational cost of guaranteeing delivery before the working day properly starts. On Mailmark franking, 9am starts at £53.95 for 100g with £50 compensation, rising to £74.95 for 2kg with £2,500 cover. On Account, the by-9am rate for 100g with £750 cover is £37.45, climbing to £60.45 at 2kg with £2,500 cover — still a large step up from the 1pm equivalent, but meaningfully cheaper than paying by franking machine.
Saturday Guarantee: an add-on, not a separate service
Franking customers pay extra for guaranteed Saturday delivery — Special Delivery Guaranteed by 1pm with Saturday Guarantee runs from £14.94 (100g, £750 cover) up to £42.54 (10kg, £2,500 cover) inclusive of VAT. Account customers get the Saturday guarantee included as standard, at no additional fee — a genuinely useful reason to move from franking to an Account if Saturday delivery matters to your business regularly rather than occasionally.
Special Delivery Guaranteed Next Day: the Account-only Sunday option
For items posted on a Saturday, Account customers can use Special Delivery Guaranteed Next Day for guaranteed Sunday delivery — priced lower than the standard by-1pm Account rate, starting at £6.85 (100g, £750 cover) up to £25.95 (20kg, £2,500 cover). This is only available to customers posting on account, not via franking or over the counter.
Compensation tiers: what the extra cover actually buys
Each Special Delivery service includes a base level of compensation, with the option to pay more for higher cover — up to £2,500 for loss or damage as standard, or up to £10,000 for consequential loss specifically, covered in our Royal Mail compensation guide. Consequential loss add-ons (covering losses beyond the item's value, such as a missed contract deadline) are priced separately and start from £1.90 for £1,000 of additional cover, rising to £8.10 for £10,000.
Working out which combination actually makes sense
For most business shipping, Special Delivery Guaranteed by 1pm on Account is the sensible default — meaningfully cheaper than franking at the same compensation tier, and includes Saturday delivery at no extra charge. By 9am is worth paying for only when a genuinely early delivery window matters to the recipient, given the substantial price step up, covered in more general terms in our Royal Mail service comparison guide.
Frequently asked questions
Why is franking so much more expensive than Account for Special Delivery Guaranteed? Franking prices for this service include VAT at the standard rate, while Account prices exclude VAT (charged separately at the standard rate on your invoice) — the headline difference in the price guide reflects this VAT treatment as much as any underlying rate difference.
Is Saturday delivery guaranteed by default on Special Delivery Guaranteed? Only for Account customers — franking customers need to pay the Saturday Guarantee add-on rate specifically, while Account customers get it included as standard at no additional fee.
What's the cheapest way to get next-day guaranteed delivery? Based on the July 2026 price guide, Special Delivery Guaranteed by 1pm purchased on Account is consistently the cheapest guaranteed-delivery combination across every weight and compensation tier covered here.
For everything that doesn't need Special Delivery
Most parcels don't need a guaranteed timed service — just a correctly sized 100 × 150mm direct thermal label and a standard Tracked or 1st Class service.
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