Door to door vs port to port: which scope does your quote spell out?
What each term means, which legs each one leaves to you, and why quotes with different scopes can't be compared.
A door to door quote has one party run every leg of your move, from your old address to your new one, while a port to port quote prices only the freight between two ports and leaves the legs at each end, such as packing, clearance and delivery, for you or other parties to arrange.
That is the whole difference. Neither scope is wrong. Each fits a different mover.
It is why the two are not like for like. A quote is only as complete as the legs it names.
This guide shows the legs. It shows who handles each one under each scope.
It ends with the questions to put to any quote. For how a whole move runs, see international moving with IMove.
Which legs of a move does each scope run?
An international move has the same legs whichever scope you buy, which are packing and collection, export clearance, the road run to the port, the sailing, import clearance and delivery, and the scope only decides how many of those legs sit inside the quote and how many are yours to arrange.
The diagram marks the span of each scope along the same line of legs. Door to door spans all of them. Port to port spans the sailing alone.
The legs are shown for a sea move. For an air move or a split shipment the legs differ, and the sea freight vs air freight guide shows how.
What does door to door take in?
A door-to-door quote takes in every leg of the move under one agreement, so a single party packs your goods, books the freight, files or arranges the clearance at each end and brings the cartons to your new address, and you deal with one point of contact instead of one for each leg.
That is the convenience, but it does not mean every charge sits inside the price. Check the list.
What one agreement usually gives you:
- One contract for every leg
- One point of contact
- One set of dates to follow
- One party to ask when a leg slips
A door-to-door quote can still leave out duty, tax and port charges. Read what it lists. The hidden costs guide sets out where those fall, and the international moving timeline shows the stages in order.
What does port to port take in?
A port-to-port quote takes in the carrier's work between the port of loading and the port of discharge, which is the sailing alone, so everything before the first port and after the second one is outside it and is arranged by you or by others.
That means collection, packing and export papers. It means the road to the port, import clearance, duty and delivery, and each needs someone named to do it.
Port to port suits a shipper with people at both ends who know the routine.
For anyone else, the legs left over are where a move goes wrong, because each has its own paperwork and its own deadline. Count them first.
Under port to port you line up these yourself:
- A packer and a collection date
- An export agent at the origin
- A truck to the port
- An import agent at the destination
- A delivery crew at the new address
Who handles each leg of a move?
The two lists show which legs of the same move a door-to-door quote puts with one party and which legs a port-to-port quote leaves with you, so you can see at a glance how much of the work stays yours when you choose the narrower scope.
Door to door: one party runs
- Packing and collection from your home
- Export clearance at the origin
- The road run to the port
- The sailing
- Import clearance at the destination
- Delivery to your new address
Port to port: yours to arrange
- Packing and collection from your home
- Export clearance at the origin
- The road run to the port
- Import clearance at the destination
- Delivery to your new address
Why can't you compare a door-to-door time with a port-to-port time?
A door-to-door time and a port-to-port time measure different things, because only the carrier's sailing between two ports has a published schedule, while the whole move from your door to your door also runs through packing, clearance at both ends and delivery, which no carrier publishes and which depend on your goods and your dates.
So two quotes that each state a time are not comparable. First learn which legs each time spans.
A short figure may describe the sailing alone, so ask which legs it spans and who published it.
This guide states no whole-move time for that reason. It would mislead.
Carrier sailing times sit on the route pages. Start with Singapore to India, India to the UAE, India to Singapore or India to the USA. The sea freight vs air freight guide shows where the rest of the time goes.
Ask for the timing stage by stage. A single figure with no stages tells you nothing about the legs it spans.
Which scope should you ask for?
Ask for door to door when nobody you trust is at the other end and you want one party answerable for every leg, and consider port to port only when you or an agent you already use can handle the clearance, the road runs and the delivery at both ports.
Three things decide it. The first is who is at each end, and whether they can meet a truck, sign for goods and deal with an officer.
The second is your experience of customs rules in both countries. The third is access at the new address, such as lift booking, parking and keys. Every leg you take on is a deadline you now own, so count them before you pick the cheaper-looking option.
Door to door suits you if
- Nobody you trust is at the other end
- You have not cleared goods through customs before
- You want one party to answer for every leg
Port to port suits you if
- An agent you trust is at both ports
- You know the clearance rules in both countries
- You can meet the truck and sign for the goods
What should a quote spell out before you compare it?
Put the same questions to every quote you hold, because the answers show which legs each one names, which legs it leaves to you and what it says about charges at the ports, and they let you compare two quotes on the same footing.
Ask every quote
- Is this door to door, port to port, door to port or port to door?
- Which legs does it list, one by one?
- Who files the export and import clearance?
- Are duty, tax and port charges listed or left out?
- Who delivers to my address, and who unpacks?
- Does the time it states span the sailing or the whole move?
- What protection applies to the goods on each leg?
Signs a quote is thin
- The word door to door and no list of legs
- One time figure with no stages
- Silence on who clears the goods at the destination
- No word on who delivers to your door
- Charges at the ports left unmentioned
Common questions about door to door and port to port
What do door to port and port to door mean?
In common usage, door to port means the party you hire runs the move from your address to the port of discharge and stops there, and port to door means it takes over at the port of loading and brings the goods to the final address, so each is a half scope with one end left to you.
The other half is yours. Ask which side of the sailing each leg falls on, and who clears the goods at the port where the quote stops.
Is port to port cheaper than door to door?
A port-to-port quote prices fewer legs, so its total looks smaller, but the two are not like for like, since the legs it leaves out still have to be done and paid for by you, so compare the totals only after you have added what each quote leaves to you.
That is the fair test. A smaller total is not a smaller job.
Ask for the legs, one by one.
Who clears customs on a port-to-port shipment?
On a port-to-port shipment the clearance at both ends is normally yours to arrange, either yourself or through a customs broker or agent you appoint, because the carrier moves the goods between the ports and does not clear them for you, so confirm this in writing before you book.
Ask who files each declaration. Ask who pays the broker. Get it in writing.
The timeline guide shows where each filing falls.
Does a door-to-door quote list duty and port charges?
Not necessarily, because door to door describes the legs a party runs and says nothing about which charges sit in the price, so duty, tax and port charges can still be left out, and the only safe way to know is to read the quote line by line and ask about each one.
Ask about each one. Ask for the list.
The hidden costs guide explains where they fall.
What is port to port shipping?
Port-to-port shipping is the carrier's service between two ports, meaning the sailing from the port of loading to the port of discharge, so the legs before the first port and after the second one, such as packing, clearance and delivery, are separate jobs.
It is one leg of the move.
Which scope suits a first move abroad?
A first move abroad usually suits door to door, because the clearance rules, the paperwork and the deadlines are new to you and one party answerable for every leg leaves less to miss, while port to port suits a shipper with experienced people at both ends.
Your own situation decides. Be honest about what you can handle, so match the scope to who is at each end.
No scope is right for everyone. Count the legs you can handle.
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