Thinking about going with CitySprint for your delivery?
Or perhaps you’re looking to switch to a better courier service in London?
We’ve got you covered.
In this article, we’re going to show you a thorough assessment of 3 best CitySprint alternatives.
Including a review of CitySprint’s pros and cons. (If you still want to take that path, instead.)
So you can choose a courier service provider that’s the best match for your business in London.
Let’s start.
CitySprint is a courier and third-party logistics provider (3PL) based in the UK.
The company provides a nationwide coverage with 5000+ couriers and 35 local service centers in major UK cities (from Aberdeen to Southampton):
While CitySprint is a national courier, they operate at a local level.
In the Greater London Area, their local centers are spread across 8 locations, including East and Central London, Gatwick, and Heathrow:
The wide range of CitySprints’ offer extends to 15+ services split into 3 different categories:
While this makes them an excellent 3PL to outsource your logistics, how do they fare as a courier service for your business?
That’s why we’re only going to focus on their same-day and next-day delivery offer in London.
So what does CitySprint have going for it?
Let’s take a look.
Here’s what we why you might want to choose CitySprint couriers for your deliveries in London:
CitySprint offers their same-day and next-day delivery in London 24 hours a day, 365 a year.
So their customer service team is always on call to help you select and book the best courier service, and track your delivery.
This is especially useful if you’re not closing shop on Holidays. And you want to meet seasonal demand to deliver goods to your customers.
Like other good courier services in London, CitySprint offers online delivery booking.
You can do this with a debit/credit card.
With this option, you can either book a delivery on the spot. Or pre-book to get an instant quote.
You can also create a CitySprint account.
This gives you access to the CitySprint same-day online booking portal:
Here you can customize your delivery. For example, pick the right type of same-day delivery:
You also get other benefits like:
CitySprint is committed to green logistics.
With their zero emissions same-day delivery service you can deliver orders anywhere in the capital and reduce the carbon footprint of your business.
This is possible with CitySprint’s green fleet.
The fleet consists of pushbikes, special cargo bikes, and electric motorbikes and vans, as well as hydrogen-powered vans:
While there are benefits to using CitySprint, they have their shortcomings. Here are the biggest disadvantages of using CitySprint couriers (reported by customers):
CitySprint’s online tracking system isn’t reliable.
In some cases, it simply doesn’t work.
While more often, the delivery status doesn’t update regularly.
So failed delivery attempts do happen, especially since there is no notification system in place.
Additionally, couriers handle delivery confirmations themselves.
Because of that, sometimes they confirm drop offs even when it’s not completed. And then blame the customer for being absent to receive it.
To be fair:
Late deliveries happen with any courier service in London.
But with CitySprint, parcels and packages tend to arrive much later than specified.
Sometimes several days later than promised.
Also, the courier company prides itself on parcel collection in 60 minutes (or less) in London.
While in fact, couriers do sometimes come a few hours later than expected.
All of this would be fine, if customers could sort these problems easily with CitySprint’s customer support.
But that isn’t the case.
When you book online and something goes wrong you’ll have to manually contact CitySprint’s dedicated helpline by phone.
And the staff can help you take quick action but sometimes the customer service agents are at a loss.
Then, they’ll refer you to a different department or agent. All of which wastes your time.
And they may try to charge you for that, as well.
Which brings us to…
CitySprint is one of the more expensive courier providers in London. (But more on that in a bit)
But what really irritates customers are the surcharges.
While you get a quote when you book with CitySprint, they don’t include additional fees.
We’ve mentioned how their customer service may try to charge you extra. But that extends to delivery, as well.
There are a number of surcharges for fuel in place for same-day and overnight delivery in the UK:
This is in-line with their eco-friendly delivery initiative, which is fine.
But it does mean you’ll pay more for CitySprint services than for the same service with a different courier provider.
CitySprint deliveries start from £14.26.
That’s without VAT.
It also doesn’t include the surcharges on fuel you can expect to pay.
(Or other additional fees.)
This would be fine and well, if their service warranted the price.
But as far as we’re concerned, it doesn’t!
And there are other, better alternatives to CitySprint that you can hire in London.
Brisqq is a delivery and courier service provider based in Central London.
This company specialises in delivery for businesses in London. For both B2C and B2B delivery.
But what really sets Brisqq apart from CitySprint is their technology.
Brisqq has one of the most sophisticated delivery booking platforms in the UK.
The Brisqq platform comes with:
Here’s what else makes Brisqq a good alternative to CitySprint:
Unlike other couriers, Brisqq almost exclusively caters to B2C and B2B delivery in London.
Services where Brisqq excels include:
This makes them a solid choice for outsourcing your delivery. Or to scale operations and expand your reach without additional capital investment.
And this works regardless of whether you sell from a physical store or online.
It also means you can use their services for transferring stock between stores or depots. Or to schedule returns. Or to plan recurring deliveries.
Brisqq uses one-hour timeslots to enable you to book deliveries.
You can also let customers book deliveries themselves. (More on that in a second.)
Once you set up your account, you get access to all available timeslots.
Then all you have to do is select the best one and schedule a delivery.
You can do this even if you need to deliver the package tomorrow, the day after, or on Monday.
The pickup occurs in one hour (or less). And the package is immediately dropped off after that (within the dedicated time window).
If you have multiple deliveries, you can schedule all of them by selecting the multi-drop delivery service.
Brisqq is especially useful for e-commerce companies in London.
You can integrate their delivery platform with your webstore.
This works with both dedicated websites and major platforms like Magento or WooCommerce.
In any case, this feature allows customers to schedule deliveries at checkout themselves.
(Just like if you owned an in-house courier fleet.)
That is pretty useful when you want to capitalise on showrooming.
(So customers can browse in your store and check out on your website)
But also when you want to incentivize customers with various delivery options.
(And raise your conversion rate.)
Best of all:
Everything is transparent…
A courier service like Brisqq is only as good as its tracking technology.
Whether it’s real-time delivery tracking, sending tracking links to customers, getting status updates, collecting proof of delivery, or gaining performance insights, Brisqq is REALLY good.
And all you need is a web browser to sign in on your account.
Or download the Brisqq app that works with both iOS and Android.
Brisqq doesn’t offer 24/7 delivery like CitySprint. Instead, they have strict courier service times:
Weekdays 6am - 10pm
Saturday 6am - 8pm
Sunday 6am - 6pm
This may be a problem if your store’s work hours aren’t aligned with theirs.
Brisqq does offer multi-drop delivery.
Because the price depends on the number of drops and the price, you won’t be able to see it until you’ve entered each destination on the dashboard.
Only then will the price appear.
So if you decide not to go through with it, the time you waste entering each delivery is annoying.
Brisqq pricing starts from £7.90 per delivery (without VAT).
But since the service is aimed at business, you should contact Brisqq for a precise quote.
For example, you can set up a price for minimum volumes.
As for payment, you can do it per delivery (via debit or credit card).
Or at the end of the month by connecting a payment method to the account or through invoicing.
Cancellations are free if done within 15 minutes after scheduling a delivery.
And 60 minutes before the pick-up, 2 hours before a multi-drop delivery.
Gophr is another same-day delivery courier based in London.
But they are also a direct competitor to CitySprint.
With 9000+ signed up couriers, their network extends to 25+ other cities across the UK:
But unlike CitySprint, they rely on more advanced technology. A lot like Brisqq.
In fact, many companies use them to supplement their existing delivery fleets.
And yet they are also focused on lowering their carbon footprint.
Gophr also uses alternative-energy vehicles, such as cargo bikes.
But they have also partnered with Parcelly to cut down CO2 emissions by reducing the distances their vehicles travel.
If you’re a business owner, Gophr wants you to feel special.
That’s why all Gophr business account owners are assigned a dedicated manager.
This gives you greater control over the delivery operations that Gophr handles.
But it also provides you better support, especially when it comes to logistics.
And especially if you deliver outside of London, to the entire UK.
Gophr provides their courier services to businesses in all kinds of industries.
This includes businesses that require special vehicles and equipment to handle deliveries, such as pharmacies or food and beverage distributors.
To achieve this, Gophr uses:
Problems can occur at any point in the delivery lifecycle.
And while you do have the option to contact your account manager, you can also call the courier directly.
If something does come up, you can resolve the issue with the person in the field.
This streamlines communication a good deal.
(Especially if you already have a dedicated person responsible for in-house fleet dispatching.)
Gophr does provide GPS tracking.
And it’s pretty good.
But what doesn’t work so well is the estimated time of arrival (ETA).
Customers often find that the ETA doesn’t match the actual time when your delivery arrives.
Let’s face it:
Deliveries can sometimes be delayed.
And sometimes deliveries do fail.
But some customers do experience unexpected cancellations by Gophr.
And they occur at the last minute before the delivery deadline. And without warning.
Worst of all: you have to wait 14 days to get your money back.
Gophr is a pretty affordable courier service in London.
Gophr pricing starts at £4.50 per delivery (without VAT).
But the price you end up paying will depend a lot on the delivery itself.
The size of the parcel and the distance between destinations raises the cost.
For example, their cheapest delivery is a bicycle delivery in London for a package that’s under 45 x 45 x 45 cm.
You can get an estimate on their website by clicking on the Quick Quote calculator:
Founded in 1865, Absolutely Courier is the oldest courier company in the UK.
Like Brisqq, Absolutely operates exclusively in London with four offices in the capital.
The company specializes in same-day courier services. But they also provide:
Like CitySprint, their same-day courier service operates 24/7 around the year.
They are also committed to reducing the carbon footprint in London.
With several eco-friendly vehicle options on offer when you book a delivery with them.
The Absolutely customer support team is one of the best in London.
They are friendly, reliable, knowledgeable, and speedily resolve all issues.
Typically, they respond to a problem as soon as you get in touch with them.
And go beyond what’s expected of them.
For example, drivers don’t mind kindly waiting on recipients.
Or helping customers carry packages to the vehicle.
But the best example is probably that customers remember the team members’ names well after their delivery has been sent.
Absolutely couriers operate only in London.
But that doesn’t mean they can’t deliver packages to the rest of the UK. Or to the continent.
In fact, that’s exactly what they offer with their overnight and international courier services.
And how do they do that? Indirectly and through membership with multiple associations:
And they are accredited by the Fleet Operator Recognition Scheme.
This has benefits to you, as well:
For example, if you’re on-boarded to Hypaship, you can track packages from your APC Hypaship account.
It doesn’t matter if you have an account or not on the Absolutely website.
All customers can track the status of their packages.
That means you can send the unique tracking number to customers.
And all they have to do is go to the website, enter the number (as a guest) and see the location or status of their package.
If you regularly send parcels to the same addresses, Absolutely has got you covered.
The Address Book feature on your account allows you to add frequent delivery locations in London.
This makes it much easier to schedule new deliveries.
Or if you use Absolutely to transport goods between suppliers and your store.
Absolutely offers insurance on goods in transit.
They provide coverage for parcels up to £500.
(This is the lowest insurance coverage on the list.)
For example, Brisqq can cover up to £2000 value of goods.
So if you’re looking to move expensive or luxury items, you should consider outside insurance.
Absolutely is intended for all customers. Businesses and common users.
So while they have a good UI and UX, it does lack features which other courier services provide.
Mainly it lacks a more advanced capability when it comes to how you review deliveries.
If you’re using Absolutely as a business, it will be difficult to review delivery performance.
All you can do is review the orders you sent.
And as far as a business is concerned, that’s not nearly enough to see if their services pay off.
OK, the pricing isn’t listed for Absolutely Couriers.
You’ll have to create an account for a better understanding of their pricing.
But you can check the price for a specific delivery here.
This will give you a rough estimate based on distance and the vehicle you choose.
For example, a one kilometer bicycle delivery from the Houses of Parliament to Trafalgar Square is £8.19 (with VAT).
You can also do it by contacting one of their four offices in London.
You can find the contact details here.
This is our verdict.
So if you’re looking to switch from CitySprint, we hope this article has helped you.
Read our recent review of Addison Lee, if you’re wondering why we haven’t included them.
And if you’re still undecided, then…
Get in touch with Brisqq. Fill out a quick form and we’ll get back to you in less than 2 minutes.
One of our support staff is always on call with a tailor-made offer for your business or a quote that’s in line with your delivery needs and your budget.
Imagine what you want your delivery to look like…
And start delivering that experience to your customers today!