The terms gross and net weight are most commonly seen when measuring the weight of delivery or any packaged items.
Key Takeaways
- Gross weight represents the total weight of an item, including its packaging and any additional materials.
- Net weight refers to the product’s weight, excluding packaging or other materials.
- Both weights are essential for shipping, inventory management, and consumer information, but net weight is most relevant for product consumption or use.
Gross Weight vs. Net Weight
The difference between gross and net weight is that the former is the total weight of the shipped item, including the packaging covering it. At the same time, the latter is only the weight of the particular item in the packaging.
When talking about gross weight is used to measure the “total” weight of the package; this includes – the items present inside the box and the importance of the packaging surrounding those items.
The net weight of a package is only concerned with measuring the importance of the individual item inside the packaging, and no other added weight is considered.
Comparison Table
| Parameters of comparison | Gross weight | Net weight |
|---|---|---|
| Meaning | The word “gross” means the total amount without any form of deduction or without reducing any factors. | The word “net” means an amount from which no further reductions can be made. A “net” item is calculated alone. |
| Definition | Gross weight is the total weight of the shipped item, along with a few added aspects. | Net weight is the weight of the item being transported and nothing else. |
| Packaging weight | The gross weight of a shipped item includes the importance of the packaging within which it is present. | The net weight of a shipped item does not consider the packaging surrounding the object. |
| Mode of transportation | Airplanes must consider the weight of crew, fuel, and shipment on board. Ships feel the net and tare weight. | The net weight is the same on all modes of transportation, whether air, water, or by road. |
| Relation | The gross weight is calculated by the net weight + tare weight formula. | A package’s net weight is gross weight – tare weight. |
What is Gross Weight?
The word “gross” defines the total sum or amount without deductions or any form of reduction involved. The same concept is implied with gross weight.
Gross weight refers to the total weight of the object, which includes any added weight that comes along with the shipment.
Gross weight is also different when considering the different modes of transportation they can be delivered. Gross weight can include not only the net and tarp weight but also the vessel or anything on it, such as:
- For any vessel traveling by water, the gross weight is just the sum of the net and tare weight of the item.
- For any vehicles traveling via road or land, the gross weight is the weight of the packaged item and the car combined.
Here, we must always involve the tare weight of a packaged item because, as we have mentioned, the gross weight is the “total” surrounding weight of every aspect of the object.
Even when taking into consideration how the gross weight can be calculated, the tare weight must be added along with the weight of the item, and the formula is –
Gross weight = Net weight + tare weight
What is Net Weight?
The word “net” refers to an amount or final sum from which no further reductions can be made. A “net” item is always considered alone; no additional added aspects are needed.
It means that when we talk about a shipped item being delivered, the net weight label would not include the weight of the packing or wrapping surrounding the object, i.e., it does not consider the tare weight.
Unlike the total gross weight, the net weight of a vessel or vehicle does not include the added weight of the crew, passengers, or the vehicle’s tare weight.
As mentioned above, the net weight does not include the tare weight, so its calculation is based on the same concept, and the simple formula hence is –
Net weight = Gross weight – tare weight
Main Differences Between Gross Weight and Net Weight
- Gross weight includes the tare weight of the package, while the net weight does not.
- Gross weight for different modes of transportation is different and might include the weight of the crew or the vehicle itself, while the net weight does not take any other factor into account.
Last Updated : 11 June, 2023
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Piyush Yadav has spent the past 25 years working as a physicist in the local community. He is a physicist passionate about making science more accessible to our readers. He holds a BSc in Natural Sciences and Post Graduate Diploma in Environmental Science. You can read more about him on his bio page.
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