If you're running an e-commerce business in Italy and asking yourself whether BRT or GLS is the better fit, you're asking the right question and the honest answer is that it depends. Both carriers dominate the Italian domestic market, both are integrated with the major e-commerce platforms, and both have real strengths and real weaknesses. This guide breaks down what actually matters for online sellers: delivery speed, territorial coverage, returns handling, international reach, and how they connect to your tech stack.
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Understanding the business behind each carrier helps explain why they perform differently in practice.
BRT, formally known as Bartolini and now part of the DPD Group, is the carrier with the most extensive ground network in Italy. With over 430 branches and depots nationwide, BRT has historically been the go-to option for B2C parcels, particularly in central and northern Italy. The red-liveried vans are a fixture in Italian residential streets. For international shipments beyond Italy, BRT routes through its DPD Group network across Europe, with connections to international partners for extra-European destinations.
GLS (General Logistics Systems) is one of Europe's largest parcel networks, operating across Europe and North America. In Italy, GLS operates through a network of franchised depots and is widely regarded as the more reliable option for time-sensitive deliveries in urban and semi-urban areas, particularly in northern and central Italy. Its broad European footprint makes it a natural choice for e-commerce businesses that sell across borders.
Two portals, two label formats, two tracking systems, two invoices. Any shipment routing decision has to be made manually, order by order.
One dashboard, automated carrier selection rules, unified tracking, and a single monthly invoice. Route BRT for heavy domestic parcels and GLS for EU shipments without touching a second platform.
For most Italian e-commerce businesses, day-to-day delivery performance is the primary decision factor. Here is how the two carriers compare on transit times.
| Carrier | Service | Domestic Transit Time | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| BRT | BRT Express | 24h (most of Italy) | Longer for islands and remote zones |
| BRT | BRT Priority | By 12:00 next day | Available on selected routes |
| GLS | National Express | 1 business day (north/centre) | 2 days for Calabria and islands |
| GLS | Express Business | By 12:00 next day | Selected urban areas only |
For e-commerce businesses shipping primarily to the centre-north, the two carriers are broadly equivalent on standard transit times. BRT tends to have fewer undelivered parcels in southern Italy and rural areas, given the density of its branch network. GLS performs more consistently in northern urban corridors.
Both BRT and GLS apply surcharges for deliveries to islands, remote zones ("zone disagiate"), and failed delivery attempts. These are not always visible in the headline rate. Always calculate the total shipment cost — including surcharges — before committing to a carrier for a given destination. ShippyPro's Optimizer helps you compare carrier options based on real cost, so you're always selecting the most cost-effective service for each shipment.
BRT's network of over 430 Italian branches gives it an edge for B2C deliveries in smaller towns and rural areas. If your customer base is spread across Italy — including the south, Sicily, and Sardinia — BRT typically achieves higher first-attempt delivery rates than GLS in those zones.
If your e-commerce also sells into France, Germany, Spain, the Benelux, or elsewhere in the EU, GLS offers genuine continuity: the same carrier network handles the parcel from Italy through to the destination country. For cross-border sellers, this is a concrete operational advantage that BRT cannot match to the same degree through its DPD Group network alone.
ShippyPro connects to 190+ carriers including BRT and GLS, letting you automate routing rules, generate labels in bulk, and track every shipment from one place.
Returns handling is increasingly a deciding factor for e-commerce carriers. Both BRT and GLS offer pickup-point return networks, but they work differently.
BRT's Fermopoint network gives customers drop-off and collection points across Italy — tobacconists, newsagents, and convenience shops — where a return parcel can be handed over or a missed delivery collected. According to publicly available carrier information, the Fermopoint network covers thousands of locations across the country, with particular density outside major cities. You can track BRT parcels and returns in real time via ShippyPro's BRT tracking page.
GLS operates the ShopReturn network, a similar model using GLS PaketShop locations — tobacconists, newsagents, and similar retail points — where customers hand over return parcels. Coverage is strongest in urban areas and across the north of Italy. Real-time visibility for GLS returns is available via ShippyPro's GLS tracking page.
If out-of-home delivery is important to your customers, ShippyPro Ship&Collect lets you display pickup point maps at checkout so customers can choose their preferred collection location before the order is placed — reducing missed deliveries and improving the post-purchase experience.
The "meglio BRT o GLS" question does not have a single correct answer. It depends on your shipment profile. Use the table below to orient yourself.
| Your situation | Better fit | Reason |
|---|---|---|
| Mostly domestic, B2C, south Italy and rural areas | BRT | Denser ground network, fewer failed deliveries in remote zones |
| Mostly domestic, urban centre-north | Either | Delivery times and reliability are comparable |
| Selling into EU as well as Italy | GLS | Single network handles Italy and Europe, no hand-off friction |
| Heavy or bulky parcels | BRT | Indicative broker rates tend to be more competitive at higher weights |
| Lighter parcels, frequent urban deliveries | GLS | Often more competitive on per-shipment cost for lighter colli |
| High return volumes, urban customer base | GLS | ShopReturn network well-distributed in cities |
| High return volumes, mixed or rural customer base | BRT | Fermopoint network has wider coverage in smaller towns |
A note on the price data in this table: indicative domestic rates cited in this article are based on broker-level estimates and are provided for directional comparison only. Your actual contracted rates with BRT or GLS will differ based on volume, account type, and service selections.
Most e-commerce operations above a few hundred monthly shipments end up using both carriers, routing automatically by destination, parcel weight, or service level. That is not a complexity problem — it is exactly the kind of multi-carrier logic that ShippyPro's Shipping Automation handles natively, using workflow-based rules with triggers, conditions, and actions.
Running two carriers manually creates overhead: two portals, two tracking feeds, two invoice reconciliation processes. The smarter approach is to connect both to a single shipping platform and let automation handle the routing decisions.
Use your existing carrier credentials to connect both accounts via the Carriers section in ShippyPro. ShippyPro supports 190+ carriers including BRT and GLS through native integrations.
Use ShippyPro's Automation to define workflows based on destination region, parcel weight, service level, or order value. For example: route all orders below 5 kg to GLS, all orders to southern Italy to BRT.
Labels for both carriers are generated from the same interface. Tracking events from BRT and GLS flow into a unified Track & Trace dashboard.
Activate ShippyPro Easy Return to give customers a self-service branded return portal, reducing return-related support tickets.
Connect BRT, GLS, and 190+ other carriers. Manage all your shipments, labels, and tracking from one dashboard.
Explore the platform →Build workflow-based rules to automate carrier selection between BRT and GLS based on weight, destination, and more.
See how it works →Give customers a branded self-service return experience and reduce the manual work of processing return shipments.
Discover Easy Return →Track any BRT or Bartolini shipment in real time and get proactive exception alerts before your customers notice a delay.
Track a BRT shipment →Get live visibility on all your GLS parcels, including returns, from the ShippyPro tracking dashboard.
Track a GLS shipment →See how BRT and GLS stack up against each other and other Italian carriers on a single comparison page.
View carrier comparison →Neither carrier is universally better — it depends on your order profile. BRT (Bartolini) has a wider domestic network and is stronger for B2C deliveries in smaller towns and southern Italy. GLS is more competitive for urban deliveries in the north and for any shipments crossing into Europe. Most e-commerce businesses above a few hundred monthly shipments use both carriers in parallel, routing automatically by destination or parcel type.
Prices vary by weight, dimensions, destination, and your contracted volumes. Based on indicative broker-level estimates, BRT tends to be more competitive on heavier domestic parcels, while GLS is often more cost-effective on lighter shipments. Both carriers apply surcharges for islands, remote zones, and failed delivery attempts — always check the all-in cost, not just the headline rate. Always request a quote directly from each carrier or compare via a multi-carrier platform to get accurate figures for your specific shipment profile.
BRT has the edge here. With over 430 branches across Italy, BRT's ground network is denser in southern regions, smaller towns, and rural areas. GLS performs very well in northern and central urban areas but has slightly more variability in delivery times further south and on the islands. If a significant portion of your customers are in Campania, Calabria, Sicily, or Sardinia, BRT is typically the safer choice for first-attempt delivery rates.
Yes, and for most growing e-commerce businesses this is the recommended approach. Using both carriers lets you route shipments to whichever option is faster, cheaper, or more reliable for each specific destination. ShippyPro connects to both BRT and GLS and lets you build automated routing workflows so the right carrier is selected at label generation without any manual decision-making.
Both carriers offer pickup-point return networks. BRT uses its Fermopoint network, with locations across Italy including many smaller towns. GLS uses ShopReturn points — tobacconists, newsagents, and similar retail locations — concentrated mainly in urban areas. If your customer base is dispersed across smaller towns and rural areas, BRT's wider point-of-presence network gives it a practical edge for return convenience.
ShippyPro connects to BRT, GLS, and 190+ other carriers. Set routing rules once, generate labels in bulk, and track every shipment from one dashboard. Start your free trial today.