A supplier offers the same product on two terms. The EXW price looks far cheaper. The DAP price looks expensive.

Before deciding which is the better deal, it helps to know that you are not comparing two prices — you are comparing two scopes, and the gap between them is five line items.

The five line items

Take an EXW price and ask what a DAP price should be. These are the additions.

1. Origin pickup and handling. Collection from the supplier’s premises, transport to the loading point, origin-side handling.

2. Export declaration. Under EXW this is the buyer’s responsibility. Under DAP it is the seller’s. Filing the export entry needs the supplier’s paperwork and cooperation — which is partly why some suppliers quote EXW in the first place.

3. Main freight. Ocean or air, plus applicable surcharges. Usually the largest single addition.

4. Marine insurance. Cargo insurance for the voyage. Easy to overlook, expensive to skip.

5. Final delivery. Terminal handling, drayage, truck to the agreed address, including whatever access conditions apply.

Five additions.

The common mistake is to add only the freight and treat the rest as rounding. The freight is the most visible line, not the largest total.

What stays with you under DAP

DAP covers the journey, not the customs side. Under DAP the buyer still handles:

Still yours under DAP When it lands
Import clearance — entry filing and brokerage Before cargo can leave the terminal
Duty and taxes — assessed on classification and declared value At entry
Examination fees — if CBP selects the container During clearance
Demurrage and detention — if the container sits past free time After free time expires

This is the part people miss.

A comparison that stops at “who pays the freight” leaves out the customs side — and the customs side is what arrives as a bill after the container lands.

Why the EXW price is often not the better deal

EXW hides the export side

The export declaration is a real cost and a real operational dependency.

If the supplier cannot support it, your forwarder has to work around a factory that is not set up for export — and that friction shows up as delay, not as a line item.

The cheapest freight is not the fastest arrival

Under EXW you choose the freight. That is genuine control — and genuine responsibility.

If the sailing you picked is rolled, that is yours.

Risk transfers earlier

Under EXW, risk transfers at the supplier’s premises — before the cargo is even on a truck.

Under DAP, risk stays with the seller until the destination address.

That last point is the one a landed-cost spreadsheet never shows. Terms are not only about money. They are about who carries the risk in the gap.

Building the number from either end

Starting from EXW

EXW price
+ origin pickup and handling
+ export declaration
+ main freight
+ marine insurance
+ import clearance
+ duty and taxes
+ final delivery
= DDP-equivalent cost

Starting from DAP

DAP price
+ import clearance
+ duty and taxes
= DDP-equivalent cost

The two paths should land close to each other.

If a DAP quote is dramatically higher than the EXW path, ask what else is inside it. If it is dramatically lower, ask what has been left out.

Which one to ask your supplier for

Ask for If
EXW You have a forwarder you trust, want one contract for the whole chain, and your supplier genuinely cannot handle export documentation
DAP You want the supplier to own the journey but you want to keep the import entry — because you have your own broker, your own bond, or a duty position you need to manage

Neither is better. They allocate the same work differently.

A note on what DAP does not mean

DAP does not mean “duty and paperwork included.”

It means Delivered At Place — goods at the named place, ready for unloading, with import clearance not completed and duty not paid.

If you want clearance and duty included, that is DDP. DAP and DDP have identical physical delivery — the only difference is the customs side.

How to compare two quotes on different terms

Put both on one page and answer five questions.

# Question Why it matters
1 Where does the seller’s responsibility end? Supplier premises, origin port, or destination address
2 Which of the five additions are already inside the number? Most quotes are silent on this
3 Who files the import entry? If the answer is “you,” the quote is not DDP regardless of what it is called
4 Who pays duty, and on what classification? Two forwarders can classify the same product differently
5 Where does risk transfer, and is the insurance aligned? If risk transfers at the supplier’s door and no cargo insurance was bought, you are carrying an uninsured gap

What to send us

If you already have both quotes, send them — the supplier’s EXW or FOB quote, and the forwarder’s DAP or DDP quote — along with the destination address and the product description.

We will put them on the same term so you can see what is actually being compared.

FAQ

1. Is EXW cheaper than DAP?

Answer: it is a smaller number, not a lower landed cost.

EXW leaves five items with the buyer: pickup, export declaration, freight, insurance and delivery. Add them and the gap usually closes.

2. Why do some suppliers only quote EXW?

Answer: because EXW asks the least of them.

They do not need to file an export declaration, book freight, or cooperate with a forwarder’s documentation.

If a supplier insists on EXW, ask whether they can support export clearance — that work still has to happen.

3. Does DAP include duty?

Answer: no.

DAP delivers to your address but leaves import clearance and duty with you. If duty is included, the term is DDP.

4. Can I use my own broker under DAP?

Answer: yes — that is the main reason importers choose DAP.

You keep control of the entry and the duty lands on your own account.

5. What is the biggest cost in the gap between EXW and DAP?

Answer: usually the main freight — but the items most often forgotten are the export declaration and the final delivery.

The freight is the visible line, not necessarily the largest total.

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