GLS
Depends
Confidence: Medium
Only worth it if you are a European shipper with negotiated contract rates and dense GLS coverage in your region.
Comparison
GLS vs DHL
GLS and DHL both land on Depends.
DHL
Depends
Confidence: Medium
Use DHL if you ship international B2B or ecommerce volume and can negotiate rates against the 2026 rate guide.
| Compare | GLS | DHL |
|---|---|---|
| Verdict | Depends | Depends |
| Best for | EU cross-border e-commerce shipping | High-volume international B2B shipping |
| Who it's not for | US-first brands | Low-value parcels to consumers . fee complaints dominate |
| Privacy | One reported tracking-page data leak (April 2024, since fixed); active GLS-themed phishing; no open vulnerabilities in sources reviewed.11 | DHL Group runs a formal security program, but its brand is heavily spoofed, DHL Thailand suffered a 2025 ransomware breach, and its WooCommerce plugins had multiple CVEs. |
| Support quality | Terrible-experience reports across eBay, Reddit, Trustpilot | Complaint-heavy reviews; claims via separate portals |
| Public sentiment | Reviews skew heavily negative . delivery failures, poor tracking, and weak support . though a smaller AfterShip base rates it 4.2/5.¹ | Reviews skew sharply negative . fee surprises, delivery failures, and support complaints dominate Trustpilot, Reddit, and BBB . though some customers praise tracking.14 |
| Biggest gotcha | GLS-themed phishing emails with malicious links circulate; GLS publishes fraud warnings.12 | Customs and brokerage fees can be billed to receivers without warning |
Pick GLS when
- EU cross-border e-commerce shipping
- Businesses with negotiated parcel contracts
- Germany and Central Europe domestic volume
When GLS is not a fit
- US-first brands (1.2/5 US reviews)
- Sellers whose ratings hinge on delivery experience
- One-off personal shippers . phishing lookalikes abound
- Anyone needing transparent public pricing
Pick DHL when
- High-volume international B2B shipping
- Ecommerce brands shipping cross-border
- Freight and supply-chain outsourcing
When DHL is not a fit
- Low-value parcels to consumers . fee complaints dominate
- Small shippers without volume to negotiate rates
- Cost-sensitive domestic shipping
Sources
review
- Read Customer Service Reviews of gls-us.com - Trustpilottrustpilot.comreview
- GLS USA Reviews - AfterShipcarriers.aftership.comreview
review
review
- Gls shipping | Ask a Mentor - eBay Communitycommunity.ebay.comreview
- GLS Finland - Parcel services across Europegls-group.comofficial
- GLS security advicegls-group.euofficial
news
- GLS Offers a Targeted Approach to Parcel Pricingprnewswire.comnews
security
- New GLS Spam Campaign Delivers a Malicious Link Via E-mailheimdalsecurity.comsecurity
- GLS 'Parcels to People' Customs charges, Spam or genuine?ukbusinessforums.co.ukreview
- DHL Reviews . Trustpilottrustpilot.comreview
- DHL Reviews . ConsumerAffairsconsumeraffairs.comreview