Create a shipping zone in Shopify
A shipping zone is the group of countries or regions that share the same rates. This tutorial adds two zones to the general profile: Canada, with a $9.99 flat rate, and the United States, with a $12.99 flat rate.
Written · Shopify admin, desktop steps · 4 minutes read
The worked example
| Profile | General |
| Zone 1 | Canada, 1 country |
| Zone 2 | United States, 1 country |
| Canada rate | $9.99 flat |
| United States rate | $12.99 flat |
| Rate difference | $3.00 |
Download the zones list: shipping-zones.csv (61 bytes).
A zones list for the general profile: Canada at $9.99 and the United States at $12.99. It is a planning record, not a file Shopify imports.
1Open the general profile
From your Shopify admin, go to Settings > Shipping and delivery. In the Shipping profiles section, click the General profile, which covers every product that is not in a custom profile.
2Click Add zone
In the Shipping zones section, click Add zone. The zone form opens.
3Name the zone and pick the countries
In the Zone name field, enter Canada. In the Regions section, select Canada, and then click Done.
4Add the rate for Canada
For the Canada zone, click Add shipping option. Name it Standard shipping, pick the Flat rate type, enter $9.99, and click Done.
5Repeat for the United States
Click Add zone again, name it United States, select the United States, and click Done. Add a shipping option of $12.99 flat and click Done.
6Click Save
Click Save. Both zones are now live in the general profile, and customers in Canada see the $9.99 rate while customers in the United States see $12.99.
The arithmetic
A $60.00 order shows the difference the zones make.
| Zone | Flat rate | $60.00 order total |
|---|---|---|
| Canada | $9.99 | $69.99 |
| United States | $12.99 | $72.99 |
| Difference | $3.00 | $3.00 |
$60.00 + $9.99 = $69.99 for Canada, $60.00 + $12.99 = $72.99 for the United States, and $12.99 - $9.99 = $3.00.
Held at the counter
A country can sit in only one zone per location group. Inside a group of locations in a shipping profile, a country or region can exist in only one shipping zone. Remove it from the old zone before you add it to a new one.
A zone alone does not let a country order. A country must be in an active market before customers there can place orders, even when a shipping zone covers it. Add the market first, then the zone.
Zones live inside a profile. A zone added to the general profile does not cover products in a custom shipping profile. Products in a custom profile need their own zones and rates.
Sources
- Setting up shipping zones and rates — Shopify's help pages: the add-a-zone steps, the one-zone-per-country rule, the market requirement, and the flat rate examples.