Offer free shipping over a minimum order in Shopify
Free shipping above a threshold pushes customers to add one more item. This tutorial adds free shipping over $100.00 to the standard $9.99 flat rate on the Canada zone, and checks the boundary: $99.99 still pays, $100.00 does not.
Written · Shopify admin, desktop steps · 4 minutes read
The worked example
| Standard rate | $9.99 |
| Free shipping over | $100.00 |
| $85.00 order | Pays $9.99, total $94.99 |
| $99.99 order | Pays $9.99, total $109.98 |
| $100.00 order | Free, total $100.00 |
| $120.00 order | Free, total $120.00 |
Download the threshold table: free-shipping-threshold.csv (100 bytes).
A free-shipping threshold table: $85 and $99.99 pay $9.99, while $100 and $120 ship free. It is a planning record, not a file Shopify imports.
1Open the profile
From your Shopify admin, go to Settings > Shipping and delivery. In the Shipping profiles section, click the profile that holds the rate.
2Open the rate
In the Canada zone, click Add shipping option to make a new rate, or edit the existing $9.99 flat rate. Free shipping can be added to any rate type you set up.
3Set the flat rate
Set the rate type to Flat and the price to $9.99. This is the rate customers under the threshold pay.
4Turn on free shipping
Select Offer free shipping, then enter 100 as the minimum amount for an order to qualify. Orders of $100.00 and above ship free on this rate.
5Click Done, then Save
Click Done, then click Save. The threshold is live on the Canada zone.
6Test the boundary
Check out with an $85.00, a $99.99, a $100.00, and a $120.00 cart. The $99.99 cart still pays $9.99; the $100.00 cart shows free shipping.
The arithmetic
Four carts show the threshold and its edge.
| Order | Shipping | Total |
|---|---|---|
| $85.00 | $9.99 | $94.99 |
| $99.99 | $9.99 | $109.98 |
| $100.00 | $0.00 | $100.00 |
| $120.00 | $0.00 | $120.00 |
$85.00 + $9.99 = $94.99, $99.99 + $9.99 = $109.98, $100.00 + $0.00 = $100.00, and $120.00 + $0.00 = $120.00. The $100.00 order is the first one that qualifies, so it is $9.99 cheaper to ship than the $99.99 order, even though the order itself is one cent dearer.
Held at the counter
$99.99 is under $100. The threshold is exact. A customer one cent short still pays the full $9.99, and the checkout does not round them up. Say the threshold on the product page so the gap is visible before checkout.
Free shipping is per rate, not per store. The free-shipping minimum belongs to one rate. A second rate in the same zone, or a rate in another profile, keeps charging until it has its own threshold.
A split cart can still pay shipping. A customer whose cart mixes products from two profiles may see free shipping on one profile and a charge on the other. The combined rate at checkout is the sum of the two.
Sources
- Setting up shipping zones and rates — Shopify's help pages: the Offer free shipping option, the free-over-$100 example, and the note that free shipping can be added to any rate type.