Free shipping threshold calculator
Free shipping sells, and it is paid for out of your margin. Put in your order value, margin and what customers pay for shipping today, and see the exact threshold where offering it leaves you better off instead of worse.
Fill in your numbers to see your threshold.
How the threshold is worked out
Free shipping does not cost you the carrier bill: you pay that either way. It costs you the shipping money the customer used to pay you. A threshold earns that back when a customer adds enough to the basket to qualify, because you keep your margin on everything they add.
Break-even threshold = average order value + (shipping the customer pays today ÷ your margin)
At a $42 average order, a 55% margin and $6 of shipping charged today, that is 42 + 6 ÷ 0.55 = $52.91. A customer who tops up to $52.91 to get free shipping leaves you exactly where a $42 order with paid shipping did. Anyone who tops up past it leaves you better off.
Free shipping on every order instead
Dropping shipping charges altogether gives up the shipping revenue on every order, including the ones that would have happened anyway:
Profit per order = average order value × margin − what shipping costs you
The calculator compares that with your profit today and tells you how many extra orders a month you would need to earn the same. If that number looks unlikely, a threshold is the safer offer.
Before you switch it on
- Set it a little above break-even, not exactly on it. The suggested threshold rounds up to the next $5, which is also easier to read at checkout.
- Check you have products near the gap. A threshold works when a customer can reach it with one small add-on. If your cheapest extra item is $30, a $10 gap will not change behaviour.
- Measure the average order value for a few weeks before and after. That is the number that tells you whether it worked.
Where the numbers come from
- Shopify plan prices and the third-party payment provider fee: shopify.com/pricing, checked September 16, 2026.
- Online card processing rates: Shopify does not publish them on its pricing page or on its Shopify Payments page (both checked September 16, 2026), so this tool asks you for your own rate instead of printing one.
- Plus starts at $2,300/month with a 0.2% third-party payment fee; it is not in this comparison because nobody opening their first store needs it.
Prices change and can be localised for your country. If you spot a number that no longer matches Shopify's page, tell us and we will fix it.
Questions
Why does my shipping cost not change the threshold?
Because you pay the carrier either way. What free shipping costs you is the shipping money the customer used to pay you. The threshold is the order value where the extra margin from a topped-up basket replaces exactly that, which is your average order plus that shipping charge divided by your margin.
What margin should I enter?
The share of each extra dollar of products that you keep after the product cost and the payment fees. If a $10 item costs you $4 and fees are about 30 cents, your margin on it is 57%. Our product pricing calculator works it out for you.
Should I set the threshold exactly at break-even?
Break-even is the floor, not the goal. The calculator rounds it up to the next $5, which is easy to read at checkout and earns a little on every customer who tops up. Watch your average order value for a few weeks after you launch it.
One email a week, from real builds
What we built with AI tools that week, what broke and what it cost. No hype, no daily mail. Unsubscribe anytime.
Read next
How to Sell on ChatGPT with Shopify in 2026 (What Changed)
Shopify lists your products in ChatGPT by default. How it works after Instant Checkout, who qualifies, fees, and 7 settings to check.
Shopify AI in 2026: What Changed and What It Means for You
Sidekick, free AI tools and selling inside ChatGPT, Copilot and Google: what Shopify's 2026 AI shift means for small shops, with sources.
Other tools
- Shopify fee calculator — What will Shopify cost me per month, and which plan is cheapest at my volume?
- Store profit and break-even calculator — How many orders a month do I need to break even, and what can I afford to pay for a customer?
- AI product description generator — How do I write product descriptions that sound human and still rank?
- Product pricing calculator — What should I charge to keep the margin I need?
- AI store name generator — What should I call my online store?
- Refund and shipping policy generator — What do I put in my refund and shipping policies?