Free shipping threshold calculator
Your threshold is the order value where what is left still covers the shipping you pay. Below that line, free shipping is a discount you did not decide to give. Above it, set the line just over the order value most of your buyers already reach — not over your average.
Type price, unit cost, shipping and fee. We never guess a threshold from an industry benchmark.
Threshold drift is the common failure: carrier rates move, the line does not. Re-run this every 90 days with the shipping you pay today.
Questions sellers ask about free shipping thresholds
- How do I calculate a free shipping threshold?
- Find the order value where contribution profit still covers the shipping you pay: threshold = (unit cost + shipping you pay + refund allowance) divided by your contribution rate, then set the line just above the order value most of your customers already reach. A threshold below your break-even point buys you volume you lose money on.
- Should the threshold sit above my average order value?
- Above the most common order band, not above the average. Averages are pulled up by a few large baskets, so an average-based line is unreachable for most buyers and the offer goes unused.
- Why did my free shipping threshold stop being profitable?
- Carrier rates rise, your product mix changes, and the threshold does not. Merchants report thresholds set on last year's rates quietly turning into a subsidy. Review the line every 90 days against the shipping you pay today.
- Does free shipping increase average order value?
- A threshold reliably moves order value, and it can still lose money if the discount and the second parcel are not counted. Judge it on profit per visitor, not on average order value.
Other numbers on the same order
- Break-even ROAS calculator
The lowest ROAS an order can carry before it loses money.
- Shopify fee calculator
What Shopify and your processor keep on one sale, line by line.