Shipping rates and zones
Updated · SMART Shipping Rates (E-TRADE PARTNER)
Use Shipping rates when SMART must calculate a new checkout rate. Zones can match country plus optional postal code or city rules. Pricing can use cart or product total, weight, quantity, volume, or dimensional weight. Calculated rates require Shopify Carrier Service.
4.9 · SMART Shipping Rates does this with zones, calculated rates, and delivery customizations.
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Shipping rates are different from delivery customizations. A delivery customization changes an existing checkout method. A shipping rate is a new calculated rate that SMART returns to Shopify checkout.
Carrier Service required
The Shipping rates module requires Shopify Carrier Service. The app disables zone creation when Carrier Service is not available, and Shopify Basic plan stores cannot enable Carrier Service from the app banner.
Zone matching
A SMART zone starts with a country. You can narrow it with optional postal code or city matching. Postal code rules can use wildcards with *, and ranges with ... when that format matches the destination data you need to target.
| Match type | Example use |
|---|---|
| Country | One national rate for all eligible addresses |
| City | Local delivery for selected city names |
| Postal code | Specific postcodes, ZIP codes, or postal codes |
| Wildcard * | Groups that share a prefix or pattern |
| Range ... | A continuous postal code range |
Calculation options
| Basis | Use it for |
|---|---|
| Cart total | Free or reduced shipping above an order value |
| Cart weight | Weight-tiered pricing for the whole cart |
| Cart quantity | Per-order quantity ranges |
| Cart volume | Pricing from product volume in the cart |
| Cart dimensional weight | Pricing from the greater of cart weight and volumetric weight |
| Product total | Pricing based on matching product value |
| Product weight | Rates for heavy or light product groups |
| Product quantity | Per-item or product-count pricing |
| Product volume | Rates for bulky matching products |
| Product dimensional weight | Rates for matching products using dimensional weight |
Volume and dimensional-weight values come from Product dimensions. Dimensional weight is the greater of actual weight and length × width × height divided by the volumetric divisor in Settings. Common conventions are 5000 cm/kg and 139 in/lb. Sides are sorted longest-first, so length is the longest side. See Product dimensions and the dimensional weight guide.
Rate conditions
After zone matching, a rate can use conditions so it only applies in specific cases. Start with the group that matches the checkout fact you care about. You do not need every operator.
| Group | What you can match |
|---|---|
| Cart | Weight, subtotal, quantity, order totals, and discounts |
| Product | Name, SKU, vendor, tag, collection, specific product or variant, price, weight, and line-item properties |
| Origin | Origin country, postal code, and address lines |
| Customer | Named customers, customer tags, and shipping phone as typed |
| Time | Date in the shop timezone, day of week, and time of day |
| Dimensions | Length, width, height, volume, girth, and dimensional weight |
Named customer conditions match selected customers. Guest checkouts match nobody. Phone matching uses the shipping address phone as typed. Line-item property names are case-insensitive and can test EXISTS, NOT_EXISTS, or a string match. Date conditions use the shop timezone. Time of day can span overnight. For warehouse origin matching, see the multi-warehouse origin guide. For date-based rates, see the holiday date guide.
Origin conditions can target the fulfillment origin. Shopify still sums shipping when a cart splits across locations, so origin matching does not merge or replace those separate Shopify totals.
Rate modes and price changes
SMART supports tiered ranges and base-plus-increment logic. The rate type can be fixed or percentage-based. You can also modify the price with a discount, minimum or maximum price, and handling fee. See the handling fee, max cap, and percentage guide.
- Use tiered ranges when each bracket has a clear price, such as 0 to 5 kg, 5 to 10 kg, and 10 kg plus.
- Use base-plus-increment when the rate starts at a base amount and increases by weight, quantity, or another unit.
- Use shipping tags when the rate should be included in a combined rate.
Basic setup steps
- Open Shipping rates and confirm Carrier Service is available. The notice appears when it is not.
- Open Shipping rates and create a zone.
- Choose the country, then add city or postal code matching if needed.
- Choose the calculation basis and rate mode. For volume or dimensional-weight rates, fill Product dimensions first.
- Set the fixed or percentage rate, plus any discount, minimum, maximum, or handling fee.
- Add conditions if the rate should only apply for specific cart, product, origin, customer, time, or dimension facts.
- Add a shipping tag if this rate will be blended later.
- Test the rate in Checkout simulator, then confirm it in real checkout with addresses inside and outside the zone.
Zone limits
A shop can have up to 100 zones. You can duplicate a zone or a rate. A zone rate can include an optional service code.
For more examples, read the postcode guide, UK Highlands, Australia remote, NZ rural, weight tier guide, or product-based rates guide.
Build calculated shipping rates with SMART
Install SMART and create country, city, postal code, cart, product, weight, volume, and quantity based shipping rules when Carrier Service is available.
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Frequently asked questions
›Do SMART shipping rates require Carrier Service?
Yes. The Shipping rates module returns calculated rates to checkout, so Shopify Carrier Service is required.
›Can I create zones without Carrier Service?
No. Zone creation is disabled when Carrier Service is not available.
›Can zones match cities and postal codes?
Yes. Zones start with country and can include optional city or postal code matching, including wildcard and range patterns.
›Can I charge by product quantity instead of cart quantity?
Yes. SMART supports product total, product weight, product quantity, product volume, and product dimensional weight as calculation bases.
›Can I charge by volume or dimensional weight?
Yes. Cart and product volume, plus cart and product dimensional weight, are calculation bases. Enter variant length, width, and height in Product dimensions. Dimensional weight is the greater of actual weight and length × width × height divided by the volumetric divisor in Settings.
›Can rates match the origin warehouse?
Yes. Rate conditions can match origin country, postal code, and address lines. Shopify still sums shipping when a cart splits across locations.
›Can rates depend on date or time?
Yes. Conditions include date in the shop timezone, day of week, and time of day, including overnight ranges.
›How should I test calculated rates?
Checkout simulator tests calculated rates only, not delivery customizations. Use it first, then confirm the same cart in real checkout.