How to set Shopify shipping rates by cart total

Updated July 20, 2026 · SMART Shipping Rates (E-TRADE PARTNER)

Cart-total shipping rates change delivery price as the order value grows, such as cheaper shipping over $75 or free shipping over $120. SMART Shipping Rates & Rules can calculate rates from cart subtotal or related order money fields, use tiers or percentage math, and pair them with destination or product conditions. Calculated rates require Shopify Carrier Service. Hiding an existing free or paid method by cart total does not.

Order-value shipping is one of the most common merchant requests. Stores want shipping to feel fair as carts get larger, without giving away free shipping on heavy or remote orders that still cost money to fulfill.

There are two different jobs. One is calculating a new price from cart value. The other is hiding or renaming methods that already exist when the cart crosses a threshold. SMART separates those jobs so you do not rebuild rates just to clean up checkout.

Cart total setups that work well

What Shopify can and cannot do natively

Shopify can create basic price-based rates in shipping settings. That is often enough for one free-shipping threshold. It gets harder when the same store also needs product exclusions, postcode differences, percentage math, min and max clamps, or blending a base rate with a surcharge.

Setup steps for calculated cart-total rates

1. Open Shipping rates and check the Carrier Service notice if zone creation is disabled when SMART should return calculated rates.
2. Go to Shipping rates and create a rate in the right zone.
3. Use cart subtotal or another supported order money condition for when the rate should apply.
4. Choose how the price is calculated: fixed tiers by cart value, percentage of cart, increments, or a mix that fits your rule.
5. Add product, weight, customer tag, or destination conditions if the offer should not apply to every cart.
6. Set min or max clamps and handling fees if you need a floor or ceiling on the calculated price.
7. Test carts just below, on, and above each threshold, including one excluded product cart if exclusions exist.

Worked example: cheaper shipping as the cart grows

A homeware store wants Standard delivery to get cheaper as order value rises, then become free over $150 for normal parcels.

1. Create calculated rates or tiers for each subtotal range in Shipping rates.
2. Name the final tier Free standard delivery so the threshold is obvious.
3. Add a product-tag exclusion for oversized items that should never qualify for free shipping.
4. If an old paid Shopify method still appears beside the free calculated rate, use Delivery customizations to hide the paid method when cart subtotal is high enough.

Hide existing methods by cart total

If Shopify already shows the right free or paid methods, you may only need visibility control. In Delivery customizations, use cart subtotal or cart total conditions to hide paid methods above a threshold, or hide free shipping below it. That path does not require Carrier Service.

Tips for cart-value shipping

• Decide whether the rule should key off subtotal or total, then stay consistent in testing.
• Keep thresholds continuous so a cart cannot fall between tiers.
• Use weight tiers when packing cost follows weight more than order value.
• Use rate blending if a value-based base rate and a remote surcharge should become one method.
• Read the Carrier Calculated Shipping guide before relying on calculated prices.

How to test cart-total rules

Build a small matrix: one cart under the first threshold, one exactly on each boundary, one just above each boundary, one excluded product cart, and one remote destination if zones differ. Confirm both the price and the method name customers see.

Frequently asked questions