Shipping Rates: How to Set Rates by Country and Amount

On the Shipping Rates page, you set the cost of each shipping method for each country. It’s organized as a table with countries in the rows and shipping methods in the columns, so you can view and edit all your shipping rates in one place.

An incorrectly set shipping price will either cost you profit margin on every single order or cause customers to abandon their carts. Here, you’ll get the full picture: how the matrix is structured, how free shipping above a certain amount works, and the order in which shipping costs are calculated when the customer checks out.

Where can you find this page?

Go to Delivery → Shipping Rates in the left-hand menu. Two things need to be set up first: at least one shipping method under Delivery → Shipping Methods, and the countries you sell to under Delivery → Countries. If you don’t have these set up yet, start with “How do I create a new shipping option? ” and “Countries and Currencies.”

How the pricing matrix is structured

The table is a matrix where each cell represents the intersection of one country and one shipping method. That specific combination can therefore have its own price.

• The first column shows the country’s name. There is one row per country you have created.
• The “Order” column is a small number field with the placeholder “Weighting.” It controls the order in which the countries appear, with the lowest number at the top.
• Next, there is one column per shipping method, named after the method, e.g., “Postnord Parcel Shop” or “Pickup.”
• Each cell is a price field with the store’s currency listed to the right, e.g., DKK.

If the store offers subscription products, each country gets an extra row with the text “Subscription” below the regular price. The price in that row is used when the cart consists exclusively of subscriptions.

How to Enter Prices

1. Go to Delivery → Shipping Rates.
2. Find the row for the country you want to set prices for.
3. Enter the price in the cell under the desired shipping method. Prices are always entered excluding tax.
4. Repeat this for all the combinations of country and shipping method you offer.
5. Click Save at the bottom of the page.

Empty fields become 0 DKK.

This is the page’s biggest pitfall. An empty price field does not mean “no price” or “this shipping method isn’t available here.” It means 0 DKK—in other words, free shipping for that combination of country and shipping method.

The page doesn’t highlight fields with 0, so go through the table before you save. The same applies to a newly created shipping method: it appears as an empty column—i.e., 0 DKK—until you fill it in. Therefore, always go to “Shipping Rates” after you’ve created a shipping method.

Order: What Determines What

• The order of the countries (the rows) is determined by the “Order” column on this page. For example, set Denmark to 1 and Germany to 2.
• The order of the shipping methods (the columns) is determined by the “Weight” column in the overview under Delivery → Shipping Methods. Methods with the same weight are sorted by name in reverse alphabetical order, so it’s best to assign each method its own number.

If a product has a fixed shipping price

At the top of the page is the section “If a product has a fixed shipping price.” This applies to products where you’ve entered a shipping price directly for the item in the “Shipping without VAT” field (it’s called “Shipping with VAT” if your product prices include VAT), typically large or heavy items. You can choose between two settings, and the selection applies to the entire store.

Highest price wins

If the product’s shipping price is higher than the shipping price for the destination country, the product’s price is used. Otherwise, the price from the table is used. This is the default setting, and it protects your shipping margin: a heavy item cannot be shipped at the low standard rate just because the customer also added a small item to the cart.

Product shipping always takes precedence

If all items in the cart have a fixed shipping price assigned to them, the highest of these prices is used, even if it’s lower than the country’s shipping rate. If just one item lacks a fixed shipping price, the price from the table is used. Select this option if you want to manually control shipping on a per-item basis.

If you have items that must never be shipped for free, you can enable “Never Free Shipping” for the individual product in the General tab. If such an item is in the cart, the order will not qualify for free shipping even if the total exceeds the threshold. However, discount codes offering free shipping and free shipping for loyalty program members will still work.

Add-ons and Free Shipping

If you sell add-ons in the cart—such as gift wrapping or greeting cards—the “Add-ons and Free Shipping” tab appears below the “If a product has a fixed shipping rate” tab and above the table. The card is only displayed when the store offers add-ons—that is, at least one add-on profile.

By default, add-ons are included in the cart total when comparing it to the free shipping threshold. This means a customer who is just below the threshold can qualify for free shipping simply by selecting gift wrapping. If you check the box next to “Add-ons do not count toward the free shipping threshold” and click “Save” at the bottom of the page, the add-ons will be deducted before the cart total is compared to the threshold. The customer still pays for the add-on, and the cart total remains unchanged. This setting applies to the entire store, in all countries, and for all shipping methods. Add-ons that you display on the product page via the theme settings are added to the cart as regular items and still count toward the threshold.

Free Shipping Over a Certain Amount

The pricing matrix does not include price ranges. This means you cannot enter “0 to 499 DKK costs 49 DKK, above that 29 DKK” directly in the table. Instead, the amount-based rules are controlled by the free shipping threshold, which is set in two other places and applies on top of the prices in the matrix:

• Per country: the “Free shipping over” field for the country under Delivery → Countries. Applies to all shipping methods for that country.
• Per shipping method: the “Free shipping over” field for the shipping method. This takes precedence over the country’s threshold for that specific method. If the field is left blank, the country’s threshold is used.
• Exception: the “Never free shipping” checkbox on a shipping method. That method will never offer free shipping, regardless of order size and regardless of the threshold fields.

The cart total must exceed the amount; it cannot be exactly equal to it. A threshold of 499 triggers free shipping starting at 499.01 and up. The full details are in “Free Shipping Over a Certain Amount.”

Weight-Based Pricing: Price Based on Cart Weight

If you want the price to increase with weight instead of being fixed, visit the sister page Shipping → Weight-Based Pricing. There, you first create weight intervals in grams—for example, 1,000, 2,000, and 5,000—and then enter a price per interval for each combination of country and shipping method.

The weight-based prices override the price from Shipping Rates as soon as the cart’s weight reaches at least one of the specified intervals, and the price for the highest specified interval that the weight reaches is applied. If the cart weighs 2,400 grams and you have intervals of 1,000 and 2,000, the price for 2,000 is used. If the cart weighs less than the lowest interval, the price from "Shipping Rates" remains in effect. The weight is taken from the “Optional weight in grams for shipping” field on the product.

Empty fields work differently than in Shipping Rates. If you leave a weight-based price field empty, the system skips that weight range for that combination, and the cart uses the price from the next lower weight range you’ve filled in, or the price from Shipping Rates. If you enter 0, shipping is free in that range. Read more in Weight-Based Shipping: Shipping That Depends on Weight.

The order in which shipping is calculated

The shipping price is calculated step by step, and each step can override the result from the previous one. This is typically the reason why a customer might see a price different from the one in the table:

1. Free shipping for members. If “Free shipping for members” is enabled under the Loyalty Program and the customer is logged in, the shipping cost is 0 DKK, and the rest of the calculation is skipped. However, this does not apply if the selected shipping method has “Never free shipping.”
2. Discount code with free shipping. If the code’s minimum purchase amount (if any) has been met and the code is valid in the customer’s country, shipping is 0 DKK. However, this does not apply if the selected shipping method has “Never free shipping.”
3. Starting price based on the country. Before the customer selects a shipping method, the lowest price in the country’s row is used. This is typically the “starting at” price that the theme displays in the cart.
4. Price for the selected method. As soon as the customer selects a shipping method, the price in the cell for that specific country and method is applied.
5. Weight-based prices. When the cart’s weight reaches one of your weight intervals, the price is overwritten with the weight-based price for the highest filled interval that the cart reaches, even if it is set to 0.
6. Fixed shipping prices for products. Now either “Highest Price Wins” or “Product Shipping Always Wins” takes effect.
7. Subscriptions. If the cart consists exclusively of subscriptions, the subscription price from the “For subscriptions” row is used, if it has been filled in.
8. Free shipping over a certain amount. The total order amount after discount codes and promotions is compared to the shipping method’s own threshold or the country’s threshold. Add-ons are deducted if you’ve enabled “Add-ons do not count toward the free shipping threshold,” and redeemed points are also deducted. Gift cards, however, do not count as a discount here. If the total exceeds the threshold, shipping is set to 0 DKK. This is skipped if an item has “Never free shipping” and does not apply to shipping methods marked “Never free shipping.”
9. Sales tax is added. Finally, the destination country’s sales tax rate is added, unless the shipping method is marked as tax-free.

Pay special attention to step 3. The starting price is the lowest price in the entire country’s list, even if it comes from a shipping method you don’t offer in that country. If a column shows 0 for this reason, the country may display “Shipping from 0 kr.” until the customer selects a method. Therefore, enter a realistic price in the cell rather than leaving it blank.

VAT on Shipping

Shipping prices are always entered without VAT, even if your product prices include VAT. VAT is added at checkout based on the delivery country’s rate, so a German customer will be charged German VAT on shipping. If a shipping method is to be completely VAT-exempt, check the box labeled “Shipping is VAT-exempt” on the shipping method itself. Do not check it simply because the price is entered without VAT, as this applies to all methods.

How to Test the Setup

1. Add a low-cost item to the cart in your own store and proceed to checkout.
2. Select the country you want to test and check the shipping price before choosing a method. It’s the country’s lowest price plus tax.
3. Select each shipping method in turn and verify that the price matches the value in the corresponding cell in the table plus tax.
4. Add more items to the cart until you exceed your free shipping threshold, and verify that the shipping cost is 0 kr. for the methods where it should be.
5. If you’ve enabled “Add-ons don’t count toward the free shipping threshold,” add items to your cart just below the threshold, select gift wrapping, and verify that the shipping cost does not become 0 kr.

For the tech-savvy

Prices are stored with two decimal places and without a sign, so negative prices and shipping surcharges are not possible. You set a price, not a surcharge. The shipping amount is also saved on the order itself when it’s created, so later changes to the matrix won’t affect orders that have already been placed.

If you want to control which shipping methods are available in a country, do so in the “Shipping Options” field for that country—not by leaving a cell blank. For more information on when the theme retrieves the shipping methods during checkout, see Checkout Flow and Shipping Calculation.

Frequently Asked Questions

How can I see where shipping is free?

Look for fields with a 0 or empty fields. These indicate free shipping for that specific country and shipping method. If the 0 is intentional—for example, for in-store pickup—you can safely leave it as is.

I didn’t enter anything in a field. Does that mean the shipping method can’t be selected?

No, a blank field is saved as 0 DKK, meaning free shipping. If you want to remove a shipping method entirely for a specific country, you must deselect it under “Shipping Options” for that country in Delivery → Countries.

Should I list prices with or without sales tax?

Excluding VAT, always—even if your store otherwise uses prices that include VAT. VAT is automatically added at checkout based on the rate for the delivery country. If you list the price including VAT, the customer will end up paying VAT twice.

Can I set tiered shipping rates where the shipping cost decreases for larger orders?

Not directly in the matrix, which only allows one price per country and shipping method. You have two options: a free shipping threshold, so that shipping is waived entirely above a certain amount, or weight-based rates under Shipping → Weight-Based Rates, where the price is based on the cart’s weight in grams.

What happens if the cart contains both an item with a fixed shipping price and a regular item?

It depends on the setting at the top of the page. With “Highest Price Wins,” which is the default, the higher of the item’s shipping price and the country’s price is used. With “Product Shipping Always Wins,” all items must have a fixed shipping price; otherwise, the country’s price from the table is used.

The customer received a shipping price different from the one in the table. Where should I look?

Go through the list of calculation steps from the top. Sales tax is added afterward; weight-based prices override the price in the table; a fixed shipping price for a product can take precedence; a free shipping threshold can set the price to 0; and both discount codes and the loyalty program can provide free shipping. Also, check that the customer was in the country you think they were.

Do new shipping rates affect orders that have already been placed?

No. The shipping amount is saved with the order when it’s created. If you adjust the prices today, they’ll apply going forward, and existing orders, invoices, and accounting records remain unchanged.

Can I offer free shipping to a single country without affecting other countries?

Yes. The free shipping threshold is set per country, so you can have, for example, 499 kr. in Denmark and no threshold in Germany. You’ll find the “Free shipping over” field for each country under Delivery → Countries.

Do gift wrapping and other add-ons count toward the free shipping threshold?

By default, yes. Check the box for “Add-ons do not count toward the free shipping threshold ” on the “Add-ons and Free Shipping” tab, then click Save. The customer will still pay for the add-on.

Do you need help setting up your shipping options? Email support@shoporama.dk.