Turning on free shipping in Shopify takes about ninety seconds. Picking the right number to turn it on at is the part that actually decides whether it makes you money or quietly costs you margin on every order. Most guides cover the first part and skip the second. We will do both.
The two ways to set up free shipping on Shopify
There are two routes, and the right one depends on whether you want free shipping running all the time or only for a promotion.
Option 1: A free shipping rate (the everyday method)
This is what most stores want — free shipping available to everyone, all the time, once they hit a cart total.
- From your Shopify admin, go to Settings → Shipping and delivery.
- Under Shipping, click the shipping profile that holds your products (usually General).
- Find the shipping zone you want to offer free shipping in (for example, your home country) and click Add rate.
- Name the rate something clear, like Free shipping over $75, and set the price to 0.
- Click Add conditions → Based on order price, then set the minimum order price to your threshold.
- Save.
That is it. Shoppers in that zone now see free shipping unlock once their cart clears the number you set.
Option 2: An automatic free shipping discount (for promotions)
If you want free shipping as a limited-time offer — a weekend sale, a holiday push — use a discount instead, so you can switch it off cleanly afterward.
- From your Shopify admin, go to Discounts → Create discount → Free shipping.
- Under Method, choose Automatic so it applies at checkout with no code to remember.
- Set a minimum purchase amount so the offer only applies above your threshold.
- Set an end date, and save.
Use the rate for your standing policy and the discount for promotions. Simple.
The part the setup screen doesn’t tell you: what number to pick
Here is where it gets interesting, and where Shopify’s own settings give you no guidance at all. The box just asks for a number. The number you put in it is the whole game.
The mistake almost everyone makes is setting the threshold at — or below — their average order value. If your typical order is already $60 and you offer free shipping over $50, every order qualifies automatically and the threshold does nothing. You have just given away shipping on sales you were going to make anyway.
The threshold only works when it sits above your average order value — far enough that a typical shopper is just short and has a reason to add one more item, but not so far that they give up. In practice that lands around 15 to 25 percent above your AOV. If your AOV is $60, a threshold somewhere around $70 to $75 is the sweet spot. Want a starting point for your category? See typical free shipping thresholds by industry.
You do not have to guess this. Enter your average order value and your niche, and the free tool below hands you a benchmark-backed number you can adjust to your margins.
Find the right free shipping threshold for your store →
One more sanity check before you commit: make sure the extra sales actually cover the shipping you are giving away. If shipping costs you $8 an order and your product margin is 40 percent, you need roughly $20 of added cart value to break even on it. The threshold should clear that bar comfortably.
Show shoppers how close they are
Setting the number is half the job. The other half is making sure shoppers know about it at the moment it matters — in the cart. A line like “You’re $12 away from free shipping” with a progress bar reliably lifts average order value, because it turns an abstract policy into a small, winnable goal. A static banner at the top of the page does not do that nearly as well.
Once your number is set, that nudge is the highest-leverage thing left to add.