WooCommerce free shipping threshold: how to choose the amount and set it up
A WooCommerce free shipping threshold works as a separate shipping method in a zone, for example Domestic, with a minimum order amount requirement. Set the threshold a little above the typical basket in your store, and make sure the shipping cost still fits inside your margin. Do the maths first, then set it up, and finally test a basket with a coupon.
Author: The TellMyShop team. A guide for WordPress site and WooCommerce store owners: the cause, the manual fix and the same work in a chat conversation.
Last updated: · 6 min read
How to choose the free shipping threshold
The threshold should nudge customers to add something to the basket, not give away shipping on every order. A round figure like “free over €50” sounds good, but it may not suit your store. Start with three numbers you already have in your data.
| What to work out | Where to find it | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Average order value | order statistics in the WooCommerce admin | the threshold usually sits a little above it |
| How many orders fall just below the threshold | the order list from recent months | these customers may add a product |
| Your shipping cost | your courier contract or invoices | what you give away on each free shipping order |
| Margin on a typical basket | your purchase prices | whether free shipping eats your profit |
| What customers can add to the basket | cheaper products, accessories | customers need something to reach the threshold with |
A simple way to think about it: if the threshold is below the average basket, most customers get free shipping without adding anything. If it is far above, hardly anyone will reach it. Average order value is revenue divided by the number of orders in a period, which the Users Insights guide to WooCommerce reports explains well.
After changing the threshold, watch average order value and the number of orders for a few weeks. The result depends on the store, so don't assume it will go up.
How to set up free shipping over an amount
Free shipping in WooCommerce is a method you add to a shipping zone. The documentation on shipping zones and the free shipping method covers it in full.
- Go to WooCommerce, Settings, Shipping and open a zone, for example Domestic. If there isn't one, add a zone with your country as the region.
- Add the “Free shipping” method if the zone doesn't have it yet.
- Open the method's settings. In the requirements field, choose a minimum order amount.
- Enter the threshold, for example 50.
- Decide whether the minimum amount should be counted before the coupon discount. By default WooCommerce counts it after the discount.
- Save the changes and place test orders: a basket just below the threshold, just above it, and above it with a coupon.
A few things that often catch people out:
- Zone order. A customer is matched to the first zone that fits. If another zone covering the same postcodes sits above Domestic, the free shipping from Domestic won't appear.
- Paid methods next to free shipping. Above the threshold the customer sees free shipping and a paid courier side by side. Hiding paid methods needs a plugin or code.
- A “€X away from free shipping” bar. WooCommerce doesn't show one by itself. Your theme or a plugin adds that message.
- Courier plugins. Parcel locker and shipping-platform plugins often have their own methods with their own threshold. The “Free shipping” method setting doesn't change them.
- Gross and net amounts. Check on a test basket that the threshold is compared with the amount the customer sees in the basket.
Free shipping with a coupon or for selected products
A minimum amount is the simplest option, but the “Free shipping” method has other requirements too. You can make it depend on a valid coupon that grants free shipping, or combine a coupon with a minimum amount: either one is enough, or both are needed. In the coupon itself you then tick the box that allows free shipping.
This works well for a short campaign, for example free shipping for newsletter subscribers for a week, without changing the threshold for everyone.
Heavy or bulky products are harder. The WooCommerce free shipping method looks at the basket value, not at what is in it. If you sell products that are expensive to ship and you don't want to send them for free, you need shipping classes and separate rules, usually with a table rate shipping plugin. Sort this out before you announce the threshold, not after the first order that arrives on a pallet.
Free shipping outside the store
Once the threshold works in the store, show it where customers make decisions: next to the price on the product page, in the basket and in the footer. If you send products to Google Merchant Center, you can enter the threshold in the shipping settings or in the free_shipping_threshold attribute in Merchant Center. The same information then reaches Shopping ads and free listings. Make sure the amount is the same everywhere.
A free shipping threshold pairs well with seasonal campaigns, for example a lower threshold during a promotion week. We cover planning these in the posts on Black Friday in WooCommerce and the WooCommerce sale schedule.
How the chat helps
The TellMyShop plugin for WordPress and WooCommerce, in the free TellMyShop Free version, reads sales reports such as best-selling products and products bought together. That helps you choose what to suggest to a customer who is just below the threshold.
TellMyShop Pro reads the whole store, including shipping zones and methods. Your chat (Claude or ChatGPT) works out your average order value and shows how many orders landed just below different thresholds. Changing a shipping method's cost or the free shipping threshold needs the Sales switch in the plugin panel. It stays on until you turn it off, and the chat prepares the preview even while it is off. A sample conversation, with example values:
You: I want free shipping over €50. Is that a good threshold?
Your chat: From orders in the last 90 days: average order value is €41 gross. Orders between €37 and €49 make up a large share of the total, so a €50 threshold gives those customers a real reason to add something. The Domestic zone already has a “Free shipping” method with a €75 threshold, counted after the coupon discount.
You: Set it to €50, still after the discount.
Your chat: Change preview, Domestic zone, Free shipping method:
Counting after the coupon discount stays the same. I'll save it after your ‘yes’. Turn on the Sales switch in the plugin panel first.
Card status: waiting for your “yes”old version: minimum order amount: €75.00
new version: minimum order amount: €50.00
What the chat won't do here: it doesn't change courier plugin settings and doesn't recalculate the basket itself, that is WooCommerce's job. It also won't add a “€X away” bar, because that belongs to the theme or a separate plugin. The threshold change goes into the change history, and you can undo most changes from the change history, again after a preview.
Read more about the plugin on the TellMyShop for WordPress and WooCommerce page, and licence prices are on the pricing page. If you'd rather use a discount code instead of free shipping and it isn't working, see the post WooCommerce coupon not working. Other guides are on the blog.
Questions and answers
Where do I set free shipping over a certain amount in WooCommerce?
Go to WooCommerce, Settings, Shipping and open a shipping zone, for example Domestic. Add the “Free shipping” method there, and in its settings choose the minimum order amount requirement and enter the threshold. The method only works in the zone you add it to.
Is the threshold calculated before or after the coupon discount?
After the discount by default. The free shipping method has a setting that applies the minimum amount before the coupon discount. Choose deliberately: if it is counted before the discount, a customer with a coupon can get both the discount and free shipping below the threshold.
Why does the customer see free shipping and a paid courier side by side?
WooCommerce shows every method available in the zone, including paid ones, once free shipping is available. Hiding paid methods above the threshold needs an extra plugin or a code snippet. Many stores don't mind, because customers pick the cheapest option anyway.
I use a courier or parcel locker plugin. Do I set the threshold the same way?
Not always. Courier plugins often add their own shipping methods with their own free shipping field. In that case you set the threshold in that plugin's settings, and TellMyShop doesn't change them.
Will the chat choose the free shipping threshold for me?
The chat in TellMyShop Pro can work out your average order value from sales data and show how orders are spread around different amounts. It leaves the decision to you, because it depends on your margin and shipping cost, which you know best. It saves a new threshold once the Sales switch is on and you agree.
WordPress is a trademark of the WordPress Foundation. WooCommerce is a trademark of Automattic Inc. Claude is a trademark of Anthropic PBC. ChatGPT and OpenAI are trademarks of OpenAI. TellMyShop is not affiliated with these companies.