Free Tool
Shipping Cost Calculator
What will it cost to ship this order — and what does free shipping cost you? Enter the weight, the distance and the rates you use, and this calculator gives you the shipping cost, and the cost you absorb if the customer pays nothing.
Estimates and scenarios for planning purposes only — not financial advice. The results on this page are built from the numbers you enter. They are planning aids, not predictions, and not financial, tax or legal advice. Nothing you enter leaves your browser.
What this tool does
The shipping cost is built from three parts you enter: a base fee per shipment, a rate per kilogram, and a rate per kilometre. Cost = base fee + (weight × rate per kg) + (distance × rate per km). With a $3 base fee, 2 kg at $0.50 per kg and 100 km at $0.02 per km, the cost is 3 + 1 + 2 = $6. Everything is user-entered, because carrier rates vary by carrier, service and zone — no live rate is fetched and no carrier's price is quoted here.
The second half is the free-shipping question. Enter the order value and the free-shipping threshold you offer: if the order is at or above the threshold, the customer pays nothing and you absorb the full shipping cost; below it, the customer pays the shipping cost and you absorb nothing. That absorbed cost is the real price of 'free' shipping, and it is the number that decides whether the threshold is set right.
Try it
Waiting. Enter weight, distance and rates and press Calculate shipping cost.
How it works
Shipping cost = base fee + (weight × rate per kg) + (distance × rate per km). All three rates are entered by you — the carrier's actual price, not a figure from this site. Free shipping is a comparison: if the order value is at or above the threshold, the seller absorbs the whole shipping cost; if not, the customer pays it. The absorbed cost is shown separately because it is the number that decides whether the threshold pays for itself.
Dimensions are not part of the calculation: this tool prices by weight and distance, which is how the rates you enter are defined. If your carrier prices by volumetric (dimensional) weight, enter the chargeable weight — whichever of actual or volumetric weight the carrier bills — as the weight.
Assumptions and limitations
- No carrier rate is fetched or quoted. Rates change by carrier, service level, zone and season, and any rate this site quoted would be wrong for most readers. Enter the rates from your own carrier quote.
- The tool prices one shipment. It does not model multi-parcel orders, remote-area surcharges, insurance, customs or returns — all of which are real costs that belong in your own pricing, not in this calculation.
- Free shipping is never free: when the customer pays nothing, the seller absorbs the cost. A threshold set below the average order value means most orders ship at your expense — check the absorbed cost before you set the threshold.
Worked example
Example: a 2 kg parcel travelling 100 km, with a $3 base fee, $0.50 per kg and $0.02 per km. Shipping cost = 3 + (2 × 0.50) + (100 × 0.02) = 3 + 1 + 2 = $6.00. On a $40 order with a $50 free-shipping threshold, the order is below the threshold, so the customer pays the $6.00.
Frequently asked questions
Where do the rates come from?
From your carrier's quote or rate card. This tool never fetches rates — enter the base fee, the per-kg rate and the per-km rate from the carrier you actually use.
What if my carrier charges by size, not weight?
Enter the chargeable weight: whichever is higher, the actual weight or the volumetric (dimensional) weight the carrier calculates. The tool prices the weight you give it.
How should I set a free-shipping threshold?
Above your average order value, so that free shipping rewards larger orders instead of applying to nearly all of them. Compare the absorbed cost this tool shows against the extra margin the larger order brings.
Does this include customs or insurance?
No. It prices the shipment itself. Customs, insurance, remote surcharges and returns are separate costs — add them to your own pricing.
Can I use this for international shipping?
Only as a rough estimate with rates you enter for that route. International shipping adds zones, customs and handling that this simple weight-and-distance model does not cover.