Tools / E-COMMERCE
Free Shipping Threshold Calculator
Free shipping lifts conversion and order value — but set the bar wrong and it eats your margin. This tool finds the threshold that pays for itself.
ABOUT THIS TOOL
A free-shipping bar is one of the most reliable ways to lift average order value, because shoppers add items to cross it. The catch is the threshold: set it too low and you subsidise every order; too high and no one bothers. This free calculator uses your average order value, gross margin, and shipping cost to find the sweet spot — the minimum order value where the extra margin from a bigger basket covers the shipping you are giving away — and shows what free shipping would cost your margin at today's AOV.
How to use it
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01
Enter your average order value
Your current AOV — the AOV calculator works it out if needed.
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02
Add your gross margin
The margin you keep on a typical order, before shipping.
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03
Enter your shipping cost
What it actually costs you to ship one order.
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04
Read your threshold
The order value where free shipping stays profitable — plus the margin hit at your current AOV.
What people use it for
- Setting a free-shipping bar that lifts AOV without hurting margin
- Checking whether store-wide free shipping is quietly losing money
- Deciding between free shipping and a flat shipping rate
- Modelling the margin impact before you run a free-shipping promo
The E-Commerce
Growth Playbook
17 moves that turn a store into a revenue machine — the exact levers our team pulls for the brands we build and grow.
- Convert more of the traffic you already pay for
- Speed wins that lift revenue on every visit
- Retention flows that make the second sale cheaper
- Ad math so you scale in profit, not blind
Enjoy the playbook!
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Frequently Asked
Questions
Common questions about this free tool.
How is the recommended threshold worked out?
It finds the order value at which the extra gross margin from a larger basket offsets the shipping cost you absorb, then sets the bar a little above your current AOV to actually move behaviour. It is a starting point to test, not a fixed rule.
Should the threshold be above or below my AOV?
Above — usually 15–30% higher. Set below your AOV and you simply give away shipping on orders that would have happened anyway; set it just above and you nudge shoppers to add one more item.
Does free shipping actually increase sales?
It reliably lifts conversion and average order value, but only pays off if the threshold protects your margin. Pair this with the AOV calculator to see the revenue upside.
Current store performance