Shipping Rules

Configure exactly how your carriers charge — and surface the right rate to every customer, every time.

Your carriers don't all charge the same way. Now you don't have to pretend they do.

Royal Mail charges by weight band. Your local courier charges a flat rate. Your furniture delivery partner charges more for the first item than the second. And your marketing team wants free shipping above £75. Handling all of that with a single flat rate or a simple weight table means you're constantly either overcharging customers or eating into your own margin.

ShipRateAPI's Shipping Rules give you eight distinct rate types — each built to mirror a real-world carrier pricing model exactly. Configure them visually in the admin portal, organised by carrier and zone, and the rating engine handles every calculation at checkout automatically.

Screenshot: Rate Tables list in admin portal — carriers, zones, and rate types

Built for every shipping model

From a single flat rate to a multi-step configurable pipeline, Shipping Rules covers every pricing model you'll encounter in the real world.

8 rate types

Weight, price, flat, per-item, first-item, dimensional, free, and configurable — a type for every carrier pricing model.

Zone-based configuration

Different rates for different destinations. UK mainland, Highlands, Europe, and worldwide — all independently configured.

Unlimited brackets

Define as many weight or value brackets as your carrier tariff requires. No artificial limits.

Multiple stores

Each store gets its own set of carriers, zones, and rate tables — fully isolated under one account.

Free shipping thresholds

Add a free shipping rule to any zone with a minimum order value gate. Updates take effect instantly, no deployments.

Instant activation

Changes are live the moment you save. No waiting for cache expiry, no code pushes, no downtime.

Screenshot: Rate table edit form — weight bracket configuration

Eight rate types. Every carrier model covered.

Choose the rate type that matches how your carrier actually charges, and ShipRateAPI calculates the correct amount automatically at checkout. Mix and match across carriers and zones — every combination is valid.

Weight — Tiered brackets by shipment weight — the most common carrier model

Price — Tiered brackets by order value — ideal for free-shipping thresholds

Flat — A single fixed charge for the entire zone

Per Item — A per-unit charge scaled by item quantity

First Item — Higher first-item charge, lower additional-item charge

Dimensional — Volumetric weight vs actual weight — whichever is greater

Free — Always £0 — gated by optional minimum order value

Configurable — Multi-step first-match pipeline for complex hybrid pricing

Read the rate types documentation

When one rate type isn't enough, use the Configurable pipeline.

Some carrier contracts can't be expressed in a single bracket table. The Configurable rate type lets you define a multi-step pipeline: charge by weight up to 20 kg, then switch to dimensional for heavier items. Offer free shipping under £10, then flat rate above it. Define as many steps as you need — the first matching condition wins.

Conditions test weight, order value, volume, or item count
Each step uses any rate method — flat, weight, dimensional, free, per-item
Built visually in the admin — no code, no JSON editing

Screenshot: Configurable rate type step builder

Works with every other feature

Shipping Rules are the foundation — every other feature builds on top of them.

Scheduled Rules

Set a validFrom/validTo window on any rate table and it activates automatically.

Learn more

Coverage Scanner

Validate that your rules cover every zone without gaps, tag conflicts, or schedule issues.

Learn more

Ready to configure your first shipping rule?

Get started in minutes with the admin portal. No code required — just add your carriers, define your zones, and pick a rate type.

Read the Quick Start Talk to us