CAL-007
Free Shipping Calculator
Free shipping is a marketing decision with a direct cost. This calculator shows your margin before and after you absorb delivery, so the trade-off is explicit.
- Free
- No signup
- Private · runs locally
How to use this calculator
- Enter your product cost and your selling price.
- Enter what delivery actually costs you per order.
- Compare the margin before and after absorbing shipping, and see the price you would need to charge to keep your original margin.
Is free shipping worth it?
Shipping is regularly the last thing that stops someone completing an order, and a visible delivery charge at checkout is one of the most common reasons carts are abandoned. Free shipping usually lifts conversion - the question is whether the lift pays for the cost.
The arithmetic is unforgiving on low-priced items. A $5 delivery on a $25 order with a 40% margin cuts your profit from $10 to $5, halving it. On a $120 order the same $5 barely registers.
The common middle ground is a free-shipping threshold set slightly above your average order value. It protects small orders and nudges customers to add one more item.
Frequently asked questions
Should I raise prices to cover free shipping?
It is the usual approach, but only works if the higher price stays competitive. This calculator shows the exact price needed to hold your original margin so you can judge that.
How do I choose a free-shipping threshold?
Start just above your current average order value. High enough that most orders do not qualify automatically, low enough that reaching it feels achievable.