Dropshipping Shipping Rates on Shopify: What to Charge
A dropshipping shipping strategy decides how much of your supplier’s shipping cost the customer sees, because suppliers still charge you for shipping even though you don’t ship products yourself. Shopify lists five approaches: free shipping paid from your margin, free shipping with higher product prices, a low flat rate plus slightly higher prices, a flat rate that covers the cost, or passing on the exact cost. Pick one by forecasting your supplier’s shipping fees for the orders you expect and dividing them over orders or products.
The strategies and all worked examples below are Shopify’s, from its Help Center page on shipping strategies for dropshipping, read on October 23, 2026.
Five ways to handle supplier shipping
| Approach | Customer sees | The trade-off, in our view |
|---|---|---|
| Free shipping, paid from profit | Free shipping | Margin shrinks on every order |
| Free shipping, higher prices | Free shipping, “shipping included” | Prices look higher next to competitors who charge shipping |
| Low flat rate, slightly higher prices | A small fee | A mix of the two |
| Flat rate that covers the cost | One fee on every order | Simple, but some orders over- or under-pay |
| Exact cost passed on | Rates that vary by order | Accurate, but more complicated to set up and explain |
You can also mix approaches by product, for example with per-item rates for heavy items.
Free shipping
Shopify lists marketing value, a simpler setup and a better chance of an order as the benefits of free shipping. If your supplier ships to you for free, pass that on. If not, the cost either comes out of your profit or goes into the product price, and many stores that choose the second option say on the page that shipping is included.
Shopify’s example with several suppliers and markets puts numbers on it. A forecast of 24 orders with 77 products costs $170.50 in supplier shipping. To offer free shipping, add $2.22 to each product’s price ($170.50 ÷ 77). If you’d rather keep express shipping as a paid extra, cover only the standard shipping in the prices: 72 products, $149.50 of shipping, so $2.08 per product. The two express orders then cost $21, of which $10.40 is already covered by the price increase on their 5 products, leaving $10.60, so an express fee of $5.30 per order covers the rest.
Flat and tiered rates
A flat rate is the forecast cost divided by the forecast orders. Shopify’s simple example for one week:
| Product | Supplier shipping per item | Orders forecast | Shipping cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Plate | $5 | 4 | $20 |
| Bowl | $4 | 4 | $16 |
| Mug | $4 | 10 | $40 |
| Total | 18 | $66 |
$66 ÷ 18 orders = a flat rate of $3.67 per order. In the bigger example above, the same method gives $6.80 for standard orders ($149.50 ÷ 22) and $10.50 for express ($21 ÷ 2). Shopify notes these numbers need updating as real orders replace your forecast; we’d recheck them monthly at first.
Tiered rates follow the supplier’s pricing more closely. You set rates by order price or weight bands. Shopify’s sticky-note example: the supplier charges $1 for the first pack and $0.25 for each extra pack. Give each pack a weight of 1 lb and charge $1 for 1 lb, $2 for 2 to 5 lb and $4 for 6 to 10 lb, which passes part of the supplier’s volume saving on to the customer.
Per-item rates for several suppliers
When suppliers charge a flat fee per product with no discount for volume, per-item rates keep shipping close to the cost. Put products in shipping profiles with their own rates; at checkout, the rates of all products in the cart are added together. Shopify’s battery example: AA packs cost $3 to ship and AAA packs $2, so an order with one of each shows $5 shipping.
A single average rate per profile can still lose money. In Shopify’s plates, bowls and mugs example for Canada, average rates leave a profit on small orders, and four orders of 4 plates and 4 mugs collect $44.44 against $72 of supplier shipping, a $27.56 loss. Shopify’s advice is to add tiered rates by weight or price to each profile.
Two complications to plan for:
- Several profiles in one cart. Per-item shipping can get complicated when one order contains products from many profiles; Shopify covers this under combined shipping rates.
- Different countries and speeds. Some suppliers price shipping per country and per speed, as in Shopify’s table where a plate costs $5 standard to Canada and $3 to the United States. A flat rate per country, or per country and speed, keeps the rate close to the cost.
Whichever approach you choose, the shipping time you show has to match what the supplier delivers. Shopify’s dropshipping compliance page requires public processing and shipping information before checkout. For the rest of the setup, see start dropshipping on Shopify, and for shipping strategy beyond dropshipping, Shopify shipping strategy, both in the shipping and returns hub.
FAQ
Should a dropshipping store offer free shipping? Shopify lists marketing value, a simpler setup and a higher chance of an order among its benefits. If your supplier charges for shipping, build the cost into your prices or accept a lower margin.
How do I calculate a flat shipping rate for dropshipping? Add up the supplier shipping fees for the orders you expect in a period and divide by the number of orders. Shopify’s example: $66 for 18 orders is a flat rate of $3.67.
What if my products come from different suppliers? Use per-item shipping rates with separate shipping profiles; the rates of all products in the cart are added at checkout. Watch for complex totals when one cart mixes many profiles.
Can I charge different shipping rates by country? Shopify’s guidance suggests flat rates per country when your supplier charges different rates to different countries, which keeps each rate closer to your actual cost. You set them up as separate shipping zones in a shipping profile, one zone per country or group of countries.