How Shopify Shipping Rates Work
Shopify describes three main ways to set the rates customers see at checkout:
- Flat rates. A fixed charge that gives customers consistent, predictable pricing.
- Carrier-calculated rates. Costs pulled from carriers in real time.
- Free shipping. A no-cost option, often tied to a minimum order value.
What you charge the customer is separate from what the carrier charges you. A flat rate set too low can erase your margin on heavy or distant parcels.
Carrier-Calculated Rates and Your Plan
This table summarizes Shopify's published information, checked in October 2026. Plans and features change, so confirm what applies to your store in Shopify.
| Item | What Shopify says | What it means for you |
|---|---|---|
| Live rates | Shopify requests live rates from your connected carrier accounts using the order's weight, dimensions and destination | Keep product weights and sizes accurate |
| Plan | Third-party carrier-calculated shipping is available on Advanced and Plus plans, and Grow stores can add it for a monthly fee or by switching to annual billing | Check your plan before you plan around it |
| Your own carrier account | You can connect your own carrier account, and FedEx is named among the examples | Ask what rates you can connect |
| Backup rates | They appear only when calculated rates fail and no other eligible rate exists | Set sensible backups |
| Flat rates | If you add them, they always appear when eligible | Customers may pick them even when calculated rates work |
Shopify Labels and Your Own Carrier Pricing
Shopify also sells shipping labels. Shopify says label discounts vary by Shopify plan, that labels provide tracking information to customers automatically, and that eligibility varies by carrier and country. It does not publish a single discount figure.
That makes your own comparison important. Price a typical order with Shopify labels and with a quote from us, and include the cost of any plan feature you would need. Your own carrier pricing can make sense when your volume earns a better rate, or when you want one set of rates across several sales channels.
Connecting Unival to Your Shopify Store
Unival's Shopify integration is described as letting merchants create labels and sync tracking without leaving the Shopify admin. Our shipping API connects to your platform, order management or warehouse system, and gives API access for development and testing before the integration moves into production.
Setup follows three stated steps: share your platform and shipping requirements with our team, get the access needed to integrate, and move from development to production. Read more on our API and Shopify integration page, or see our ecommerce shipping solutions.
What Makes Up Your Shopify Shipping Cost
The carrier rate is the biggest line, but not the only one. FedEx's published information, checked in October 2026, shows the parts:
- Billable weight. FedEx charges on dimensional weight or actual weight, whichever is greater, using a divisor of 139. Our guide explains dimensional weight.
- Delivery zone. Zones are set by the origin and destination ZIP codes.
- Extra charges. FedEx lists fees such as Additional Handling, Delivery Area Surcharge, Residential Delivery Charge and Address Correction.
- Annual changes. FedEx says standard list rates will rise an average of 5.9% on January 4, 2027.
Questions to Ask About Any Shopify Shipping Quote
Use the same questions with every provider, including us:
- Can these rates be shown to customers as calculated rates at my Shopify checkout?
- Does it depend on my Shopify plan or on any paid add-on?
- Does the discount apply to the base rate, to surcharges or to both?
- What order volume is the pricing based on?
- How do labels and tracking connect to my store?
- How does the price change when FedEx updates its rates each year?
Where Unival Fits In
Unival offers volume-based FedEx pricing for online stores. Request a quote and you will see the rate for your own orders before you ship. For the wider range, see our page on discounted shipping, our ecommerce shipping rates and our guide to discounted FedEx rates.
- Rates are quoted through our quote form.
- Tracking can be followed by customers and synced to your orders.
- You can track a shipment online.
- Selling high-value items? See our insured high-value shipping.
Shopify and FedEx are trademarks of their owners. They are named here to identify the platform and carrier described, as checked in October 2026. Unival is not Shopify or FedEx, and this page does not imply endorsement by either.
