Real-time rates from carriers (USPS, UPS, FedEx, etc.)

You can give your customers real-time carrier rates at checkout by connecting your online store with a carrier company such as USPS, FedEx, UPS, Canada Post, Australia Post, etc. Shipping rates are calculated in real-time based on the order weight, parcel or product dimensions, origin and delivery address.

Watch a video about setting up carrier calculated shipping in Ecwid:

Before connecting a carrier for real-time shipping quotes, go through the initial shipping setup.

Real-time rates from integrated carriers

Ecwid has a built-in integration with the following carrier companies to automatically show their shipping rates for customers’ orders at checkout:

For more options, see Integration with other carriers.

Adding real-time rates shipping

To enable the automatically calculated rates in your store:

From your Ecwid admin, go to Shipping & Pickup.
Click Add Shipping.
Select the carrier company that you ship with. The carrier companies are suggested depending on your country. Click Set Up.

If you don't see the needed carrier among the suggested options, you can view all carriers or change your country below.

Choose Automatic calculated rates from the chosen carrier and click Set Up.
If you are going to ship worldwide and offer all the available shipping options from the set carrier, no additional set up is needed.

In the Ecwid iOS app, go to Store → Shipping and Pickup.
Click Add Shipping.
Select the carrier company that you ship with. The carrier companies are suggested depending on your country. Click Set Up.

If you don't see the needed carrier among the suggested options, you can view all carriers or change your country below.

Choose Automatic calculated rates from the chosen carrier and click Set Up.
If you are going to ship worldwide and offer all the available shipping options from the set carrier, no additional set up is needed.

In the Ecwid Android app, go to Store → Shipping & Pickup.
Click Add Shipping.
Select the carrier company that you ship with. The carrier companies are suggested depending on your country. Click Set Up.

If you don't see the needed carrier among the suggested options, you can view all carriers or change your country below.

Choose Automatic calculated rates from the chosen carrier and click Set Up.
If you are going to ship worldwide and offer all the available shipping options from the set carrier, no additional set up is needed.

The default “worldwide” destination zone will be applied to an enabled shipping method, it means that buyers from any location can place orders. Also popular shipping options of a carrier will be pre-enabled (for example, USPS First-Class Mail®, USPS Priority Mail™, etc). If you are going to ship orders within a certain area and you want to offer particular shipping methods at checkout, you can edit the settings of the shipping method.

Choosing shipping options for real-time rates

To select what shipping options of a carrier will be offered to customers at checkout:

From your Ecwid admin, go to Shipping & Pickup.
Next to the set carrier-calculated option, click Actions → Edit.
In the Shipping region section, select your option:
(optional) If you already have a shipping zone, you can assign it to the current shipping method by clicking Copy settings from existing zone and choosing the zone.
Click Save.

In the Ecwid iOS app, go to Store → Shipping and Pickup.
Click Actions → Edit next to the set carrier-calculated option.
In the Shipping options section, enable the rates you want to offer at checkout and disable those you don't need. Changes are saved automatically.
(optional) If you already have a shipping zone, you can assign it to the current shipping method by tapping Copy settings from existing zone and choosing the zone.
Click Save.

In the Ecwid Android app, go to Store → Shipping & Pickup.
Click Actions → Edit next to the set carrier-calculated option.
In the Shipping options section, enable the rates you want to offer at checkout and disable those you don't need. Changes are saved automatically.
(optional) If you already have a shipping zone, you can assign it to the current shipping method by tapping Copy settings from existing zone and choosing the zone.
Click Save.

Choosing shipping region for real-time rates

To select the geographical area where the shipping method can be offered:

From your Ecwid admin, go to Shipping & Pickup.
Click Actions → Edit next to the set carrier-calculated option.
In the Shipping region section, select your option:
Click Save.

In the Ecwid iOS app, go to Store → Shipping and Pickup.
Tap Actions → Edit next to the set carrier-calculated option.
In the Shipping region section, select your option:
Tap Save.

In the Ecwid Android app, go to Store → Shipping & Pickup.
Tap Actions → Edit next to the set carrier-calculated option.
In the Shipping region section, select your option:
Save the changes.

Learn more about adding and managing destination zones →

You can also display the estimated delivery date for your customers at checkout. When it comes to shipping, people want to know when they will receive their order. A specific delivery date at checkout gives your buyers a better customer experience — they can clearly understand when to expect to receive their order, resulting in a higher number of successful sales.

Showing an estimated delivery date at checkout

To display the estimated delivery date next to delivery options at checkout:

From your Ecwid admin, go to Shipping & Pickup.
Click Actions → Edit next to the set carrier-calculated option.
Enable Show estimated delivery date at checkout toggle.
In the Order preparation time block, specify how many days it usually takes for you to prepare an order. That time will be taken into account when calculating the delivery date for customers.
In the Days when you pack orders block, specify when you pack orders for shipment.
Set the final time to pack orders in the I pack orders received past this time on the next day box. Your schedule will be taken into account when calculating the delivery date for customers.
Click Save.

In the Ecwid iOS app, go to Store → Shipping and Pickup.
Tap Actions → Edit next to the set carrier-calculated option.
Enable Show estimated delivery date at checkout toggle.
In the Order preparation time block, specify how many days it usually takes for you to prepare an order. That time will be taken into account when calculating the delivery date for customers.
In the Days when you pack orders block, specify when you pack orders for shipment.
Set the final time to pack orders in the I pack orders received past this time on the next day box. Your schedule will be taken into account when calculating the delivery date for customers.
Tap Save.

In the Ecwid Android app, go to Store → Shipping & Pickup.
Tap Actions → Edit next to the set carrier-calculated option.
Enable Show estimated delivery date at checkout toggle.
In the Order preparation time block, specify how many days it usually takes for you to prepare an order. That time will be taken into account when calculating the delivery date for customers.
In the Days when you pack orders block, specify when you pack orders for shipment.
Set the final time to pack orders in the I pack orders received past this time on the next day box. Your schedule will be taken into account when calculating the delivery date for customers.
Save the changes.

Product dimensions

If your products have different sizes and weights, you can specify their dimensional weight to receive more accurate real-time rates from the carriers at checkout.

You can specify the individual product dimensions to be used in real-time shipping cost calculation on Business and Unlimited plans.

Upgrade

To add the product dimensions:

From your Ecwid admin, go to Catalog → Products.
Open the product details page.
Make sure the option Requires shipping or pickup is enabled for this product.
Switch to the Shipping & Pickup tab.
Fill out the Weight, Length, Width, and Height fields.

In the Ecwid iOS app, go to Products.
Tap on a product or create a new one.
Tap Edit → Shipping and pickup.
Make sure the option Requires shipping or pickup is enabled for this product.
Tap Set Weight and Dimensions.
Fill out the Weight, Length, Width, and Height fields.
Tap Done.

In the Ecwid Android app, go to Products.
Tap on a product or create a new one.
Tap Edit → Shipping and pickup.
Make sure the option Requires shipping or pickup is enabled for this product.
Fill out the Weight, Length, Width, and Height fields.
Tap Save.

To obtain the correct product dimensions, measure the product as if it were in a regular rectangular box. You can set individual dimensions for product variations if needed (go to the Options → Variations tab).

Package dimensions

The package dimensions are used to calculate real-time shipping rates for products with no individual dimensions specified. If most of your products fit into the same shipping boxes, you can specify the package dimensions only.

To add the package dimensions:

From your Ecwid admin, go to Shipping & Pickup.
Click Actions → Edit for the configured carrier-calculated shipping method.
Under the Shipping settings block, find the Default package size section.
Fill out the Width, Length, and Height fields for the Default package size.
Click Save to apply the changes.

In the Ecwid iOS app, go to Store → Shipping and Pickup.
Tap Actions → Edit for the configured carrier-calculated shipping method.
Under the Shipping settings block, find the Default package size section.
Fill out the Width, Length, and Height fields.
Tap Save to apply the changes.

In the Ecwid Android app, go to Store → Shipping & Pickup.
Tap Actions → Edit for the configured carrier-calculated shipping method.
Under the Shipping settings block, find the Default package size section.
Fill out the Width, Length, and Height fields.
Save the changes.

The specified package dimensions will be passed to the carrier company at checkout and will be used in the rate calculation.

Make sure that the package dimensions you have added comply with the package size limits of your carrier company, otherwise your customers may not get any shipping rates at checkout and will not be able to place their orders. The information on package size limits is usually available on the carrier companies’ websites.

Shipping markup

You may want to slightly increase shipping rates to be compensated for the postage or any other expenses related to order fulfillment. You can adjust the automatic rates of carrier-calculated shipping methods with the help of the Shipping markup option. The fee will be included in the shipping rate provided by the carrier company.

If you want to add a markup that should be explicitly displayed at checkout, you can use a handling fee.

To add a markup to a carrier-calculated shipping method:

From your Ecwid admin, go to Shipping & Pickup.
Click Actions → Edit for the configured carrier-calculated shipping method.
Under the Shipping settings block, find and fill out the Shipping markup field with a flat amount that will be included in the shipping fees.
Click Save.

In the Ecwid iOS app, go to Store → Shipping and Pickup.
Tap Actions → Edit for the configured carrier-calculated shipping method.
Under the Shipping settings block, find and fill out the Shipping markup field with a flat amount that will be included in the shipping fees.
Tap Save.

In the Ecwid Android app, go to Store → Shipping & Pickup.
Tap Actions → Edit for the configured carrier-calculated shipping method.
Under the Shipping settings block, find and fill out the Shipping markup field with a flat amount that will be included in the shipping fees.
Save the changes.

Shipping origin

The shipping origin address is the location from where you ship your orders. It is used by integrated carriers as a ship-from address for calculating real-time shipping rates to deliver orders to buyers’ locations. Make sure that you enter the correct address to get precise shipping quotes from the carrier enabled in your store.

For your store's shipping origin, you can choose one of the options:

Your company's address specified in Settings → General → Store Profile.
Any other location that has a different address. For example, a warehouse.

When you set up real-time rates from carriers in your store for the first time, you are asked to specify your shipping origin. The option you choose is then saved in your store's settings and is automatically used for any future real-time rates you set up. You can edit your shipping origin later if you want.

To edit the Shipping Origin address:

From your Ecwid admin, go to Shipping & Pickup.
Under the Settings block find the Shipping Origin section.
Click Change Address.
Select your option and edit the address if needed.
Click Save.

In the Ecwid iOS app, go to Store → Shipping and Pickup.
Under the Settings block, find the Shipping Origin section.
Tap Change Address.
Select your option and edit the address if needed.
Tap Save.

In the Ecwid Android app, go to Store → Shipping & Pickup.
Under the Settings block, find the Shipping Origin section.
Tap Change Address.
Select your option and edit the address if needed.
Tap Save.

Minimum order subtotal for a shipping method

You can set a minimum order subtotal for any shipping method in your store. If the purchase amount before discounts is below this amount, then the shipping option will be unavailable at checkout. Customers will see how much the order should cost so that they can select this particular shipping method.

To set a minimum order subtotal:

From your Ecwid admin, go to Shipping & Pickup.
Click Actions → Edit for the configured carrier-calculated shipping method.
Scroll to the Minimum order subtotal section and enter the amount.
Click Save.

In the Ecwid iOS app, go to Store → Shipping and Pickup.
Tap Actions → Edit for the configured carrier-calculated shipping method.
Scroll to the Minimum order subtotal section and enter the amount.
Tap Save.

In the Ecwid Android app, go to Store → Shipping & Pickup.
Tap Actions → Edit for the configured carrier-calculated shipping method.
Scroll to the Minimum order subtotal section and enter the amount.
Save the changes.

Integration with other carriers

Some shipping services are integrated with Ecwid in the form of apps in the Ecwid app market:

Sendle (Australia)
DHL Express
Droppa (South Africa)

You can also get the rates from your carrier's website and set up a table with your carrier rates in your Ecwid admin. The rates can depend on order weight and customer locations.

If you want to receive real-time shipping rates from the shipping company that is not integrated with Ecwid yet, you can opt for a custom integration, based on the Ecwid Shipping API (access to the Ecwid API is available on all paid Ecwid plans). This functionality will work in the form of an application installed into your Ecwid admin that will connect your store to the new shipping company to provide the real-time shipping methods and rates at checkout.

Need help with integrating a new shipping provider with your store? Ecwid custom development team can do it for you. Fill out the form Custom feature for your Ecwid store to get a quote and discuss the details.

Sorting delivery options at checkout
Shipping labels
Tracking numbers

Was this article helpful?

Awesome! Thanks for your feedback!

Thanks for your feedback!

Sorry about that! What went wrong?

These instructions didn’t work
I found this article confusing or unclear
I didn’t find the answer to my question
I don’t like how the feature works
Other

19 out of 25 found this helpful