---
title: "Shopify's free shipping discount vs RM: Advanced Free Shipping"
description: "What Shopify's built-in free shipping can do, where it stops, and when you need an app."
url: https://rmewfqxya.us.gleap.help/en/articles/29-shopify-s-free-shipping-discount-vs-rm-advanced-free-shipping
collection: "Guides"
updated: 2026-10-30
language: en
---

# Shopify's free shipping discount vs RM: Advanced Free Shipping

What Shopify's built-in free shipping can do, where it stops, and when you need an app.

_Updated October 2026_

**Short answer:** Shopify's built-in free shipping covers a simple offer: every rate free above a minimum order, optionally only for some countries, customer segments or Markets. RM: Advanced Free Shipping handles the rest: offers that depend on which rate, which products or where in a country, and discounts other than free, such as a percentage off or a capped price.

## What Shopify does without an app

**Free shipping discount** (**Discounts → Create discount → Free shipping**):

-   Automatic or discount code.
    
-   All countries or selected countries.
    
-   A minimum purchase amount or minimum quantity of items.
    
-   All customers, specific customers, customer segments or Markets.
    
-   One-time purchases, subscriptions or both.
    
-   Excluding shipping rates over a certain amount.
    

When it applies, every eligible rate is free.

**A free rate** (**Settings → Shipping and delivery**): any rate, including live carrier rates, can offer free shipping above a minimum order amount. It applies to everyone that rate covers.

**Free shipping on some products**: a separate shipping profile for those products, with a free rate.

## What needs an app

-   **Specific rates by name**, for example Standard free and Express full price.
    
-   **Percentage off, fixed amount off or a fixed price** instead of free.
    
-   **Product, variant or collection conditions**, including "unless the cart contains oversized items".
    
-   **Province/state and postcode/ZIP conditions**, for example the 48 contiguous US states.
    
-   **Order value and cart weight together**, for example free over $100 but only under 20 kg.
    
-   **A threshold before discounts**, so a discount code doesn't remove free shipping.
    
-   **Customer conditions combined with the above**, for example VIPs get free Standard shipping only.
    
-   **Several conditions together, or alternative ways to qualify** (AND/OR).
    
-   **Different discounts on different rates**, for example free Standard and $10 off Express.
    
-   **Fixed thresholds per currency**, for example USD 75 and GBP 60.
    

RM: Advanced Free Shipping does all of these, on every Shopify plan, without carrier-calculated shipping.

![Which rates to discount: All shipping rates, Cheapest shipping rate or Choose specific rates](https://staticfiles.us.gleap.ai/p6ad4251a43e13d5e6030fd91/58PWyQ1pG6GLW8bx23DjckHDmnTPOGn9OvXFbq9CXQsaxEL5ZXAlRw91s1PY2xXpyieTWAXUZhF.png)

## What no shipping discount can do

-   Create, hide or rename rates. Set up rates in your shipping settings, and use a delivery customization app to hide or rename them.
    
-   Discount local pickup.
    
-   Raise a rate or add a surcharge.
    
-   Discount shipping for individual items. Shipping is charged per rate, so a discount changes the whole rate.
    

## Cost

$9.90 USD a month, one flat price for every store, with a 7-day free trial and no per-order fees.

## Common questions

**Can Shopify make only standard shipping free without an app?**  
Only with a $0 rate in your shipping settings, which applies to everyone that rate covers. Shopify's free shipping discount makes every rate free.

**Can Shopify give free shipping on specific products without an app?**  
Only with a separate shipping profile and a free rate. The free shipping discount has no product conditions.

**Can Shopify take a percentage off shipping?**  
Not with its free shipping discount, which only makes shipping free.

**Does the app replace my shipping rates?**  
No. It discounts the rates you already have, so your shipping settings and carrier rates stay as they are.