How Does Shopify Shipping Work? 2026 Rates, Labels and Limits
Quick answer: Shopify Shipping has two halves. Before the sale, you set the shipping rates customers see at checkout: flat rates, rates by weight or order value, free shipping, or rates calculated live by a carrier. After the sale, you can buy discounted shipping labels from Shopify-supported carriers inside your Shopify admin, print them, and the tracking number goes to your customer automatically. Shopify's Help Center now calls the label side "shipping labels in Shopify". Labels only work for orders shipped from an eligible fulfillment location in a supported country, and China isn't one of them. If your orders ship from a warehouse in China, you still use Shopify's rate settings, but your fulfillment partner buys the labels and sends tracking back to Shopify.
Half one: the rates customers see at checkout
You set rates for each shipping zone, meaning the countries or regions you sell to. In October 2026 the options are:
| Rate type | How it works | Suits |
|---|---|---|
| Flat | One price for every order in the zone | Products of similar size and weight |
| By order value | Price tiers based on the order total, for example free above a threshold | Encouraging larger baskets |
| By weight | Price tiers based on the order's weight | Catalogs with light and heavy items |
| Free | Any rate can be set to free, for all orders or within a tier | Stores that build shipping into the product price |
| Carrier or app calculated | A carrier works out the price from weight, size and destination at checkout | Stores shipping themselves with accurate product weights |
Two details catch sellers out. First, if an order falls outside your highest tier, checkout shows an error, so leave the top tier's maximum empty. Second, calculated carrier rates show the carrier's transit time but not your processing time, so the delivery estimate can look faster than reality. Flat and tiered rates let you add a transit time of your own instead.
Which calculated rates are available
Shopify's built-in calculated rates are included on all plans and depend on where you ship from: USPS, DHL and UPS from the US; Canada Post and Purolator from Canada; DPD UK, InPost UK and Royal Mail from the UK; BRT from Italy; DHL Paket from Germany; and SEUR from Spain. Showing rates from your own carrier account or from a shipping app is a separate feature, third-party carrier-calculated shipping, included on the Advanced and Plus plans; Grow stores can add it for a monthly fee or by switching to annual billing.
Half two: buying labels after the sale
When an order comes in, you open it, check the package and weight, choose a carrier service and buy the label. The cost is charged to your Shopify bill, the label prints on a desktop or label printer, and tracking is added to the order and sent to your customer. You can buy labels in bulk, void unused ones, schedule pickups and, if your default location is in the US, send return labels.
Which carriers you get depends on the country of your fulfillment location:
| Fulfillment location | Carriers for labels in Shopify |
|---|---|
| United States | USPS, UPS (not in Puerto Rico), FedEx, DHL Express and DHL eCommerce (continental US only) |
| Canada | Canada Post, UPS, DHL Express Canada, Purolator (domestic only) |
| Australia | Australia Post |
| United Kingdom | Royal Mail, Evri, DPD, InPost UK, DHL Express Europe |
| France | Colissimo, Mondial Relay, Chronopost, DHL Express Europe |
| Germany | DHL Paket, DHL Express Europe |
| Italy | BRT Bartolini, Poste Italiane, DHL Express Europe |
| Spain | Correos, SEUR, DHL Express Europe |
| Netherlands, Poland | DHL eCommerce (Netherlands domestic only) |
Some carriers also require your store's address to be in the same country as the location, and Shopify may ask you to verify your identity before your first label. Label discounts vary by Shopify plan.
International labels and duties
- Every international label needs an HS code, a plain product description, country of origin and a customs form; the declared value can't exceed $2,500.
- DDP (duties paid) labels are only supported through Shopify's Managed Markets or with specific carriers: DHL Express, DHL Express Canada, DHL eCommerce, and Canada Post for US destinations.
- If you collect duties at checkout without one of those, Shopify won't sell you a label for that order: you buy it elsewhere or refund.
- Since August 28, 2025, Canada Post shipments to the US bought through Shopify must be DDP.
- Shipping insurance can only be added to labels for shipments leaving the US.
Which parts apply to your setup
| You ship from your own location in a supported country | Orders ship from a warehouse in China | Stock sits in an overseas 3PL warehouse | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Checkout rates (flat, tiered, free) | Yes | Yes: this is the part you use | Yes |
| Built-in calculated rates | Yes | No: they price labels from a supported country, not your real shipping cost | Check first: the 3PL's own label costs may not match them |
| Buying labels in Shopify | Yes | No: China isn't an eligible location | No: the 3PL buys labels on its own accounts |
| Tracking emails to customers | Automatic with each label | Automatic once your partner pushes tracking | Automatic once the 3PL pushes tracking |
| Return labels | Yes, from a US default location | Arrange with your partner | Arrange with the 3PL |
Setting up shipping when orders ship from China
- Enter real weights for every product, so weight-based tiers charge correctly.
- Create zones for the countries you actually sell to, and leave out the rest.
- Price each rate from your landed cost. Ask your partner for the shipping cost per country for your typical order, and remember that every US parcel from China now owes duty.
- Decide who pays the duty: built into your prices or shown at checkout. Either way, ship duties paid so nothing is billed at the door.
- Name rates with the full promise: processing plus the slow end of the line's transit range, for example "Tracked shipping, X–Y business days".
- Connect your fulfillment partner and map each Shopify rate to a real shipping line.
- Place a test order and confirm the tracking number reaches Shopify and the customer email after dispatch.
For how a partner plugs in and how order statuses change, read how third-party fulfillment works on Shopify. If orders stay on Unfulfilled, see how to fix stuck Shopify orders. For choosing lines and promising delivery times, see shipping internationally from China; for comparing carriers when you ship yourself, see how to choose a shipping carrier.
How PackQuay works with Shopify shipping
We connect your Shopify store for you, so paid orders come in automatically. We match each Shopify shipping rate to one of our 30+ lines per product, and your account manager can send current prices and transit times so you can set accurate rates. Stocked orders leave our Xinxiang warehouse within 24 hours (48 at peak), and tracking syncs to Shopify only once the parcel has physically left. More on our Shopify fulfillment page, or ask on WhatsApp for help setting your rates.
FAQ
How does Shopify Shipping work?
You set shipping rates for each zone that customers see at checkout, then buy discounted labels from supported carriers in your Shopify admin when orders come in. Tracking from the label is added to the order and sent to the customer automatically.
Which countries can use Shopify Shipping labels?
In 2026, labels are available for eligible fulfillment locations in the US, Canada, Australia, the UK, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, the Netherlands and Poland, with carriers varying by country.
Can I use Shopify Shipping if I ship from China?
Not for labels, because China isn't an eligible fulfillment location. You still set checkout rates in Shopify, and your fulfillment partner buys the labels and pushes tracking back to your orders.
Do I need the Advanced plan for calculated shipping rates?
Not for Shopify's built-in calculated rates, which are on all plans. Showing rates from your own carrier account or a shipping app requires Advanced or Plus, or an add-on on Grow.
Can I buy DDP labels in Shopify?
Only through Managed Markets or with specific carriers such as DHL Express and DHL eCommerce. If you collect duties at checkout without one of these, you have to buy the label outside Shopify or refund the order.