# Free shipping when customers buy 3 or more items on Shopify

To give free shipping on 3 or more items, add the condition **Cart quantity Is at least 3** to a shipping discount and set the rates to **Free**. Shopify's own [free shipping discount](https://help.shopify.com/en/manual/discounts/discount-types/free-shipping) has a minimum quantity too, but it counts every item in the cart and makes every eligible rate free. [RM: Advanced Free Shipping](https://apps.shopify.com/better-free-shipping) can count only the items from one collection, make only Standard free, and combine the count with other conditions such as country or cart value. It costs $9.90 USD every 30 days, with a 7-day free trial, billed by Shopify.

## What the customer gets

In this example the store sells $20 T-shirts. The rates are Standard $8.90 and Express $24.90.

- **3 T-shirts ($60):** the cart quantity is 3, so it qualifies. Standard and Express are both free. The customer pays $60.
- **2 T-shirts ($40):** the cart quantity is 2, so it doesn't qualify. With Standard, the customer pays $40 + $8.90 = $48.90.
- **2 of one T-shirt and 1 of another ($60):** quantities add up across products, so this is 3 and it qualifies.

## Set it up

1. In the app, click **Create Shipping Discount**.
2. Under **Discount method**, choose **Automatic discount**, and enter a **Title** customers will see, such as "Free shipping on 3+ items".
3. In **Conditions**, click **Add condition**. It starts with **Cart total**. Change it to **Cart quantity**.
4. Set the operator to **Is at least** and enter `3`.
5. In **Discount setup**, set **Delivery type** to **Shipping**, **Which rates** to **All shipping rates** and **Discount value** to **Free**.
6. Click **Create discount**.

![The Which rates menu open in Discount setup, showing All shipping rates, Cheapest shipping rate and Choose specific rates, with Discount value Free](/images/which-rates.png)

## Variations

- **Count only items from one collection:** use **Item count from collection** instead of **Cart quantity**. Set **Is at least** `3` and pick the collection, such as "T-shirts". A cart with 2 T-shirts and a tote bag doesn't qualify. If you pick several collections, they count as one combined group.
- **Free Standard, Express at full price:** set **Which rates** to **Choose specific rates** and select Standard. 3 T-shirts with Express then cost $60 + $24.90 = $84.90.
- **Half-price shipping on 2, free on 3:** create two discounts. One has **Cart quantity Is at least 2** with **Percentage** `50` (Standard becomes $4.45). The other has **Is at least 3** with **Free**. Shopify gives each rate the bigger saving.
- **3 items or $75, whichever comes first:** open the **⋯** menu on **Conditions** and choose **Add rule group**. Put **Cart quantity Is at least 3** in group 1 and **Cart total Is at least 75** in group 2. Either group passing gives free shipping.
- **3 items, and only in the US:** add **Shipping country Is one of United States** in the same rule group as the quantity.

## Good to know

- **To leave gift cards and free gifts out of the count**, use **Item count from collection** with a collection that doesn't include them. **Cart quantity** counts every item, including gift cards, digital products and free Buy X Get Y items.
- **To target items by product tag**, create a smart collection on the tag and use **Item count from collection**.
- **Shipping is discounted per rate, not per item.** Once the cart qualifies, the whole rate is free, so everything else in the cart ships free too.
- **To check the edge cases**, turn on **Test mode**, check out with the shipping first name `ABC123`, and try 2 items and then 3.

## Related

- [Tiered shipping discounts](/guides/tiered-shipping-discounts.md)
- [Free shipping by weight](/guides/free-shipping-by-weight.md)
- [Free shipping on a collection](/guides/free-shipping-on-a-collection.md)
- [Conditional free shipping on Shopify](/conditional-free-shipping.md)

[Install RM: Advanced Free Shipping from the Shopify App Store](https://apps.shopify.com/better-free-shipping).