# Free shipping on subscription orders in Shopify

To ship subscription orders free, create a shipping discount and set **Purchase type** to **Subscription purchases**. Then choose whether only the first payment, a set number of payments, or every renewal ships free. Shopify's own [free shipping discount](https://help.shopify.com/en/manual/discounts/discount-types/free-shipping) offers a purchase type only on discount codes, and it makes every eligible rate free. [RM: Advanced Free Shipping](https://apps.shopify.com/better-free-shipping) sets the purchase type on automatic discounts too, lets you pick the rate, and adds a **Has subscription** condition for carts that mix subscriptions and one-time items. The app is $9.90 USD every 30 days, with a 7-day free trial, billed by Shopify.

## What the customer gets

In this example a coffee roaster sells a bag at $40 one-time, or $36 on a monthly subscription. Standard shipping is $8.90.

- **Qualifies.** A customer subscribes to one bag. Standard shows $8.90 crossed out and free. The customer pays $36.
- **Doesn't qualify.** Another customer buys the same bag once. The customer pays $40 + $8.90 = $48.90.
- **Every renewal.** With **Discount applies to all recurring payments**, 12 monthly boxes save the subscriber 12 × $8.90 = $106.80 in shipping.

## Set it up

1. In the app, click **Create Shipping Discount**.
2. Under **Discount method**, choose **Automatic discount**. New discounts start on **Discount code**, and the method can't be changed later. Enter a **Title** such as "Free shipping on subscriptions".
3. Leave **Conditions** empty, so every subscription order qualifies. Or add one, such as **Cart total** **Is at least** 30.
4. In **Discount setup**, set **Delivery type** to **Shipping**, **Which rates** to **All shipping rates** and **Discount value** to **Free**.
5. In the **Purchase type** card, set **Applies to** to **Subscription purchases**.
6. Under **Recurring payments for subscriptions**, choose **Limit discount to the first payment**, **Limit discount to multiple recurring payments** (2 or more), or **Discount applies to all recurring payments**.
7. Click **Create discount**.

![The Create shipping discount page in RM: Advanced Free Shipping with Automatic discount, a Cart total Is at least $100 AUD condition, Free on All shipping rates, and the Purchase type card set to One-time purchases](/images/create-discount.png)

The screenshot shows a new discount with **Applies to** still on its default, **One-time purchases**. Change it to **Subscription purchases** in step 5.

## Variations

- **Only the first box ships free:** choose **Limit discount to the first payment**. "First payment" means the first order of each subscription, not the customer's first order ever.
- **Only carts made entirely of subscriptions:** add the condition **Has subscription** with **Subscription only**.
- **One-time orders only, never with a subscription in the cart:** set **Applies to** to **One-time purchases** and add **Has subscription** with **Does not contain subscription**. This also leaves out mixed carts.
- **Half-price shipping instead of free:** set **Discount value** to **Percentage** and enter 50. The $8.90 rate becomes $4.45. See [percentage off shipping](/guides/percentage-off-shipping.md).
- **Free Standard only:** set **Which rates** to **Choose specific rates** and select Standard.
- **Both one-time and subscription orders over $50:** set **Applies to** to **Both one-time & subscription** and add **Cart total** **Is at least** 50.

## Good to know

- **To make sure renewals ship free,** check your subscription app's shipping settings too. Some apps, for example Loop, recalculate renewal shipping with their own settings.
- **To use this with your subscription app,** the app must sell on Shopify's selling plans. Pre-orders and try-before-you-buy plans count as one-time items.
- **To unlock the Purchase type options,** your store must sell subscriptions, for example with [Shopify Subscriptions](https://help.shopify.com/en/manual/products/purchase-options/subscriptions/shopify-subscriptions). Without them, it stays on One-time purchases.
- **Subscription items count toward Cart total and Cart subtotal** like any other item.
- **To check it first,** switch on **Test mode** and use `ABC123` as the shipping first name. See [test a shipping discount](/guides/test-a-shipping-discount.md).

## Related

- [Free shipping on a collection](/guides/free-shipping-on-a-collection.md)
- [Percentage off shipping](/guides/percentage-off-shipping.md)
- [Shipping discount types](/shipping-discount-types.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).