# What Shopify's free shipping discount can't do, and how to do it

Shopify's built-in free shipping discount has one outcome: every eligible rate becomes free. It can't pick a rate by name, take a percentage or a set amount off shipping, or check the state, ZIP code or weight of an order. [RM: Advanced Free Shipping](https://apps.shopify.com/better-free-shipping) builds each of those offers as a shipping discount that runs in Shopify checkout, on every Shopify plan. It costs $9.90 USD every 30 days after a 7-day free trial, billed by Shopify.

## What Shopify's free shipping discount offers

You create it under **Discounts → Create discount → Free shipping**. According to [Shopify's Help Center](https://help.shopify.com/en/manual/discounts/discount-types/free-shipping), it has these settings:

- A discount code or an automatic discount.
- All countries, or selected countries.
- An option to exclude shipping rates over a certain amount. Shopify notes this "applies to shipping rates only, and is unrelated to order amounts."
- A minimum requirement: a minimum purchase amount or a minimum quantity of items.
- Customer eligibility: all customers, specific customers, customer segments, or Markets.
- For codes, purchase type (one-time, subscription or both) and usage limits.
- Combinations with other discount classes, and active start and end dates.

When it applies, every rate that isn't excluded becomes free.

## Offers it can't build, and how the app builds each one

| The offer | Shopify's free shipping discount | RM: Advanced Free Shipping |
|---|---|---|
| Free Standard, full-price Express | Rates can only be excluded by price, over a set amount | **Choose specific rates**, pick Standard by name or keyword |
| 50% off shipping | Free only | **Percentage** 50 |
| $10 off shipping, or a $25 shipping credit | Free only | **Fixed Amount Off** 10 or 25 |
| Flat $5 shipping over $50 | Free only | **Fixed Price** 5 |
| Free shipping on the cheapest rate only | All eligible rates become free | **Cheapest shipping rate** |
| Free Standard and $10 off Express in one offer | One outcome per discount: free | Two delivery discounts in one discount |
| Free shipping to the lower 48 states | Countries only | **Province / State** **Is not one of** Alaska, Hawaii |
| Free shipping to some ZIP codes | Countries only | **Postcode / ZIP**, with exact codes, `941*` wildcards or `94100:94199` ranges |
| Free shipping up to 20 kg | Minimum purchase amount or quantity only | **Cart weight** **Is at most** 20 kg |
| Free shipping when the cart holds a collection, or not when it holds oversized items | The minimum requirement is an amount or a quantity | **Product collection**, **Product in cart** and collection spend conditions |
| VIPs get free Standard shipping on any order | Customer segments, but every rate becomes free | **Customer tag** **Contains** VIP, plus **Choose specific rates** |

![The Which rates options in RM: Advanced Free Shipping: All shipping rates, Cheapest shipping rate and Choose specific rates](/images/which-rates.png)

## A cart that shows the gap

The offer: free Standard shipping over $75, Express at full price. The rates are Standard $7.95 and Express $19.95.

With Shopify's free shipping discount, both rates become free on a $90 cart, unless you exclude rates over, say, $10. That cap works until a heavier order's Standard rate costs $12, and then Standard isn't free either.

With RM: Advanced Free Shipping, the $90 cart sees Standard at ~~$7.95~~ Free and Express at $19.95, whatever each rate costs. See [free Standard shipping, full-price Express](/guides/free-standard-shipping-not-express.md).

> "This app allowed us to create a shipping promotion that was otherwise impossible using Shopify's standard options."
> — Comic Kingdom Creative (CA)

## Set up the missing offer

1. In the app, click **Create Shipping Discount** and choose **Automatic discount** or **Discount code**.
2. Under **Conditions**, add what the offer depends on: **Cart total**, **Cart weight**, **Province / State**, **Postcode / ZIP**, **Customer tag**, **Product collection** and the rest of the 17 condition types.
3. Under **Discount setup**, choose **Which rates**: all, the cheapest, or specific rates.
4. Under **Discount value**, choose **Free**, **Percentage**, **Fixed Amount Off** or **Fixed Price**.
5. Set **Customers**, **Purchase type**, **Combinations** and **Active dates** as you would in Shopify, then click **Create discount**.

![Conditions in RM: Advanced Free Shipping: Cart total is at least $100 AND Product collection does not contain Oversized](/images/exclude-collection.png)

## Guides for each missing offer

- [Free Standard shipping, full-price Express](/guides/free-standard-shipping-not-express.md)
- [Percentage off shipping](/guides/percentage-off-shipping.md)
- [A shipping credit](/guides/shipping-credit.md)
- [Flat-rate shipping over an amount](/guides/flat-rate-shipping-over-amount.md)
- [Free shipping by state](/guides/free-shipping-by-state.md) and [by ZIP code](/guides/free-shipping-by-zip-code.md)
- [Free shipping by weight](/guides/free-shipping-by-weight.md)
- [Free shipping on a collection](/guides/free-shipping-on-a-collection.md)
- [Free shipping except oversized items](/guides/free-shipping-except-oversized-items.md)
- [Free shipping for VIP customers](/guides/free-shipping-for-vip-customers.md)

> "This app's been a game-changer for us, filling a massive gap in Shopify's normal shipping discount options. This app has a lot more conditionals than others too."
> — PROMO PUNKS Co. (AU)

For the full side-by-side, see [RM: Advanced Free Shipping vs Shopify's free shipping discount](/compare/advanced-free-shipping-vs-shopify-free-shipping.md).

RM: Advanced Free Shipping is Built for Shopify and rated 5.0 on the Shopify App Store. It costs $9.90 USD every 30 days after a 7-day free trial, billed by Shopify. Install it from the [Shopify App Store](https://apps.shopify.com/better-free-shipping).