5+ Best WooCommerce Shipping Plugins (Mostly Free)

Finding the right shipping plugin for your WooCommerce store is crucial to streamline your shipping process and provide a seamless experience for your customers. In this article, we will compare and analyze the features of the Best WooCommerce Shipping Plugins to help you make an informed choice.

We will review the following plugins: Table Rate for WooCommerce by Flexible Shipping, Advanced Shipment Tracking for WooCommerce, ELEX WooCommerce USPS Shipping Plugin, WooCommerce Advanced Shipping, Conditional Shipping for WooCommerce, WooCommerce Weight Based Shipping, and Flat Rate Shipping Plugin for WooCommerce.

Each plugin offers unique functionalities and caters to different shipping needs. By examining their flexibility, customization options, condition-based rules, integration capabilities, pricing, and customer support, we will highlight the strengths and limitations of each plugin.

1. Table Rate for WooCommerce by Flexible Shipping

The Table Rate for WooCommerce by Flexible Shipping is a powerful plugin designed to enhance the shipping capabilities of WooCommerce stores. With its advanced features and flexible options, this plugin allows you to calculate shipping costs based on various parameters such as weight, cart total, shipping classes, and more. Whether you run a small online store or a large e-commerce business, this plugin provides you with the tools to create customized shipping rules and rates that suit your specific needs.

Key Features:

1. Unlimited Shipping Methods and Costs Calculation Rules: The plugin allows you to create as many shipping methods as you need, each with its own unique set of rules and costs calculation.
2. Customizable Shipping Rates: You can calculate shipping costs based on cart total, weight, quantity, dimensions, and even user roles. This gives you the flexibility to offer accurate and tailored shipping rates to your customers.
3. Conditional Logic and Rule Hierarchy: With the PRO version of the plugin, you can set conditional rules based on various factors such as shipping classes, product categories, time of day, and day of the week. You can also create rule hierarchies to prioritize certain shipping methods over others.
4. Additional Costs and Discounts: The plugin allows you to add handling fees, insurance costs, or additional charges based on price, weight, quantity, cart line items, or volume. You can also offer free shipping over a certain threshold or provide shipping coupons for discounts.
5. Compatibility and Integrations: The Table Rate for WooCommerce by Flexible Shipping plugin is compatible with popular WooCommerce plugins like WPML and Germanized. It also offers integrations with shipping companies such as DPD, DHL, UPS, and local carriers in the UK and Poland.

This plugin expands the default shipping options provided by WooCommerce and empowers you to create a more personalized and efficient shipping experience for your customers. By utilizing the flexible shipping rules and calculation methods, you can accurately determine shipping costs based on various parameters, ensuring transparency and fairness in your shipping charges. Additionally, the ability to set conditional rules and hierarchies allows you to fine-tune your shipping methods and display only relevant options to your customers.

Use Cases for Table Rate for WooCommerce by Flexible Shipping:

1. Weight-Based Shipping: Set shipping costs based on the weight of the products in the cart, ensuring accurate shipping charges for heavier or bulkier items.
2. Cart Total-Based Shipping: Calculate shipping costs based on the total value of the items in the cart, allowing you to offer different rates for customers with higher or lower order values.
3. Conditional Shipping Methods: Create shipping methods that are available only for specific shipping classes, product categories, or user roles, providing customized shipping options for different customer segments.
4. Time and Day-Based Shipping: Enable or disable shipping methods based on the time of day or day of the week, allowing you to offer special shipping options for time-sensitive deliveries.
5. Additional Costs and Discounts: Apply handling fees, insurance costs, or offer free shipping for orders above a certain threshold, providing incentives or cost-saving options for your customers.

Pricing:

The Table Rate for WooCommerce by Flexible Shipping plugin offers a free version with limited support and features. To unlock the full potential of the plugin and gain access to priority email support, as well as advanced features like shipping classes support, conditional logic, and additional calculation methods, you can upgrade to the PRO version. Pricing details for the PRO version can be found on the plugin’s official website.

2. Advanced Shipment Tracking for WooCommerce

The Advanced Shipment Tracking (AST) plugin is a powerful tool designed to streamline and automate the fulfillment workflow in WooCommerce. With its range of features, it enables you to easily add tracking information, fulfill orders, and keep customers informed about their shipments. By utilizing AST, you can optimize your fulfillment process, reduce post-shipping inquiries, and enhance overall customer satisfaction.

Key Features:

1. Optimize the Fulfillment Workflow: Customize order statuses to match your fulfillment process, renaming the “Completed” status to “Shipped” and adding a “Partially Shipped” status for orders shipped in separate packages or at different times.
2. Tracking Info Widget: Provide customers with a fully customizable and responsive widget that displays their shipping information and a tracking link. The widget appears in order status emails and on the “View Order” page in the customer’s account.
3. Add Tracking Information to Orders: Easily add tracking information to WooCommerce orders while editing an order or from the orders list on the admin dashboard.
4. Multiple Tracking Numbers per Order: Add multiple tracking numbers to the same order, allowing for efficient tracking of shipments with different packages or carriers.
5. Integration with 300+ Shipping Providers: Choose from a comprehensive list of over 300 shipping providers, each with a predefined tracking link. This ensures accurate tracking information and allows customers to track their shipments directly on the shipping provider’s website.

Use Cases for Advanced Shipment Tracking:

1. Streamlined Fulfillment: Optimize your fulfillment workflow by customizing order statuses, adding tracking information, and automating fulfillment processes.
2. Enhanced Customer Communication: Provide customers with tracking information through order status emails and the customer account page, reducing inquiries and keeping them informed.
3. Flexible Shipment Management: Manage orders with multiple packages or shipments by adding multiple tracking numbers to a single order, ensuring accurate tracking for each shipment.
4. Integration with Shipping Providers: Utilize the extensive list of predefined shipping providers to offer reliable tracking links for various carriers, enhancing the post-purchase experience.
5. Efficient Bulk Tracking Import: Import tracking numbers from CSV files to multiple orders in bulk, saving time and avoiding repetitive manual entry.

Pricing:

The Advanced Shipment Tracking plugin is available in both a free version and a PRO version. The PRO version offers advanced features, integrations, and premium support. For pricing details and to upgrade to the PRO version, visit the plugin’s official website.

3. ELEX WooCommerce USPS Shipping Method

The ELEX WooCommerce USPS Shipping Method plugin is a powerful tool that enables automated integration of USPS (US Postal Service) shipping in your WooCommerce store. By utilizing this plugin, you can fetch real-time shipping rates from USPS APIs based on the shipping address and cart content. The plugin seamlessly integrates USPS as one of the available shipping methods in WooCommerce, allowing you to offer accurate shipping rates to your customers.

Key Features:

1. Access USPS Real-time Rates: The plugin fetches real-time shipping rates from USPS based on various parameters such as product weight, box dimensions, and shipping destination.
2. Choose Click-N-Ship or Post Office Rates: You have the flexibility to choose between Click-N-Ship rates (online rates) or Post Office rates (offline rates) based on your preferences and shipping requirements.
3. Restrict Media Mails: You can set up restrictions to exclude Media Mails from your shipping options, ensuring accurate rate calculations and appropriate shipping methods.
4. Set Fallback Rate: In case the USPS API doesn’t return any rates for a specific scenario, you can set up a fallback rate to ensure that customers can still proceed with their purchase.

Premium Version Features:

The premium version of the ELEX WooCommerce USPS Shipping Method plugin offers additional features to automate your complete shipping process.

• Label Printing with Postage: Utilize the USPS e-VS (Electronic Verification System) to generate labels with postage for efficient label printing.
• USPS Shipment Tracking: Automatically track USPS shipments and provide tracking information to customers when generating labels.
• Packaging Options: Choose between Box Packing and Weight-Based Packing methods to optimize the packaging of your products and calculate accurate shipping rates.
• Customization Options: Customize the names of services, add handling costs to shipping services, and access various other customization options to tailor the shipping process to your specific requirements.

Use Cases for ELEX WooCommerce USPS Shipping Method:

1. Accurate Real-time Rates: Provide customers with accurate shipping rates from USPS based on their shipping address and cart content, ensuring transparency and reliability in the shipping process.
2. Flexible Rate Options: Choose between online rates and offline rates, allowing you to offer different pricing options to customers based on your shipping preferences.
3. Efficient Label Generation: Generate labels with postage using the USPS e-VS system, streamlining your label printing process and ensuring compliance with USPS requirements.
4. Seamless Shipment Tracking: Automatically track USPS shipments and provide customers with tracking information, enhancing the post-purchase experience and reducing customer inquiries.
5. Customization and Optimization: Customize service names, add handling costs, and utilize packaging options to optimize your shipping process and tailor it to your business needs.

Pricing:

The ELEX WooCommerce USPS Shipping Method plugin is available in both a single-site license and multi-site licenses. The single-site license is priced at $69.00, offering full functionality for one WooCommerce store. The multi-site licenses allow usage on up to 5 sites or up to 25 sites and are priced at $99.00 and $199.00, respectively. The plugin comes with a 100% money-back guarantee, ensuring your satisfaction with the product.

4. WooCommerce Advanced Free Shipping

The WooCommerce Advanced Free Shipping plugin provides extensive control over setting up free shipping rates for customers. With this plugin, you can create advanced rules based on various conditions to determine when free shipping should be available. This gives you the flexibility to customize your free shipping options according to your specific requirements.

Key Features:

1. Advanced Rule Setup: Create multiple condition groups with multiple conditions within each group, allowing you to set up complex rules for free shipping based on factors such as subtotal, quantity, user role, country, zipcode, shipping class, category, weight, volume, and more.
2. Extensibility: The plugin is designed to be easily extensible, meaning you can add your own custom conditions through code snippets if the default conditions don’t meet your specific needs.
3. Shipping Cost Setup: The plugin also offers additional features to add shipping costs to your shipping rates, including per weight, per item, extra handling fees, percentage-based fees, and advanced shipping cost options via the WAS Advanced Pricing extension.
4. Shipping Zones and Tax Settings: Create shipping zones to define specific regions for your shipping rates and set tax status for each zone to ensure accurate tax calculations.
5. Advanced Messages Integration: If you want to display messages for customers who haven’t reached the free shipping threshold, you can integrate the plugin with Advanced Messages for WooCommerce, which allows you to set up messages with similar conditional logic.

Use Cases for WooCommerce Advanced Free Shipping:

1. Role-Based Free Shipping: Offer free shipping to specific user roles, such as VIP customers or wholesale customers, as part of a special promotion or loyalty program.
2. Product Category Free Shipping: Set up free shipping for specific product categories to incentivize the purchase of certain products or product groups.
3. Location-Based Free Shipping: Provide free shipping to customers in specific countries or regions to target specific markets or to offer regional promotions.
4. Threshold-Based Free Shipping: Define a minimum subtotal or quantity threshold for customers to qualify for free shipping, encouraging them to add more items to their cart.
5. Weight or Volume-Based Free Shipping: Set up free shipping based on the weight or volume of the products in the cart, accommodating specific shipping requirements or cost considerations.

Pricing:

The WooCommerce Advanced Free Shipping plugin is available for free on the WordPress plugin repository. However, there may be additional premium extensions available that offer advanced features and functionality. For more details on premium extensions and pricing, please visit the plugin’s official website.

5. Conditional Shipping for WooCommerce

Conditional Shipping for WooCommerce is a powerful plugin that allows you to customize and restrict shipping methods based on various conditions. Whether you want to disable free shipping for heavy orders or create a special shipping method for specific products, this plugin gives you the flexibility to control your shipping options.

Key Features:

1. Restrict Shipping Methods: Easily restrict WooCommerce shipping methods based on conditions such as product attributes, total weight, dimensions, order subtotal, and more.
2. Compatible with Existing Shipping Methods: The plugin seamlessly works with your existing shipping methods and shipping zones, allowing you to apply restrictions to flat rate, free shipping, pickup, or any other shipping method you’ve created.
3. Support for Dynamic Shipping Rates: Conditional Shipping for WooCommerce supports dynamic shipping rates provided by shipping carriers like USPS and DHL, ensuring accurate rate calculations based on your conditions.
4. Debug Mode: Enable the debug mode to troubleshoot and identify any issues related to the conditional restrictions, making it easier to fine-tune your shipping setup.

Use Cases for Conditional Shipping for WooCommerce:

1. Weight-Based Shipping: Restrict free shipping for orders exceeding a certain weight limit, encouraging customers to choose paid shipping options for heavy items.
2. Product-Specific Shipping: Create custom shipping methods for specific products, such as fragile or oversized items, and apply unique shipping rates or restrictions to ensure proper handling and delivery.
3. Order Subtotal Conditions: Set minimum or maximum order subtotal limits for specific shipping methods, allowing you to offer discounted or free shipping for orders that meet certain criteria.
4. Shipping Class Restrictions: Restrict certain shipping methods based on the shipping class assigned to products, providing different shipping options for different types of products.
5. Customer Role-Based Shipping: Customize shipping options based on customer roles, offering exclusive shipping methods or rates for specific user groups, such as wholesale customers or premium members.

Pricing:

The Conditional Shipping for WooCommerce plugin is available for free on the WordPress plugin repository. However, there is also a pro version available with additional features, such as conditional shipping costs, custom shipping notices, more advanced conditions, and more. For detailed pricing information and to unlock the pro features, you can upgrade to the pro version from the plugin’s official website.

6. WooCommerce Weight Based Shipping

WooCommerce Weight Based Shipping is a versatile shipping method plugin designed specifically for WooCommerce. It allows you to calculate shipping costs based on the order weight, among other factors, providing a flexible and customizable shipping solution for your online store.

Key Features:

1. Order Weight, Subtotal, and Destination: Set up multiple shipping rules based on the order weight, subtotal, and destination. Define different shipping rates for various weight ranges and destinations.
2. Flexible Price Calculation: Each shipping rule can be configured to apply a constant price, such as a flat rate, or a progressive price based on the cart weight. You can even combine both pricing methods to offer more pricing options to your customers.
3. Conditional Free Shipping: Define a free shipping threshold based on the order weight or subtotal. Customers whose orders meet the specified conditions will be eligible for free shipping.
4. Shipping Classes Support (Plus version): In the Plus version of the plugin, you can take advantage of shipping classes. Override the way shipping prices are calculated for each shipping class, allowing for more precise shipping cost calculations.

Use Cases for WooCommerce Weight Based Shipping:

1. Weight-Based Shipping Rates: Set different shipping rates based on the weight of the products in the customer’s cart, ensuring that the shipping costs accurately reflect the weight of the items being shipped.
2. Tiered Shipping Rates: Create tiered shipping rates based on the subtotal of the customer’s order. For example, offer reduced shipping rates for higher order subtotals to incentivize larger purchases.
3. International Shipping: Define specific shipping rates for different destinations, accounting for varying shipping costs based on weight and location.
4. Free Shipping Threshold: Encourage customers to spend more by setting a free shipping threshold based on either the total weight of the order or the subtotal. Customers whose orders meet the threshold will enjoy free shipping.
5. Customized Shipping Classes: Utilize the Plus version of the plugin to assign shipping classes to products and customize the shipping rates based on the assigned class. This allows for more accurate shipping cost calculations for specific types of products.

Pricing:

The WooCommerce Weight Based Shipping plugin is available for free on the WordPress plugin repository. However, there is also a Plus version available that offers additional features, including shipping class support. For detailed pricing information and to unlock the advanced features, you can upgrade to the Plus version from the plugin’s official website.

7. Flat Rate Shipping Plugin For WooCommerce

The Flat Rate Shipping Plugin for WooCommerce is a powerful and flexible shipping method solution designed specifically for WooCommerce store owners. It empowers you to create multiple custom flat rate shipping methods based on various conditions such as product, country, cart-subtotal, quantity, category, product tag, and user-based shipping methods.

Key Features:

1. Enable and Disable Table Rate Shipping Method: Easily enable or disable the table rate shipping method according to your preferences.
2. Multiple Ways to Create Free Shipping: Set up multiple conditions to offer free shipping to your customers, such as based on cart subtotal, specific products, or user roles.
3. Create Multiple Custom Flat Rate Shipping Methods: Customize your shipping methods by creating multiple flat rate shipping options based on specific conditions, allowing you to offer different shipping rates to different customers.
4. Country, State, Postcode, and Zone-based Shipping: Set up flat rate shipping methods based on specific countries, states, postcodes, or shipping zones, providing more accurate and tailored shipping options to your customers.
5. Product and Category-based Shipping: Define flat rate shipping methods based on specific products or categories, allowing you to set different shipping rates for different types of products.

Use Cases for Flat Rate Shipping Plugin:

1. Customized Shipping Methods: Create unique flat rate shipping methods based on specific conditions to offer tailored shipping options to your customers. For example, you can set different shipping rates for heavy items, fragile products, or international shipments.
2. Free Shipping Threshold: Encourage customers to spend more by setting a free shipping threshold based on the cart subtotal or specific products. This can help increase average order value and drive more sales.
3. Location-based Shipping: Define different flat rate shipping methods based on countries, states, or postcodes, ensuring accurate shipping rates for different regions.
4. Category-specific Shipping Rates: Set different shipping rates for specific product categories. For example, you can offer discounted shipping for clothing items or higher rates for large appliances.
5. User-based Shipping Methods: Customize shipping options based on user roles or specific user accounts. This can be useful for providing special shipping rates to wholesale customers or VIP members.

Pricing:

The Flat Rate Shipping Plugin for WooCommerce offers a free version with essential features. However, for more advanced functionality and additional features, you can upgrade to the premium version of the plugin. The pricing for the premium version can be found on the plugin’s website.

What’s My Choice?

After analyzing several popular WooCommerce shipping plugins, one plugin stands out as the best choice: Table Rate for WooCommerce by Flexible Shipping. This plugin offers advanced features, flexibility, and customization options that make it an ideal solution for managing shipping rates in your WooCommerce store.

Why I Choose Table Rate for WooCommerce by Flexible Shipping?

Table Rate for WooCommerce by Flexible Shipping is my top choice because it provides a comprehensive solution for managing complex shipping rates based on various conditions. With this plugin, you can create custom shipping methods using a flexible table rate system that allows you to define shipping rates based on factors such as weight, subtotal, quantity, destination, and more. It offers extensive options for creating rules and conditions, enabling you to set up precise shipping calculations tailored to your specific business needs.

Why Is It Better Than Others?

Table Rate for WooCommerce by Flexible Shipping stands out from other plugins due to its advanced features and high level of customization. Unlike other plugins that may have limitations in terms of conditions or pricing options, Table Rate for WooCommerce provides extensive flexibility in defining shipping rates. It allows you to create complex rules and conditions based on multiple factors, providing accurate and dynamic shipping rates to your customers. Additionally, it offers an intuitive interface and excellent support, ensuring a seamless experience in managing your shipping methods.

Best 3 Features of Table Rate for WooCommerce by Flexible Shipping:

1. Flexible Table Rate System: The plugin allows you to create custom shipping methods using a table rate system, where you can define rates based on various factors such as weight, subtotal, quantity, and destination. This flexibility enables precise control over your shipping costs.
2. Advanced Rules and Conditions: With Table Rate for WooCommerce, you can set up complex rules and conditions to calculate shipping rates. You can create multiple conditions and define specific calculations based on the combination of factors, providing accurate rates for different scenarios.
3. Easy Management and Integration: The plugin seamlessly integrates with your WooCommerce store, providing a user-friendly interface for managing shipping methods. It offers intuitive settings and options, making it easy to set up and customize your shipping rates according to your business requirements.

By choosing Table Rate for WooCommerce by Flexible Shipping, you can optimize your shipping process, provide accurate rates to your customers, and enhance the overall shopping experience in your WooCommerce store.

Conclusion