When WooCommerce’s built‑in methods (Flat Rate, Free Shipping, Local Pickup) aren’t flexible enough, cart‑based shipping can step in. This article shows, step by step, how to set it up with the Flexible Shipping plugin—building rules by weight and order value (free), by item and cart line counts (PRO), and even by location with the Flexible Shipping Locations add‑on—so you can fine‑tune delivery rates to match your store’s real costs.
Out of the box, in WooCommerce, you can configure some simple shipping methods, including flat rate, free or local shipping. They are very basic and allow you to set up a fixed fee for shipping, and that’s it.
However, most shops need more options based on cart contents, for example:
This is not possible with the shipping methods built into WooCommerce.
When you need any of the above shipping rules, our Flexible Shipping plugin comes in handy. First of all, in the free version, you will be able to configure shipping costs based on weight and totals.
Furthermore, in the PRO version, you will also get rules based on the number of items or cart line items. And finally, when you extend it with Flexible Shipping Locations, you will be able to set advanced rules based on locations, including zip codes.
Extend Flexible Shipping with custom locations and create shipping costs based on weight, order totals or item count.
View Details or Add to cartAs a result, you get a complete tool for creating advanced shipping in WooCommerce. Let me show you in the screenshot below:
Shipping rules can be based on (When):
Examples:
Check out our video about one of the main features of Flexible Shipping – Weight-Based Shipping.
WooCommerce shipping is very basic out of the box; therefore, you can use a plugin to extend its options. You will find a complete configuration guide of the Flexible Shipping plugin in our docs. You will be able to create shipping rules based on weight, price (free) and number of products, cart line items or shipping classes (PRO).
The best Table Rate Shipping for WooCommerce. Period. Create shipping rules based on weight, order totals or item count.
View Details or Add to cart
Content Writer at Octolize
Bartosz Gajewski is a content and marketing specialist with a solid background in SEO, WordPress content strategy, and technical documentation for digital products. With years of hands-on experience in both in-house and freelance roles, he supports tech companies – especially in the SaaS and e-commerce space – by creating content that informs, engages, and drives results.
His approach blends storytelling with data-driven SEO, and he’s been involved in projects ranging from rebranding and product marketing to growth experiments and copywriting for complex software tools. On the blog, he shares actionable insights from his work across marketing teams, product documentation, and online store optimization.
