Shipping configuration can make or break a WooCommerce store. The default WooCommerce shipping options cover basic flat rate and free shipping, but most stores need more. Whether you ship domestically with table rate pricing, offer real-time carrier rates from USPS and FedEx, or manage fulfillment through a third-party logistics provider, the right shipping plugin eliminates manual rate calculations and gives customers accurate delivery costs at checkout.
This guide reviews the best WooCommerce shipping plugins in 2026 for flat rate shipping, real-time carrier rates, label printing, and fulfillment automation. Each plugin was evaluated for ease of setup, carrier coverage, pricing accuracy, and compatibility with WooCommerce 9.x and the block-based checkout.
How WooCommerce Shipping Works by Default
Before adding plugins, it helps to understand what WooCommerce offers natively. WooCommerce includes three built-in shipping methods: flat rate, free shipping, and local pickup. These methods are assigned to shipping zones, which are geographic regions you define based on countries, states, or zip codes.
The built-in system works well for simple setups. A store that charges $5 flat rate for domestic orders and offers free shipping over $50 can handle this entirely with default WooCommerce settings. But the moment you need weight-based rates, carrier-calculated pricing, multiple shipping carriers, or automated label printing, you need a dedicated shipping plugin.
Common scenarios that require a shipping plugin:
- Weight or dimension-based rates, Charging different amounts based on package weight, size, or item count
- Real-time carrier rates, Showing live USPS, FedEx, UPS, or DHL rates at checkout
- Multi-carrier support, Letting customers choose between carriers and service levels
- Shipping label printing, Generating and printing labels directly from the WooCommerce dashboard
- Order tracking, Providing customers with tracking numbers and delivery status updates
- Conditional shipping rules, Applying different rates based on product category, customer location, cart total, or shipping class
Best WooCommerce Shipping Plugins in 2026
1. WooCommerce Table Rate Shipping
Table Rate Shipping by WooCommerce is the most popular plugin for creating complex flat-rate shipping rules. Instead of a single flat rate per zone, you define tables of rates based on weight, item count, price, or shipping class. Each shipping zone can have multiple tables with different conditions.
For example, you can set up a domestic shipping zone with these rules: orders under 2 lbs ship for $5.99, orders between 2-10 lbs ship for $9.99, orders over 10 lbs ship for $14.99, and orders over $100 get free shipping regardless of weight. Table Rate Shipping handles all of this in a single configuration screen.
The plugin also supports shipping classes for variable products, which means you can charge different rates for heavy items, fragile items, or oversized products within the same order.
Key features: Weight, item count, and price-based rules; shipping class support; per-order or per-item calculation; multiple rate tables per zone; priority-based rule matching.
Best for: Stores with complex domestic shipping rules that do not need real-time carrier rates.
Pricing: $99/year
2. ShipStation for WooCommerce
ShipStation is a full shipping management platform that connects to WooCommerce through a dedicated integration plugin. It handles everything after the order is placed: rate comparison across carriers, batch label printing, packing slip generation, tracking number assignment, and branded tracking pages.
ShipStation supports over 70 carriers globally including USPS, FedEx, UPS, DHL, Canada Post, Royal Mail, and Australia Post. The rate comparison feature shows you the cheapest or fastest option for each order, and discounted USPS rates through ShipStation can save 40-60% compared to retail postage prices.
The WooCommerce integration syncs orders automatically. When you print a label in ShipStation, the tracking number pushes back to WooCommerce and triggers the order completion email to the customer. For stores shipping 50+ orders per day, ShipStation’s batch processing and automation rules save hours of manual work.
Key features: 70+ carrier integrations, discounted USPS rates, batch label printing, automation rules, branded tracking pages, inventory sync, multi-channel support (Amazon, eBay, Etsy).
Best for: High-volume stores that need fulfillment automation and multi-carrier rate comparison.
Pricing: From $9.99/month (50 shipments) to $229.99/month (unlimited). 30-day free trial.
3. WooCommerce Shipping (USPS and DHL)
WooCommerce Shipping is a free official extension that provides discounted USPS and DHL Express labels directly from your WooCommerce dashboard. This is the simplest path to real-time carrier rates for US-based stores.
The plugin displays live USPS rates at checkout including Priority Mail, Priority Mail Express, First-Class Package, and Media Mail. For international orders, it shows DHL Express rates. After the customer places an order, you print USPS or DHL labels from the order screen without leaving WooCommerce. Rates are discounted through the Automattic partnership with carriers.
The main limitation is carrier coverage. If you need FedEx, UPS, or regional carriers, you will need a different plugin. But for stores that ship primarily via USPS domestically and DHL internationally, this free plugin covers the essentials.
Key features: Live USPS and DHL rates, discounted postage, label printing from WooCommerce, tracking numbers, address validation.
Best for: Small to medium US-based stores that ship primarily via USPS.
Pricing: Free (pay only for postage)
4. Flexible Shipping by Octolize
Flexible Shipping is the most popular free table rate shipping plugin with over 100,000 active installations. The free version supports weight and price-based shipping rules with conditional logic. The Pro version adds item count rules, shipping class conditions, and advanced calculation methods.
What sets Flexible Shipping apart is its conditional logic system. You can create rules like: if the cart contains items from shipping class “heavy” AND the destination is Alaska or Hawaii, add a $15 surcharge. Or: if the cart total exceeds $75 AND contains only items from the “clothing” category, offer free shipping. These conditions combine to handle complex real-world shipping scenarios.
Flexible Shipping also integrates with live rate plugins from Octolize for USPS, UPS, FedEx, and DHL, giving you both table rate and real-time rate capabilities from the same developer.
Key features: Weight and price-based rules (free), shipping class conditions (Pro), conditional logic, cost calculation per order or per item, free shipping thresholds, WooCommerce 9.x compatible.
Best for: Stores that want table rate shipping without paying for a premium plugin.
Pricing: Free (basic) | Pro from $89/year
5. Shippo for WooCommerce
Shippo is a shipping API platform that provides multi-carrier rate comparison, label generation, and tracking from a single dashboard. The WooCommerce integration displays real-time rates from USPS, FedEx, UPS, DHL, and 85+ other carriers at checkout.
Shippo’s pricing model is pay-per-label with no monthly subscription required. You pay $0.05 per label for standard labels or use Shippo’s free USPS labels (with discounted postage). This makes Shippo cost-effective for stores with variable shipping volumes because there is no minimum commitment.
The platform also provides insurance, customs forms for international shipments, and a return label system. Customers can generate their own return labels through a branded returns portal, reducing support workload for your team.
Key features: 85+ carriers, pay-per-label pricing, free USPS labels, insurance, customs forms, branded returns portal, batch processing, webhook-based tracking updates.
Best for: Stores that want multi-carrier rates without a monthly subscription.
Pricing: Free (pay-per-label at $0.05) | Professional from $10/month
6. ELEX EasyPost Shipping Plugin
The ELEX EasyPost plugin connects WooCommerce to the EasyPost API, which aggregates rates from USPS, FedEx, UPS, DHL, and dozens of regional carriers. EasyPost is widely used by eCommerce businesses because it provides a unified API for rate calculation, label generation, tracking, and address verification across all major carriers.
The ELEX plugin displays real-time rates at checkout with service name, delivery estimate, and pricing. After the order, you generate labels from the WooCommerce order page. EasyPost offers USPS Commercial Plus pricing, which provides the deepest discounts available outside of direct carrier contracts.
The plugin also handles multi-package shipments where a single order requires multiple boxes. You define box sizes in the settings, and the plugin calculates which items fit in which boxes using a bin-packing algorithm before requesting rates.
Key features: Real-time rates from 100+ carriers via EasyPost API, label printing, multi-package packing, address validation, tracking, insurance, scheduled pickups.
Best for: Stores that need real-time rates from multiple carriers with accurate package dimension calculation.
Pricing: $79/year (single site)
7. WooCommerce UPS Shipping Plugin by PluginHive
For stores that ship primarily through UPS, the PluginHive UPS plugin provides comprehensive UPS integration. It displays live UPS rates at checkout including Ground, 3 Day Select, 2nd Day Air, Next Day Air, and all international services. The plugin supports UPS negotiated rates, which are custom discounted rates you negotiate directly with UPS based on your shipping volume.
Label printing, tracking, and pickup scheduling all work from within WooCommerce. The plugin also supports UPS Access Point delivery where customers can choose to pick up their package from a nearby UPS retail location or locker instead of home delivery.
Key features: Live UPS rates with negotiated pricing, label printing, tracking integration, pickup scheduling, Access Point delivery, international customs forms, multi-package support.
Best for: Stores with UPS as their primary carrier that want deep UPS integration.
Pricing: From $69/year
8. FedEx WooCommerce Shipping Plugin by PluginHive
The companion FedEx plugin from PluginHive provides the same depth of integration for FedEx services. Live rates at checkout include FedEx Ground, Home Delivery, Express Saver, 2Day, Overnight, and all international services. FedEx SmartPost (now FedEx Ground Economy) rates are also supported for lightweight residential packages.
The plugin handles FedEx Freight for LTL shipments, which is essential for stores selling furniture, appliances, or other heavy goods. Freight rate calculation uses pallet dimensions and freight class, and quotes appear at checkout alongside standard parcel rates.
Key features: Live FedEx rates, negotiated pricing, FedEx Ground Economy, FedEx Freight LTL, label printing, tracking, Saturday delivery, signature options.
Best for: Stores that rely on FedEx for domestic and international shipping.
Pricing: From $69/year
Plugin Comparison Table
| Plugin | Type | Carriers | Label Printing | Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Table Rate Shipping | Flat rate rules | None (manual rates) | No | $99/yr |
| ShipStation | Fulfillment platform | 70+ | Yes (batch) | $9.99-$229.99/mo |
| WooCommerce Shipping | Live rates + labels | USPS, DHL | Yes | Free |
| Flexible Shipping | Table rate | None (manual rates) | No | Free / $89/yr |
| Shippo | Multi-carrier API | 85+ | Yes | Free + $0.05/label |
| ELEX EasyPost | Multi-carrier API | 100+ | Yes | $79/yr |
| PluginHive UPS | Single carrier | UPS | Yes | $69/yr |
| PluginHive FedEx | Single carrier | FedEx | Yes | $69/yr |
How to Set Up Free Shipping in WooCommerce
Free shipping is the most powerful conversion tool in eCommerce. According to Baymard Institute research, unexpected shipping costs are the number one reason for cart abandonment (48% of abandoned carts). Offering free shipping, even with a minimum order threshold, directly reduces abandonment and increases average order value.
Threshold-Based Free Shipping
The most common approach is offering free shipping above a cart total threshold. Navigate to WooCommerce > Settings > Shipping > your zone > Add shipping method > Free Shipping. Set the condition to “A minimum order amount” and enter your threshold (typically $50-$100 depending on your margins). For a detailed walkthrough, see our guide on setting up free shipping after a minimum amount in WooCommerce.
Pair this with a free shipping progress bar that shows customers how close they are to the threshold. Progress bars increase average order value by 15-25% because customers add items to reach the free shipping threshold rather than paying for shipping.
Conditional Free Shipping
For more advanced scenarios, use WooCommerce Conditional Shipping and Payments to offer free shipping based on product categories, shipping classes, user roles, or coupon codes. For example, offer free shipping on all clothing orders but charge shipping for electronics, or offer free shipping to wholesale customers regardless of order total.
Choosing the Right Shipping Plugin for Your Store
The right shipping plugin depends on your shipping volume, carrier preferences, and operational needs.
Under 50 orders per month: Start with WooCommerce Shipping (free USPS/DHL labels) or Flexible Shipping (free table rates). These handle basic needs without adding monthly costs.
50-500 orders per month: Shippo or ELEX EasyPost provide multi-carrier rate comparison and label printing at reasonable costs. Shippo’s pay-per-label model works well if your volume fluctuates seasonally.
500+ orders per month: ShipStation’s automation rules, batch processing, and multi-channel support justify the monthly subscription at this volume. The time savings on label printing alone pay for the tool.
Single carrier stores: If you ship exclusively through UPS or FedEx, the dedicated PluginHive plugins provide deeper integration than multi-carrier tools, including negotiated rates and carrier-specific features.
Complex flat rate needs: Table Rate Shipping or Flexible Shipping Pro let you build sophisticated rate tables without touching carrier APIs. These work well for stores that prefer predictable shipping costs over real-time calculations.
For stores that ship to multiple addresses per order (gift shops, corporate buyers), make sure your chosen plugin supports split shipments. For dropshipping stores, check our best WooCommerce dropshipping plugins guide for specialized fulfillment solutions.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I use multiple shipping plugins on one WooCommerce store?
Yes, but carefully. You can combine a table rate plugin (for domestic flat rates) with a carrier rate plugin (for real-time international rates) by assigning each to different shipping zones. Avoid using two plugins that calculate rates for the same zone because customers will see duplicate shipping options at checkout.
Do WooCommerce shipping plugins work with the block checkout?
All plugins listed in this guide are compatible with the WooCommerce 9.x block-based checkout. Shipping rates appear in the checkout block the same way they do in the legacy shortcode checkout. If you use an older shipping plugin, check with the developer for block checkout compatibility before upgrading.
How do I show estimated delivery dates at checkout?
Most real-time rate plugins (ShipStation, Shippo, EasyPost, PluginHive) include delivery estimates from the carrier alongside the rate. For table rate plugins where rates are manually defined, use a delivery date estimation plugin like Order Delivery Date for WooCommerce to let customers see expected delivery windows.
What is the cheapest way to ship WooCommerce orders?
For US-based stores, WooCommerce Shipping provides discounted USPS rates at no plugin cost. Shippo and ShipStation also offer discounted USPS rates through their platforms. Compare rates across carriers for each shipment because the cheapest option varies by package size, weight, and destination. A package under 1 lb is usually cheapest via USPS First-Class, while heavier packages may be cheaper via UPS Ground or FedEx Ground.
