Global Shipping November 18, 2025

Flat Rate or Free? Choosing the Right Shipping Strategy to Grow International Sales

Should you offer flat-rate or free shipping to international customers? Discover which strategy works best (and when).

Written by Passport

Subscribe to Our Newsletter

Article Overview

The Ecommerce Leader’s Guide to Scaling Internationally

A step‑by‑step playbook to help modern brands expand across borders with less chaos and more control.

For direct-to-consumer (DTC) brands expanding internationally, shipping isn’t just a backend cost—it’s a front-end growth lever. But when it comes to pricing that shipping, many brands fall into the same trap: assuming free is always the best way to convert. The reality? It depends. In this article, we’ll break down the difference between flat-rate and free shipping strategies, when to use each, and how Passport helps brands like Ogee and Carpe test, refine, and scale the right approach globally.

Why Free Shipping Isn’t Always the Answer (Especially Internationally)

It’s tempting to think free shipping is the magic bullet for abandoned carts. And in some cases, it is effective—especially when tied to a clear threshold. But for international orders, blanket free shipping can:

Kill contribution margin
Increase customer expectations beyond operational capacity
Lead to slower delivery speeds or hidden costs if duties/taxes aren’t included

Worse, brands often don’t test the impact. They assume it’s helping conversion when it might just be eating into margin without moving the needle.

The Benefits of Flat-Rate Shipping

Flat-rate shipping offers a sweet spot between simplicity and predictability. Why it works:

It’s transparent. Shoppers know exactly what they’ll pay, no matter where they are.
It reduces surprises. When paired with duty-inclusive checkout, flat-rate shipping prevents hidden costs.
It’s scalable. You can set flat rates per region or order value and keep fulfillment margin intact.

Example Flat Rate Strategy:

Canada: $9.95 flat
EU: $12.95 flat
Orders over $100: Free

Even better? Flat-rate shipping trains your customers to expect and understand delivery costs—and gives you room to adjust based on region, carrier, or seasonality.

When to Introduce Free Shipping Thresholds

Thresholds create urgency and incentivize larger average order values (AOV). For global DTC brands, they work best when backed by data. When thresholds make sense:

You’ve identified regional AOV patterns
You want to reward high-value carts without blanket discounts
You’re shipping lightweight, high-margin products (e.g. skincare, supplements)

How to Test and Refine Your Shipping Pricing Strategy

The best strategy isn’t a guess—it’s an experiment. What to test:

Flat-rate vs free shipping vs dynamic rates
Threshold pricing based on cart value or market
Shipping cost messaging in-cart vs checkout

Tools to use:

Shopify Scripts for dynamic pricing
A/B testing tools like Intelligems, Convert, or Shopify Plus Experiments
Passport’s shipping strategy consulting (included for all customers)

We help brands segment their top-performing markets and run experiments with localized thresholds, flat-rate tiers, or bundled DDP pricing.

Global Growth Starts With Smarter Shipping

There’s no one-size-fits-all answer. But brands that take the time to test flat-rate and threshold shipping unlock massive upside—better conversion rates, higher AOV, and stronger global customer trust. At Passport, we’ve helped hundreds of high-growth brands implement shipping strategies that don’t just look good on paper—but perform in real life. Want to find your perfect global shipping strategy? Let’s run the numbers together. 👉 Talk to Passport