I’m having trouble setting up the checkout shipping methods the way I need. I have two shipping options: Cash on Delivery — Rs. 200, Bank Deposit — Rs. 80. I want Cash on Delivery to be selected as the default option when customers reach checkout. However, Shopify seems to show or prioritize the cheaper option first, so Bank Deposit appears before Cash on Delivery. Because of this, many customers don’t notice the Cash on Delivery option. They place the order thinking it is COD, but Bank Deposit is selected instead, so they don’t make the payment. Could you please help me set Cash on Delivery as the default shipping method, or suggest another solution so customers clearly select the correct option?
Unfortunately Shopify does not allow you to set a default shipping method at checkout. The shipping options are displayed automatically and merchants cant control which one is selected first.
A simple workaround is to rename the option to something like “Cash on Delivery (Recommended)” and add a note on the cart page reminding customers to choose the correct shipping method.
Hi, I’m Vineet from Identixweb, a Shopify development company.
There isn’t a simple native Shopify setting to force one shipping rate as the default. A few practical options are:
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Rename the options very clearly, for example: “Bank Deposit - Pay before dispatch” and “Cash on Delivery - Pay when delivered”
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Add a note on the cart page telling customers to select COD if they want to pay on delivery
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Use a checkout/delivery customization app that can reorder shipping methods
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If this is actually a payment-method issue, use a payment customization app or Checkout Blocks where available
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Consider making COD a proper payment method and handling the extra Rs. 200 through a COD fee app or payment customization setup
Hi, I’m Saloni from Webiots. 
From your description, it sounds like these are payment methods rather than shipping methods.
Unfortunately, Shopify doesn’t allow merchants to set a default payment method at checkout, and customers are generally shown the available options based on Shopify’s checkout logic.
A few alternatives you could consider are:
- Rename the payment methods so they’re very clear (for example, Cash on Delivery (Recommended) and Bank Deposit (Advance Payment)).
- Add a note on the cart page letting customers know they’ll need to select Cash on Delivery during checkout if that’s how they want to pay.
- If you’re on Shopify Plus, you can use Checkout Extensibility to customize parts of the checkout experience, although you still can’t simply pre-select a payment method by default.
If you’re not using Shopify Plus, a checkout customization app may help guide customers before they reach checkout, but the default payment selection itself can’t be changed.
It helps to separate two things here, because it changes the answer. What you’ve listed - COD Rs 200 and Bank Deposit Rs 80 - are shipping rates, not payment methods. At checkout Shopify automatically pre-selects the cheapest shipping rate, so as it stands Bank Deposit (Rs 80) will always be the default, not COD. There’s no native setting to force a pricier rate to be pre-selected; Shopify picks by price.
If COD is really how the customer pays rather than a delivery fee, the cleaner setup is to model it as a manual payment method: Settings > Payments > Manual payment methods > Cash on Delivery. That moves it into the payment step where it belongs and takes it out of your shipping options entirely. Fair warning: Shopify also doesn’t let you set a default payment method, so the buyer still selects it at checkout - but it reads correctly and stops COD from competing with Bank Deposit as a shipping rate.
If you specifically need it to look pre-selected and you’re on Shopify Plus, checkout extensibility gives more control over how options render, though even there a forced default is limited. For most stores the manual payment method route behaves the way you’d expect.
Hey @Muhammad_Sami ,
Shopify doesn’t currently let merchants choose a default shipping method at checkout. The available shipping rates are generally displayed automatically, and the lowest priced option is often shown first.
As a workaround, you could rename the shipping options to make them more obvious for example Cash on Delivery (Recommended), or clearly mention the available shipping methods on the product page cart page or in your checkout instructions so customers know which one to select.
Thank You !
Just reorder the payment method ( COD in your case ) to the top and it will be selected. You can do this with payment customization apps like vista checkout rule & discount