Is there a way to set a box size to each product for accurate shipping cost?

Payments + Shipping & Fulfilment

Topic summary

A merchant selling woodworks with varying sizes is unable to calculate shipping costs based on individual product box dimensions. Shopify’s default system uses weight and dimensions but applies a single default box size across all products, rather than allowing custom box sizes per item.

Current limitations:

  • No built-in solution for per-product box sizing
  • Multi-item orders may incorrectly assume all products fit in one box
  • Weight input exists but lacks practical utility without dimensional flexibility

Available solutions:

  • Third-party apps like PH Multicarrier Shipping Label (~$9/month)
  • Custom development for Shopify Plus users ($80/month)

Merchant concerns:

  • The $9/month app fee represents a ~30% increase in annual store costs
  • This limitation isn’t clearly disclosed during signup for non-Plus plans
  • The issue has been reported to developers for years without a native solution

The discussion remains unresolved, with the merchant expressing frustration that basic dimensional shipping requires either expensive upgrades or additional monthly fees.

Summarized with AI on November 2. AI used: claude-sonnet-4-5-20250929.
1

Hello,

I am selling woodworks with different sizes. However I cant seem to be able to make it so each products shipping is calculated based off the box it will use for shipping. Shopify is calculating off of the default box size but that is too big or too small for many products.

I have seen several questions like this posted in 2023 but they all get directed to use an app called Ph multicarrier shipping label which costs $9/month. Is there a solution built in to the store yet or is shopifys response still to direct users to a 3rd party app even though the community partners have been forwarding this to the developers for years now.

2

Hi @MushinDesigns

Currently, Shopify doesn’t have a built-in solution for calculating shipping based on custom box sizes. Shopify’s default shipping system uses weight and dimensions but doesn’t support individual box sizes per product.

The solution Shopify suggests is using third-party apps like PH Multicarrier Shipping Label (costs around $9/month), which allows you to set custom box sizes and calculate shipping more accurately.

For Shopify Plus users, custom development is an option to build a tailored solution. But for most merchants, third-party apps are the go-to solution.

3

What is the point of even having weight input when box size is always the same?

If I had an order of multiple of the same item will shopify charge shipping assuming all the products can fit in one box even if its impossible to do that?

$9 a month increases the yearly cost of the store by about 30% meanwhile Plus costs $80 a month.
This seems like it should be stated clearly when signing up for anything other than Plus. That the user cannot do dimensional shipping.