I just finished setting up my DHL business account and was told by DHL (Portugal) that I need to be on Shopify Advanced to get live shipping rates displayed at the checkout. I did some digging and it seems like there is a $20 Shopify option I can choose on top of the Basic plan to get live rates (which DHL is not aware of) or some third-party solutions for about $30. What is the difference between the two and which one is a better value? Any help would be appreciated.
Hi @Zev_3
I’d be happy to help you out with is! It looks like you may have come across some older information as well, so I will clarify the current options for Carrier Calculated Shipping (CCS) for you as well.
Carrier Calculated Shipping is required when you wish to use a third party shipping provider to provide live rates at the checkout, when they are not supported by Shopify Shipping. CCS can only be activated when using the Shopify or Shopify Advanced plan. CCS is no longer available for merchants on the Basic plan.
If you are using the Shopify plan and want to enable CCS you can either switch to the annual billing option and ask our authenticated support team to enable it for no additional cost. If you wish to stay on monthly billing then our authenticated support can enable CCS for an additional $20 USD (on the Shopify plan) a month.
If you are on the Shopify Advanced plan, then this feature is included at no additional cost and should be enabled automatically.
Most likely, if you are a smaller business adding CCS to your Shopify plan will be the better value for you. Upgrading to Shopify Advanced is a great option for merchants making enough sales that the increased cost of the plan is covered by the reduction in transaction fees.
You can learn more about this and connect with our live chat through our Help Center here: Third party carrier calculated shipping.
Hi Shay,
Thank you for the answer. Please confirm that I understood you correctly.
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Live shipping rates at the checkout and Carrier Calculated Shipping (CCS) are the exact same thing.
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If I have a Basic plan it is impossible to get CCS even with 3d party apps.
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CCS can be activated free of charge if I sign up for the yearly Shopify plan or for $20/month for the monthly Shopify plan.
One question still remains: Do I still need to get a 3d party app if I choose to go with the Shopify plan (yearly or monthly for $20 extra) or will Shopify show my customers live rates automatically ?
Hi @Zev_3 ,
You understood all three points correctly.
Shopify shipping supports only DHL Express USA. For DHL Express Portugal, you require an app
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Hi Mirdas, does this mean I will have to be on the Shopify plan ( monthly + $20 or yearly) AND pay for the 3d party app to have CCS?
Hi @Zev_3 ,
You’re right. Shopify charges an extra $20 monthly or yearly to enable CCS on your store, in addition to the charges for using the app.
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Thank you @Mirdas !
@Mirdas has it correct, you will need to upgrade your plan to allow for CCS.
Shopify does offer live shipping rates, but only for supported carriers. Enabling CCS allows you to access live shipping rates through a third party shipping provider. Whether or not there is a fee to use the third party app is dependent on the app developer.
Thank you for your answers guys. All I can say is wow. That is at least $80-90/month just to have live shipping pricing.
By the way, DHL Portugal says they pass the live pricing feed to Shopify for free…
Hi @Zev_3 ,
if DHL Portugal offers a free app with carrier-calculated rates at checkout, your only cost would be the $20 per month charged by Shopify to enable CCS.
How did you get invoiced $80-90 per month?
Hi Mirdas,
here is how I got there:
Since it is virtually impossible to get CCS with a Basic plan ( with or without $20 or apps), one must be at least on Shopify plan ($70/month even on a yearly plan). There is no free DHL PT app as far as I know, so add $10-20 for the 3d party app….
hi @Zev_3 , I Agree!