How to charge shipping per cart line item in WooCommerce
Per cart line item shipping allows you to calculate shipping charges for each unique product added to the cart, instead of charging a single flat rate.
This feature applies a base shipping charge for the first cart item and then adds an additional fee for every extra cart line item.
For example:
- Charge a base shipping fee for the first product
- Add an extra fee for every additional product
- Ignore product quantity and calculate shipping per item
In This Article
Why use per cart line item shipping?
- Accurate cost calculation: Charge shipping based on how many products are shipped
- Fair pricing: Each additional product contributes to the shipping cost
- Quantity-independent: Product quantity does not affect the calculation
- Ideal for mixed carts: Works well when customers buy multiple different items
Configuration steps
1. Add or edit a flat rate shipping method
- Go to Dotstore Plugins → Flat Rate Shipping
- Click Add New Shipping Method or edit an existing one
2. Enable per additional unit
- In the Shipping Method Configuration section:
- Enter the base Shipping Charge
- Enable Apply Per Additional Unit
3. Select cart items as the calculation base
- Under Calculate Based On, select Cart Items
-
Enter the Fee Per Additional Unit
Set per additional cart line items based shipping
4. Save and test
- Click Save Changes
- Add multiple different products to the cart
-
The per-cart item shipping charge should appear at checkout
Per cart line items based shipping method on cart page
Ready to See All Features in Actions?
Access our complete advanced features instance, allowing you to configure every feature with real checkout scenarios.
Two real examples
Example 1: Three products in the cart
Rule setup:
- Base shipping charge: $10
- Fee per additional cart item: $5
- Calculation based on: Cart Items
Cart contents:
- Product A
- Product B
- Product C
Shipping calculation:
- $10 (for first item)
- $5 (second item)
- $5 (third item)
Total shipping: $20
Example 2: One product in the cart
Rule setup:
- Base shipping charge: $10
- Fee per additional cart item: $5
Cart contents:
- Product A
Shipping calculation:
- $10 (base charge only)
Total shipping: $10
Expected outcome
Once configured, WooCommerce will calculate shipping charges based on the number of unique products in the cart.
Each additional cart item increases the shipping cost automatically, ensuring accurate and transparent pricing at checkout.