Set up carrier-calculated shipping for your store

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Set up carrier-calculated shipping for your store

Last updated September 30, 2026 20:31

Get real-time shipping prices at checkout for carriers like USPS, UPS, and FedEx.

Carrier-calculated shipping, also called “real-time rates,” automatically calculates shipping fees for popular carriers in your country.

• Carrier-calculated shipping is available in these countries.
• You can set up carrier-calculated shipping using a default carrier option on the Core, Plus, or Advanced plans, and certain legacy billing plans.
• You can connect your own carrier account on the Advanced or Commerce Advanced plan. In some countries, this is the only way you can use carrier-calculated shipping.
• Before you can set up carrier-calculated shipping, you need to enter weights and dimensions for all of your products.

Where can I use carrier calculated shipping?

You can use carrier-calculated shipping if you ship domestically within these countries, depending on your website plan. You can’t use carrier-calculated shipping to send items cross-border to different countries.

Set up carrier calculated shipping

To enable carrier calculated shipping:

Step 1: Choose a carrier

1. Open the Shipping panel.
2. Click Add shipping option.
3. Click Carrier-calculated.
4. Enter the shipping option name and your “ship from” address.
5. Select a carrier service. Or, if you're outside the US and the option appears, select Connect your own carrier account and follow the prompts. In some cases, you’ll be sent to your carrier’s site before returning to Squarespace to complete setup.
6. All available domestic services for the carrier you selected will display. Click the ones you want to use.

Note: If you’re in the UK, new connections to Royal Mail can take 2-3 days for Royal Mail to process. You can check the status in the Manage carriers page.

Step 2: Add shipping containers

Containers are the boxes, envelopes, or packages you use to ship orders. We’ll estimate the best shipping rates for orders based on the fewest and smallest containers possible.

FedEx, UPS, and USPS offer carrier containers for some shipping services. If the service you selected supports carrier containers, they'll display. To use carrier containers, check the box beside Use carrier containers, then click Save.

If the service you selected doesn't support carrier containers, none will display, and you'll need to add custom containers. For most non-US carrier services, you'll need to use custom containers. To add custom containers:

1. Click Add Custom Container.
2. Enter the container name and its dimensions.
3. Click the + icon to add more containers.

Make sure the custom containers you use are supported by your carrier. If they're not, customers won't be able to check out.

Step 3: Add a shipping markup

To cover the price of packaging, handling, time spent, potential margins of error, or other costs, add a markup to charge more than the estimated shipping cost. Choose from a percentage or flat amount.

1. On the carrier calculated rate page, scroll to Markup.
2. Select Percentage or Amount from the dropdown.
3. Enter the amount.
4. Click Save.

Step 4: Add backup shipping rules

Set up a backup shipping rule so customers can still complete checkout if third-party carrier-calculated shipping rates aren’t available.

You can set a backup shipping rate to cover your estimated shipping cost, ship the purchase for free, or hide carrier-calculated rates at checkout.

Note: If you hide the carrier-calculated shipping option from checkout and there are no other shipping options available, customers may be temporarily unable to complete their purchase.

To set up a backup shipping rate:

1. Select Set backup rate.
2. Name the shipping option. Customers will see this name at checkout.
3. Choose either a Per order fee or Per item fee, and set the amount you want to charge

Step 5: Save

When you’re finished, click Save

How real-time rates are calculated

Carriers calculate shipping rates based on package weight, dimensions, and shipping addresses, then set prices and group orders into the best-fitting packages.

In the US

In the US, carrier-calculated rates reflect retail pricing from FedEx, UPS, and USPS.

Outside the US

If you connect your own carrier service account, shipping rates reflect your own contract details with the carrier.

If you choose a default option instead of connecting your own carrier service account, shipping rates reflect a pre-negotiated discount (up to 91%) from our partnership with EasyShip. To get these lower rates, use the EasyShip extension.

Which shipping carriers and services can I use in the US?

In the US, you can use FedEx, UPS, and USPS. Different shipping services from these carriers have limitations on whether or not you can use carrier containers.

Tip: To offer USPS First Class mail, set up a weight-based shipping option.

Depending on the carrier you choose, use of the carrier-calculated shipping integration is subject to:

• The FedEx End User License Agreement and the FedEx Privacy Notice.
• The UPS End User Rights (part of the UPS Technology Agreement) and the UPS Privacy Notice.
• The USPS Privacy Policy.

Which shipping carriers can I use in countries outside the US?

In some countries, you can use one of our default carrier options to charge real-time rates. In other countries, you need to connect your own carrier account. Your choice affects how real-time rates are calculated.

Delete a carrier account connection

To delete a carrier account connection:

1. Open the Shipping panel.
2. Click Connected carriers.
3. Click •••, then click Delete.

Buy shipping labels

After you set up carrier-calculated shipping, your store will charge customers real-time rates for shipping at checkout. When you fulfill their orders, you have several options for where to buy the shipping labels for their packages.

In the US, you can buy shipping labels through:

• Squarespace (UPS and USPS only)
• A shipping extension, like EasyShip
• Your carrier’s website or a retail location

Outside the US, you can buy shipping labels through:

• A shipping extension, like EasyShip
• Your carrier’s website or a retail location

How real-time rates appear at checkout

On the checkout page, shipping options appear after a customer enters their address. If there are multiple options, customers can compare and choose from them. You can run test orders to test how rates for different product combinations are calculated and placed in containers.

Note: When carrier-calculated shipping is enabled, shopping carts have a 150-item limit to keep shipping estimates accurate. Without carrier-calculated shipping, the limit is 500 items.

Why isn't my store charging the right amount for shipping?

Carrier-calculated shipping rates may not always match the cost of the shipping labels you buy.

If carrier-calculated rates are higher than you expected:

• You can often lower the price by adding custom containers or reducing products’ packing dimensions so they better fit your containers. If you're not sure what's best, choose slightly bigger containers than you think you'll need.
• You can offer partial refunds to account for the difference in cost.

If carrier-calculated rates are lower than you expected:

• You can add a markup to increase the cost of shipping.
• You can buy labels at a discounted rate through EasyShip.

Can I set up carrier-calculated shipping in multiple countries?

No. You can’t use a single carrier-calculated shipping option to send items cross-border. If you have warehouses around the world, you can create multiple carrier-calculated shipping options for each supported country you ship within.

Can I edit or delete a carrier-calculated shipping option?

Yes. You can update carrier-calculated shipping options for your store at any time.

Why can't my customers check out?

Make sure your carrier supports the custom containers you use. If they don’t, customers won't be able to check out. You can also troubleshoot other checkout issues.

What if my item won't fit in a supported container?

To ship items that exceed your carrier's package sizes or weight limits, using weight-dependent or Flat rate shipping is usually the best solution.

What if my store is missing product dimensions or weights?

Carrier-calculated shipping relies on product dimensions and weights to work. Products with missing weights and dimensions will display Missing Weight and Missing Dimensions in red beside each variant missing these details.

To add weights and dimensions to a product:

1. Go to the Products panel.
2. Click ••• next to the product you want to edit.
3. Under Fulfillment, find Weights and Dimensions, and then click Add.
4. Enter the weight and dimensions. If the product has variants, they’re all listed. Click the variant you want to edit and enter the weight and dimensions.
5. Click Apply, then click Save.

Is any customer shipping data shared with carriers for carrier-calculated shipping?

Yes. When you use a carrier service through this integration, your customers’ shipping data is shared with the carrier so they can calculate the cost of shipping your products.

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Set up carrier-calculated shipping for your store