> ## Documentation Index > Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.vortexiq.ai/llms.txt > Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further. # Free vs Paid Shipping, Adobe Commerce > Free vs Paid Shipping for Adobe Commerce stores. Tracked live in Vortex IQ Nerve Centre. How to read it, why it matters, and how to act on it. **Metrics type:** [Supporting Metrics](/nerve-centre/overview#metrics-types-explained) • **Category:** [Ecommerce Platform](/nerve-centre/connectors#connectors-by-type) ## At a glance > Split between paid-shipping and free-shipping orders, both as count and as revenue. Adobe Commerce stores commonly run free-shipping thresholds (free shipping over £50, free 2-day for B2B accounts, free shipping campaigns); the card surfaces how much volume falls in each bucket and whether the threshold is creating the intended basket-size lift. | | | | ------------------------------------------------------ | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | **What it counts** | `COUNT(orders) GROUP BY (shipping_amount = 0 OR shipping_amount > 0)`. Also splits revenue. Returns: free count, paid count, free revenue, paid revenue, plus median basket size per bucket. | | **API field** | `shipping_amount`, `grand_total`, `subtotal` from `GET /rest/V1/orders`. | | **VAT / tax treatment** | Revenue uses `grand_total` (tax-inclusive). For pure unit-economic comparison consider `subtotal` (pre-tax). | | **Shipping inclusion** | This card IS shipping classification. | | **Discounts** | Not a factor; the split is about shipping fee, not item discounts. Note: `shipping_discount_amount` zeroing the shipping line classifies as "free" here. | | **Credit Memo refund treatment** | Original classification preserved. | | **`state` machine inclusion** | All states except `canceled`. | | **`pending_payment` quirk** | Included. | | **Multi-currency `grand_total` vs `base_grand_total`** | Uses `base_grand_total` for revenue rollup; the count is currency-irrelevant. | | **Store View scope (`store_id`)** | All Store Views; per-Store-View variants useful when free-shipping thresholds differ by region. | | **Time window** | `30D` | | **Alert trigger** | None by default. | | **Roles** | owner, operations | ## Calculation Calculated automatically from your Adobe Commerce data. See the At a glance summary above for what the metric tracks and the worked example below for a typical reading. ## Worked example A homewares brand on Adobe Commerce 2.4.6, US/UK/B2B Store Views. Free-shipping threshold: UK £50, US \$75, B2B always free. 30-day window ending Monday 4 May 26. **Free vs paid split:** | Stream | Free count | Paid count | Free median basket | Paid median basket | | ----------- | --------------- | --------------- | ------------------ | ------------------ | | US consumer | 1,840 (70%) | 770 (30%) | \$112 | \$54 | | UK consumer | 1,420 (70%) | 620 (30%) | £74 | £38 | | B2B portal | 1,420 (100%) | 0 (0%) | \$642 | n/a | | **Blended** | **4,680 (77%)** | **1,390 (23%)** | | | **Revenue contribution:** | Stream | Free revenue | Paid revenue | % free | | ------- | ------------ | ------------ | ------ | | US | \$246,000 | \$66,800 | 78.6% | | UK | \$185,000 | \$61,000 | 75.2% | | B2B | \$462,000 | \$0 | 100% | | Blended | \$893,000 | \$127,800 | 87.5% | What this is telling operations: 1. **77% of orders qualify for free shipping** across consumer Store Views; 100% for B2B. Total order count classifies free. 2. **Free-shipping orders have \~2x higher median basket** than paid-shipping orders ($112 vs $54 US). This is the threshold-driven basket-build behaviour: customers consciously add items to cross the threshold. 3. **The 30% paid-shipping consumer cohort tends to be small-basket emergency orders** (\$54 US median is 30% below the threshold). They're price-insensitive in this purchase context. 4. **B2B is universal free shipping** because freight is contractually included; the merchant absorbs freight cost as a B2B-margin item. 5. **Cross-checking [Total Shipping](/nerve-centre/kpi-cards/adobe-commerce/total-shipping-revenue)**: shipping revenue \$127,800 over 30 days. If shipping margin is positive (the merchant charges more than carrier cost on paid-shipping orders), this is contribution. If margin is neutral or negative (the threshold creates net subsidy), the threshold is a marketing cost. 6. **Strategic question**: would lowering the US threshold from $75 to $65 lift free-shipping share from 70% to 80%? Industry data suggests yes; the trade-off is the merchant subsidises shipping on more orders. Modeling: if 10% additional orders qualify for free, the merchant absorbs \~\$8 each for those orders. Worth testing at small scale. ## Sibling cards merchants should reference together | Card | Why pair it with Free vs Paid Shipping | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | [Total Shipping](/nerve-centre/kpi-cards/adobe-commerce/total-shipping-revenue) | Aggregate shipping revenue. | | [Shipping %](/nerve-centre/kpi-cards/adobe-commerce/shipping-cost-as-of-revenue) | Shipping as % of total revenue. | | [AOV](/nerve-centre/kpi-cards/adobe-commerce/average-order-value) | Free-shipping orders skew AOV up because of the threshold-driven basket build. | | [Total Revenue](/nerve-centre/kpi-cards/adobe-commerce/total-revenue) | Aggregate. | | [Total Orders](/nerve-centre/kpi-cards/adobe-commerce/total-orders) | Aggregate count. | | [Discount Over Time](/nerve-centre/kpi-cards/adobe-commerce/discounts-given-over-time) | Free-shipping campaigns may be classified as a `shipping_discount_amount` field; correlate with the shipping-discount sub-card. | | [B2B Revenue Share](/nerve-centre/kpi-cards/adobe-commerce/b2b-revenue-share) | B2B is universally free; mix shifts to B2B push blended free % up. | | [`shopify.free_vs_paid`](/nerve-centre/kpi-cards/shopify/free-vs-paid-shipping) | Cross-platform peer. | ## Reconciling against the vendor's own dashboard **Where to look in Adobe Commerce Admin:** > **Reports > Sales > Shipping** aggregates shipping revenue by carrier and method. Filter to free shipping methods to see the count. > **Stores > Configuration > Sales > Shipping Methods** lists configured methods including the free-shipping rule. > **Marketing > Cart Price Rules** shows free-shipping cart rules with their qualification conditions. > **Sales > Orders** with shipping-method filter for individual order verification. **Why our number may legitimately differ from Admin:** | Reason | Direction of divergence | | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ | ----------------------------------- | | **Free definition**. Card uses `shipping_amount = 0`. Some merchants offer free shipping via discount that zeroes the line; same effect. Other merchants use a \$0.01 placeholder for "free" via tax/accounting reasons; this card classifies as paid. | Material if \$0.01 placeholder used | | **Time-zone**. Admin in Store View timezone; card UTC. | Boundary effects | | **Currency**. Card uses `base_grand_total`. | Material on multi-currency | | **`canceled` exclusion**. Card excludes; Admin includes unless filtered. | Marginal | **Cross-connector reconciliation (when these connectors are connected for this merchant):** | Pair | Expected relationship | What divergence tells you | | --------------------------- | -------------------------------------------------------------- | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | Carrier API shipment counts | Paid-shipping count should align with carrier billed shipments | Material divergence indicates either off-platform shipments or carrier-aggregation differences (consolidator services). | | 3PL pick-pack reports | Total order count (free + paid) ≈ 3PL fulfilled orders | Lag-correction needed; 3PL is post-fulfillment. | ***
Same-metric documentation cross-reference (for agencies running multiple platforms) * [`shopify.free_vs_paid`](/nerve-centre/kpi-cards/shopify/free-vs-paid-shipping) * [`bigcommerce.free_vs_paid`](/nerve-centre/kpi-cards/bigcommerce/free-vs-paid-shipping)
## Known limitations / merchant FAQs **My free-shipping threshold is \$50 but the card shows free orders at lower baskets, why?** Most likely a free-shipping coupon code is in use (separate from the threshold rule). Customers below threshold can still get free shipping via promo. Cross-check applied cart rule names per order. **Adobe Commerce vs Magento Open Source: difference?** None at the calculation. The card runs identically. **My multi-store, can I see per-Store-View thresholds?** Yes, configure per-Store-View variants. Strongly recommended because thresholds typically differ by region (UK £50 vs US \$75 vs EU €60 are common). **B2B always free, so why is it in this card?** Because operationally the merchant pays freight on B2B orders too; the card surfaces total absorbed-shipping cost which feeds B2B margin analysis. **Why does free-shipping basket median look higher than paid?** Threshold-driven basket build: customers add items consciously to cross the free-shipping threshold. Industry data shows 30 to 60% basket-size lift around free-shipping thresholds. The card confirms it on your specific data. **A flash sale gave free shipping to all orders, are those classified as free?** Yes; the card uses `shipping_amount`. If the rule zeroed it, free is the classification. **Why exclude `canceled`?** A cancelled order isn't fulfilled; the shipping classification is moot. For full intent analysis (was the customer attracted by free shipping even though they cancelled?), use the order-level data manually. **My multi-currency, are basket medians comparable?** The card surfaces per-Store-View medians in native currency for clarity. The cross-currency comparison uses `base_grand_total` for the revenue roll-up, but the basket-median view stays per-currency to avoid FX confusion. *** ### Tracked live in Vortex IQ Nerve Centre *Free vs Paid Shipping* is one of hundreds of KPI pulses Vortex IQ tracks across Adobe Commerce and 70+ other ecommerce connectors. Nerve Centre runs the detection layer; Vortex Mind investigates the cause when something moves; Ask Viq lets you interrogate any number in plain English. [Start for free](https://app.vortexiq.ai/login) or [book a demo](https://www.vortexiq.ai/contact-us) to see this metric running on your own data.