What are Shipping Areas and Shipping Zones?
A shipping area—also known as a shipping zone, delivery zone, or shipping region—is a set of location-based conditions used to control how shipping options are applied. With shipping zone management, you can define shipping zones based on countries, regions, postal codes, or specific address details.
Using zone based shipping and location based shipping, you can create flexible shipping area rules that determine available shipping methods, rates, and restrictions depending on the customer’s location. This allows you to implement precise shipping by zone strategies tailored to your business needs.
For example, you can configure shipping zones by postcode or shipping zones by zip code to offer different rates, limit delivery areas, or enable special shipping methods. Whether you’re setting rules for entire countries or narrowing down to specific postal ranges, shipping regions and delivery zones give you full control over where and how you ship.
Shipping Areas: Key Features and Benefits
Enable geo-flexibility for your shipping
Variety of Geo Attributes
Customize your Shipping Areas using multiple geo attributes: Country, State/Region, City, Postal Codes (Range or Mass), Address Line, Address Type (Commercial or Residential). Create regional or postal shipping zones.
Shipping Methods Serve Specific Areas
Make your shipping rates geo-dependent by assigning your Shipping Areas to any Shipping Option (Free Shipping or Flat Rate), Table Rates methods, or carrier services. Create and assign shipping areas for UPS, USPS, FedEx, DHL, or other carriers you ship with.
Rules Based on Shipping Areas
Even more geo customization is available since you use your Shipping Areas as a condition for your Shipping Rules and Restrictions.
Postal Codes Flexibility
Our postal codes special inputs and operators give you maximum control for setting Shipping Areas. This includes support for alphanumeric UK postal codes.
Integration with Major Carriers
Connect your own carrier accounts to Calcurates and use Shipping Areas to customize your shipping.
Calcurates integrates with major shipping carries such as UPS, FedEx, USPS, DHL, Canada Post, Purolator, Australia Post, Aramex and more.
Calcurates integrates with major shipping carries such as UPS, FedEx, USPS, DHL, Canada Post, Purolator, Australia Post, Aramex and more.
Why Do You Need Shipping Areas?
The Shipping Areas feature is a great choice when you ship to distant states like Alaska, Hawaii, and Puerto Rico. Being separated from the United States, they require specific handling when it comes to shipping. Assigning countries to a different shipping area allows you to create custom scenarios, offer unique shipping options, or restrict deliveries to these areas altogether. Combining this feature with Shipping Rules allows for fine-tuning the different shipping options per your stock category. Shipping Areas are available for Magento 2, Shopify and WooCommerce.
How to Use Shipping Areas
Popular shipping tasks solved
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Free shipping location restrictions
Restrict Free Shipping or any other shipping method for a specific Shipping Area. -
Special location-dependent rates or area-specific promotions
Set up special shipping rates for US distant States (Alaska, Hawaii, Puerto Rico) or British islands, Highlands and Northern Ireland. Easily restrict shipping to certain countries. -
Restrict carrier services by Shipping Areas
Create and assign Shipping Areas to your FedEx, UPS, USPS, or any other carrier services. For example, restrict FedEx Ground or UPS Next Day for a certain Shipping Area. -
Restrict delivery to P.O. boxes
The "Address Line" location attribute can be used in order to restrict delivery to postal office boxes.
Supported E-commerce Platforms
I have only recently used this app, but I can already say that it is exactly what I was looking for. It allows me to set up multi-vendor shipping, so I can save a lot on shipping costs. I also noticed that there are features like dimension-based rates and delivery zone flexibility. Good luck to the developers! Glad I found your app.
5.0
Gaijin Merch Store
5.0
Perfect tool to use for multiple delivery areas with different shipping rates. It works in real time. Very easy to use.
Lords Builders Merchants
5.0
We’ve been using Calcurates on our Shopify store, and it’s been an absolute game-changer for our shipping and checkout process. The app makes it incredibly easy to set up accurate shipping rates, manage different zones, and offer flexible options to customers all without needing complicated coding or workarounds.
If you’re looking for a reliable shipping rates app on Shopify, I highly recommend giving Calcurates a try!
Kooy Brothers Lawn Equipment
5.0
When you have multiple zones with different prices it's really easy to use it and manage to delivery data not just for one website for multiple websites too.
Condell Building Supplies
Shipping Zones - Customer Testimonials
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Shipping Areas — FAQ
Popular questions answered
Shipping zones are geographic areas used to group destinations and apply specific shipping methods, rates, or restrictions. Merchants use shipping zones to organize delivery logic by country, region, city, postcode, or custom service area.
Shipping zones work by assigning delivery rules to defined geographic areas. When a customer enters their destination, the system matches it to a zone and shows the shipping methods and rates configured for that area.
Zone based shipping is a shipping strategy where delivery methods and pricing depend on the geographic zone of the destination. It helps merchants control rates and shipping availability more accurately across different areas.
Shipping area rules are created by defining zones or shipping areas and then attaching shipping methods, restrictions, or rate logic to those areas. This helps merchants manage delivery coverage more precisely.
Delivery zones are set by grouping destinations such as countries, states, regions, cities, or postcode ranges and then assigning shipping options to those groups. This supports structured location-based shipping setup.
Shipping regions are managed by mapping destinations into shipping areas using country, region, postcode, zip code, city, or address data. Merchants can then apply rules and methods to each region separately.
Yes, the Shipping Areas feature is available for Shopify. With Calcurates app for Shopify and its Shipping Areas feature you may create shipping areas and restrict you Shopify shipping methods by countries, states, cities, postcodes / zip codes and address line. Restrict you Shopify shipping to PO boxes. Surcharge, discount or replace shipping rates for certain delivery areas and shipping areas in Shopify.
Shipping Areas by Calcurates are more advanced, flexible and granular than the default Shopify Shipping Zones. For example, with Calcurates app you may set Shipping Areas by cities, postcodes / zip codes and address line, which you cannot do in Shopify.
Yes, the Shipping Areas feature is available for WooCommerce. With Calcurates official plugin for WooCommerce and its Shipping Areas feature you may restrict you WooCommerce shipping methods by countries, states, regions, cities, postcodes / zip codes and address line. Restrict you WooCommerce shipping to PO boxes. Surcharge, discount or replace shipping rates for certain delivery areas and shipping areas in WooCommerce. Configure WooCommerce advanced shipping areas with Calcurates plugin.
Shipping Areas by Calcurates are more advanced, flexible and granular than the default WooCommerce Shipping Zones. For example, with Calcurates app you may set Shipping Areas by states, regions, cities, postcodes / zip codes and address line, which you cannot do in WooCommerce.
Yes, the Shipping Areas feature is available for Magento 2. With Calcurates extension for Magento 2 and its Shipping Areas feature you may restrict you Magento shipping methods by countries, states, cities, postcodes / zip codes and address line. Restrict you Magento shipping to PO boxes. Surcharge, discount or replace shipping rates for certain shipping areas in Magento.
Yes, the Shipping Areas feature is available for Adobe Commerce. With Calcurates extension for Adobe Commerce and its Shipping Areas feature you may restrict you Adobe Commerce shipping methods by countries, states, cities, postcodes / zip codes and address line. Restrict you Adobe Commerce shipping to PO boxes. Surcharge, discount or replace shipping rates for certain shipping areas in Adobe Commerce.
You can create unlimited number of Shipping Areas in Calcurates on any pricing plan.
Yes, Shipping Area conditions based on Postal Code attributes respect alphanumeric inputs. The multiple values can also be pasted into the input field for convenience.
Yes, Calcurates allows you to use postal code ranges as conditions for creating Shipping Areas
Yes, it is possible to use different condition operators such as CONTAINS, IS ONE OF and STARTS/ENDS WITH.
Yes, the affected Shipping Areas may be specified for every Shipping Method created on Step 2 by checking the required areas from the list of created ones.
A Shipping Area may be assigned to a carrier, method or option. For a carrier, it can be specified while editing the carrier service. Shipping Area setting is multiple selection so numerous areas can be selected for one shipping option.
You can create a Shipping Area based on Country, Region, Postal Code, City, Address Line, and Address Type.
Yes, it is possible to use complex conditions with various geo parameters. It is possible to apply AND/OR logic for condition combinations.
Once inside your WordPress dashboard, go to WooCommerce > Settings > Shipping.
- Select Add Shipping Zone.
- Enter the Zone Name.
- Select Limit to Specific ZIP/postcodes.
- Add the postal codes for the specific Zone.
- Select Add Shipping Method and choose desirable one.
From your Shopify admin, go to Settings > Shipping and delivery.
- In the Shipping section, click the shipping profile that you want to add shipping zones to.
- Next to the group of locations where you want to add a shipping zone, click Create zone.
- Enter a name for the shipping zone.
- Select the countries and regions that you want to be in the zone.
- Click Done.
- Add any rates that you want for the zone, and then click Save.
How to Configure Shipping Areas in Calcurates
Shipping Areas is a built-in feature that you get with Calcurates. Configure new areas, customize existing ones, and manage everything through a simple interface and with the help of a step-by-step guide.
USER GUIDE
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