WooCommerce Distance Rate Shipping

Yes. WooCommerce Distance Rate Shipping is a WooCommerce shipping extension that calculates delivery rates based on the distance from your store or dispatch location to your customer's address. It can also charge based on total travel time to the destination, so nearby customers and distant customers can be quoted different rates automatically at checkout.

Yes. Alongside distance, Distance Rate Shipping can calculate rates using the total travel time along the route to your customer. This is useful for local delivery businesses where drive time matters more than raw mileage, such as meal prep services, florists, or same-day couriers working in areas with variable traffic or road access.

Yes. You can build rules that factor in the weight of the cart, the total cart value, or the number of items, in addition to distance or travel time. For example, you might charge more to deliver heavier or larger orders further away. With Advanced Mode, you can combine multiple conditions using AND/OR logic, such as offering free delivery to customers within a set radius who also spend above a certain amount.

Yes. You can create a rule that applies no delivery cost for orders inside a chosen distance, then charge for anything beyond that range. Distance Rate Shipping gives you tools to reward nearby customers with free or reduced delivery while still covering your costs on longer trips, which can help encourage local orders.

Yes. You can set a maximum distance so the method only applies within your delivery area. If a customer's address falls outside that range, the rate will not be offered and they will see a message that delivery is not available for their location. This helps you keep deliveries within a radius you can realistically service.

It is designed for businesses that deliver their own products or services and want delivery fees to reflect real travel distance or time. Common examples include equipment hire companies, takeaway and home-cooked meal services, furniture and bulky goods sellers, and local businesses running their own delivery routes. It works well when a flat shipping fee would overcharge nearby customers or undercharge distant ones.

Distance Rate Shipping may not be the right fit if your rates depend on carrier pricing, geographic zones, or fixed rule tables rather than travel distance. If you want live carrier rates and discounted labels from USPS, UPS, DHL, or FedEx, look at WooCommerce Shipping. If you need detailed rate tables based on weight, item count, or destination, Table Rate Shipping is likely a better match. To simply show or hide shipping and payment options based on cart contents or location, consider Conditional Shipping and Payments.

Distance Rate Shipping calculates costs from the actual driving distance or travel time between your location and the customer, using mapping data to work out the route. Table Rate Shipping instead uses rate tables based on factors like weight, item count, shipping class, and destination, without measuring real-world distance. Choose Distance Rate Shipping when the trip itself drives your cost, and Table Rate Shipping when your pricing follows structured rules and zones.

Yes. This extension uses Google Maps to work out the route and distance to your customer, so you need a Google account with an API key and billing enabled. Google provides a free usage allowance and may charge for calls beyond that cap, so any mapping costs are billed by Google rather than WooCommerce. Setup is guided in the documentation, and the shipping method is added to a WooCommerce shipping zone once connected.

Yes. Each rule can include a handling fee as a fixed amount or a percentage, added on top of the base cost and any distance or travel time charges. This gives you tools to cover packing, fuel, or preparation costs without building them into the per-mile rate.

Yes. You can choose to display the calculated distance and an approximate delivery duration on the cart and checkout pages. Showing this information can make delivery pricing feel more transparent, which may help reduce surprise-fee cart abandonment.

Yes. You can select the transportation mode used for delivery and choose to avoid tolls, highways, or ferries when the route is calculated. You can also switch between metric and imperial units so distances match how you and your customers think about travel.

Yes. Instead of maintaining long lists of manual regional rates, Distance Rate Shipping calculates each customer's delivery cost automatically from their address at checkout. For businesses adding new delivery areas over time, this can streamline pricing and cut down on repetitive admin. For a wider view of setting up delivery options, see this guide on how to set up your WooCommerce shipping strategy.

Yes. WooCommerce Distance Rate Shipping is compatible with the cart and checkout blocks and with High Performance Order Storage, so it fits into modern WooCommerce store setups. It is available to stores worldwide.