---
title: "How to Charge Shipping on Subscription Renewals"
description: "How shipping is calculated and charged on each renewal charge of a subscription"
url: https://help.cartgenie.com/en/articles/213-how-to-charge-shipping-on-subscription-renewals
collection: "Subscriptions FAQ"
updated: 2026-10-28
language: en
---
# How to Charge Shipping on Subscription Renewals
How shipping is calculated and charged on each renewal charge of a subscription
When selling subscription products, shipping charges are automatically included in the customer’s initial order based on the product’s shipping settings and the shipping method selected at checkout.
You can also choose whether shipping should be charged again on future subscription renewals.
## **Charge for Shipping on Subscription Renewals**
When a subscription product has shipping enabled, CartGenie displays a **Charge for shipping on subscription renewals** setting.
- **Enabled (default):** Shipping charges are calculated and billed on each renewal order.
- **Disabled:** Renewal orders receive free shipping.
Disabling this setting only affects future subscription renewals. Any shipping charged on the customer’s initial checkout remains unchanged.
## **How Renewal Shipping Is Calculated**
When shipping charges are enabled for renewals, CartGenie recalculates shipping for each subscription renewal using the same shipping method the customer selected during checkout.
The original shipping amount charged on the initial order is not reused. Instead, CartGenie performs a new shipping calculation for the renewal based on the selected shipping method and the quantity of items included in that subscription.
> **Success:** This helps prevent customers who purchased a large initial order of one-time items from paying a large shipping cost for each renewal.
### **Subscription Grouping**
When a customer purchases multiple quantities of the same subscription product with the same billing interval, CartGenie calculates shipping using the combined quantity for that subscription.
For example, if a customer purchases:
- 1 × Coffee Subscription (Monthly)
- 2 × Filter Subscription (Monthly)
Each subscription is calculated independently based on its own quantity and shipping requirements.
### **Example: Per-Unit Shipping**
If the selected shipping method charges **$5 per unit**:
Subscription | Quantity | Renewal Shipping |
Coffee | 1 | $5 |
Filters | 2 | $10 |
The customer would be charged shipping separately for each subscription renewal.
### **Example: Per-Order Shipping**
If the selected shipping method charges **$5 per order**:
Subscription | Quantity | Renewal Shipping |
Coffee | 1 | $5 |
Filters | 2 | $5 |
Because shipping is calculated per order, the quantity does not increase the shipping cost.
### **Example: Weight-Based Shipping**
For weight-based shipping methods, each subscription is calculated using only the products included in that subscription renewal.
For example:
- A monthly coffee subscription would be calculated using the weight of 1 coffee package.
- A monthly filter subscription with quantity 2 would be calculated using the combined weight of both filter packs.
Shipping costs for one subscription do not affect the shipping calculation of another subscription renewal.
## What happens if a customer uses a free shipping coupon?
If a free shipping coupon is applied at checkout, then the initial order’s shipping is free, **but subsequent renewals will not have free shipping.**
If your store offers a free shipping method (no coupon required) and it is selected by the customer, then renewals will also have free shipping.
## **When to Disable Renewal Shipping Charges**
You may want to disable shipping charges on renewals if:
- Shipping is already included in your subscription pricing.
- You offer free shipping as a subscriber benefit.
- You want customers to pay shipping only on their initial order.
When disabled, customers will continue to be billed for the subscription itself, but no shipping charges will be added to future renewal orders.