📋 Using Magento 2? This guide covers Shopify setup only. See Getting started with the Magento extension instead.
Prerequisites
Before you begin, make sure your Shopify store meets the following requirements:
Shopify plan: Advanced or Plus plans are recommended. If you're on the Basic or Shopify (Grow) plan, you must have an annual subscription. Carrier Calculated Shipping must be enabled — it's included by default on Advanced and Plus. If you're on the Shopify (Grow) plan, contact Shopify Support to request it.
No active cross-border provider: If you're already using a cross-border provider such as Shopify's built-in service, Global-e, or Zonos, remove it completely before continuing.
Taxes and duties not collected through Shopify: If Shopify is currently calculating taxes and duties, disable this first. See How to remove taxes and duties from international markets for instructions.
Step 1: Install Swap Global
Download and install the Swap Global app from the Shopify App Store.
Grant Swap permission to access Shipping and Delivery. The only Shopify permission required is Manage Settings.
Step 2: Set up your shipping zones and market
Swap Global needs shipping zones to calculate shipping rates, taxes, and duties. A shipping zone is a geographical area that determines which rates, taxes, and duties apply to orders shipped there.
ℹ️ If your store already has international shipping zones set up, skip to Step 3.
For background on how these work, see Understanding shipping zones and Understanding Shopify Markets.
In Shopify, go to Settings → Markets and click Add Market.
Shopify creates some markets automatically. To use one of these, activate it rather than creating a new one.
Select the countries to include in this market and save.
Go to Settings → Shipping and Delivery and click General shipping rates.
Add a shipping zone covering one or more countries in the new market.
If all countries share the same shipping rules, they can sit within a single zone. If the rules differ, split the market across multiple zones.
Important: each shipping zone in Shopify must have at least one rate defined. Swap Global replaces these rates when active, but Shopify falls back to them if Global is ever disabled.
Step 3: Import your shipping zones to Swap
After completing Steps 1 and 2, your Swap onboarding manager will enable your store. The first time you log into the Swap Dashboard, a pop-up will guide you through importing your Shopify shipping zones.
On the pop-up, click Let's start.
If you've previously dismissed this pop-up, go to Shipping zones in the left-hand menu and click Import Shipping Zones.
Select the shipping zones you want to import into Swap. Swap Global will act as the carrier for these zones and handle all shipping, tax, and duty calculations.
Click Migrate/Import Zones To Swap.
Zones that have already been migrated will be greyed out.
Once the migration is complete, the imported zones in Swap will be set to inactive. Activate them to have Swap Global control the rates.
⚠️ Known issue: Zones should only be marked as 'Already Migrated' if the Swap carrier service is present — but a known bug marks any zone containing any carrier service the same way. To work around this, remove carrier services from a zone before migrating it, or migrate manually.
Step 4: Test your setup
In Shopify, go to Settings → Shipping and Delivery and click General shipping rates.
Confirm that Swap is the only rate listed in your international shipping zones. Your domestic market should not be managed by Swap.
3. In the Swap Dashboard, review the shipping rates and confirm they look correct.
4. Go to your storefront, add items to the basket, and enter a shipping address outside your domestic market. Confirm that Swap Global is calculating taxes, duties, and shipping correctly.