Essential Free Shipping Bar, listed on Shopify as Essential Free Shipping Upsell, shows a progress bar that tells shoppers how far they are from free shipping or another cart goal, such as a discount code. It can sit in the top bar, on product pages, in the cart or in a cart drawer, and can recommend products to help shoppers reach the goal. It launched in 2022 and comes from Essential Apps, the developer of Essential Announcement Bar.
Key features
- Free shipping or custom cart goals with progress messages and rewards.
- Placement in the top bar, on product pages, in the cart and in cart drawers.
- Product upsells and cross-sells next to the bar, with revenue tracking (Essential plan and higher).
- Translations, multiple currencies, geolocation targeting and product exclusions.
Pricing and trial
The Shopify listing shows a free plan for up to 1,000 monthly views with unlimited top bar and product page bars, Starter at $9.99/month (10,000 views, geolocation targeting and product exclusions), Essential at $14.99/month (50,000 views, cart page bars, upsell products and analytics) and Professional at $29.99/month (unlimited views). Paid plans include a 7-day free trial.
Rating and reviews
Essential Free Shipping Bar has 5.0 from 983 Shopify reviews, 97% of them five-star, with only six ratings of three stars or fewer. Merchants praise the simple setup, the look of the bar and quick support that fixes issues within hours. An October 2026 review reported that the cart bar still appeared for excluded products; the developer replied that it had contacted the merchant to review the setup.
Pitfalls
The free plan's 1,000 views a month suits only small stores, and cart page bars and upsells need the $14.99 Essential plan. The bar only announces the threshold; free shipping itself is configured in Shopify's shipping settings, so keep both in sync. If you also run a cart drawer or upsell app, check that the bar and product recommendations do not duplicate each other.
Conclusion
Essential Free Shipping Bar suits stores that want a free shipping goal and simple cart upsells in one place. For a free shipping bar with Shopify Markets thresholds and currency conversion on one paid plan, compare Hextom Free Shipping Bar.
Prices in USD. Pricing and ratings checked in October 2026.
