Get a rate estimate for a shipment given a minimal set of shipment details. Unlike
get_rates_from_shipment, this method does not require a full shipment object, making
it ideal for quickly comparing rates across carriers before committing to a shipment.
Please see our docs to learn more about estimating rates.
Note: Rate estimates do not include all possible charges such as fuel surcharges, customs fees, or other carrier-imposed fees. Actual rates may differ when purchasing a label.
The get_rate_estimate method accepts a dictionary of rate estimate params as seen below.
params = {
"carrier_ids": ["se-656171"],
"from_country_code": "US",
"from_postal_code": "78756",
"from_city_locality": "Austin",
"from_state_province": "TX",
"to_country_code": "US",
"to_postal_code": "95128",
"to_city_locality": "San Jose",
"to_state_province": "CA",
"weight": {
"value": 1.0,
"unit": "ounce",
},
"dimensions": {
"unit": "inch",
"length": 5.0,
"width": 5.0,
"height": 5.0,
},
}The get_rate_estimate method returns a list of rate estimates from the specified carriers.
- Pass in a dictionary of params you wish to fetch rate estimates for.
import os
from shipengine import ShipEngine
from shipengine.errors import ShipEngineError
def get_rate_estimate_demo():
api_key = os.getenv("SHIPENGINE_API_KEY")
shipengine = ShipEngine(
{"api_key": api_key, "page_size": 75, "retries": 3, "timeout": 10}
)
try:
params = {
"carrier_ids": ["se-656171"],
"from_country_code": "US",
"from_postal_code": "78756",
"from_city_locality": "Austin",
"from_state_province": "TX",
"to_country_code": "US",
"to_postal_code": "95128",
"to_city_locality": "San Jose",
"to_state_province": "CA",
"weight": {
"value": 1.0,
"unit": "ounce",
},
"dimensions": {
"unit": "inch",
"length": 5.0,
"width": 5.0,
"height": 5.0,
},
}
result = shipengine.get_rate_estimate(params=params)
print("::SUCCESS::")
print(result)
except ShipEngineError as err:
print("::ERROR::")
print(err.to_json())
get_rate_estimate_demo()- Successful
get_rate_estimate()result.
[
{
"rate_type": "check",
"carrier_id": "se-656171",
"shipping_amount": {"currency": "usd", "amount": 20.59},
"insurance_amount": {"currency": "usd", "amount": 0.0},
"confirmation_amount": {"currency": "usd", "amount": 0.0},
"other_amount": {"currency": "usd", "amount": 6.38},
"requested_comparison_amount": {"currency": "usd", "amount": 0.0},
"rate_details": [
{
"rate_detail_type": "shipping",
"carrier_description": "Shipping",
"carrier_billing_code": "BaseServiceCharge",
"carrier_memo": None,
"amount": {"currency": "usd", "amount": 20.59},
"billing_source": "Carrier",
},
{
"rate_detail_type": "fuel_charge",
"carrier_description": "Fuel Surcharge",
"carrier_billing_code": "375",
"carrier_memo": None,
"amount": {"currency": "usd", "amount": 6.38},
"billing_source": "Carrier",
},
],
"zone": None,
"package_type": None,
"carrier_weight": None,
"delivery_days": 2,
"guaranteed_service": True,
"estimated_delivery_date": "2026-04-15T23:00:00Z",
"carrier_delivery_days": "Wednesday 4/15 by 11:00 PM",
"ship_date": "2026-04-13T00:00:00Z",
"negotiated_rate": True,
"service_type": "UPS 2nd Day Air®",
"service_code": "ups_2nd_day_air",
"trackable": True,
"carrier_code": "ups",
"carrier_nickname": "UPS",
"carrier_friendly_name": "UPS",
"display_scheme": None,
"validation_status": "unknown",
"warning_messages": [],
"error_messages": [],
},
{
"rate_type": "check",
"carrier_id": "se-656171",
"shipping_amount": {"currency": "usd", "amount": 23.58},
"insurance_amount": {"currency": "usd", "amount": 0.0},
"confirmation_amount": {"currency": "usd", "amount": 0.0},
"other_amount": {"currency": "usd", "amount": 7.31},
"requested_comparison_amount": {"currency": "usd", "amount": 0.0},
"rate_details": [
{
"rate_detail_type": "shipping",
"carrier_description": "Shipping",
"carrier_billing_code": "BaseServiceCharge",
"carrier_memo": None,
"amount": {"currency": "usd", "amount": 23.58},
"billing_source": "Carrier",
},
{
"rate_detail_type": "fuel_charge",
"carrier_description": "Fuel Surcharge",
"carrier_billing_code": "375",
"carrier_memo": None,
"amount": {"currency": "usd", "amount": 7.31},
"billing_source": "Carrier",
},
],
"zone": None,
"package_type": None,
"carrier_weight": None,
"delivery_days": 2,
"guaranteed_service": True,
"estimated_delivery_date": "2026-04-15T10:30:00Z",
"carrier_delivery_days": "Wednesday 4/15 by 10:30 AM",
"ship_date": "2026-04-13T00:00:00Z",
"negotiated_rate": True,
"service_type": "UPS 2nd Day Air AM®",
"service_code": "ups_2nd_day_air_am",
"trackable": True,
"carrier_code": "ups",
"carrier_nickname": "UPS",
"carrier_friendly_name": "UPS",
"display_scheme": None,
"validation_status": "unknown",
"warning_messages": [],
"error_messages": [],
},
{
"rate_type": "check",
"carrier_id": "se-656171",
"shipping_amount": {"currency": "usd", "amount": 16.46},
"insurance_amount": {"currency": "usd", "amount": 0.0},
"confirmation_amount": {"currency": "usd", "amount": 0.0},
"other_amount": {"currency": "usd", "amount": 5.10},
"requested_comparison_amount": {"currency": "usd", "amount": 0.0},
"rate_details": [
{
"rate_detail_type": "shipping",
"carrier_description": "Shipping",
"carrier_billing_code": "BaseServiceCharge",
"carrier_memo": None,
"amount": {"currency": "usd", "amount": 16.46},
"billing_source": "Carrier",
},
{
"rate_detail_type": "fuel_charge",
"carrier_description": "Fuel Surcharge",
"carrier_billing_code": "375",
"carrier_memo": None,
"amount": {"currency": "usd", "amount": 5.10},
"billing_source": "Carrier",
},
],
"zone": None,
"package_type": None,
"carrier_weight": None,
"delivery_days": 3,
"guaranteed_service": True,
"estimated_delivery_date": "2026-04-16T23:00:00Z",
"carrier_delivery_days": "Thursday 4/16 by 11:00 PM",
"ship_date": "2026-04-13T00:00:00Z",
"negotiated_rate": True,
"service_type": "UPS 3 Day Select®",
"service_code": "ups_3_day_select",
"trackable": True,
"carrier_code": "ups",
"carrier_nickname": "UPS",
"carrier_friendly_name": "UPS",
"display_scheme": None,
"validation_status": "unknown",
"warning_messages": [],
"error_messages": [],
},
{
"rate_type": "check",
"carrier_id": "se-656171",
"shipping_amount": {"currency": "usd", "amount": 9.94},
"insurance_amount": {"currency": "usd", "amount": 0.0},
"confirmation_amount": {"currency": "usd", "amount": 0.0},
"other_amount": {"currency": "usd", "amount": 0.0},
"requested_comparison_amount": {"currency": "usd", "amount": 0.0},
"rate_details": [
{
"rate_detail_type": "shipping",
"carrier_description": "Shipping",
"carrier_billing_code": "BaseServiceCharge",
"carrier_memo": None,
"amount": {"currency": "usd", "amount": 9.94},
"billing_source": "Carrier",
},
],
"zone": None,
"package_type": None,
"carrier_weight": None,
"delivery_days": 4,
"guaranteed_service": True,
"estimated_delivery_date": "2026-04-17T23:00:00Z",
"carrier_delivery_days": "Friday 4/17 by 11:00 PM",
"ship_date": "2026-04-13T00:00:00Z",
"negotiated_rate": True,
"service_type": "UPS® Ground",
"service_code": "ups_ground",
"trackable": True,
"carrier_code": "ups",
"carrier_nickname": "UPS",
"carrier_friendly_name": "UPS",
"display_scheme": None,
"validation_status": "unknown",
"warning_messages": [],
"error_messages": [],
},
{
"rate_type": "check",
"carrier_id": "se-656171",
"shipping_amount": {"currency": "usd", "amount": 50.66},
"insurance_amount": {"currency": "usd", "amount": 0.0},
"confirmation_amount": {"currency": "usd", "amount": 0.0},
"other_amount": {"currency": "usd", "amount": 15.71},
"requested_comparison_amount": {"currency": "usd", "amount": 0.0},
"rate_details": [
{
"rate_detail_type": "shipping",
"carrier_description": "Shipping",
"carrier_billing_code": "BaseServiceCharge",
"carrier_memo": None,
"amount": {"currency": "usd", "amount": 50.66},
"billing_source": "Carrier",
},
{
"rate_detail_type": "fuel_charge",
"carrier_description": "Fuel Surcharge",
"carrier_billing_code": "375",
"carrier_memo": None,
"amount": {"currency": "usd", "amount": 15.71},
"billing_source": "Carrier",
},
],
"zone": None,
"package_type": None,
"carrier_weight": None,
"delivery_days": 1,
"guaranteed_service": True,
"estimated_delivery_date": "2026-04-14T10:30:00Z",
"carrier_delivery_days": "Tomorrow by 10:30 AM",
"ship_date": "2026-04-13T00:00:00Z",
"negotiated_rate": True,
"service_type": "UPS Next Day Air®",
"service_code": "ups_next_day_air",
"trackable": True,
"carrier_code": "ups",
"carrier_nickname": "UPS",
"carrier_friendly_name": "UPS",
"display_scheme": None,
"validation_status": "unknown",
"warning_messages": [],
"error_messages": [],
},
{
"rate_type": "check",
"carrier_id": "se-656171",
"shipping_amount": {"currency": "usd", "amount": 142.57},
"insurance_amount": {"currency": "usd", "amount": 0.0},
"confirmation_amount": {"currency": "usd", "amount": 0.0},
"other_amount": {"currency": "usd", "amount": 44.20},
"requested_comparison_amount": {"currency": "usd", "amount": 0.0},
"rate_details": [
{
"rate_detail_type": "shipping",
"carrier_description": "Shipping",
"carrier_billing_code": "BaseServiceCharge",
"carrier_memo": None,
"amount": {"currency": "usd", "amount": 142.57},
"billing_source": "Carrier",
},
{
"rate_detail_type": "fuel_charge",
"carrier_description": "Fuel Surcharge",
"carrier_billing_code": "375",
"carrier_memo": None,
"amount": {"currency": "usd", "amount": 44.20},
"billing_source": "Carrier",
},
],
"zone": None,
"package_type": None,
"carrier_weight": None,
"delivery_days": 1,
"guaranteed_service": True,
"estimated_delivery_date": "2026-04-14T08:00:00Z",
"carrier_delivery_days": "Tomorrow by 08:00 AM",
"ship_date": "2026-04-13T00:00:00Z",
"negotiated_rate": True,
"service_type": "UPS Next Day Air® Early",
"service_code": "ups_next_day_air_early_am",
"trackable": True,
"carrier_code": "ups",
"carrier_nickname": "UPS",
"carrier_friendly_name": "UPS",
"display_scheme": None,
"validation_status": "unknown",
"warning_messages": [],
"error_messages": [],
},
{
"rate_type": "check",
"carrier_id": "se-656171",
"shipping_amount": {"currency": "usd", "amount": 44.21},
"insurance_amount": {"currency": "usd", "amount": 0.0},
"confirmation_amount": {"currency": "usd", "amount": 0.0},
"other_amount": {"currency": "usd", "amount": 13.70},
"requested_comparison_amount": {"currency": "usd", "amount": 0.0},
"rate_details": [
{
"rate_detail_type": "shipping",
"carrier_description": "Shipping",
"carrier_billing_code": "BaseServiceCharge",
"carrier_memo": None,
"amount": {"currency": "usd", "amount": 44.21},
"billing_source": "Carrier",
},
{
"rate_detail_type": "fuel_charge",
"carrier_description": "Fuel Surcharge",
"carrier_billing_code": "375",
"carrier_memo": None,
"amount": {"currency": "usd", "amount": 13.70},
"billing_source": "Carrier",
},
],
"zone": None,
"package_type": None,
"carrier_weight": None,
"delivery_days": 1,
"guaranteed_service": True,
"estimated_delivery_date": "2026-04-14T23:00:00Z",
"carrier_delivery_days": "Tomorrow by 11:00 PM",
"ship_date": "2026-04-13T00:00:00Z",
"negotiated_rate": True,
"service_type": "UPS Next Day Air Saver®",
"service_code": "ups_next_day_air_saver",
"trackable": True,
"carrier_code": "ups",
"carrier_nickname": "UPS",
"carrier_friendly_name": "UPS",
"display_scheme": None,
"validation_status": "unknown",
"warning_messages": [],
"error_messages": [],
},
]- This method will only throw an exception that is an instance/extension of (ShipEngineError) if there is a problem, such as a network error or an error response from the API.