Skip to main content

Create Buy 3, Cheapest Item is Free Deals in WooCommerce (B2G1 Smart Discounts)

Learn how to create powerful "Buy 3, Cheapest Item is Free" deals in WooCommerce using the Discount Rules and Dynamic Pricing for WooCommerce plugin. This complete guide covers smart BOGO promotions where the system automatically identifies and discounts the cheapest item when customers purchase three products. Perfect for mix-and-match category promotions and storewide offers.

📋 Table of Contents​

🚀 Understanding Buy 3, Cheapest is Free Deals​

Buy 3, Cheapest Item is Free (also known as B2G1 or Buy 2 Get 1 Free) is one of the most effective retail promotions . This smart BOGO strategy automatically identifies and discounts the lowest-priced item when a customer purchases three qualifying products .

Why Use Buy 3, Cheapest is Free?​

StrategyBest ForExample
Mix-and-match promotionsCustomers buying different productsBuy any 3 Shirts, cheapest is free
Category-wide salesPromoting entire product linesBuy any 3 items from Clothing, cheapest is free
Storewide offersMaximum sales impactBuy any 3 products storewide, cheapest is free
Profit optimizationMinimizing giveaway costSystem automatically discounts lowest-priced item

How It Works​

When you create a "Buy 3, Cheapest is Free" rule, the plugin automatically :

  1. Identifies when a customer adds 3 or more qualifying products to their cart
  2. Calculates which item has the lowest price
  3. Applies 100% discount to the cheapest item
  4. Recalculates the total when quantities change

Key Feature: The system automatically selects the cheapest item as the free product . This minimizes profit loss while still driving higher cart values .

How "Cheapest" Works​

When you select a category or "All products" for both Purchased Items and Discounted Products, the plugin:

  • Calculates the total price of all qualifying items
  • Identifies the lowest-priced item in the cart
  • Applies the discount to that specific item

Example Scenario:

  • Item A (Shirt): $50
  • Item B (Shirt): $40
  • Item C (Shirt): $30 (cheapest)

Result: Item C is free! Customer pays $90 for three items .

Now you're ready to create Buy 3, Cheapest is Free rules under the Woo Pricing & Discounts > Pricing tab.

Step-by-Step: Create a Buy 3, Cheapest is Free Deal​

Best for: Encouraging customers to buy more by offering the cheapest item free. Perfect for mix-and-match promotions, category sales, and storewide offers.

Scenario: Create a "Category B2G1: Buy 3, Cheapest is Free" deal where customers can mix items from the Shirts category, and the system automatically makes the cheapest item free.

Step 1: Access Pricing and Choose a Template​

  1. In your WordPress admin, go to the Woo Pricing & Discounts menu
  2. Open the Pricing tab
  3. Click on the Add from Template button to quickly start a new rule

Add from Template button - Pricing tab

  1. In the "Choose your desired campaign" modal, search for templates
  2. Under BOGO, find and select "Category B2G1: Buy 3, Cheapest is Free"
  3. Click "Add Campaign"

Buy 3 Cheapest is Free template selection

Step 2: Configure the Discount Rule​

Buy 3 Cheapest is Free discount configuration

  1. Name: "Category B2G1: Buy 3, Cheapest is Free" (customizable)
  2. Status: Ensure Enable is checked
  3. Mode: Select "Buy x Get y - different product" for cross-product BOGO offers
  4. Apply Mode: Choose how this rule interacts with other pricing rules
    • Apply with other applicable rules (Non-Exclusive): Works alongside other discounts
    • Apply this rule and disregard other rules - Exclusive: Disregards all other applicable rules
    • Apply if other rules are not applicable: Acts as a fallback

Step 3: Configure Quantity Calculation​

Under Quantity Based On, select "Sum of all products quantities" to calculate total quantity across all products:

Quantity based on sum of all products quantities

Step 4: Configure Display Options​

Buy 3 Cheapest is Free display options

  1. Message Type: Select "Text Message"
  2. Message Background Color: (Optional) Customize the message box background color
  3. Message Color: (Optional) Customize the message text color
  4. Buy Message: Set a message displayed on the product page, e.g., "Buy 3, Cheapest is Free"
  5. Message: Set a message displayed on the discounted products page
  6. Repeat: Enable this option to apply the discount repeatedly when possible
    • Repeat means that this discount will be applied more than once when possible
    • For example, if a customer buys 6 items with Repeat enabled, they get 2 cheapest items free
    • With Repeat disabled, they would only get 1 free item regardless of quantity
  7. Usage Limit: Leave blank for unlimited uses

Step 5: Set the Purchase Rule​

Under the Purchase Rule section, you define the B2G1 logic:

Buy 3, Cheapest is Free purchase rule configuration

  1. Purchase: Set the quantity the customer must buy (e.g., 2)
  2. Receive: Set the quantity the customer receives for free (e.g., 1)
  3. Discount Type: Choose "Percentage discount" with discount value 100 for free items
  4. Discount: Set the discount value (e.g., 100 for 100% off)

Example: For "Buy 3, Cheapest is Free":

  • Purchase: 2
  • Receive: 1
  • Discount Type: Percentage discount
  • Discount: 100

Note: With this configuration, the system automatically applies the discount to the cheapest qualifying item in the cart .

Step 6: Select Purchased Items (Buy Products)​

Under the Purchased Items section, you define which products qualify for the offer:

For Storewide Offers​

  1. Add "All products" to apply the rule across your entire store

All products for Purchased Items

For Category Offers​

  1. Add a "Categories in list" condition
  2. Search for and select your desired categories

Select categories for Purchased Items

Example: In our tutorial, we'll select Shirts category.

Step 7: Select Discounted Products (Get Products)​

Under the Discounted products section, you define which products can be given away for free:

For Storewide Offers​

  1. Add "All products" to allow any product to be the free item

All products for Discounted Products

For Category Offers​

  1. Add a "Categories in list" condition
  2. Search for and select the same categories as the Purchased Items

Select categories for Discounted Products

Example: In our tutorial, we'll select Shirts category.

⚠️ Important: For the "cheapest" logic to work correctly, the purchased items and discounted products should be from the same category (or both set to "All products") . The system will then automatically identify and discount the cheapest item among all qualifying products in the cart.

tip

For detailed information on filtering products by categories, variations, attributes, stock status, or dynamic segments, check out our Product Selection Guide.

Step 8: Exclude Products (Optional)​

The Excluded Products section allows you to exclude specific products from the B2G1 deal:

  1. Under the Excluded Products section, add a "Products in list" condition
  2. Search for and select the products you want to exclude from the deal
  3. Add multiple excluded products to the search field

Step 9: Schedule the Deal (Optional)​

By default, the campaign is unscheduled and runs immediately:

Unscheduled discount

For scheduled promotions, under the "Date Time" section to configure:

  • Date Range - Run a promotion over a period
  • Date Time Range - Precise start and end date/time for flash sales
  • Specific Date - Single date activation
  • Days - Recurring weekly promotions
  • Time - Daily time ranges

Schedule for a date period

Use "+ And New Rule" to combine conditions or "+ OR New Group" for alternative schedules.

tip

For a deep dive into timezone setup, recurring schedules, and multi-tier scheduling logic, read our comprehensive Scheduling & Date-Time Guide.

Step 10: Save and Test​

Click Save and test by adding different products to the cart.

Buy 3 Cheapest is Free

Result Example​

Product Page - Category B2G1 Display​

The product page displays:

  • "Buy 3, Cheapest is Free" message
  • Promotional badge indicating the B2G1 offer

Buy 3 Cheapest is Free on product page

Cart Example - Buy 3 Items, Cheapest is Free​

Cart with 3 items from Shirts category:

  • Shirt - Cream: $25.00
  • Shirt - Green: $25.00
  • Shirt: $20.00 (cheapest - free!)

Subtotal: $50.00 (Original: $70.00) You Saved: $20.00

Buy 3 Cheapest is Free applied in cart

Cart Example - Buy 6 Items with Repeat Enabled​

Cart with 6 items from Shirts category (Repeat enabled):

  • Shirt 1: $25.00
  • Shirt 2: $25.00
  • Shirt 3: $20.00 (cheapest - free!)
  • Shirt 4: $25.00
  • Shirt 5: $25.00
  • Shirt 6: $20.00 (cheapest - free!)

Subtotal: $100.00 (Original: $140.00) You Saved: $40.00

Note: With Repeat enabled, the plugin automatically creates a pattern of "Buy 3, Cheapest is Free" repeatedly . The cheapest items are automatically identified and discounted.

Quick Reference Table​

B2G1 ScenarioPurchaseReceiveDiscount TypeDiscountExample
Buy 3, Cheapest is Free (Category)3 items from category1 cheapest itemPercentage1003 items, cheapest free
Buy 3, Cheapest is Free (Storewide)3 items storewide1 cheapest itemPercentage1003 items, cheapest free
Buy 4, Cheapest is Free4 items1 cheapest itemPercentage1004 items, cheapest free
Buy 4, Cheapest is Free (Repeat)8 items2 cheapest itemsPercentage1008 items, 2 cheapest free

🎉 Success!​

You've learned how to create "Buy 3, Cheapest is Free" deals using the Discount Rules and Dynamic Pricing plugin for WooCommerce. This powerful feature allows you to:

  • Create smart BOGO promotions that automatically identify the cheapest item
  • Run mix-and-match category promotions where customers can combine different products
  • Offer storewide deals that apply to all products
  • Minimize profit loss while still driving higher cart values

The "Cheapest is Free" logic automatically identifies the lowest-priced item in the cart, applying the discount where it costs you the least . This makes it one of the most profitable BOGO strategies available.

Try it Live & Explore PRO

Experience all discount rules and pricing strategies in action on our Live Demo Website.

Upgrade to Discount Rules and Dynamic Pricing for WooCommerce PRO to unlock advanced conditions, user role pricing, recurring schedules, tiered variations, and priority support.

📚 Next Steps​

Now that you've mastered Buy 3 Cheapest Item Free deals, explore related multi-item promotions:

🔍 SEO Keywords​

Primary Keywords: buy 3 cheapest item is free WooCommerce, B2G1 WooCommerce, WooCommerce discount rules, dynamic pricing WooCommerce, cheapest item free WooCommerce, BOGO deals WooCommerce

Secondary Keywords: category B2G1, storewide B2G1, buy 3 get cheapest free, BOGO cheapest item, mix and match BOGO, WooCommerce category BOGO, smart BOGO deals, B2G1 profit optimization, WooCommerce B2G1 plugin, Discount Rules and Dynamic Pricing plugin