This popular platform helps creators and makers make sales, but Etsy fees can take a serious chunk of the bottom line.
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Etsy fees have consistently increased, and many sellers ask whether selling on Etsy is worth it. Even though Etsy has been one of the best places for selling art and individual creations online, it’s not the only option.
Keep reading for nine types of Etsy seller fees explained, Etsy seller fee calculation examples, and cheaper Etsy alternatives if you decide to start funneling customers toward other online sales platforms.
How Much Does Etsy Take Per Sale?
For every sale, Etsy takes a $0.20 listing fee, a 6.5% transaction fee that applies to what you charge for the item, as well as shipping and gift wrapping, and a payment processing fee. With some sales, Etsy takes a 2.5% currency conversion fee and an Etsy Ads fee.
Here’s a more detailed snapshot of how much Etsy takes per sale in 2024:
- Listing Fees: $0.20 per listing (listings count as one item or multiple quantities of one item)
- Transaction Fees: 6.5% of the amount you charge for an item
- Shipping & Gift Wrapping Fees: 6.5% of the amount you charge for shipping and gift wrapping
- Etsy Payment Processing Fees: 3% of the transaction price plus $0.25 per transaction (US transactions only; other countries may have different processing fees)
- Currency Conversion Fees: 2.5% of the sale amount
- Etsy Platform Ad Fees: You choose your budget
- Etsy Offsite Ad Fees: 12-15% of the sale price of items bought because a user clicked on an offsite ad
Etsy may also charge fees if you sell items from your online store in person and monthly fees for subscription plans. You could also pay $15/month for an Etsy Pattern website.
9 Types Of Etsy Fees Explained
Some Etsy fees are charged on every item, while others are charged as a monthly subscription. These are the nine major types of Etsy fees explained for US and global sellers.
Etsy Listing Fees
Etsy charges a $0.20 listing fee for each item you put up to sell on the platform. This fee applies to each product you sell.
For example, say you have ten identical ceramic bowls that you are selling individually. You can list all of these identical bowls under the same product page, but after each one sells, you must pay another $0.20 to renew the listing. If you sell all of these bowls, you pay a total of $2 in listing fees.
If, however, you sold a pack of ten bowls as one product, you would pay only one $0.20 listing fee.
Hidden Etsy Fee: Listings expire after four months. After that, Etsy automatically charges a listing renewal fee. You can opt out of automated relisting if you don’t want to be automatically charged for unpopular products.
Etsy Transaction Fees
Etsy’s transaction fee (not to be confused with their payment processing fee) is a fee that Etsy charges to cover the cost of using the platform. Etsy’s transaction fee is 6.5% of the price you charge for your product, including the cost of product customization and gift wrapping.
For sellers in the US and Canada, Etsy does not charge transaction fees on sales tax (unless you include the cost of sales tax in your listing price). However, for sellers outside of the US and Canada, these transaction fees might include the cost of some applicable taxes.
Etsy Shipping Fees
In addition to charging a fee on each transaction, Etsy collects a fee on the amount you charge for shipping. Etsy’s shipping transaction fee is 6.5% of the total cost your customers pay for shipping.
You may offer free shipping to your customers, but you typically build shipping into the cost of the product, so you’ll still be paying the 6.5% in the form of a transaction fee. Free shipping is a great marketing tactic, though, so keep it in mind when you want to run a sale or pique potential buyers’ interest.
You can also purchase shipping labels from Etsy if you use major shipping carriers like USP, USPS, and FedEx. Read our UPS VS USPS VS FedEx comparison to figure out which shipping carrier is right for your business.
Etsy Payment Processing Fees
To accept online payments, all merchants must pay payment processing fees.
To accept payments, you must use Etsy Payments, Etsy’s built-in payment processor, if you are in the US, Canada, the UK, Australia, or one of the other 36 eligible countries. Etsy Payments charges 3% + $0.25 per transaction.
With Etsy Payments, you can accept payments by credit/debit card, Apple Pay, Google Pay, some bank transfer services, and PayPal. If customers pay through PayPal, Etsy Payments rates will apply to these payments instead of PayPal rates.
If Etsy Payments is unavailable in your country, you can use PayPal to accept online payments.
Note: Payment processors like Square and Stripe charge around 2,9% + $0.30 for online payment processing. The lower rates can make a big difference depending on your sales volumes.
In-Person Selling Fees
Etsy has partnered with Square to offer in-person sales features. To accept in-person payments, you’ll need a Square card reader and a Square account that you’ll sync with your Etsy account.
To sell in person, you’ll pay Square’s 2.6% + $0.10 payment processing fee for card-present payments plus the initial $0.20 listing fee you paid to Etsy. You will not have to pay the 6.5% Etsy transaction fee.
For manually entered payments, you are charged a fee of 3.5% of the sale price plus $0.15.
Hidden Fee: If you sell an item via Square that is not synced with your Etsy seller account, Etsy charges a $0.20 “Square manual” transaction fee.
Etsy Pattern Fees
If you want a more personalized website to sell your products, you can use Etsy Pattern, Etsy’s online store builder software. Etsy Pattern costs $15/month plus tax where applicable.
You do not have to pay the $0.20 listing fee or the 6.5% Etsy transaction fee for items listed and sold through your Pattern site. Pattern listings do not expire. You will still need to pay payment processing fees.
Note: You can sign up for a 30-day free trial before committing to a Pattern site long-term.
Currency Conversion Fees
If you sell products in a different currency than your payment account, Etsy charges a 2.5% currency conversion fee.
To avoid foreign currency exchange charges, list your items in the same currency as your bank account. You can also avoid Etsy’s currency conversion fees by receiving payments via PayPal when possible.
Etsy Ad Fees
Over the past few years, Etsy has rolled out some marketing tools for users. These include onsite and offsite ads, which of course, come with fees. Here’s a rundown of these fees:
Etsy Ads Fees
Etsy allows sellers to market their products within the marketplace via Etsy Ads. These ads are available with pay-per-click pricing, and the cost of each click will vary depending on demand. You can set a budget that limits the amount you’re willing to pay for onsite ads daily, and Etsy will list your ads until you reach that daily maximum.
Offsite Ads Fees
Etsy’s Offsite Ads are the newest development in Etsy’s advertising. All users are automatically enrolled for Offsite Ads, with the option to opt-out available to sellers who have made less than $10,000 in sales in the past year. Fees are only incurred when you make a sale linked to one of these ads.
With Offsite Ads, Etsy will market your products on major sites like Google, Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, and Bing. When someone clicks an ad that includes one of your products and then purchases from your Etsy shop within 30 days, you are charged an advertising fee on that order total.
The Etsy Offsite Ads fee is 12% or 15%, depending on your annual sales volumes.
For those who made under $10,000 in sales in the past year, the Offsite Ads fee is 15% and it’s an optional service.
However, if you made over $10,000 in sales in the past year, Offsite Ads are mandatory for the lifetime of your shop, even if you later fall below the $10,000 threshold. Etsy charges sellers who make over $10,000 per year a discounted rate of 12% on purchases made through the ads.
Hidden Etsy Fee: If a buyer clicks on an offsite ad and makes multiple purchases from your Etsy shop within 30 days of clicking that ad, all their purchases are subject to offsite ad fees, even if their purchases are not for items listed in offsite ads. This is because Etsy “attributes all sales” to the ad within that 30-day timeframe.
Plus Plan Fees
Etsy offers a paid Plus plan ($10/month) that includes all the features of the basic Etsy seller account plus:
- Banner options and new layouts of featured listings
- Customer restock requests for sold-out items
- 15 listing credits every month (the equivalent of $3 in listings)
- $5 in Etsy Ads credits every month, which you can use to get found in places like Etsy Category pages and Etsy search results
- Free .store domains
- 50% off select domain extensions (.com, .net, and .ca)
- Discounts on a custom web address
- Discounts on custom packaging and promotional materials
The Plus Plan also offers credits and discounts on additional Etsy services. Note that credits must be used within the monthly period and do not roll over.
Is Etsy Worth The Cost?
So, are Etsy costs worth the cost for your business? That depends on your profit margins and how much you value the built-in customer base. Here are two example cases, one from a high-volume seller and one from a low-volume seller.
In the first example, let’s imagine that you make bracelets that cost you $5 to produce, and you sell them on your platform for $10 each. You also charge a $5 flat fee for shipping. Here’s a breakdown of what the associated costs and fees would be.
- Cost Of Production: $5.00
- 6.5% Transaction Fee: $0.33
- 6.5% Shipping Transaction Fee: $0.33
- 3% + $0.25 Payment Processing Fee: $0.70
- Listing Fee: $0.20
- Total Expenses: $6.56
When we subtract the cost of making the product and the expenses related to fees, we end up with a $3.44 profit margin. In this example, you’d likely need to raise your pricing to increase your profit margins and better account for Etsy’s seller fees.
In the second example, let’s say that you make custom tables from upcycled wood, which costs $150 to make. A buyer sees an ad on Google Shopping for one of your tables and buys it for $449, with free shipping. It costs you $50 to ship the table, though. Your store also makes over $10,000 per year, so you are charged a 12% offsite ad fee. The total cost to make and sell this table would break down like this:
- Cost Of Production: $150
- 6.5% Transaction Fee: $29.19
- Shipping Cost For You: $50
- 3% + $0.25 Payment Processing Fee: $13.72
- Listing Fee: $0.20
- 12% Offsite Ad Fee: $53.88
- Total Expenses: $296.99
You end up paying around $296.99 to create your product, list it on Etsy, and ship it to your customer, leaving you with a $152.01 profit on a table you probably worked hard on for weeks.
In this example, it would be worth considering an alternative to Etsy, such as selling on your own online store.
If Etsy’s fees are too complicated or expensive, our experts recommend trying Square. You can sell in person, online, and through your own social posts.
How To Offset Etsy Seller Fees
To make a profit on Etsy, you have to pay close attention to the cost of doing business on the platform. To offset or remove some Etsy seller fees, you can:
- Increase prices to account for fees
- Find lower-cost materials that don’t significantly impact product quality
- Reduce the weight and volume of your packages to reduce shipping costs
- Compare shipping carriers to find the most cost-effective one for you
- Advertise on blogs and social media so you won’t need to pay for Etsy ads
- Sell in person with a Square card reader to get lower payment processing fees
- Remove listings that aren’t selling so you don’t pay the renewal fee
To avoid Etsy fees entirely, consider Etsy alternatives for selling your items. Or, sell on Etsy and another platform to get exposure on Etsy but redirect buyers to your own online sales platform.
Etsy Alternatives For Sellers
If you don’t want to pay listing fees, constantly update pricing to account for Etsy fee increases, or pay Etsy transaction fees, consider the following Etsy alternatives.
Etsy VS Shopify
Shopify is a very popular online store builder that charges a flat monthly subscription fee for you to create a unique, highly user-friendly online store that also works on social media platforms like TikTok and Instagram.
There are no fees to list items. If you use Shopify’s built-in payment processor, you’ll pay no transaction fees and lower payment processing fees.
If you’re not ready to move off of Etsy entirely because you like the built-in exposure, Shopify directly connects to Etsy so you can manage your inventory and sales on both platforms from one place. If you are ready to make the jump entirely, Shopify has an item importer that makes funneling Etsy product listings very easy.
Read our Shopify review to help you decide whether Shopify is right for your small business.
Etsy VS Square
Square offers several products for small business owners to sell for free, including the free Square Online store builder and the free Square Point of Sale (POS) app. There are no listing, transaction, or monthly subscription fees with Square.
The only fees you’ll pay are for processing payments, which you will have to pay no matter how you take credit/debit cards and other digital payment types. Square’s payment processing fees are lower than Etsy’s.
Read our Square Online review to decide whether this completely free online sales platform is right for you, plus our Square POS app review to learn more about how to sell at craft shows for free. The Square app is one of the best POS systems for small businesses.
Note: You can technically integrate Square with an existing Etsy store to accept in-person payments. However, you’ll still have to pay Etsy-related fees to do this, so we recommend moving away from Etsy altogether if you want to use Square for selling online and in person.
Etsy VS eBay
eBay is a seller platform like Etsy that allows people to sell handmade, vintage, and mass-produced items, although most use eBay to buy items secondhand.
eBay also has listing and transaction fees. You can list up to 200 items per month before listing fees kick in. The transaction fee is between 10% and 12%, but the transaction fee includes payment processing, so the cost may be comparable to Etsy.
The site is great for auctioning off high-value items because of its unique auction function, and you’ll only pay $750 max in fees despite your calculated transaction fees.
Etsy VS Redbubble
Redbubble is a popular print-on-demand marketplace where sellers can upload their designs and get a percentage of sales made from t-shirts, stickers, mugs, and other physical items on which their pattern prints. It’s a great place to make money on a lot of different items using one design, usually a design that’s trendy or funny, without having to make any upfront investment.
It doesn’t cost anything to set up your Redbubble store, and you don’t have to physically make or ship any items. So, it’s worth the effort to set one a Redbubble shop if you have funny or cute ideas for t-shirts, leggings, stickers, phone cases, prints, shoes, etc.
It’s important to find the right commission rate to make selling on the platform worth it, though. You could also use Redbubble for exposure and then drive people towards your own website if you want to start making products on your own (and making more money per product).
The Bottom Line: Is Selling On Etsy Worth It For Your Business?
Selling on Etsy could be worth it if you get a lot of exposure and sales on the marketplace. You also have the option to list items on Etsy for exposure but redirect people toward a different online sales platform. Also, read our guide on when and how to leave Etsy if you’re ready to leave the platform.