How much does Etsy take from sellers? On a typical US sale, Etsy’s core fees come to roughly 10% to 11% of the order total: a 6.5% transaction fee, payment processing of about 3% plus a fixed amount per order, and a small listing fee. If the sale comes through Etsy’s Offsite Ads, add another 12% to 15%, and the total can pass 25%. Advertising, shipping labels and currency conversion sit on top of that.
Figures below reflect American rates at the time of writing. They get revised, and they differ between countries, so confirm against the marketplace’s Fees & Payments Policy before relying on any number here. What rarely changes is the shape of the bill. Learn that first.
Every Etsy seller fee, in one table
| Fee | What it is | US rate at the time of writing |
|---|---|---|
| Listing fee | Charged to publish a listing, and again when it auto-renews or sells | $0.20 per listing, lasting four months |
| Transaction fee | A share of the total order, including shipping and gift wrap | 6.5% |
| Payment processing fee | Charged through Etsy Payments, varies by country | About 3% plus $0.25 per order in the US |
| Offsite Ads fee | Only on sales from Etsy’s ads on other websites | 15%, or 12% for shops above $10,000 in yearly sales, capped at $100 per order |
| Etsy Ads | Optional on-site advertising | Cost per click, set by your budget |
| Currency conversion | When you list in a currency different from your payment account | 2.5% |
| Regulatory operating fee | In certain countries, on sales from shops there | A small percentage, varies by country |
| Shipping labels | If bought through Etsy | Carrier rate for the label |
| Etsy Plus | Optional subscription with extra tools | Monthly fee |
Offsite Ads are the charge that surprises people. Most storefronts can opt out, but any shop that crossed $10,000 in revenue during the previous twelve months stays enrolled permanently, at the reduced rate. Either way, you pay only when a click converts within the attribution window. My advice? Decide deliberately, based on margins, rather than discovering the deduction on a monthly statement weeks later, when the orders that triggered it are long gone and the money has already left your account.
A worked example: what Etsy takes from a $30 sale
Illustrative, using the US rates above. An item sells for $30 with $5 shipping, so the order total is $35.
| Line | Calculation | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Listing fee | Flat | $0.20 |
| Transaction fee | 6.5% of $35 | $2.28 |
| Payment processing | 3% of $35 + $0.25 | $1.30 |
| Core Etsy fees | $3.78, about 10.8% | |
| Offsite Ads, if the sale came from one | 15% of $35 | $5.25 |
| Total with Offsite Ads | $9.03, about 25.8% |
So on the same sale, Etsy takes about $3.78 normally and about $9.03 when the buyer arrived through an Offsite Ad. Price with the second number in mind if you are in the program. I’d rather set a price that survives the worst case than hope most sales come in organically.
Note what the 6.5% attaches to. Postage counts, not merely the item. Shifting cost from delivery into the product price won’t shrink the deduction, though it may lift search placement, since cheaper delivery gets favored.
The costs that are not Etsy fees
Postage. Whatever each label costs, wherever you buy it. I’d compare carriers once a year at minimum.
Materials, packaging and your time. Obvious. Routinely forgotten by makers who price by “feel”.
Refunds. Reversing an order generally doesn’t bring every deduction back to you. Check the current terms, since they determine what a refund genuinely costs.
Advertising you choose to run. Promoted-listing spend is a genuine per-order cost. I’d track it item by item, never shop-wide, because averages hide it beautifully.
How to price so Etsy’s fees are covered
Most pricing advice for makers starts with materials and time. Mine starts with the fees, because they are a percentage and everything else is a fixed amount, and that difference changes the math.
Work backwards from the profit you want. Add up materials, packaging, your time at an honest hourly rate, and the profit you want per item. Call that your base. Then divide the base by what remains after percentage fees, not multiply the base by a markup.
If core fees are about 10% of the order, you keep roughly 90 cents of each dollar, so you divide by 0.9. Enrolled in Offsite Ads? Then some sales keep only about 75 cents, and I’d divide by something closer to 0.75 for the listings most likely to be advertised. Simple. Unglamorous. It stops the slow leak of fees eating the profit you thought you had priced in.
Then check the price against the market, not the other way round. If the fee-covering price is far above comparable listings, the answer is rarely to cut the price. It is usually to lower costs, raise perceived value with better photos and descriptions, or accept that this item is not worth making.
Revisit prices whenever Etsy changes fees. A percentage increase applied to every sale compounds quietly, and I’d rather adjust once, deliberately, than absorb it indefinitely.
Ways to keep more of each sale
- Price for the full fee stack, including Offsite Ads if you are enrolled, rather than for the core fees alone. I’d put this above every other tip here.
- Watch listing renewals. Auto-renew charges the listing fee again, which is sensible for items that sell and wasteful for ones that never do. Honestly, I’d switch it off for anything unsold after two renewals.
- Use Share & Save. Etsy has offered sellers a credit on sales that come through links they share themselves. Check whether it is currently available to your shop.
- List in the currency of your payment account to avoid the conversion fee where you can.
- Review Etsy Ads by listing, stopping spend on listings that get clicks without sales.
- Track costs per item with SKUs, so you know which listings still earn after fees. I’d start this early. Our guide to what SKU means on Etsy covers setting them up.
How Etsy compares with Amazon Handmade
Makers often weigh Etsy against Amazon Handmade, Amazon’s marketplace for handcrafted goods. Our comparison of Etsy alternatives for sellers covers eBay, Mercari, Faire and others too.
| Etsy | Amazon Handmade | |
|---|---|---|
| Main fee | 6.5% transaction fee plus payment processing | A referral fee on each sale, commonly 15%, with a per-item minimum |
| Listing fee | Per listing, renewing every four months | None |
| Monthly subscription | None required | The Professional plan fee is waived for approved Handmade artisans |
| Offsite advertising fee | Yes, on attributed sales | No equivalent |
| Entry | Open to anyone | Application and approval required |
Without an Offsite Ad involved, Etsy usually costs less. With one, Handmade can come out ahead. The bigger difference, in my view, is audience rather than cost: people browsing Etsy arrive hunting for something handcrafted or unusual, while Amazon brings vastly larger traffic expecting fast, dependable delivery. Many makers sell on both, and I’d consider that the sensible default once an Etsy shop is steady. Our guide to the Amazon FBA fee calculator covers working out Amazon’s side.
If you would rather have your Etsy shop’s pricing, listings and SEO managed, that is our Etsy store management and consultancy service. Our guides to what Etsy SEO is and the best keywords for Etsy cover getting found in the first place.
FAQ
How much does Etsy take from a sale?
On a typical US sale, about 10% to 11% of the order total in core fees: a 6.5% transaction fee, payment processing of about 3% plus $0.25, and a $0.20 listing fee. Sales from Etsy’s Offsite Ads add a further 12% to 15%, capped at $100 per order.
What is Etsy’s transaction fee?
6.5% of the total order amount, including the item price, shipping and gift wrap, at the time of writing. It applies to every sale, in addition to payment processing and listing fees.
Does Etsy charge a monthly fee?
Not for a standard shop. Etsy Plus is an optional paid subscription with extra tools. Most sellers pay only per-listing and per-sale fees, plus any advertising they choose.
Are Etsy Offsite Ads mandatory?
They are optional for most shops, but shops with more than $10,000 in sales over the past 12 months are enrolled permanently at a 12% fee. Either way, the fee applies only to sales attributed to an Offsite Ad.
Does Etsy take a fee on shipping?
Yes. The 6.5% transaction fee applies to the shipping amount the buyer pays, as well as to the item price and gift wrap. Payment processing is also charged on the full order total.
Is Etsy cheaper than Amazon Handmade?
Usually, for a sale that does not come through an Offsite Ad: Etsy’s core fees run about 10% to 11% against Amazon Handmade’s referral fee, commonly 15%. When a sale comes through an Offsite Ad, Etsy’s total can exceed Amazon Handmade’s.
Last updated: October 3, 2026. Etsy’s fees, thresholds and programs change and vary by country. The example uses the US rates stated above for illustration. Etsy’s Fees & Payments Policy carries the current rates for your shop.
