How Much Does It Cost To Sell On Etsy?

Etsy provides an invaluable online marketplace for makers, crafters, vintage sellers, and artists to reach a global audience of buyers looking for unique handmade and specialty items. However, while Etsy offers access to high traffic and built-in marketing tools, selling on the platform also comes with various fees and costs that impact overall profitability.

This guide goes over Etsy’s fee structure, additional seller costs, and strategies to maximize earnings on the platform.

How Much Does It Cost To Sell On Etsy?

The costs for sellers to sell on Etsy can range from $0.20 per listing up to 10% or more of sales revenue, with most sellers paying between $5 to $15 in Etsy fees for a $50 item sold including listing fees, transaction fees, and payment processing commissions. Overall, Etsy deductions can total 5-15% of sellers’ gross sales, reducing net profits significantly in many cases.

As an ecommerce marketplace, Etsy generates significant revenue by charging sellers numerous fees. Here are the primary Etsy fees that directly impact sellers:

Listing Fees

Etsy charges a $0.20 USD fee each time a seller creates a new product listing. This listing fee is valid for 4 months or until the item sells to a buyer.

If an item does not sell within those 4 months, the listing will automatically renew for another 4 months for an additional $0.20 fee. Sellers must strategically factor this recurring listing cost into their pricing decisions and profit margin calculations.

Savvy sellers avoid paying unnecessary extra listing fees by proactively renewing or ending unsuccessful listings manually via their Etsy “Shop Manager” dashboard.

Tips to Minimize Etsy Listing Fees

• Manually renew only your best performing listings.
• Experiment with pricing and SEO to improve sales velocity.
• Let slow-moving listings expire instead of auto-renewing.

Etsy Transaction Fees

For each completed transaction, Etsy deducts a 6.5% commission from the total sale amount including shipping fees and gift-wrapping charges. For example, if a customer pays $50 for an item plus $5 shipping, Etsy takes 6.5% of $55, not just the product price.

This 6.5% transaction fee on the total order value directly reduces the seller’s net profit on every sale. When combined with other fees, Etsy ends up collecting up to 10% commission per order.

How to Account for Etsy Transaction Fees

Build this 6.5% commission into your product pricing strategies and profit margin calculations to avoid losing money per sale. Applying cost-plus pricing helps offset this fee.

Etsy Payment Processing Fees

Etsy Payments serves as the default payment processing system for purchases on Etsy. In the United States, Etsy Payments charges 3% + $0.25 USD per completed transaction.

For sellers in other countries, Etsy Payments processing rates vary:

• Canada: 2.9% + $0.30 CAD
• UK: 3.4% + £0.25 GBP
• Europe: 3.5% + €0.25 EUR
• Australia: 3.9% + $0.30 AUD

Sellers can alternatively use PayPal to collect payments but will incur PayPal’s own transaction fees in addition to Etsy’s other fees, further reducing net profit per order.

Etsy Currency Conversion Fees

For Etsy sellers whose shop currency differs from the currency of their bank account, the platform charges a 2.5% currency conversion fee on earnings deposits.

For example, if a Canadian seller has USD as their Etsy shop currency but a Canadian dollar bank account, Etsy levies a 2.5% currency conversion fee when depositing USD shop earnings into the CAD bank account.

This creates an added cost for sellers managing multiple currencies. Choosing your predominant currency strategically avoids conversions.

According to PaymentCloud, Etsy charges a $0.20 listing fee per item, which is valid for four months or until the item sells. Additionally, there is a 6.5% transaction fee on the sale price and a 3% payment processing fee plus $0.25 for Etsy Payments. For sales not influenced by ads, sellers pay a total of $0.45 plus 9.5% of the sale price. If offsite ads are involved, an additional 12 to 15% fee applies.

On Craftybase, it’s noted that the listing fee is $0.20 per item, and the transaction fee is 6.5% of the sale price. Payment processing fees typically include 2.9% + $0.30, though this can vary slightly depending on the payment method used. For example, if an item sells for $100, Etsy would deduct a total of around $9.89 in fees, leaving the seller with $90.31.

The Printify article explains that standard Etsy fees include a $0.20 listing fee, a 6.5% transaction fee, and a 3% payment processing fee plus $0.25. This results in a total fee of about $0.45 plus 9.5% of the sale price for transactions without ad contributions. Additionally, there may be region-specific taxes and currency conversion fees of 2.5%.

Furthermore, Outfy highlights that for a $100 sale, Etsy would take approximately $9.95 in fees, consisting of a $0.20 listing fee, a $6.50 transaction fee, and a $3.25 payment processing fee. Etsy does not charge a monthly fee for basic sellers, but upgrading to Etsy Plus costs $10 per month.

Lastly, The Seller Journal estimates that after accounting for all fees, the cost of selling on Etsy is about 10 to 13% of the item’s final price to the customer. This includes not only Etsy’s fees but also other expenses like materials and shipping.

Additional Etsy Selling Expenses

On top of the standard listing, transaction, and processing fees highlighted above, Etsy sellers also need to consider a few other potential costs when managing a shop:

Etsy Advertising Costs

Etsy provides an integrated online advertising platform, Etsy Ads, to help sellers promote their product listings and attract more traffic through sponsored placements. Etsy Ads operate on a cost-per-click (CPC) model. Sellers set a daily maximum advertising budget, then Etsy automatically generates and runs ads pointing to the seller’s listings.

The seller only gets charged when a potential buyer actually clicks on the advertisement. Costs vary based on factors like competition and demand for the keywords targeted, but average between $0.10 to $0.50 per click. While ads can boost visibility substantially, they represent additional advertising costs that cut into margins.

Some high-volume sellers may spend over $500 per month running Etsy Ads. Savvy sellers carefully monitor ad performance and return on investment to minimize unnecessary advertising expenses.

Etsy Offsite Ads Costs

Once an Etsy seller reaches over $10,000 in accumulated lifetime sales, Etsy Offsite Ads automatically become mandatory. This program promotes sellers’ listings through ads placed on high traffic partner websites like Google, Facebook, Pinterest and others.

You might also like our articles about the cost of selling on Amazon, Shopify, or Instacart.

For any sale generated by an Offsite Ad, Etsy charges a 12% advertising fee. Sellers have no control over offsite ad placements.

For sellers making under $10,000 in lifetime sales, Offsite Ads remain optional but the fee rate increases to 15% of each transaction attributed to the offsite ads. Since this compulsory advertising fee reduces profits on each sale, larger sellers must account for it in pricing decisions.

Etsy Pattern and Etsy Plus Subscriptions

Etsy also offers two optional monthly subscription programs sellers can purchase for added benefits:

• Etsy Pattern: $15/month providing Design creation tools and access to licensed artwork
• Etsy Plus: $10/month includes 15 free monthly product listings, $5 in promoted listings ad credits each month, and discounts on custom web domains.

High volume sellers may find Etsy Plus worthwhile for the listing credits. But these subscriptions represent added costs.

Additional Business Expenses

Managing a well-run, profitable Etsy shop that attracts repeat business involves more than just Etsy’s seller fees. Depending on the products sold, sellers must also budget for:

Product Materials Costs – The costs of physical materials, tools, digital products, components, ingredients, processing equipment, studio space, production labor, manufacturing, and general overhead for constructing products will directly impact profitability. This represents the baseline cost before applying pricing markups.

Packaging and Shipping Costs – Etsy sellers can offer free standard shipping on orders over a certain amount (typically $35+), or charge calculated shipping rates. USPS, FedEx, UPS, DHL, Canada Post, Royal Mail, and other carriers integrate with Etsy for label printing and tracking. Comparison shopping shipping carriers and plans keeps costs competitive. Most sellers build packing material and labor costs into their base prices.

Etsy Seller Tools and App Costs – Tools like Shop Manager subscriptions, Etsy wholesale integrations, barcode creators, accounting apps, Chrome extension fees, social media schedulers, photo editors, and other seller software often require paying monthly fees, which further reduce net earnings.

Taxes, Income Tax, Sales Tax Considerations – While Etsy automatically collects and remits sales tax in applicable U.S. states, sellers must still budget for income taxes on earnings. Depending on country and local regulations, additional taxes like VAT also apply, reducing overall margins. Good record-keeping helps accurate tax planning.

Etsy vs Other Selling Platforms

While Etsy occupies a specialized niche focusing on handmade, vintage, and specialty sellers, various other ecommerce platforms exist that Etsy sellers can compare costs against:

Etsy Fee Structure vs. Shopify for Ecommerce

Shopify represents the primary alternative for running an independent, fully customizable online shop. Shopify charges a flat monthly subscription fee rather than per-listing costs, along with lower transactions fees around 2.9%. This can work out more favorably for high volume sellers.

Monthly Shopify plans start at $29 for Shopify Lite removing transaction fees, ranging up to $299 per month for Shopify Advanced with premium features. Sellers must also factor in domain registration and hosting.

Shopify Pros: Lower transaction fees, custom branding and design control, integrated payment processing at 2.9% + $0.30 per transaction.

Shopify Cons: Monthly subscription fees, website hosting costs, additional apps usually required.

Etsy vs eBay for Auctions and Resale

eBay also facilitates small sellers, but focuses more heavily on fixed-price sales and auctions across a much wider range of products, particularly secondhand goods.

eBay fees consist of:

• Insertion fees to create a listing, often $0.35 per item
• Final value fees of 10% charged on the total sale amount when an item sells

eBay Pros: Lower initial listing costs at $0.35 per item, larger seller pool and buyer audience.

eBay Cons: Additional PayPal processing fees, higher 10% final value fees reduce margins.

The broad audience suits mass-produced goods rather than specialized handmade niche items.

How Amazon Handmade Compares to Etsy

Amazon Handmade launched to compete with Etsy for artisan sellers. It charges a higher 15% referral fee on the total order amount but has no upfront per-listing costs.

Amazon Handmade Pros: No listing fees and a massive customer base as part of Amazon.com.

Amazon Handmade Cons: Very high 15% transaction fees reduce profitability significantly. Also need to contend with lots of competition from mass-produced goods.

For niche handmade products, Etsy tends to be a better fit with lower overall rates.

Minimize Etsy Selling Costs

Etsy sellers should utilize tactics to optimize profitability:

Cost-Plus Pricing – Account for all Etsy fees and taxes when calculating pricing. Cost-plus pricing ensures expenses are covered.

Leverage Free Marketing Opportunities – Use organic social media and Etsy SEO instead of paid Etsy Ads to boost traffic and control costs.

Capitalize on Discounts and Credits – New sellers receive free Etsy listing credits. Etsy Plus subscriptions offer monthly free listings and lower ad costs for frequent sellers.

 Etsy Fees on a Sample Order

To better understand the impact of Etsy’s various commissions and costs, here is a simplified example breakdown of how the selling fees apply to a typical $50 order:

Item Price: Handmade Copper Bracelet – $50

Shipping Fee: $5 standard shipping

Total Order Amount: $55

Etsy Fee Type	Fee Amount
Listing Fee	$0.20
Etsy Transaction Fee (6.5% of $55)	$3.58
Etsy Payment Processing (3% + $0.25 on $55)	$1.75
Total Etsy Fees	$5.53

Net Earnings Before Taxes and Other Costs: Approximately $49.47

If Offsite Ads generated this order, the additional mandatory 12% advertising fee on $55 would be $6.60, reducing the net profit to only $42.87 in this example after ALL Etsy fees are applied.

Final Words

While Etsy offers exceptional handmade marketplace exposure, sellers must factor in all expenses when pricing and evaluate if profit margins remain satisfactory. Monitoring trade-offs and experimenting with marketing and pricing maximizes an Etsy shop’s earnings potential.

Overall, selling on Etsy requires strategically analyzing your profit goals, expected volumes, willingness to manage marketing campaigns, and target buyer demographics to determine if the costs justify the benefits. But smart sellers can absolutely operate lucrative Etsy shops when utilizing best practices.

The reward of reaching a vibrant marketplace of over 40 million active buyers interested in special handcrafted items outweighs the platform expenses for many motivated sellers.

Answers to Common Questions

What is required to sell on Etsy?

To sell on Etsy, first sellers need to set up an Etsy shop account and create listings describing their handmade, vintage, or craft supply products available for purchase. Etsy requires providing identity verification, a valid credit card, bank account information, and tax information to facilitate payment processing. Sellers also must agree to Etsy’s policies, properly disclose product details, and accurately represent their items. Photos, descriptions, tags, titles, shipping profiles, shop branding, and marketing elements help attract buyers and make sales.

What are the disadvantages of selling on Etsy?

Some key disadvantages of selling on Etsy include having little control over shop policies and fees, high competition in saturated handmade categories, and mandatory unpaid advertising costs once sales reach $10,000 annually. Fickle buyers and Etsy algorithm changes can quickly impact traffic and sales. Product authenticity and IP infringement also pose challenges. Overall profit margins are lower compared to independent ecommerce sites due to Etsy’s fee structure.

How much does Etsy take from a $100 sale?

On a $100 Etsy order, the fees would be:

• Listing fee: $0.20
• Etsy transaction fee (6.5% of $100): $6.50
• Etsy payment processing fee (3% of $100 + $0.25): $3.25

So, the total fees Etsy deducts from a $100 sale amount to $10. This means the net earnings to the seller would be $90 before additional expenses like shipping and taxes.