Etsy is one of the best marketplaces for launching your print-on-demand store, especially if you’re a newbie seller.
In this article, we’ll cover everything you need to consider when selling on Etsy, like fees and applicable costs, to see exactly what percentage Etsy takes for its eCommerce services.
Let’s dive in!
The information in this article is accurate as of the current date and may change. Consult Etsy’s website for the latest information. Please consult a professional advisor for any financial or legal guidance specific to your situation.
Managing marketplace fees with Etsy payments
Signing up and opening a shop on the Etsy marketplace is free. However, three mandatory Etsy seller fees will apply once you add product listings and start making sales.
Before calculating Etsy selling fees, check whether you should get a business license.
Etsy fees are processed through the Etsy Payments system, and all transactions will be automatically registered and deducted from your Etsy account. Understanding and managing your account payments is crucial to learning how to sell on Etsy.
Your customers can use Etsy Payments to purchase your products via multiple payment options:
- Credit cards
- Debit/bank cards
- Etsy gift cards
- Etsy Credits
- PayPal
- Apple Pay
- Google Pay
- Country-specific payment options
Basic Etsy fees
How much does Etsy charge to sell? We’ll look at all the seller fees and use the insights to create a profit estimate and see exactly how much it costs to sell on Etsy with Print on Demand.
Listing fees ($0.20)
You must pay the Etsy listing fees when adding new products to your store. The fee keeps each product published for four months. Once added, you can edit the product freely without additional costs.
Printify’s Etsy integration will automatically set your listing quantity to 999 – the highest possible amount when listing on-demand products with no stock limits. After four months, regardless of whether you’ve sold none, some, or all of your stock, Etsy will automatically renew your stock for the new listing amount. You’ll be charged a renewal fee of $0.20, plus the same cost for each sale. Learn more about managing listing renewals.
The Etsy listing fee is converted from USD to your payment account currency using the current exchange rate. Renewed listings will maintain their original view count, favorites, and website address.
Here is how an Etsy listing fee can appear on your Payment account:
- Listing fee – Initial fee for adding a new item for four months.
- Auto-renew expired – Automatic renewal fee for unsold stock items after four months (disable auto-renewal in the listings settings menu to apply your renewal manually).
- Auto-renew sold – Automatic fee for selling extra quantities of items (more than one listed item).
- Multi-quantity – Fee for selling multiple variations of the same item in one payment transaction.
- Private listing – Fee for a private sale to a designated buyer, unlisted to the public.
Transaction fees (6.5%)
Etsy collects a 6.5% transaction fee in your listing currency for every sale you make. If you’re an Etsy Payments user, the transaction fee is automatically processed through your account once you make a sale.
Etsy’s transaction fees are calculated as a percentage of the sale, including fees for the product, shipping, and gift wrapping. Together, these fees make up the final transaction rate.
For example, let’s say you sell an item with a $10 retail price and $4 shipping. Etsy will charge a fee of $0.65 (6.5%) for the listed product price plus the shipping transaction fee of $0.26 (6.5%) – a total of $0.91.
Payment processing fees (3% + $0.25)
When you sell a product, Etsy deducts a payment processing fee, which varies based on your payment processing service and your region’s applicable sales tax or VAT. With Etsy Payments, this fee is a fixed rate plus a percentage (3%-6.5%) of the total sale price.
In the US, the payment processing fee is 3% + $0.25. For fees in other countries, please refer to the Etsy Help Center for more details.
Region-specific fees
Etsy may apply additional mandatory fees depending on your store’s listing currency, applicable taxes, and Etsy platform operations. These fees affect on-site transactions and vary depending on the Etsy sellers’ region.
Currency conversion fee (2.5%)
You’re subject to currency conversion fees if you’ve set your Etsy Payments in a different currency than your product listings.
The Etsy currency conversion fee charges an additional 2.5% of the total sale amount. The fee is automatically subtracted from your Etsy Payments account.
VAT and sales tax
VAT
Etsy merchants in the European Union and select countries are subject to VAT (value-added tax) fees on the total buyer’s price of an Etsy listing: VAT on items sold on Etsy.
Additionally, Etsy is required to collect VAT on payment processing fees in eligible countries: VAT on seller fees. Explore Etsy’s Help page to see if your country has additional taxable fees.
Etsy Payments users receive an invoice that lists VAT-eligible seller fees and applicable charges.
Sales tax
Etsy collects monthly sales tax in most US territories to remit to government authorities. Contact your local tax authority if you’re unsure of your applicable state or regional taxes.
All tax remits are calculated and summarized in your Etsy Payments account under the Sales and Fees section – sales tax paid by the buyer (Remitted). You can also opt out of this service and remit taxes independently.
Sales tax fees may vary depending on whether you sell physical or downloadable items. Check out which US regional sales taxes apply to your Etsy listings.
Etsy calculates and collects VAT and sales tax fees on your behalf. You’ll receive a downloadable invoice summarizing the previous month’s fees at the beginning of each month.
Taxes and Print on Demand
Consider integrating your Etsy account with Printify’s print-on-demand service to effortlessly bring your Etsy shop ideas to life.
Using Printify’s Other Orders tab, you can migrate existing listings to our platform without additional Etsy listing fees.
You can also submit accrued VAT IDs and import existing unsynced orders from Etsy with no additional sales tax charges, as they will have already been charged on a marketplace level.
Do note that if you manually place a Printify order for a US customer, Printify will still be required to apply sales tax for that item unless you have submitted a valid resale certificate. Therefore, it’s best to take advantage of importing external orders automatically through the Other Orders tab.
Printify is also working to implement the OOS and IOOS simplified tax collection system to automatically apply VAT rates to end customers across Europe.
Regulatory operating fee
In specific countries, sellers are charged a Regulatory Operating fee due to new regulatory standards for digital transactions, aiming to balance costs with in-person selling fees. Increased business costs have resulted in Digital Services Tax policies.
If you want to incorporate these fees into your final product cost, it’s crucial to clarify price differences or increases with customers through your store policies. Create a clear run-down using Etsy shop policies.
With regulatory operating fees, sellers are charged a percentage of the total cost of the product, including the shipping cost, gift wrapping, and personalization, if applicable.
- United Kingdom – 0.32%
- France – 0.47%
- Italy – 0.32%
- Spain – 0.40%
- Turkey – 1.1%
- India – 0.29%
- Vietnam – 1.24%
Optional fees
Other Etsy fees are optional but offer advantages for store advertising, product personalization, as well as other store customization features.
Subscribe to these options if you have a particular campaign idea in mind or if your business model relies on one of these unique sales methods. However, these options will change how much an Etsy shop (per month) is going to cost you in the long term.
Etsy Ads fees (cost per click)
Etsy marketing techniques can fit multiple advertising strategies. Etsy Ads are the primary way to advertise on the marketplace. With Etsy Ads, your chosen listing is featured prominently in the user catalog, search results, and category pages.
Etsy evaluates your ads and gives you higher visibility if your listing is in high demand due to optimized tags and product quality or if your cost-per-click budget is higher than that of competitors. Monitoring these metrics is a great way to learn how to increase sales on Etsy.
Regarding the advertising fee, Etsy offers options for a daily budget – from $1 to $25. A higher budget will impact how often your Etsy Ads appear on users’ pages. With a paid Etsy subscription, you can earn Etsy Ads credits to receive a bonus for ad listings.
Check out our in-depth article to learn how to start an advertising campaign with Etsy Ads.
Offsite ads fees (12%-15%)
Offsite advertising promotes listings on social media apps, Etsy partner websites, and search engines. Offsite ads are a great way to extend your advertising efforts and establish a multi-channel marketing strategy.
Offsite ads are available for everyone, but Etsy monitors its listings on other platforms based on performance and relevance to the user base. Create offsite ads targeting a specific audience, identifying their preferred social media channels and the best time to start an advertising campaign.
Websites have criteria for the types of products they’re more likely to advertise. To profit from offsite ads, your listing needs existing user traffic via successful Etsy SEO.
Etsy Ads on different platforms work at a percentage rate, reflected by the amount your store has earned in the past year:
- Less than $10,000 – a 15% fee of the total sale price.
- At least $10,000 – a 12% discount on offsite ad fees for any sale attributed to the ad.
The offsite advertising fee has a $100 limit, even if the total sale percentage might be higher. Sales are attributed to the ad if a user has clicked on your promoted post and purchased a product in the next 30 days.
Subscription fee ($10/month)
Apart from the free default Etsy Standard, the marketplace offers Etsy Plus. Your online store can benefit from a monthly subscription fee with added features and discounts on store personalization:
- Etsy Ads credits
- Custom web address discount
- Restock requests from shoppers
- Advanced store customization options
- Discounts on custom promotional materials
These features can enhance your shop and positively influence buyer attraction.
The subscription fee is $10 a month. While it won’t directly influence how your listings appear in search results, it can significantly impact your growth potential and increase traffic to your store.
Shipping label fees
Etsy provides a discounted service for printing postage labels for your package. Packaging sets the first impression for buyers – purchase postage labels to customize your orders further, adding more value and branding for customers.
Custom shipping labels are available through these carriers:
- Australia Post
- Canada Post
- FedEx
- Global Postal Shipping
- UPS
- USPS
- Royal Mail & Evri
Label shipping costs depend on your package’s origin, destination, and dimensions.
In-person selling fee ($0.20)
While creating best-selling items on Etsy can generate profit through your online store, sellers can significantly benefit from selling in person, with the same listing fee, at trade shows, seasonal markets, and other physical locations.
You’ll need to connect your Etsy account to the marketplace’s point-of-sale system to easily display your listings in person while conducting card payments as if they were an online Etsy item order.
Etsy partners with Square Reader for in-person purchases. Sync your listings with Square for the same $0.20 listing fee. Without Square, you are subject to an additional $0.20 transaction fee.
Using Square, you can eliminate Etsy’s 6.5% transaction fee and payment processing fee. However, Square applies its own smaller transaction fee, along with a percentage based on the total sale cost (2.6%-3.5%) for its services.
Pattern fee ($15/month)
Etsy’s Pattern feature lets you design a custom store website. You can start with a 30-day free trial to see if it works for your business. After the trial period, you’ll be charged a $15 monthly subscription fee.
Using Pattern incurs additional small fees, including domain registration, protection, and an Etsy payment fee. However, with Pattern, you are no longer subject to selling and listing fees for your items.
Percentage Etsy charges to sell
What percent does Etsy take in total? Based on everything listed, the marketplace can take an average of 20% to 25% of the total purchase price made by the end customer.
We’ve made a cost-to-sell percentage estimate to visualize your potential end profit when selling print-on-demand (POD) products on Etsy.
This example will showcase a US merchant selling Printify’s bestselling Unisex Jersey Short Sleeve Tee from Monster Digital to a customer in California, sold at the current 7.25% Californian clothing sales tax.
Your final cut will depend on the profit margin you add to the initial product manufacturing price, shipping, and estimated Etsy fees (20%). We’ll use a 30% profit margin and see how Etsy fees affect the final revenue.
| Cost description | Calculation (USD) |
|---|---|
| Listed buyer’s price (incl. shipping) | +21.7 |
| Etsy Listing fee | -0.20 |
| Etsy Transaction fee (incl. Shipping) | -1.41 |
| Etsy Payment Processing fee | -0.90 |
| Sales tax paid by buyer | -1.57 |
| Total Etsy fees charged | -4.08 (19.1%) |
| Profit from Etsy withdrawal | +17.62 |
| Printify Production fee | -9.82 |
| Printify Shipping fee | -4.00 |
| Total Printify order costs | -13.82 |
| Final profit | +3.80 |
For European sellers, additional VAT fees will apply, increasing total Etsy fees to around 30%. To limit shipping costs, choose a local Print Provider for your on-demand products.
Check out our Etsy Fee Calculator to understand costs, save time by automating fee calculations, and plan for profit with a precise breakdown of your future earnings.
Financial pros of selling on Etsy marketplace
An Etsy listing costs $0.20 – that’s how much you need to start. Etsy is an entry point for eCommerce selling, and you can closely follow your expenses to understand if it’s working for you or not.
If you’re a beginner eCommerce seller or have a niche customer base, watch our video on how to open a print-on-demand shop on Etsy. Without an existing audience, Etsy can help you find who your products speak to most. This is crucial for establishing a successful marketing strategy to increase brand awareness and traffic growth.
Financial cons of selling on Etsy marketplace
The initial operating costs on Etsy are relatively low, especially for sellers with a small number of sales. However, as your business grows, the cumulative effect of Etsy’s higher listing and transaction fees comes into play. This could result in higher expenses compared to selling in bulk on other eCommerce platforms.
Here’s a cost-to-sell comparison between selling on an Etsy store and opening your own store domain with Shopify (Shopify Basic Subscription). Note the difference between the number of items sold and total monthly fees between both platforms:
| Etsy | Shopify | |
|---|---|---|
| Item cost | $15.00 | $15.00 |
| Items sold | 10 ($0.20*) | 10 |
| Listing fee | $0.20 | – |
| Transaction fee | $9.75 (6.5%) | $3.00 (2%) |
| Processing fee | $4.75 (3%+$0.25) | $4.65 (2.9% + $0.30) |
| Subscription fee | – | $29 |
| Total monthly fee | $16.50 | $36.65 |
| Etsy | Shopify | |
|---|---|---|
| Item cost | $15.00 | $15.00 |
| Items sold | 100 ($0.20*) | 100 |
| Listing fee | $0.20 | – |
| Transaction fee | $97.50 (6.5%) | $30 (2%) |
| Processing fee | $45.25 (3%+$0.25) | $43.80 (2.9% + $0.30) |
| Subscription fee | – | $29 |
| Total monthly fee | $162.75 | $102.80 |
*Items sold fee on Etsy is an additional listing fee that applies to every subsequent sale of that item. This is not the same as the initial listing fee or later renewal fee for a new or updated listing stock.
**The Shopify Basic plan costs $29/month if paid annually but $39/month for monthly subscription payments.
Ways to save on Etsy fees
Offer free shipping
Shipping fees vary based on the delivery location and can affect your projected business expenses.
One way to ensure limited expenses is by offering free shipping. While this isn’t a sustainable practice for items under $100, free shipping for mid-tier and high-end products significantly impacts buyer behavior.
Limited shipping options are the primary reason consumers abandon a purchase. Charging hidden shipping costs can negatively influence how customers calculate their expenses.
Set your prices in your bank account’s currency
Skip Etsy’s 2.5% currency conversion fee by using the same currency for your listings and payment account. This way, your Etsy shop won’t have to convert the currency of each sale.
Evaluate what listings to run ads for
Ads are where you put your best face forward. When deciding on your primary ad listing, use your best-selling item or one with the highest demand among customers.
Etsy’s ads are carefully monitored on and off-site. The algorithm prioritizes listings with carefully selected tags, curated descriptions, and a high click-through rate.
When selling off-site, approach your advertising idea with the platform’s terms of service and demographics in mind. Market your products based on the audience you want to cultivate.
Increase prices
The easiest and final way to save on Etsy fees is by increasing your profit margins. If you have items consistently receiving sales, don’t be afraid to raise your prices to reflect the value provided.
However, increasing sales prices can deter existing customers if they find the new prices too high. In this case, try to compensate by increasing your ad spending budget to attract new buyers.
Consider how selecting new prices will affect your competitiveness. Avoid setting prices too high above the market average. Stay within the range you see among other Etsy sellers, and assess how your price changes influence long-term sales.
Make a profit on Etsy with Printify
1. Sign up
Register for free and get access to all of our beginner-friendly print-on-demand features.
2. Choose a product
Select from over 900 high-quality items in the Printify Catalog – from apparel and accessories to home decor and everyday items.
3. Design your product
Bring your vision to life with our intuitive Product Creator. Customize your products with precise measurements and free assets.
4. Sell it on Etsy
Seamlessly connect your Printify account to Etsy. List your custom products for free and set flexible prices to balance out Etsy fees.
Choose Printify for the most competitive product prices in Print on Demand, a 24/7 Merchant Support Team, and complete marketplace compatibility through the Printify x Etsy partnership.
FAQ
Standard Etsy fees are subtracted from each listed or sold item as a percentage or flat fee:
- Listing fees ($0.20)
- Order transaction fees (6.5%)
- Payment processing fees (3% + $0.25)
Conditional Etsy fees include:
- Region-specific taxes
- Regulatory operating fees
- Currency conversion fees (2.5%)
Finally, there are optional Etsy fees for ads, features, and paid subscriptions.
$100 (sale) – $0.20 (listing fee) – $3.25 (payment fee) – $6.5 (transaction fee) = $90.05 or about 10% taken from the original sales price.
How much are Etsy fees going to cost you? Since this calculation doesn’t include sales taxes or other region-specific costs, you may expect an average Etsy fees cost of 20% to 25% per sale.
Standard Etsy fees are around 10% of the total sales amount for a $100 purchase, but you can realistically expect an Etsy cut averaging 20% for lower-cost products due to local tax laws and additional currency processing requirements.
In rare circumstances, Etsy might deduct 40% of your sale in fees. If so, consider optimizing your Etsy seller fees, account currency, and shipping or raising prices to compensate for the loss.
Yes. One of Etsy’s seller fees is the items sold fee, which takes $0.20 off of every individual item’s sale. Besides that, both transaction and payment processing fees will determine how much it costs to sell on Etsy for your individual store. The total percentage averages from 20% to 25% per sale.
Etsy sellers should carefully consider their pricing strategy, particularly for items with lower prices. Sellers must factor in these costs to ensure profitability, which may result in slightly higher prices for consumers to cover the fees charged by Etsy.
When comparing fees across platforms like Shopify, eBay, and Etsy, the overall cost to sellers can vary significantly. Each platform has its fee structure, including listing, transaction, and payment processing fees. Etsy’s value proposition includes access to a large, niche market of buyers interested in handmade, vintage, and unique items, which can justify its fee structure for many sellers.
Closing thoughts
How much does it cost to have an Etsy shop? Having an Etsy storefront is free. However, once you start a business, you’ll need to consider listing and sales fees from your transactions.
When researching how much Etsy charges for selling, start by identifying your regional sales tax rates. Then, look into any other region-specific fees that might apply to your store: payment processing fees, regulatory operating fees, and Etsy transaction fees.
Calculate your mandatory payment processing and Etsy transaction fee based on your product price. Set your pricing at a profit margin that compensates for an average of 20%-25% per sale taken by Etsy.
