How Much Does Etsy Actually Take? Complete Etsy Fees Guide
Etsy doesn't take one fee — it takes several, and they stack on every sale. This complete guide breaks down every charge in plain English, with worked dollar-for-dollar examples so you know exactly what selling on Etsy costs before you set a price.
What fees Etsy charges
Etsy runs a pay-as-you-go model: opening a shop is free, but fees are charged at several points. The core US fees are the $0.20 listing fee, a 6.5% transaction fee on the total sale (including shipping), and a payment processing fee of 3% + $0.25. On top of that, Offsite Ads charge 12–15% on sales they drive, regulatory operating fees apply in certain countries, and a 2.5% currency conversion fee kicks in if your listing and payout currencies differ.
The listing fee
Every published listing costs $0.20 and stays live for four months before auto-renewing for another $0.20. The fee also renews each time an item sells, and on multi-quantity listings you pay $0.20 per quantity sold. Digital download listings renew automatically on every sale too — so a $5 printable selling 40 times in a month costs $8 in listing fees alone.
The transaction fee
Etsy takes 6.5% of the total order — and 'total' is the trap. It includes the item price, shipping you charge, gift wrap, and personalization fees. Sell a $30 print with $8 shipping and the 6.5% applies to the full $38 ($2.47), not just the print.
Payment processing
In the US, Etsy Payments charges 3% + $0.25 per order on the total the buyer pays. The flat $0.25 hurts low-priced items: on a $10 sale, processing alone is 5.5% of the order. Processing rates differ by the country your bank account is in.
Offsite Ads
Etsy advertises listings on Google, Facebook, Instagram, and Pinterest. When a buyer clicks an ad and purchases within 30 days, Etsy charges 15% of the order (12% if your shop earned $10,000+ in the past 365 days), capped at $100 per order. Under $10,000 you can opt out; above $10,000 participation is mandatory.
Worked examples
$10 sale: $0.20 + $0.65 + $0.55 = $1.40 in fees, an effective rate of 14%. $25 sale: $0.20 + $1.63 + $1.00 = $2.83, about 11.3%. $50 sale: ~10.4%. $100 sale: ~10%. Low-priced items get hit hardest because the flat $0.20 and $0.25 are a bigger slice of a small total. Add a 15% Offsite Ads fee on that $100 sale and you keep just $74.90 — a 25% effective fee rate.
Common Etsy fee mistakes
Only counting the listing fee. Forgetting the 6.5% applies to shipping. Ignoring the $0.25 flat processing fee on cheap items. Not budgeting for Offsite Ads — especially once you cross $10k and can't opt out. And confusing your Etsy payout (revenue after fees) with your actual profit (revenue after fees, materials, shipping, packaging, and labor).
Frequently asked questions
- What are Etsy's main fees in 2026?
- Listing fee ($0.20), transaction fee (6.5% of the total including shipping), and payment processing (3% + $0.25 in the US). Offsite Ads charge 12–15% on attributed sales.
- Does Etsy charge fees on shipping?
- Yes. The 6.5% transaction fee and the payment processing fee both apply to the total the buyer pays, including shipping, gift wrap, and personalization charges.
- Can I avoid Offsite Ads?
- Only if your shop earned less than $10,000 on Etsy in the past 365 days. Above that, participation is mandatory, though the rate drops from 15% to 12%.
- Roughly what percentage do Etsy fees take?
- For most US sellers without ads, the three core fees add up to roughly 9.5% of the order plus $0.45 in fixed fees — landing between 8% and 15% of revenue depending on order size.
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