Etsy Fees Explained: What Sellers Really Pay
Fees · Etsy · Updated 2026-07-31
As of mid-2026, a US Etsy sale costs you a $0.20 listing fee, a 6.5% transaction fee charged on the item price plus shipping and gift wrap, and payment processing of 3% + $0.25. If the order came through Offsite Ads, add 15% (optional for shops under $10k in the past 365 days) or 12% (mandatory at $10k and above), capped at $100 per order.
All-in, a typical organic sale costs about 10-13% plus $0.45, and an Offsite Ads order can cost 22-28%. Etsy has raised these numbers before and can again, so treat this page as the structure and Etsy's published fee schedule as the final word on today's rates. Here is every line, worked on a real order, plus the shipping trap most fee calculators get wrong.
Every Etsy fee, itemized
| Fee | Amount | Charged on |
|---|---|---|
| Listing fee | $0.20 | Each listing, renews every 4 months or on sale |
| Transaction fee | 6.5% | Item price + shipping + gift wrap |
| Payment processing (US) | 3% + $0.25 | Total order amount, including tax in most states |
| Offsite Ads (optional tier) | 15% | Attributed orders, shops under $10k/yr, capped $100 |
| Offsite Ads (mandatory tier) | 12% | Attributed orders, shops at $10k+/yr, capped $100 |
| Etsy Ads (onsite) | Your daily budget | Optional; you set the spend, charged whether or not it converts |
| Currency conversion | 2.5% | Orders where your listing and bank currencies differ |
| Etsy Plus | $10/month | Optional subscription; not required to sell |
Two of these surprise sellers more than the rest. First, the transaction fee base includes shipping: charge $6 for shipping and Etsy takes 6.5% of that $6 too. Second, the listing fee recurs: $0.20 when you first list, $0.20 each time an unsold listing auto-renews every four months, and another $0.20 per additional item when a multi-quantity listing sells. A slow-moving listing quietly costs $0.60 a year just to exist. Payment processing has its own quirk: it is charged on the order total including sales tax in most US states, even though Etsy collects and remits that tax for you - you never touch the tax money, but you pay 3% of it.
A worked fee table: $24 item plus $6 shipping
| Line | Amount | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Listing fee | $0.20 | Flat, per listing sold |
| Transaction fee: 6.5% x $30 | $1.95 | Base is item + shipping, not item alone |
| Payment processing: 3% x $30 + $0.25 | $1.15 | $0.90 + $0.25 |
| Total fees, organic order | $3.30 | 11.0% of the $30 collected |
| Offsite Ads at 15%, if attributed | +$4.50 | Total becomes $7.80, or 26% |
| Offsite Ads at 12%, if attributed | +$3.60 | Total becomes $6.90, or 23% |
Every line above checks out by hand: 6.5% of $30 is $1.95, 3% of $30 is $0.90 plus the $0.25 fixed piece makes $1.15, and $0.20 + $1.95 + $1.15 = $3.30. On the organic order you keep $26.70 of the $30 collected - and the postage, materials, and your labor still have to come out of that. This is why margin after fees, not sticker price, is the number a listing should be judged on.
Why cheap items get hit hardest
| Item price | Total fees | Effective rate |
|---|---|---|
| $10 | $1.40 | 14.0% |
| $20 | $2.35 | 11.8% |
| $30 | $3.30 | 11.0% |
| $50 | $5.20 | 10.4% |
The percentage falls as the price rises because $0.45 of every order - the listing fee plus the fixed processing piece - does not scale. That fixed drag is the quiet argument for bundles: three $9 soap bars sold separately pay $1.35 in fixed fees across three orders, while the same bars sold as one $27 set pay $0.45, and the percentage fees stay the same either way. If your catalog lives under $15, bundling is a fee strategy, not just a merchandising one.
Offsite Ads: the fee you must decide about
Offsite Ads is Etsy advertising your listings on Google, Instagram, and elsewhere, and billing you only when an ad-touched buyer orders within 30 days. Under $10,000 in sales in the past 365 days, participation is optional and the fee is 15%; at or above $10,000, participation is mandatory and the fee drops to 12%, capped at $100 per order. The decision is not whether the ads work - it is whether your margin survives them. On the $30 order above, an attributed sale takes total fees from 11% to 26%, so a product carrying a 30% margin flips to roughly break-even the moment an ad brings the buyer. If you are in the mandatory tier, price every product so the 12% case is still profitable, because you do not get to choose which orders it lands on.
Etsy math, done exactly. Craft Pricing Calculator₊ by Panda Taps models the full Etsy fee stack - the shipping-inclusive transaction base, the fixed $0.45, and the Offsite Ads toggle - alongside your materials, labor, and overhead, so the margin you see is the margin you get and the price defends itself. Download Craft Pricing Calculator₊ on the App Store.
Pricing around Etsy fees
- Build fees into the price, not the shipping - buyers compare item prices, and fees hit shipping anyway.
- Decide your Offsite Ads position: under $10k/yr you can opt out; at $10k+ the 12% is mandatory, so price for it on every listing.
- Check margin after fees at your realistic price point, not the price you wish you could charge.
- Watch the fixed $0.45 on low-priced items - bundles and sets dilute it, singles do not.
- Reprice when fees change - the transaction fee went from 3.5% to 5% in 2018 and to 6.5% in 2022, and sellers who never repriced absorbed both increases straight out of margin.
What Etsy does not charge
There is no monthly fee for a standard shop, no setup fee, and no fee simply for using Etsy Payments beyond the processing rate. Etsy Plus, onsite ad budgets, and discounted shipping labels are optional spends you control. That makes the fee stack knowable in advance: for a US shop selling organically, fees are always $0.45 plus 9.5% of the order total. Put that expression next to your true cost once, and every listing price you set afterward is a decision instead of a hope.
Frequently asked questions
How much does Etsy take from a sale?
Typically 10-13% plus $0.45 on an organic US sale: $0.20 listing, 6.5% transaction on item plus shipping, and 3% + $0.25 processing. Orders attributed to Offsite Ads cost an additional 12% or 15%, capped at $100.
Does Etsy charge fees on shipping?
Yes. The 6.5% transaction fee applies to item price plus shipping plus gift wrap, and payment processing applies to the full order total - including sales tax in most US states.
Can I opt out of Etsy Offsite Ads?
Only if your shop made under $10,000 in the past 365 days. At or above $10k, participation is mandatory at the reduced 12% rate, so shops near that line should price for it before crossing it.
What is the Etsy listing fee?
$0.20 per listing, charged when you list, when the listing renews every four months unsold, and again per item when a multi-quantity listing sells. It is small per order but real on slow-moving inventory.