How Etsy fees work in 2026
Last updated June 2026 · ~6 min read
Etsy doesn't take one tidy percentage — it stacks several small fees that add up to roughly a tenth of every order, and a separate advertising fee that can be much larger. Here's exactly what comes out of each sale, the one fee that surprises sellers most, and what you actually keep.
The four fees on a standard Etsy sale
Unlike a marketplace such as TikTok Shop, where one referral fee bundles everything, Etsy itemizes its charges. On the standard (free) selling plan there's no monthly subscription — instead each sale carries up to four separate fees:
| Fee | Amount (US, 2026) | What it's charged on |
|---|---|---|
| Listing fee | $0.20 | Per listing; auto-renews $0.20 each time the item sells. |
| Transaction fee | 6.5% | The total sale — item + shipping + gift wrap. |
| Payment processing | 3% + $0.25 | The total paid via Etsy Payments (US rate; varies by country). |
| Offsite Ads | 15% or 12% | Only on orders an Etsy offsite ad drove. Optional under $10k/yr, mandatory over. Capped at $100/order. |
Fees as of June 2026 (US Etsy, Etsy Payments). Rates vary by country and can change — confirm in your Etsy account.
The first three apply to essentially every sale; the fourth only fires on advertising-attributed orders. Add the first three up and Etsy's cut of a typical US order lands at about 9–11%.
The fee that catches sellers out: it's charged on shipping too
The single most common Etsy-fee mistake is assuming the 6.5% transaction fee applies only to the item price. It doesn't — it's charged on the entire amount the buyer pays, including the shipping you charge and any gift-wrap fee. So if you list an item at $20 with $6 shipping, the 6.5% is taken on $26, not $20. Payment processing works the same way (it's a percentage of the full $26 plus the flat $0.25). Price your shipping as if it's part of the item, because to Etsy's fee engine it is.
The Offsite Ads fee — the one that can dwarf the rest
Etsy advertises your listings on Google, social media and other sites. When a buyer clicks one of those ads and then orders from you within 30 days, Etsy charges an Offsite Ads fee on that order — and it's the big one:
| Your shop's last-12-month sales | Offsite Ads rate | Can you opt out? |
|---|---|---|
| Under $10,000 | 15% | Yes — opt out in Marketing → Offsite Ads. |
| $10,000 or more | 12% | No — mandatory, but capped at $100 per order. |
Two things make this fee less scary than it looks. First, it only applies to orders an offsite ad actually drove — most of your sales (direct, search, repeat buyers) never trigger it. Second, it's capped at $100 per order. But on the orders it does hit, a 15% charge stacked on top of the usual ~11% means Etsy is taking roughly a quarter of the order. If you're a smaller shop and the math doesn't work, opting out is a legitimate lever.
What Etsy does not charge (on the standard plan)
- No monthly subscription — unless you choose Etsy Plus (~$10/mo for extra listing credits and tools), which most sellers don't need.
- No separate "final value fee" on top of the transaction fee — the 6.5% is the selling commission.
- No fee to open a shop — you only pay once you list ($0.20) and sell.
Other optional costs exist if you opt in — Etsy Ads (your own on-site advertising budget, separate from Offsite Ads), Etsy Plus, and currency-conversion fees on international payouts — but none are automatic on a standard domestic sale.
A worked example: what you actually keep
Say you sell a $28 handmade item with $5 shipping charged to the buyer. It costs you $7 to make and $5 to pack and ship. No Offsite Ads on this order:
| Line | Amount |
|---|---|
| Buyer pays (item $28 + shipping $5) | $33.00 |
| Transaction fee (6.5% of $33) | −$2.15 |
| Payment processing (3% of $33 + $0.25) | −$1.24 |
| Listing fee | −$0.20 |
| Product cost (COGS) | −$7.00 |
| Your shipping cost | −$5.00 |
| Net profit | ≈ $17.41 (≈ 53% margin) |
Etsy's total cut here is about $3.59 — roughly 11% of the $33. Now run the same order as one an Offsite Ad drove: add 15% of $33 (≈ $4.95) and your profit falls from $17.41 to about $12.46. Same sale, same costs — the advertising fee alone is the difference between a strong margin and a merely okay one. That's why it's worth knowing which of your sales trigger it.
How to keep more of each Etsy sale
- Remember the fee is on shipping too. When you set a price, apply ~11% to item and shipping combined, not just the item.
- Decide on Offsite Ads deliberately. Under $10k/year you can opt out — do the math on whether the extra sales are worth the 15%.
- Batch listings to spread the $0.20. The listing fee is flat, so it stings most on cheap items; very low-priced products may not be worth listing individually.
- Find products that can carry the fees. Higher-margin, differentiated items absorb ~11% far better than near-commodity ones. Research what's actually selling before you stock up.
- Run the exact numbers before you list. Plug your price, shipping and costs into the calculator below and price up from break-even.
Run your numbers
The Etsy fee calculator has every fee above as an editable field — listing, transaction, processing and an Offsite Ads toggle — so you can see your real net profit, margin and break-even price before you commit:
Frequently asked questions
How much does Etsy take per sale in 2026?
For a typical US sale via Etsy Payments, Etsy takes about 9–11% of the order: 6.5% transaction fee (on item + shipping), 3% + $0.25 payment processing, and a $0.20 listing fee. If the sale came through an Offsite Ad, add 12–15% on that order only. There's no monthly fee on the standard plan.
Does the transaction fee apply to shipping?
Yes. The 6.5% transaction fee is charged on the total the buyer pays — item price plus shipping plus gift wrap — not just the item. Payment processing works the same way.
Can I avoid the Offsite Ads fee?
If your shop earned under $10,000 in the last 12 months you can opt out in Marketing → Offsite Ads. Shops over $10,000 can't opt out (they pay 12% instead of 15%), but the fee only applies to orders an offsite ad actually drove, and it's capped at $100 per order.
Is there a monthly fee to sell on Etsy?
Not on the standard plan — you only pay per listing and per sale. Etsy Plus is an optional subscription (~$10/month) for extra listing credits and shop tools, but most sellers don't need it.