The Real Costs of Selling on Etsy
Hey there, fellow Etsy enthusiast! If you’re here, you’re probably knee-deep in the wonderful world of Etsy or thinking about jumping in but you’re not sure about the real costs of selling on Etsy. Either way, one thing’s for sure: understanding those pesky fees is crucial to your success on this platform. But don’t worry, I’m here to break it down for you.
I know you didn’t go into business to throw all your money away, so we’ll talk about how Etsy fees impact your shop’s bottom line so you can confidently price your products and maximize your profits. So, exactly what are the costs of selling on Etsy in 2025?
1. Understanding Listing Fees
So, you’ve got this awesome idea for a product. What’s next? Does Etsy charge listing fees? If you recently set up your Etsy shop, you already encountered the one time shop fee. Unlike that fee you only pay once, every time you list a product on Etsy, you’re charged a small fee.
Currently, Etsy charges listing fees per item of $0.20 per listing, and that fee applies whether your item sells or not! Listings are active for four months, so if your item doesn’t sell in that time, you’ll need to renew it and pay another $0.20 listing fee per item. This might not seem like much at first glance (and it isn’t!), but if you’re planning to list a bunch of items, it can add up quickly.
What some people don’t realize is that you also pay that listing fee each time you sell your product if you have you listings set to automatic renewal. This isn’t charged as a fee of selling, but it is a new listing fee. So each time your product sells, it gets listed again and $0.20 is charged for the listing fee. The simplest way to make sure this doesn’t impact your profits is to take the price you want to charge and just add $0.20 to that amount!
Pro Tips: Batch your product listings to avoid unexpected renewal fees or stay organized and regularly check when your renewals will occur. If a product doesn’t sell or get any views, either make some improvements and try again for another four months, or set to manual renewal if you deactivate that product for now.
2. Etsy Transaction Fees Explained
Ok, so imagine you’ve made a sale! Woohoo! But before you pop the champagne, let’s talk transaction fees. When you make a sale, Etsy takes a 6.5% transaction fee on the item’s total cost which means the price of the item and any shipping fees you charge the customer. This fee applies to every sale on Etsy, no matter how small or large.
Example: If you sell physical stickers for $10 and charge $2 for shipping, Etsy’s 6.5% fee applies to the full $12, meaning you pay $0.78 in transaction fees.
Feeling overwhelmed? Don’t be! Just remember to factor these costs into your pricing strategy so they don’t catch you off guard.
3. Payment Processing Fees
Next up are payment processing fees. These are separate from transaction fees and vary based on where you’re located. Etsy handles payments through Etsy Payments, and for that convenience, they charge a processing fee. This varies by country, but in the U.S., the fee is 3% + $0.25 per transaction. So exactly how much are the Etsy processing fees?
Example: On that same $12 sale we talked about before, you would pay $0.61 in payment processing fees.
It might sound like a lot of numbers thrown at you, but once you get used to it, it’ll be second nature.
Think of these as part of doing business online, like paying rent for a brick-and-mortar store but without having to sweep the floors every night!
4. Optional Subscription Fees
Etsy offers an upgraded subscription called Etsy Plus for $10/month. This subscription gives you perks like advanced shop customization, discounted listing credits, and ad bonuses.
Is it worth it? If you’re just starting, the free plan offers plenty. Etsy Plus is better for established sellers who want more branding options and promotional tools.
Etsy also offers a way to create your own website with Pattern on Etsy. They offer a free 30 day trial, then it is $15/month plus taxes. If you don’t want to create your own website on Wix or WordPress, this is a reasonably priced option for you to have your own website and domain. All processing and transaction fees are still the same as your Etsy store.
Is it worth it? If you’re just starting out, I would focus on getting your awesome products listed first, not getting distracted by shiny objects like a new website.
5. Advertising and Promotional Fees
Etsy ads offer a boost to your shop, but with a cost. There are two main ways to advertise your products:
- Etsy (Onsite) Ads: You set your daily budget (minimum $1/day) to promote products within Etsy’s search results.
- Offsite Ads: Etsy advertises your products on platforms like Google and Facebook. If someone clicks on one of these ads and makes a purchase within 30 days, you’ll incur an additional fee of 12 or 15% on that sale (depending on your shop’s annual revenue). However, if your shop made less than $10k in sales over the past year, participation is optional! You can opt out anytime if it doesn’t align with your marketing strategy.
Pro Tip: You definitely want to have a strategy in place before using Etsy Ads. Test small ad budgets and track which products get the best return on investment before committing more. If allowing for Offsite Ads, don’t forget to cover the additional fees in your product listing price!
6. Tips to Manage and Minimize Fees
Here are some strategies to keep more of your hard-earned profits:
- Price Smart: Factor in all Etsy fees when setting your prices.
- Offer Free Shipping: Build shipping costs into your product price to make the Etsy algorithm happy.
- Limit Ad Spending: Start small with Etsy Ads and track performance to maximize return.
- Batch Listings: List and renew in bulk to stay on top of expiration dates and help speed up your product creation.
7. Understanding the Total Fee as a Percentage
You may hear people talk about their profit as a percentage of the sale price. After all, it is really important to know exactly how much profit you’re really making. This helps you make important business decisions like whether to purchase a new course, invest in Etsy Ads, or upgrade your Canva from free to Pro!
This can mean that if you are selling inexpensive printables, you may end up with a higher percentage of the total amount taken out in fees (though you don’t have to worry about fees on shipping costs) for that item because of the flat $0.25 and $0.20 charges you’ll pay (if on automatic listing renewal) for listing and payment processing on top of the 6.5% transaction fee. For example, if you sell a $2.00 item and want to relist it, your fees will be -$0.20 for the listing fee, -$0.31 for the processing fee, and -$0.13 for the transaction fee. Your pay out from that sale would be $1.36, or a 68% profit when excluding any other business expenses you may have.
But let’s say you sell a higher priced item, maybe a $20.00 template. The percentage impact of those flat fees won’t affect your overall profit percentage as much. If you relist the product, you’ll pay -$0.20 for the listing fee, -$0.85 for the processing fee, and -$1.30 for the transaction fee. Your pay out from that sale would be $17.65, or a 88.25% profit. Clear as mud, right?
If you’re looking for an easy peasy way to keep track of the costs for selling on Etsy or you just hate working with numbers, check out my friend Debbie’s Etsy Profit & Pricing Calculator (affiliate link). She’s got it all set up with each type of fee, plus other business expenses you might have to help you easily price your digital products and keep track of your revenue and profit! And to top it all off, her calculator can help you decide exactly what to price your items to reach your income goals.
If you’re ready for more tips and tools to manage your Etsy shop subscribe to our newsletter below and check out our Resources page for more like Debbie’s Etsy Profit & Pricing Calculator!