Every fee Etsy takes from a sale
Etsy’s fee structure has one headline rate and several smaller ones that decide whether an order is profitable. For a US seller, a typical order touches these charges:
| Fee | Typical US rate | Charged on |
|---|---|---|
| Transaction fee | 6.5% | Item price + shipping + gift wrap |
| Payment processing | 3% + $0.25 | Total buyer payment, including tax |
| Listing / renewal | $0.20 | Each listing or renewal, every four months |
| Offsite Ads | 15% or 12% | Orders attributed to Etsy’s off-site ads; capped at $100 per order |
| Currency conversion | 2.5% | When the listing currency differs from your payment currency |
| Regulatory operating fee | Varies | Some countries, such as the UK and France |
Offsite Ads are charged at 15% for sellers under $10,000 in yearly sales and 12% above that. Sellers who reach the higher tier cannot opt out. The fee only applies to orders Etsy attributes to those ads, so the calculator defaults it to 0% — set it to your own attributed share if you want a conservative estimate.
The shipping trap: Etsy charges its transaction and payment fees on the shipping you collect. If a buyer pays $5 shipping and you spend $5 on postage, you still lose about 9.5% of that $5. Price shipping with the fee in mind, or build part of it into the item price.
A real example: a $35 item with $5 shipping
Here is the Etsy preset in MarginFern. Product cost is $10, shipping costs $5, packaging is $1, average ad spend is $3 per order, and the return rate is 3%.
Profit on one Etsy order
| Item price + shipping (gross) | $40.00 |
| Transaction fee (6.5%) | −$2.60 |
| Payment processing (3% + $0.25) | −$1.45 |
| Listing fee | −$0.20 |
| Product, shipping, packaging | −$16.00 |
| Ad spend | −$3.00 |
| Expected returns (3% of gross) | −$1.20 |
| You keep | $15.55 |
That is a 38.9% margin — strong for a marketplace sale. Remove the ads and returns and it looks even better. Add a 15% Offsite Ads fee on this order and roughly $6 disappears, dropping the margin to about 24%. Same sale, very different business.
Why most Etsy calculators are too optimistic
- They stop at the 6.5% fee. Payment processing and listing fees are missing, and those fixed fees hurt low-priced items the most.
- They ignore shipping costs. The fee is charged on shipping, and the postage itself is a real cost.
- They treat ads as optional. If you rely on Etsy Ads, the cost belongs in your per-order math.
- They assume zero returns. A 3–5% refund rate is normal for many categories. It should be priced in, not discovered later.
How to use the result
The calculator shows four numbers you can act on: profit per order, margin, break-even price, and monthly profit after fixed costs. Use them like this:
- Break-even price: the minimum you can charge before the order loses money. If your current price is below it, raise the price or cut a cost.
- Margin: under 10% is fragile. One return or a small ad increase can wipe out the profit. Aim for 20–30% after all costs.
- Monthly profit: profit per order × orders per month, minus subscriptions and other fixed costs. This is the number that pays bills.
- Biggest cost: the insight line names it. If fees are the biggest cost, revisit pricing and your Offsite Ads exposure; if fulfillment is, renegotiate supplies or shipping.
Rule of thumb: if a product needs a 60% margin before ads to survive on Etsy, it is not a product problem — it is a pricing problem. Model the full cost before you scale.
Frequently asked questions
How much does Etsy take from a $30 sale?
With $5 shipping in the US: $2.28 transaction fee, $1.30 payment processing, and $0.20 listing — about $3.78 before Offsite Ads. Your product, shipping, packaging, ads, and returns come out of the remaining $31.22.
Does Etsy charge a fee on shipping?
Yes. The 6.5% transaction fee and payment processing apply to shipping too. Charging exact postage still loses money on the fee portion.
Is the 6.5% fee the only fee?
No. Add payment processing, the $0.20 listing fee, optional Offsite Ads, currency conversion, and country-specific fees. Then subtract your own product and fulfillment costs.
Are Etsy fees different outside the US?
Yes. Payment processing and regulatory fees vary by seller country. Choose your market in the calculator, then replace the rates with the ones in your Etsy payment account.