On this label
- Etsy (US): $0.20 listing + 6.5% transaction + 3% + $0.25 processing = $4.82 on a $46 order, before any ads.
- Amazon: 15% referral in most categories = $6.90 on a $46 order, plus $0.99 per item on the Individual plan.
- Etsy Offsite Ads add 15% (or 12% for larger shops) on attributed orders, capped at $100 per order.
Fee pages are written to be complete, not to be compared. Each platform charges different things on different bases, so the only honest comparison is a worked example. Below, the same product, a $40 item with $6 shipping, goes through each platform’s published fees. Your numbers will differ, but the method will not.
Etsy
Etsy’s Fees and Payments Policy and Etsy Payments Policy list these charges for a seller with a US bank account:
| Etsy fee | Rate | On a $40 item + $6 shipping |
|---|---|---|
| Listing fee | $0.20 per listing (renews every four months or when a unit sells) | $0.20 |
| Transaction fee | 6.5% of item price plus shipping and gift wrap | $2.99 |
| Payment processing (US) | 3% + $0.25, on the total including tax and shipping | $1.63 (no sales tax assumed) |
| Total before ads | $4.82 |
That is about 10.5% of the $46 the buyer paid. Etsy may also charge a one-time shop set-up fee, which it can waive during promotions. Sellers in some countries pay an additional Regulatory Operating fee; US sellers are not charged the transaction fee on sales tax.
The Offsite Ads factor
Etsy advertises listings on other sites and charges a fee only when an ad leads to an order within 30 days of the click. The fee is 15% of the order total for shops with under $10,000 in sales over the past 365 days, or 12% once a shop passes $10,000, and it never exceeds $100 on a single order. Shops under $10,000 may opt out; shops that reach $10,000 must participate. On our $46 order, an attributed sale would add $6.90 at 15%, bringing the total to $11.72, or about a quarter of the order.
Tip: Price your Etsy listings so they still make sense if an order arrives through Offsite Ads. If you are under $10,000 in yearly sales and your margins are thin, consider opting out.
Amazon
Amazon offers two plans: Individual, at $0.99 per item sold, and Professional, at $39.99 a month. Every sale also carries a referral fee set by category, charged on the total price including shipping, with a $0.30 minimum in most categories.
| Amazon fee | Rate | On a $40 item + $6 shipping (Home and Kitchen) |
|---|---|---|
| Referral fee | 15% | $6.90 |
| Individual plan | $0.99 per item sold | $0.99 |
| Total, Individual plan | $7.89 | |
| Total, Professional plan | $39.99 a month spread across all orders | $6.90 + your share of $39.99 |
The Professional plan pays for itself once you sell more than about 40 items a month: 40 × $0.99 = $39.60, just under the $39.99 subscription. Fulfillment by Amazon, if you use it, adds per-unit fulfillment fees plus storage; Amazon’s 2026 update said FBA fees would rise by an average of $0.08 per unit sold, effective January 15, 2026. Amazon’s Revenue Calculator estimates those for a specific product.
Shopify store
A Shopify store charges a subscription rather than a percentage. When we checked Shopify’s pricing page in October 2026, Basic was listed at $19 a month billed yearly. If you use Shopify Payments, card processing fees apply; if you use a third-party payment provider instead, Shopify adds 2% on Basic or 1% on Grow, which would be $0.92 on our $46 order on Basic. Prices vary by country, so check the page for yours.
The big difference is that a store’s main cost is not a fee at all but the marketing needed to bring each buyer. A store with no traffic pays the plan fee for no sales.
Side by side
| Etsy | Amazon (Individual) | Shopify store | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Platform fees on a $46 order | $4.82 | $7.89 | Plan fee + processing |
| With marketplace advertising | $11.72 if via Offsite Ads at 15% | Ads optional, priced separately | Your own ad spend |
| Buyers supplied by platform | Yes | Yes | No |
Fees you pay everywhere
- Shipping labels and packaging; see Shipping and Packaging for Small Sellers: USPS Services, Box Sizes and the 30-Day Rule.
- Returns, refunds and the occasional lost parcel; see Handling Returns and Reviews: Platform Policies, FTC Rules and Replies That Help.
- Taxes: platforms file Form 1099-K when payments for goods exceed $20,000 across more than 200 transactions, and may report less; all income is reportable.
Using this to price
Two smaller Amazon details are worth knowing. Media items such as books carry a closing fee of $1.80 per item on top of the referral fee. And Amazon notes that a product’s fee category may not be the same as the category shown to customers, so check the fee category guidelines for your product rather than assuming.
Fees are a percentage of your price, so they grow as you raise it. The practical way to handle them is to work backward from the margin you need, as described in Pricing Handmade Products: A Formula That Pays You, Covers Fees and Stays Honest. If one channel’s fees consistently leave too little, it is the wrong channel for that product; see Etsy vs Amazon vs Shopify: Matching the Channel to the Product.