Etsy charges sellers multiple fees on every transaction. Understanding how they stack matters because the total take rate — the percentage of each sale that goes to Etsy — is higher than many new sellers expect. Here's exactly how each fee works and what you actually keep.
The Four Main Fees
1. Listing Fee: $0.20 per item
Every time you publish a listing, Etsy charges $0.20. This fee applies whether or not the item sells. Listings expire after 4 months, at which point you pay another $0.20 to renew. If your item sells and you have quantity set to more than one, Etsy charges $0.20 each time a unit sells to "renew" the remaining quantity.
2. Transaction Fee: 6.5% of the sale price
When an item sells, Etsy takes 6.5% of the total transaction amount — including the item price, shipping charges, and any gift wrapping fees you charge. This fee applies to the total the buyer pays you, not just the item price.
If you charge $45 for an item and $8 for shipping, Etsy's 6.5% applies to the full $53:
$53.00 × 6.5% = $3.45
3. Payment Processing Fee
Etsy Payments (the platform's built-in payment system, required in most countries) charges a payment processing fee. In the US, this is:
3% + $0.25 per transaction
Rates differ by country — sellers in the UK, Canada, Australia, and the EU have different percentage and fixed-fee rates.
4. Regulatory Operating Fee (select countries only)
In some markets (UK, France, Turkey, Spain, and others), Etsy charges an additional regulatory operating fee of 0.25–1.1% on top of the transaction fee. This covers compliance costs Etsy faces in those jurisdictions.
A Full Worked Example (US Seller)
Item price: $40, Shipping: $8, Total sale: $48
Total sale amount: $48.00
Listing fee: -$0.20
Transaction fee (6.5%): -$3.12
Payment processing (3% + $0.25):-$1.69
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Net to seller: $43.19
Effective take rate: 10.0%
That's around 10% of gross revenue going to Etsy before you account for any cost of goods, materials, or shipping supplies.
Optional Fees That Add Up
Etsy Ads (formerly Promoted Listings): You set a daily budget and pay per click. Costs vary by competition in your category — typically $0.20–$0.50+ per click.
Offsite Ads: Etsy automatically advertises your listings across Google, Facebook, Instagram, and Pinterest. If a sale results from one of those ads, Etsy charges 12–15% of the order total. Sellers with less than $10,000 in annual sales can opt out; high-volume sellers cannot.
Etsy Plus ($10/month subscription): Includes credits toward listings and Etsy Ads, access to customizable shop features, and a discount on a custom domain. Worth it only once you're selling consistently enough that the credits offset the cost.
Pattern (Etsy's website builder): $15/month, separate from an Etsy shop subscription.
How to Price for Profit on Etsy
Add up your true costs before setting a price:
Material/COGS + Labor + Shipping supplies + Packaging + Etsy fees + Target profit = Price
To cover Etsy's fees, mark up your price so that after fees you receive your minimum acceptable amount:
Minimum price = (COGS + Target profit + $0.45) ÷ (1 - 0.095)
The 9.5% denominator covers the combined 6.5% transaction fee and approximately 3% payment processing. The $0.45 covers the listing fee ($0.20) plus the fixed payment processing fee ($0.25).
To model your exact Etsy fees and net profit for any sale, use the Etsy Fee Calculator. To find the minimum viable price for any product, use the Breakeven Price Calculator.