2026-08-11 · 7 min read

Etsy Fees Explained (2026): What You Actually Pay to Sell

Opening an Etsy shop is free. Selling on it isn't. The fees are small individually and easy to under-count together — most sellers lose somewhere between 10% and 30% of each sale to Etsy without ever adding it up. Here's every 2026 fee, in plain numbers, plus exactly what you keep on a sale.

The short answer

For a typical US sale with no ads, Etsy takes about 10–12%. If the sale came through an Offsite Ad, it's closer to 25–30%. There's no monthly fee and nothing to pay until you list — but the per-sale cut is bigger than it first looks, mostly because it's charged on the whole order (shipping included), not on your profit.

The fees you pay on every sale

• Listing fee — $0.20 per listing. You pay it to publish an item. A listing lasts four months or until it sells, then auto-renews for another $0.20. Sell multiple quantities of one listing and each sale renews it at $0.20. This is the only fee you pay if an item doesn't sell.
• Transaction fee — 6.5%. Charged when an item sells, on the total the buyer pays — item price plus the shipping and gift wrap you charge. Not on your profit; on the gross.
• Payment processing — 3% + $0.25 (US). Etsy Payments takes this on each order. The rate and flat amount vary by country, so a UK, EU, or Canadian shop will see a slightly different number.
• Offsite Ads — 12% or 15%. Only if a sale is attributed to an ad Etsy ran for you on Google, Facebook, and elsewhere. It's 15% for most shops and 12% once you pass $10,000 in a rolling year — and mandatory at that point. It's capped at $100 per order. Deciding whether it's worth it? See are Etsy Offsite Ads worth it?

The situational fees (they catch people out)

• Currency conversion — 2.5%. If you list in a currency different from your bank/payment-account currency, Etsy takes 2.5% of the sale to convert it. Listing in your payout currency avoids it.
• Regulatory Operating Fee. A small percentage of each order in certain countries (the UK, France, Italy, Spain, Turkey and others), tied to local digital-services taxes. Several of these rose in 2026 — see what changed on Etsy in 2026 for the details.
• Etsy Plus — optional, ~$10/month. A subscription with extras like restock notifications and monthly listing credits. Useful for some, but never required to sell. This is the closest Etsy has to a "monthly fee," and it's opt-in.
• Sales tax / VAT. Not an Etsy fee — Etsy collects and remits it in most regions automatically — but it's on the buyer's total, so it's worth knowing it isn't money you keep.

What you actually keep — worked examples

Numbers make it concrete. Here's the core-fee math (listing + transaction + US payment processing) on a few order sizes, before any Offsite Ads:

The three things that surprise new sellers

• Fees are on the gross, not your profit. Etsy takes its cut of the whole order before your costs. A "$30 sale" is not $30 in your pocket.
• Shipping is taxed too. Because the 6.5% applies to shipping, "free shipping" listings still pay a transaction fee on the shipping you absorbed into the price.
• Offsite Ads become mandatory. Cross $10,000 in a rolling year and you can't opt out — so once you're growing, price with that 12% in mind on ad-driven orders.

How to keep more of each sale

• Price with fees built in. Work backward from the profit you want and divide out the ~12% — the full method is in how to price your products on Etsy.
• List in your payout currency to skip the 2.5% conversion fee.
• Make each listing earn its $0.20. A listing that never sells still costs you every four months — good SEO is what turns those renewals into sales. Start with the complete guide to Etsy SEO.
• Weigh Offsite Ads honestly while you're still under $10k and can opt out.

Questions

How much does it cost to sell on Etsy?

Nothing to open a shop. Per sale: a $0.20 listing fee, 6.5% transaction fee on the item + shipping, and 3% + $0.25 US payment processing — about 10–12% in total, or 25–30% if the sale came through an Offsite Ad.

Does Etsy charge a monthly fee?

No. The core fees are per-listing and per-sale. Etsy Plus (~$10/month) is an optional add-on, not a requirement.

Do you pay if your item doesn't sell?

Only the $0.20 listing fee to publish it. A listing lasts four months or until it sells, then auto-renews for another $0.20. Everything else is charged only on an actual sale.