Etsy Fee Calculator

Most sellers think Etsy just takes "a percentage," but it's way more layered than that. According to Etsy's official fee policy, you're paying multiple fees that hit at different stages. Here's what you're actually dealing with:

Listing Fee ($0.20 per item)

You pay this the moment you list an item, and it renews every four months if the item doesn't sell. If you're listing 50 products, that's $10 just to have your shop stocked—whether you make sales or not. What surprised me is that this fee applies per quantity, so if you list "Quantity: 5," you're charged $1.00 upfront for those five listing slots.

Transaction Fee (6.5% of sale + shipping + gift wrap)

Here's where it gets expensive. Etsy takes 6.5% of the total order value—and yes, that includes shipping and gift wrap if you charge for them. So if you sell a $40 item with $8 shipping, Etsy calculates 6.5% on $48, not just $40. That's $3.12 right there. A lot of sellers miss this and price their shipping to break even, then lose money when Etsy takes a cut of that too.

I've talked to dozens of Etsy sellers who thought shipping fees were "pass-through"—that if you charge $7.50 for shipping and it costs you $7.50, you'd break even. Nope. Etsy takes $0.49 of that shipping charge (6.5%), so you're actually losing money on every shipment unless you build that into your price.

Payment Processing Fee (varies by country)

For US sellers, this is typically 3% + $0.25 per order through Etsy Payments. Canada is 3% + $0.25 CAD for domestic/US orders. Other countries have different rates—you can check the full breakdown on Etsy's payment processing fee page. This fee often includes sales tax in the calculation base, so a $50 order with $4 tax might get hit with processing fees on the full $54.

Here's a specific example: A $47.99 item with $8.50 shipping and $4.51 sales tax means your gross is $61.00. Payment processing takes 3% of that ($1.83) plus $0.25, so $2.08 total. Combined with the transaction fee ($3.67 on the $56.49 sale + shipping + gift wrap), you're down $5.75 before you've even touched your product costs. That's nearly 10% gone in just two fees.

Offsite Ads Fee (12% or 15%, capped at $100)

This one's the killer. If someone clicks an Etsy ad on Google, Facebook, Pinterest, or other platforms and buys from you within 30 days, Etsy charges an advertising fee. It's 15% of the order total (before tax) if your shop made less than $10,000 in the past year—and you can opt out. But if you've made over $10,000 in trailing 12-month sales, it drops to 12% and becomes mandatory. You can't turn it off.

The good news? It caps at $100 per order, so if someone buys a $2,000 custom piece through an Offsite Ad, you pay $100, not $240 (12% uncapped). The bad news? Most sellers don't realize this fee is coming until they see a massive chunk disappear from a sale they thought was organic.

I've seen sellers lose 27% of a sale when Offsite Ads kicked in on top of regular fees. If you're selling a $55 item and Offsite Ads applies, that's $8.25 gone immediately (15%), plus the usual $0.20 listing + $3.58 transaction (6.5%) + $1.90 processing (3% + $0.25)—you're down $13.93 before product costs. Suddenly that $55 sale nets you $41.07, and if your product cost $30, you're making $11 before packaging and your time.

Regulatory Operating Fee & Currency Conversion (sometimes)

Depending on where your buyers are located, Etsy might charge small regulatory fees to cover compliance costs in certain regions. If you're selling internationally and currency conversion happens, there's usually a fee for that too—typically around 2.5% on converted amounts. These don't hit every transaction, but when they do, they add another layer to your take-home.

Here's my formula for figuring out real profit—not revenue, not gross, but what actually lands in your pocket after Etsy and expenses:

Let's work through two real examples I've calculated for sellers:

Example 1: $28 Handmade Soap Bar

• Sale price: $28.00
• Shipping charged: $5.50
• Total buyer pays: $33.50
• Listing fee: $0.20
• Transaction fee: $2.18 (6.5% of $33.50)
• Processing fee: $1.26 (3% + $0.25)
• Total Etsy fees: $3.64
• Net after Etsy: $29.86
• Product cost (materials): $8.00
• Shipping cost (your cost): $4.75
• Packaging: $1.50
• Total costs: $14.25
• Actual profit: $15.61

That's a 46.6% profit margin—solid. But notice how $3.64 in Etsy fees ate nearly 11% of the gross revenue right off the top. If you'd priced this soap at $24.99 thinking you'd make the same profit, you'd actually be down to around $11 after fees and costs.

Example 2: $65 Digital Print (no shipping)

• Sale price: $65.00
• Listing fee: $0.20
• Transaction fee: $4.23 (6.5%)
• Processing fee: $2.20 (3% + $0.25)
• Offsite Ads apply: $9.75 (15% of $65)
• Total Etsy fees: $16.38
• Net after Etsy: $48.62
• Product cost (digital—negligible): $0
• Actual profit: $48.62

Digital products have great margins—until Offsite Ads hits. In this case, Etsy took 25.2% of the sale. That's why I always recommend running scenarios with Offsite Ads enabled in the calculator, especially if your shop's approaching that $10k threshold where it becomes mandatory.

What helped me was plugging every product into this calculator before listing. I'd adjust my price until the profit margin hit at least 40-50% after all fees and costs. It's tedious, but it's the only way to avoid that moment three months in where you realize you've been working for $6/hour after fees.

I've watched sellers make these exact mistakes—usually because Etsy's fee structure isn't explained clearly anywhere official. Here's what trips people up:

Forgetting Fees Apply to Shipping

Most common mistake. You charge $6 for shipping thinking it covers your $6 USPS cost, but Etsy takes 6.5% ($0.39) of that shipping charge. Now you're paying $0.39 out of pocket on every order. Multiply that by 100 orders and you've lost $39 you didn't account for. Always add at least 7-10% to your shipping cost to cover Etsy's transaction fee.

Not Testing With Offsite Ads Enabled

You price everything perfectly for a 12% fee structure—then Offsite Ads kicks in on half your sales and suddenly you're losing money. Even if you're under the $10k threshold and can opt out, test your pricing with that 15% fee enabled. If a single Offsite Ad sale would wreck your margins, your price is too low.

Ignoring the Fixed $0.25 Processing Fee

That $0.25 processing fee sounds tiny until you're selling $5 stickers. On a $5 item, that's 5% gone right there, plus 3% processing rate ($0.15), plus 6.5% transaction ($0.33), plus $0.20 listing. You're down $0.93 on a $5 sale—nearly 19% in fees. Low-price items get destroyed by that fixed fee. This is why you see sellers bundling—selling three stickers for $12 instead of one for $5 spreads that $0.25 over more revenue.

Pricing Based on Competitors Without Knowing Their Costs

You see someone selling similar mugs for $29.99, so you price yours at $28.99 to be competitive. Problem—you don't know their material costs or if they're even profitable. I've seen sellers race to the bottom matching prices, then realize they're making $3 per item after fees and costs while working 40 hours a week. Don't price based on what you see—price based on what you need to make.

Forgetting to Include Packaging and Time

Those cute branded boxes, tissue paper, thank-you cards, and tape? That's $2-$4 per order. Your time to pack and ship? If it takes you 15 minutes and you value your time at $20/hour, that's $5 in labor. Most sellers calculate profit purely on material cost and forget everything else. Run the full calculation including all costs, or you'll end up working for free.

Here's my approach after years of selling and helping others price their Etsy products:

1. Calculate your true cost per item. Materials + packaging + shipping + 30 minutes of labor at your desired hourly rate. Be honest—if it takes you 45 minutes to make something, count the full 45 minutes.
2. Add Etsy fees at worst-case. Assume 11% base fees (listing + transaction + processing) plus 15% Offsite Ads. That's 26% total. Yes, it seems high, but if you price for worst-case and Offsite Ads doesn't hit, you make extra profit.
3. Target 50% profit margin minimum. If your total cost (materials + time + packaging + fees) is $20, you should be charging at least $40. This gives you buffer for sales, promotions, and unexpected costs.
4. Build fee coverage into shipping. If USPS costs you $7.50, charge $8.50-$9.00. The extra covers Etsy's transaction fee on shipping and gives you wiggle room for package weight variations.
5. Test with this calculator before listing. Plug in your numbers, toggle Offsite Ads on, see what you actually net. If the profit is less than $10 on a sale under $50, raise your price or simplify your product to cut costs.
6. Bundle low-price items. Instead of selling one bookmark for $4, sell three for $11. You spread the $0.20 listing fee and $0.25 processing fee across more value, which improves margins.
7. Review pricing every quarter. Material costs change. Shipping rates increase. Etsy's fees have changed over the years (they raised transaction fees from 5% to 6.5% in 2022). Re-run your calculations regularly to make sure you're still profitable.

What surprised me most was realizing I needed to raise my prices by 30-40% to hit the profit margins I wanted after properly accounting for fees. It felt scary—would anyone buy at those prices? But here's the thing: buyers on Etsy expect to pay more for handmade quality. If you're pricing like Walmart, you're signaling low quality even if your product is fantastic. Price for profit, and the right buyers will find you.

You can also check out tools like the Price Margin Calculator to quickly test different markup strategies, or the Break Even Calculator to see exactly how many units you need to sell at various price points to cover costs and fees.