How Much Does Etsy Take Per Sale in 2026?
Updated March 2026 · ~4 min read
You listed your first product, made a sale for $25, and expected to see something close to $25 land in your account. Instead, you got around $22. Where'd the rest go? If you've ever stared at your Etsy payment breakdown wondering why the number keeps shrinking, you're asking the right question.
The short answer: Etsy takes roughly 11% to 13% of every sale in mandatory fees — and that's before Offsite Ads or any promotional spending. Here's exactly where every dollar goes on a real $25 sale.
| Fee Name | Rate | Amount on $25 Sale |
|---|---|---|
| Listing Fee | $0.20 flat | $0.20 |
| Transaction Fee | 6.5% of order total | $1.63 |
| Payment Processing (US) | 3% + $0.25 | $1.00 |
| Total Etsy Fees (base) | $2.83 | |
| + Offsite Ads (15%)* | 15% of order total | $3.75 |
| Total with Offsite Ads* | $6.58 | |
*Offsite Ads only apply when a buyer reaches your listing through an Etsy-funded ad. Most sales won't incur this fee.
So on a straightforward $25 sale with no shipping and no Offsite Ads, Etsy takes $2.83 — that's 11.3% of your revenue. If you want to see how these numbers shift with your actual item price, shipping charges, and material costs, plug your numbers into the Etsy profit calculator and you'll have your exact take-home in seconds.
Scenario 1: Selling a $10 Digital Download
Digital products have zero material cost and zero shipping. That makes the math clean — but it also makes the fees feel worse because they're the only cost.
On a $10 digital download:
- Listing Fee: $0.20
- Transaction Fee (6.5%): $0.65
- Payment Processing: $0.55
- Total Etsy Fees: $1.40
You keep $8.60 — an 86% margin. That's excellent. Digital sellers have it good on Etsy precisely because there's no shipping or material cost eating into what's left after fees.
BUT — if that $10 sale came through an Offsite Ad at 15%, add another $1.50. Now you're keeping $7.10, and your margin dropped to 71%. Still profitable, but it stings on a $10 item.
Scenario 2: Selling a $50 Handmade Necklace
Physical products are where the fee stack gets real. Let's say your necklace costs $15 in materials and you charge $7 for shipping (your actual cost is $6).
Total order: $57.00. Here's the breakdown:
- Listing Fee: $0.20
- Transaction Fee (6.5% of $57): $3.71
- Payment Processing (3% of $57 + $0.25): $1.96
- Total Etsy Fees: $5.87
Subtract your material cost ($15) and shipping cost ($6), and you're left with $30.13 — a 52.9% margin. Healthy.
But notice: Etsy charged the 6.5% transaction fee and the 3% processing fee on the shipping too, not just the item price. That's an extra $0.68 in fees you probably didn't expect. A lot of sellers miss this. The 6.5% applies to the total order amount — item price plus whatever the buyer pays for shipping.
How to Keep More of Your Money
You can't negotiate Etsy's fees. They're fixed. What you can do is make sure your price accounts for them from day one.
1. Price with fees baked in. Don't set a price and then subtract fees to see what's left. Start with what you need to earn, add all Etsy fees on top, and that's your listing price. Work backwards from your desired profit, not forwards from your costs.
2. Know your real shipping cost. If you charge $5 for shipping but it actually costs you $8, that's $3 coming out of your profit on top of fees. Etsy Shipping Labels often beat retail USPS rates — check them before buying postage elsewhere.
3. Track your Offsite Ads exposure. If you're under $10,000 annually, go to Shop Manager → Marketing → Offsite Ads and decide whether to opt out. If you're above $10,000, you can't opt out, so build the 12% into your pricing formula.
4. Bundle when possible. Selling two items in one order means you only pay the $0.20 listing fee once, and the fixed $0.25 processing fee once. Two separate orders would cost you $0.40 in listings and $0.50 in processing minimums. Small numbers, but they add up across hundreds of sales.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does Etsy charge fees on shipping costs?
Yes. The 6.5% transaction fee and the 3% payment processing fee are both calculated on the total order amount, which includes item price plus shipping. If a buyer pays $8 for shipping, Etsy takes roughly $0.76 in fees on that shipping charge alone.
Do I still pay the listing fee if my item doesn't sell?
Yes. The $0.20 listing fee is charged when you publish or renew a listing, regardless of whether it sells. Listings auto-renew every 4 months. If you have 100 active listings, that's $20 every 4 months in listing fees alone — even with zero sales.
What's the total percentage Etsy takes from a typical sale?
For US sellers, the base fees (listing + transaction + payment processing) add up to roughly 11-13% depending on sale price. Lower-priced items lose a higher percentage because the fixed costs ($0.20 listing fee, $0.25 processing minimum) take a bigger bite proportionally.
The Bottom Line
Etsy's fee structure isn't complicated once you see it laid out — it just has more layers than most new sellers expect. The 6.5% transaction fee gets the most attention, but the payment processing fee and the Offsite Ads fee are what catch people off guard.
The smartest thing you can do is run your actual numbers before you set a price. Type your sale price, material cost, and shipping into the Etsy fee calculator and you'll see exactly what lands in your pocket — no guesswork, no surprises on payday.