Etsy transaction fee: the 6.5% sellers actually pay
Etsy’s transaction fee is 6.5% of the item price plus shipping and gift wrap the buyer pays. It is not optional, it is not the same as payment processing, and it is easy to undercount if you only look at sticker price. This page breaks down the base, how the fee stacks, and a few dollar examples you can sanity-check before you list.
Quick answer
Rate: 6.5% transaction fee on eligible order amounts.
Base: item price + shipping charged to the buyer + gift wrap (for the quantity sold).
Separate from: the $0.20 listing fee (per listing / renew / quantity sold as Etsy bills it) and country-based payment processing.
Also separate from:Offsite Ads (12% or 15%, $100 per-order cap) when an order is attributed to that program.
Figures reflect common 2026 seller fee structure used on this site. Always confirm the live wording in Etsy’s Fees & Payments Policy — rates and tax treatment can vary by country and shop setup.
What counts toward the 6.5%?
Think of the transaction fee as Etsy’s cut of the sale you charged the buyer for, before you subtract what you owe the carrier or your supplier. In the mental model most U.S. and many international sellers use:
Included: listing price × quantity, shipping price charged on the order, gift wrap charged on the order.
Not a “credit” against the fee: the postage you actually pay USPS/UPS/etc., your COGS, packaging, or returns labor. Those reduce profit after fees — they do not shrink the 6.5% base.
Sales tax / VAT collected for remittance: treatment can depend on how Etsy displays and remits tax in your market. Do not assume tax is always inside or outside the fee base; check your Payment account line items for a real order.
If a buyer pays $48 for a $40 item and $8 shipping, a simple estimate of the transaction fee is 6.5% × $48 = $3.12 — not 6.5% × $40 alone.
How it stacks with listing and processing
On a typical paid order you should expect at least three layers:
Listing fee — commonly $0.20 USD when a listing is published or renewed, and Etsy may charge listing fees in ways that scale with quantity sold. It is small per unit but material if you renew often or sell multi-quantity listings.
Transaction fee (6.5%) — marketplace fee on price + shipping + gift wrap as described above.
Payment processing — varies by the country of your bank / Etsy Payments setup. A common U.S. example is about 3% + $0.25 on the order gross. UK, EU, Canada, Australia, and other markets use different percentage + flat combinations.
If the order was driven by Offsite Ads, add a fourth layer: 15% (shops under $10k trailing 12-month sales) or 12% ($10k+), capped at $100 per order. Offsite does not replace the 6.5% transaction fee.
Regulatory operating fees, VAT on Etsy services, and foreign-exchange conversion can also appear on statements depending on your shop. Our free homepage calculator currently focuses on listing + transaction + processing + optional Offsite; other line items are noted as roadmap / verify-on-Etsy.
Dollar examples (rounded)
Assume a U.S. seller, one unit, no gift wrap, no Offsite attribution, processing ≈ 3% + $0.25, listing $0.20, and ignore sales tax for clarity.
Example A — $25 item + $5 shipping ($30 buyer pays before tax)
Transaction 6.5% × $30 ≈ $1.95
Processing ≈ 3% × $30 + $0.25 ≈ $1.15
Listing ≈ $0.20
Fees subtotal ≈ $3.30 before COGS and real postage
If your product costs $8 and postage costs you $4.50, take-home is closer to $30 − $3.30 − $8 − $4.50 ≈ $14.20 — not “$25 minus a little.”
Example B — $80 item + $12 shipping ($92 before tax)
Transaction 6.5% × $92 ≈ $5.98
Processing ≈ 3% × $92 + $0.25 ≈ $3.01
Listing ≈ $0.20
Fees subtotal ≈ $9.19
Same structure, larger absolute fee. Percentage of sticker price alone still misleads because shipping is inside the 6.5% base.
Example C — same $30 order as A, but Offsite-attributed at 15%
Offsite ≈ 15% × order total (until the $100 cap) ≈ $4.50 on a $30 base
Fees subtotal ≈ $7.80 before COGS/postage
That is why shops that leave Offsite on should model both organic and Offsite paths — same listing, different stacks. Details: Offsite Ads fee guide.
Pricing habits that protect margin
Price from take-home, not vanity sticker. Work backward from COGS + postage + desired profit + the full fee stack.
Include shipping in the 6.5% math. Free-shipping marketing still usually means you raised the item price — the fee base did not disappear.
Watch multi-quantity and renewals. Listing fees and renewals add up even when each $0.20 feels trivial.
Re-check after a fee or processing-table change. Bookmark Etsy’s policy page and re-run a few SKUs in the calculator when something shifts.
FAQ
Is the Etsy transaction fee still 6.5% in 2026?
That is the rate modeled on this site as of the Nov 1, 2026 update. Etsy can change fees; treat any third-party page (including this one) as an estimate and verify against the official Fees & Payments Policy and your Payment account.
Do I pay 6.5% on shipping the buyer pays?
Yes — in the standard model, shipping charged to the buyer is part of the transaction-fee base, along with item price and gift wrap.
Is payment processing included in the 6.5%?
No. Processing is a separate fee with its own percentage and flat amount by country. U.S. shops often see roughly 3% + $0.25 on top of the transaction fee.
Does Offsite Ads replace the transaction fee?
No. When an order is Offsite-attributed, Offsite fees stack with listing, transaction, and processing.
Where can I run my own numbers?
Use the free calculator on the homepage — listing, 6.5% transaction, country processing, optional Offsite, and COGS → estimated net.