Where the money actually goes
Etsy's fees are individually small and collectively significant, and they arrive from four directions at once — five if you sell from a country that also pays a regulatory operating fee. Most sellers know the headline 6.5% transaction fee. Fewer can say what they actually netted on last week's orders without looking it up.
The regulatory operating fee, if your country has one
This one is easy to miss because it does not exist everywhere. Etsy charges a regulatory operating fee in certain countries to cover the cost of operating under local rules, and it is calculated on your item price plus the postage you charge — the same base as the transaction fee. Sellers in the United States and Australia do not pay it at all.
It also moves. The UK rate rose from 0.32% to 0.48% on 22 June 2026, and Canada's sits at 0.50%. Those are the defaults loaded by the country buttons above, but the field is editable for exactly that reason: a rate hard-coded into a calculator is a rate that will quietly be wrong one day. Check your own Etsy fee statement if the number matters to a decision.
The fee on your postage
This is the one that surprises people. The transaction fee and payment processing both apply to the shipping you charge, not just the item price. Charge $7 for postage and Etsy takes about 67 cents of it before you've bought a single stamp.
It isn't a mistake or a loophole — Etsy is explicit that fees apply to the total order. But it means the postage you collect never fully covers the postage you pay, and sellers who set shipping to match the carrier's price exactly are quietly short on every order.
Free shipping doesn't dodge it
A common piece of advice is to switch to free shipping to avoid the fee on postage. It doesn't work. The cost has to go somewhere, so it goes into a higher item price — and the item price is charged the same 6.5%. The order total is identical either way, so the fee is identical too.
That cuts both ways, and it's worth saying plainly: free shipping doesn't cost you extra in fees either. The fee argument is simply irrelevant to the decision. Choose based on whether buyers convert better, not on fees.
Offsite Ads are the big one
At 12–15% of the order total, an Offsite Ads fee is larger than every other Etsy fee combined. It only applies to orders that came from Etsy's external advertising, so it doesn't hit every sale — but when it lands on a low-margin item it can wipe out the profit entirely.
Below $10,000 in annual sales participation is optional and can be switched off in Shop Manager. Above that it becomes mandatory, though the rate drops to 12%. Tick the box in the calculator to see what one of those orders actually leaves you.
Common questions
Does Etsy charge fees on shipping?
Yes. Both the 6.5% transaction fee and payment processing apply to the shipping you charge, not just the item. On $7 of postage that's about 67 cents gone before you pay the carrier.
The same is true of anything else you add to the order. The transaction fee is charged on the whole order total — item, shipping, gift wrapping and any personalisation fee. If you charge for gift wrap or customisation, fold those into the item price above so they're counted.
The calculator breaks the fee on postage out as its own line so you can see it rather than having it buried in a total.
How much does Etsy take in total?
For a typical US seller with no offsite ad attached, roughly 10–11% of the order total plus about 45 cents in fixed fees. On a $24 item with $7 shipping that works out around $3.75.
With an Offsite Ads fee on the order, it rises to roughly 22–25%.
Is the listing fee charged again when something sells?
Yes. The $0.20 fee is charged when you first list, then again on each sale to renew the listing. Selling three of the same item in one order triggers renewal fees for the additional quantities, which is why the quantity field above changes the total.
What about sales tax and VAT?
In most regions Etsy calculates, collects and remits sales tax or VAT on your behalf, and it isn't part of your earnings or your transaction fee. This calculator deliberately leaves it out for that reason.
Your own income tax is a separate matter entirely, and nothing here accounts for it. Talk to an accountant.
Are my figures stored anywhere?
No. Everything runs in your browser. There's no account, nothing is uploaded, and closing the tab discards it.