Etsy vs eBay Fees (2026): Which Takes Less From Your Sale?

The head-to-head numbers

Same sale, both marketplaces, US rates, no shipping charged, no ad fees. Etsy: $0.20 listing + 6.5% transaction + 3% + $0.25 processing. eBay (no store, most categories): 13.6% final value fee + $0.30 per-order fee on orders of $10 or less, $0.40 above.

Etsy math: $0.20 + 6.5% + (3% + $0.25). eBay math: 13.6% + $0.30 (orders $10 or under) or $0.40 (over $10); eBay insertion fees are $0 within the 250 free listings/month. Percentages are effective rates on the item price.

How Etsy fees actually work

Etsy's fee structure looks like a lot of small charges, but it compresses into one of the lowest effective rates in e-commerce. On a US sale, four pieces apply:

• Listing fee — $0.20 per unit. Charged when the listing publishes or renews, and again for each unit sold on a multi-quantity listing. Listings last four months.
• Transaction fee — 6.5% of the order total. This is the big one, and it applies to the item price plus the shipping you charge the buyer — not just the item.
• Payment processing — 3% + $0.25 per order (US; the UK pays 4% + £0.20, parts of the EU 4% + €0.30). Like the transaction fee, it's calculated on the full order total.
• Offsite Ads fee — 12–15%, only sometimes. If Etsy shows your product in an offsite ad and it leads to a sale, Etsy takes 15% (shops under $10,000 in the last 12 months, where participation is optional) or 12% (shops over $10,000, where it's mandatory). Capped at $100 per order.

Add the first three on a $100 sale with no shipping and you get exactly what the table shows: $0.20 + $6.50 + $3.25 = $9.95, an effective rate of 9.95% — not the 6.5% most sellers quote. The headline percentage is never the whole story, which is why the Etsy fee calculator exists: it itemizes all of this from your real numbers. For the full fee-by-fee explainer, see our guide to how Etsy fees work in 2026.

How eBay fees actually work

eBay's structure is simpler to quote and harder to beat: one big percentage, one small flat fee, and a generous free-listing allowance.

• Final value fee — 13.6% of the total sale, up to $7,500; then 2.35%. “Total sale” means item price plus the shipping you charge plus the sales tax eBay collects — the fee base is always bigger than your item price. Most categories share this rate; a few (like coins or heavy equipment) differ, and the calculator covers category-specific rates.
• Per-order fee — $0.30 on orders of $10 or less, $0.40 above. Small, but on a $10 item it's 3% all by itself.
• Insertion fees — 250 free per month, then $0.35 each. Charged per listing and per category, non-refundable even if the item never sells. Store tiers lower the overage rate ($0.30 Starter, $0.25 Basic, $0.10 Premium, $0.05 Anchor/Enterprise).
• Promoted Listings — optional, 2–100% you set. You pay your chosen rate only when an ad click leads to a sale within 30 days. It stacks on top of the final value fee.

On a $100 sale with no shipping and no store: 13.6% of $100 ($13.60) + $0.40 = $14.00, a 14.0% effective rate. That four-point gap versus Etsy is the whole comparison in one number. The eBay fee calculator handles the category rates, store tiers, and promoted-listing math that this page keeps simple.

When Etsy wins

On pure fees, Etsy wins essentially every sale a normal seller makes — the table isn't close, and the gap widens as prices rise because eBay's flat 13.6% scales faster than Etsy's ~9.5% effective rate. Beyond the raw numbers, Etsy also wins when:

• You sell handmade, vintage, or craft supplies. That's Etsy's entire audience — buyers arrive intending to buy exactly what you make, which means higher conversion and less discounting pressure than eBay's bargain-hunting crowd.
• Your listings convert reliably. Etsy's $0.20-per-unit listing fee stings only when listings sit unsold. If yours sell, it's already counted in the table above — and it's still cheaper.
• You want predictable fees. Etsy's structure has no tiers, no thresholds, no category lottery. What you calculate is what you pay, every time.

When eBay wins

eBay loses the fee comparison almost everywhere — but “almost” matters, because the exceptions are real businesses:

• Single orders above ~$11,800. eBay's 2.35% rate on the portion of a sale above $7,500 finally undercuts Etsy's flat ~9.5% at around $11,800 per order (assuming no shipping charged and no store). Relevant for vehicles, machinery, bulk lots, and high-end collectibles — not for typical sellers, but decisive where it applies.
• Categories with lower eBay rates. eBay's category-specific final value rates can be well under 13.6%, and a Basic-or-higher store cuts most categories to 12.7% (though it also drops the full-rate threshold to $2,500). If you sell in a discounted category, rerun the numbers — the table above uses most-categories rates.
• High listing volume, low conversion. eBay's 250 free listings a month beat Etsy's $0.20-per-unit charge when you list hundreds of items that sell slowly. A seller with 400 live listings pays eBay $52.50/month past the allowance; on Etsy the same 400 listings cost $80 every four months plus $0.20 per unit sold.
• Used goods, electronics, and collectibles. eBay's audience is 10x Etsy's size and shops with intent for exactly these categories. A lower fee on zero sales is still zero — sell where your buyers are.
• Auction format. eBay's auction remains the best price-discovery tool for one-of-a-kind items. Etsy has no equivalent.

Beyond the fees: what the table doesn't show

Fees decide your margin per sale; these decide whether you get the sale at all.

• Etsy's Offsite Ads wildcard. That 12–15% fee only hits orders attributed to offsite ads — but when it hits, it can erase a thin margin by itself. A 20%-margin bestseller that converts through an offsite ad keeps almost nothing. Price your bestsellers for the ad case, or opt out while you're under $10,000.
• eBay's Promoted Listings are optional. Unlike Etsy's mandatory-above-$10k offsite program, you choose your eBay ad rate (2–100%) listing by listing. The fee stacks on the 13.6%, so a 10% promoted rate on a $50 sale means ~24% to eBay before your costs — price for it or skip it.
• Store subscriptions change both sides. eBay's Basic store ($21.95/month billed annually) cuts most categories to 12.7% and roughly pays for itself around $2,440/month in sales. Etsy has no equivalent subscription — its fee is the fee.
• Payment timing and holds. Both marketplaces can hold payouts for new or high-risk sellers. Neither fee table captures cash-flow timing, which kills more small sellers than fees do.

The verdict framework

Stop asking “which is cheaper?” and ask these three questions instead:

• 1. Where do your buyers already shop? Handmade, personalized, or vintage → Etsy. Used, refurbished, collectible, or auction-suited → eBay. The wrong audience costs more than any fee gap.
• 2. What's your average order value? Under ~$11,800, Etsy takes less on every sale. Over it — or in an eBay category with a discounted final value rate — rerun your exact numbers in both calculators before assuming.
• 3. What's your ad exposure? If your Etsy bestsellers regularly convert through Offsite Ads, add 12–15% to your mental fee rate. If you run eBay Promoted Listings, add your ad rate to the 13.6%. The “cheaper” marketplace flips fast once ads enter the picture.

Many successful sellers end up on both: Etsy for the handmade line at lower fees, eBay for the vintage/used inventory where the audience is. The calculators make the per-item math free — the strategy is deciding which audience deserves which products.

Rates checked October 2026 against both marketplaces' published fee structures. Every rate is editable inside the Etsy and eBay calculators, so you can match your shop's actual statement. This is a pricing aid, not tax or accounting advice. Not affiliated with Etsy, Inc. or eBay Inc.

Etsy vs eBay fee questions, answered