Etsy vs eBay fees
Two marketplaces that charge in completely different shapes. Etsy stacks four separate fees, one of which is a flat listing charge that barely moves. eBay folds card processing into a single percentage and adds one flat fee per order. That difference is why neither is simply cheaper than the other.
On a $50.00 sale, Etsy leaves you $2.00 more — 4% of what the buyer paid. Over 100 sales like this one that is $200.00.
| Buyer pays | item + shipping | $50.00 |
Listing fee Charged when you list, and again every four months on renewal. | $0.20 per listing | −$0.20 |
Transaction fee Charged on the order total, shipping included. | 6.5% of $50.00 | −$3.25 |
Payment processing | 3% of $50.00 + $0.25 | −$1.75 |
| Total fees | −$5.20 | |
| Reaches your account | $44.80 | |
| Buyer pays | item + shipping | $50.00 |
Final value fee Card processing is included in this fee. | 13.6% of $50.00 | −$6.80 |
Per-order fee Orders over $10.00. | $0.40 flat | −$0.40 |
| Total fees | −$7.20 | |
| Reaches your account | $42.80 | |
Which is actually cheaper?
They swap places. On a sale with no shipping, eBay keeps more below $3.64 and Etsy keeps more above it. That crossing exists because the two charge in different shapes — a flat fee that does not scale against a percentage that does — so which one hurts more depends entirely on the size of the order.
What does change the answer
2 settings reverse it completely. On a $50.00 sale Etsy normally keeps more, but not in these cases:
- Etsy: Offsite Ads sale — under $10k/yrFlips iteBay+$5.50
- Etsy: Offsite Ads sale — $10k+/yrFlips iteBay+$4.00
- eBay: Allowance used upEtsy+$2.35
What this comparison deliberately will not answer
International buyer: eBay publishes a surcharge for this and Etsy does not publish one that could be sourced. Comparing them here would make Etsy look cheaper on the strength of a gap in its own documentation, so no winner is declared. Check Etsy’s current terms directly if this applies to you.
Payout currency differs: eBay publishes a surcharge for this and Etsy does not publish one that could be sourced. Comparing them here would make Etsy look cheaper on the strength of a gap in its own documentation, so no winner is declared. Check Etsy’s current terms directly if this applies to you.
Cheaper is not the same as better
This page prices a transaction. It cannot price the thing that usually matters more: a marketplace brings you a buyer who was never going to find your own site, and that traffic is worth a percentage that no fee table can put a number on. A platform that takes more and sells more of your stock is the better platform, and no arithmetic here can tell you whether that is the case for you.
So treat the figures as one input. Saufee states what each one charges; where to sell is your call.
What this calculator does not cover
- Payment processing rates are set per country. The 3% + $0.25 used here is the United States rate.
- Shops that pass $10,000 in a 365-day window are enrolled in Offsite Ads permanently and cannot opt out.
- Etsy Plus, Pattern and in-person Square sales carry separate charges not modelled here.
What this calculator does not cover
- These are the basic rates for most categories. Trading cards, bullion, motors, real estate and several others are priced on their own schedules.
- Accounts rated Below Standard pay an extra 6% on final value fees; a Very High "item not as described" rate adds a further 5%.
- The international fee does not apply when you use eBay International Shipping on an eligible listing.
Other comparisons
These calculators are free, and they stay free
There is no account, no email wall and nothing for sale here, which is deliberate — it is what lets the site publish what platforms actually charge and link to where each rate came from. Re-reading ten fee schedules every week is the unglamorous part, and it is what keeps the numbers worth trusting. If that saved you a bad listing decision, you are welcome to put a little toward the domain and the hosting. If it did not, please do not.
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