Guide · 8 min read · free tool
Etsy vs eBay vs Shopify: Fees Are Half the Comparison
Sep 26, 2026 · Zelpura Editorial · All guides
Sellers compare marketplaces on fees and pick the cheapest percentage, which is the wrong comparison. A 3% fee on a platform that sends you no buyers is worse than a 15% fee on a platform that sends you three hundred. Fees are the visible cost; traffic is the invisible one, and it is usually worth far more.
This calculator does the honest version of the comparison. Enter your item price, shipping charged, cost per unit, and the postage you pay, and it computes the fee and net payout for Etsy, eBay, Amazon Handmade, Shopify, Facebook and Instagram selling, and a self-hosted site on Stripe — all at the same order value, side by side, with the best net payout flagged.
Worked example. A $32 item with $4.95 shipping, $18 cost, $5.40 postage — an order value of $36.95. Etsy: about $3.75 in fees, net about $9.80. eBay at 13.25% plus $0.30: about $5.20, net about $8.35. Amazon Handmade at 15%: about $5.54, net about $8.01. Shopify Basic: about $1.47 plus roughly $0.20 of monthly cost amortised over 200 orders, net about $11.88. Your own site on Stripe: about $1.37, net about $11.18. Facebook at 5%: about $1.85, net about $10.70.
Notice the spread is smaller than you expect. Between the most expensive and the cheapest platform at this price, the difference is about three dollars. That is real money at volume, but it is not the difference between a working shop and a failing one. The difference between a working shop and a failing one is whether anyone sees your listing.
Traffic is the number this calculator cannot show you. Etsy has hundreds of millions of buyers searching with intent. Amazon Handmade has a fraction of that but a lot of trust. eBay has huge reach in specific categories. Facebook has social reach but weak purchase intent. Your own site has zero reach on day one and all of it eventually. The cheapest fee structure belongs to the platform with the least traffic, and that is not a coincidence.
Shopify's monthly fee is the trap in this comparison. $39 a month is nothing at 200 orders and enormous at 10. The calculator amortises it over 200 orders to make the comparison fair — if you sell fewer than that, divide by your real number and watch Shopify drop down the table.
The right answer is usually more than one platform. Etsy for discovery and the buyers who search there, your own site for repeat customers and the margin you keep, and one social channel for the audience you build. Diversifying also removes the risk of a single platform changing its fees — which Etsy has done repeatedly, and which is exactly why this calculator is worth re-running every quarter.
Frequently asked questions
Is Etsy cheaper than eBay for sellers?
At most price points Etsy is slightly cheaper: roughly 10% effective versus eBay's 13.25% plus $0.30. The difference is small — usually two to four dollars an order — so the decision should be driven by where your buyers actually are.
Is Etsy or Shopify better for handmade sellers?
Etsy brings built-in search traffic and charges about 10% effective. Shopify charges about 3% plus a monthly fee but sends you no buyers. Most successful sellers use both: Etsy for discovery, their own site for repeat customers and margin.
What does Amazon Handmade charge sellers?
A 15% referral fee with no listing fee and no monthly subscription. That is higher than Etsy's effective rate, but Amazon's buyer trust and Prime reach are substantial.
Should I sell on more than one marketplace?
Yes. Diversifying removes single-platform fee risk and gives you two sources of discovery. Start with one, get fulfilment right, then add a second — and compare them with real numbers every quarter.
Related: Etsy Fee Calculator · Etsy Profit Calculator · eBay Final Value · Etsy Pricing Calculator · All 93 tools