Why Did I Only Get $X From a $Y Etsy Sale?
You sold something for $20 and the deposit was $16-ish. Nothing's broken — here's every fee Etsy takes, itemized, so the number stops being a mystery.
Etsy's fees are layered, which is why the deposit never matches the sale price. Here's each one on a typical $20 sale.
The fees, itemized
| Fee | Rate | On a $20 sale |
|---|---|---|
| Listing fee | $0.20 per listing | $0.20 |
| Transaction fee | 6.5% of item + shipping | $1.30 |
| Payment processing | 3% + $0.25 (US) | $0.85 |
| Offsite Ads (if attributed) | 12% or 15% | $0 or $2.40–3.00 |
| You keep (no ads) | ~$17.65 | |
| You keep (with 15% ad) | ~$14.65 |
The one that surprises people: Offsite Ads
Etsy advertises your listings across Google, Facebook and more. If a buyer clicks one of those ads and buys, Etsy charges 12% (or 15% if your shop earned over $10k in the last year). Shops under the threshold can opt out; shops over it cannot. This single fee is why some sales come back much lower than expected. (Is it worth it?)
Why percentages hit shipping too
The 6.5% transaction fee applies to the item price plus shipping. If you offer "free shipping," the shipping cost is baked into your price and still gets taxed at 6.5%. Price accordingly.
Fixed fees hurt cheap items most
The $0.20 + $0.25 fixed fees are a small share of a $20 sale but a huge share of a $3 one — which is why low-priced digital downloads keep so little (details).
See it for your exact price
The free Etsy Fee Calculator breaks down every fee on any sale price, and its reverse mode tells you what to charge to net a specific take-home. No more guessing why the deposit is smaller than the sale.
Etsy Fee Calculator
The full 2026 fee breakdown on any sale — and a reverse mode that tells you what to charge to net your target. Free.