Shopify vs Etsy Fees (2026): Which Is Cheaper for Sellers?
Last updated May 2026
Shopify and Etsy charge in completely different ways: Etsy is a marketplace that takes a cut of every sale, while Shopify is your own store with a monthly plan plus payment processing. Here is how they compare in 2026.
How Etsy fees work
Etsy charges a $0.20 listing fee, a 6.5% transaction fee on the item plus shipping, and payment processing of about 3% + $0.25 in the US. Together that is roughly 10–11% of each sale.
Etsy's advantage is its built-in audience of buyers looking for handmade, vintage, and craft items — you pay more per sale but you do not have to bring your own traffic.
How Shopify fees work
Shopify does not take a commission on your sales. Instead you pay a monthly plan (Basic is about $39/month) plus payment processing of 2.9% + $0.30 per order with Shopify Payments. Using an external gateway adds a 2% fee on the Basic plan.
The trade-off: Shopify gives you a branded store and keeps per-sale costs low, but you are responsible for driving your own traffic through SEO, ads, or social.
Head to head: a worked example
On a single $100 sale with free shipping, Etsy takes around $10, while Shopify takes only about $3.20 in processing. But Shopify also costs ~$39/month regardless of sales.
That means Shopify gets cheaper the more you sell: spread across 100 sales a month, the $39 plan adds only ~$0.39 per order. At very low volume, Etsy's pay-per-sale model can work out cheaper because there is no fixed cost.
Which should you choose?
Choose Etsy if you sell handmade or vintage items, are just starting, or want access to its buyer base without building traffic. Choose Shopify if you have steady volume, want a real brand, and can bring your own customers.
Many sellers do both — list on Etsy for discovery and run a Shopify store for repeat buyers. Run your own numbers in the calculators below before deciding.