How much does Etsy take from a $20 sale? For a US seller with no shipping charge and no Offsite Ad, Etsy takes $2.35: a $0.20 listing fee, a $1.30 transaction fee (6.5%) and an $0.85 payment processing fee (3% + $0.25). You get $17.65 before your own costs and taxes.
I'm a veteran mom building income from scratch with kids at the kitchen table, and my first "$20 sale" taught me that the deposit is not the profit. Below is the fee math, what a $20 item really earns after supplies and postage, and the extra fees that can surprise a new shop.
Fee | Rate | On a $20 sale
Listing fee | $0.20 per listing, renews every 4 months | $0.20
Transaction fee | 6.5% of item price + shipping + gift wrap | $1.30
Payment processing (US) | 3% + $0.25 of the total the buyer pays | $0.85
Total Etsy fees | | $2.35
You get from Etsy | $20.00 - $2.35 | $17.65
That is about 11.8% of the sale. Two fees can be added on top:
Offsite Ads: if the buyer clicked an Etsy ad on another site (like Google, Facebook, Instagram or Pinterest) and bought within 30 days, Etsy charges 15% of the order, or 12% if your shop has made $10,000 or more in any 365-day period. The fee is capped at $100 per order.
Currency conversion: 2.5% if you list in a different currency than your bank account.
New shops may also have to pay a one-time, non-refundable set-up fee. Etsy shows the amount during shop set-up because it varies by location. US sellers do not pay Etsy's regulatory operating fee (it applies in the UK, France, Italy, India, Spain, Türkiye, Vietnam and Canada).
The $0.20 listing fee and the $0.25 processing fee are flat, so small items lose a bigger share. Item price only, no shipping, no Offsite Ad, rounded to the cent:
Sale price | Transaction (6.5%) | Processing (3% + $0.25) | Total Etsy fees | You get | Share taken
$5 | $0.33 | $0.40 | $0.93 | $4.07 | 18.6%
$10 | $0.65 | $0.55 | $1.40 | $8.60 | 14.0%
$15 | $0.98 | $0.70 | $1.88 | $13.12 | 12.5%
$20 | $1.30 | $0.85 | $2.35 | $17.65 | 11.8%
$25 | $1.63 | $1.00 | $2.83 | $22.17 | 11.3%
$50 | $3.25 | $1.75 | $5.20 | $44.80 | 10.4%
$100 | $6.50 | $3.25 | $9.95 | $90.05 | 9.9%
Each total includes the $0.20 listing fee. Shortcut: Etsy fees = $0.45 + 9.5% of what the buyer pays for the item and shipping.
Example: You sell a handmade felt ornament for $20 with free shipping. These costs are examples; use your own.
Line | Math | Amount
Item price | | $20.00
Etsy fees | $0.20 + $1.30 + $0.85 | -$2.35
Materials | felt, thread, ribbon | -$3.50
Packaging | mailer, tissue, thank-you card | -$0.65
Shipping label | you pay it because shipping is "free" | -$4.60
Profit before tax | | $8.90
Now say that sale came from an Offsite Ad at 15%. That's another $3.00, and your profit drops to $5.90.
Then set money aside for taxes. Assume your extra income is taxed at 12%:
Line | Math | Amount
Self-employment tax | $8.90 x 92.35% x 15.3% | $1.26
Income tax | ($8.90 - $0.63 half of SE tax) x 12% | $0.99
Tax set-aside | $1.26 + $0.99 | $2.25
Kept after tax | $8.90 - $2.25 | $6.65
So a $20 sale can leave you about $6.65, or a third of the price, in this example. Multiply by 100 sales and that's $235 in Etsy fees and about $225 set aside for taxes. Your bracket and state taxes change the result.
Work backward from the profit you want:
Price = (your costs + profit you want + $0.45) / 0.905
Example: costs of $8.75 (materials, packaging and label from above) and a $10 profit target: ($8.75 + $10 + $0.45) / 0.905 = $21.22. Check: Etsy takes $0.20 + $1.38 + $0.89 = $2.47, and $21.22 - $2.47 - $8.75 = $10.00. This formula ignores Offsite Ads, so leave room if your shop is enrolled.
Pricing checklist:
☐ Add up materials, packaging and the real label cost for each item.
☐ Add $0.45 plus 9.5% of the price for Etsy fees.
☐ Decide whether you can afford a 15% Offsite Ads fee on some orders, or opt out while you're under $10,000.
☐ Count $0.20 every 4 months for listings that don't sell.
☐ Set aside about 25% of profit for taxes until you know your number.
☐ Bundle small items into one listing so the flat $0.45 is paid once per sale instead of once per item.
Yes. The 6.5% transaction fee applies to what you charge for shipping and gift wrap, and the processing fee applies to the full order total. Moving $5 from shipping into the item price doesn't change your fees. What changes your profit is whether the shipping you charge covers the label you buy.
Only the listing fee. Etsy charges $0.20 when you publish a listing, whether or not it sells, and listings expire after 4 months. If auto-renew is on, you pay another $0.20 each time it renews. Ten slow listings on auto-renew cost $6 a year (10 x $0.20 x 3 renewals). Editing a listing is free.
Yes, if your shop has never made $10,000 or more in any 365-day period. Go to Shop Manager, then Settings, then Offsite Ads, and choose to opt out. Once your shop reaches $10,000, the rate drops to 12% but you're required to stay in for the lifetime of the shop.
For US sellers, the 6.5% transaction fee is not charged on sales tax, but the 3% processing fee is, because it's based on everything the buyer pays. If a buyer pays $1.60 in sales tax on your $20 item, processing goes from $0.85 to about $0.90. In most US states, Etsy collects and sends that sales tax to the state for you, so it isn't part of your income.
Yes. Etsy and other marketplaces must send a Form 1099-K when your payments top $20,000 and 200 transactions in a year (they may send one for less), but the IRS says you must report all income whether or not you get a form. Self-employment tax generally applies once your net earnings from self-employment reach $400. You figure net earnings by subtracting ordinary and necessary business expenses, like supplies, labels and Etsy fees, from your gross income.
Open one order in your Etsy Payment account and compare its fee lines to the table above.
Write down your real per-item cost, including the label.
Re-price anything earning under your target using the formula.
Check your Offsite Ads setting.
Turn off auto-renew on listings that haven't sold in a year, or refresh them.
Selling on Etsy: Where the Fees Go on a $20 Sale: watch the short version on YouTube
Side Hustle Fee Calculator ($7, paid): see what you actually keep on Etsy, eBay, Poshmark and Fiverr before you set a price
Free 50/30/20 Budget Sheet (free): plan where your Etsy profit and tax set-aside go each month
More money math for moms building income: Broke To Built on YouTube
Etsy Help, What are Payment Processing Fees for Selling on Etsy?
Etsy Help, How US State Sales Tax and Fees Applies to Etsy Orders
Fees checked against Etsy's pages on October 31, 2026, for sellers with a US bank account. Etsy can change fees, so confirm in your Payment account. Example figures are our own calculations and are rounded.
This is educational content, not financial advice.