Etsy fees vs eBay fees: about 10% vs 14% on a $55 sale

On base fees, Etsy costs less. For a US seller, a $50 item with $5 shipping pays about $5.68 in Etsy fees (10.3%) and about $7.88 on eBay (14.3%), before ads and sales tax.

The numbers

Assumptions: US seller, $50 item plus $5 shipping, an item in eBay’s standard category, no ads, no eBay Store, and the listing is one of eBay’s 250 free listings that month. Fee rates come from Etsy’s fees policy and eBay’s selling fees page. We assume the shipping label costs exactly the $5 the buyer paid. “After tax” means setting aside 25% of net. That 25% is our assumption, not an IRS rate. The cost of the item itself isn’t included. The table is per sale, not per hour, because neither platform pays by the hour and selling time varies too much to price honestly.

Each fee is rounded to the cent, and percentages to one decimal place.

Where each fee comes from

Etsy, $55 order (US bank account, no ads):

Listing fee                             $0.20
Transaction fee   6.5% x $55.00       = $3.58
Processing        3% x $55.00 + $0.25 = $1.90
Total                                   $5.68  (10.3% of $55)

eBay, $55 order (no Store, standard category, no ads):

Insertion fee (within 250 free)         $0.00
Final value fee   13.6% x $55.00      = $7.48
Per-order fee (order over $10)          $0.40
Total                                   $7.88  (14.3% of $55)

Etsy splits its cut into three pieces. eBay puts nearly everything into one final value fee and doesn’t list a separate payment processing fee. So compare eBay’s 13.6% with Etsy’s 6.5% plus 3% plus $0.25. For the Etsy side on its own, including setup and payout costs, see Etsy fees: about 10% of a sale, 25% with an Offsite Ad.

Etsy says its processing rate depends on where your bank account is and can change at any time. Check both fee pages before you set prices.

The fee schedules side by side

Etsy’s listing fee comes back every four months while an item sits unsold with auto-renew on. A listing that stays up for a year without selling costs $0.20 x 3 = $0.60. On eBay the same listing costs nothing as long as you stay under 250 new listings a month.

Sales tax: the line that widens the gap

eBay takes its percentage from the whole sale, sales tax included. Etsy’s 6.5% transaction fee doesn’t apply to the sales tax it collects from US buyers. Here’s an illustration at an 8% tax rate (real rates depend on where the buyer is):

Taxed total       $55.00 x 1.08       = $59.40
eBay fee          13.6% x $59.40      = $8.08
Per-order fee                           $0.40
eBay total                              $8.48  (was $7.88 before tax)

eBay’s cost rises by $0.60 on tax money you never keep. Etsy’s transaction fee stays at $3.58. If Etsy’s 3% processing fee were also charged on the tax, it would add at most 3% x $4.40 = $0.13. Either way, eBay costs $2.67 to $2.80 more on this sale.

There’s one Etsy-only tax. Since October 2025, Etsy has charged Texas sellers 6.25% sales tax on 80% of the transaction fee. On the $55 example that’s $3.58 x 0.80 x 0.0625 = about $0.18 a sale.

Ads: where Etsy can become the more expensive option

• Etsy Offsite Ads cost 15% of the order if your shop made under $10,000 in any 365-day period, and 12% if it made $10,000 or more. The fee is capped at $100 per order. It’s only charged when a buyer clicks an offsite ad and buys within 30 days (Etsy’s Offsite Ads page). You can opt out until your shop reaches $10,000. After that you’re in for the life of the shop.
• eBay Promoted Listings (general campaigns) are opt-in. You pick a rate from 2% to 100% of the total sale amount and pay only if the item sells within 30 days of a click. eBay counts adding the item to a watchlist or cart, or opening Quick View, as a click (eBay’s general campaign page).

The same $55 sale with ads:

Etsy + Offsite Ad at 15%   $5.68 + $8.25 = $13.93  (25.3%)
Etsy + Offsite Ad at 12%   $5.68 + $6.60 = $12.28  (22.3%)
eBay + 5% ad rate          $7.88 + $2.75 = $10.63  (19.3%)

The 5% eBay rate is our assumption for illustration, not a suggested rate.

Break-even ad rate: ($13.93 - $7.88) / $55 = 11.0%. An Etsy sale that comes through a 15% Offsite Ad costs more than an eBay sale promoted at any rate below about 11%.

Etsy’s Share & Save works the other way. If a buyer orders within 30 days of clicking a link you shared, Etsy refunds 4% of the eligible order total. If the full $55 is eligible, that’s $2.20 back, which brings Etsy’s base fees down to $3.48.

What changes the answer

Price point (no ads, no tax, no Store)

The fixed charges ($0.45 per order on Etsy, $0.30 or $0.40 on eBay) make small orders expensive on both platforms. From $55 up, eBay costs about 4 percentage points more. On a $10 order the gap narrows to 2.6 points.

Category

eBay’s 13.6% doesn’t apply to every category.

• Books, movies and music: 15.3%. On $55 that’s $8.42 + $0.40 = $8.82 (16.0%).
• Jewelry and watches: 15% up to $5,000. On $55 that’s $8.25 + $0.40 = $8.65 (15.7%).
• Sneakers selling for $150 or more: 8% and no per-order fee, so a $150 sale costs $12.00 on eBay. On Etsy the same sale costs $0.20 + $9.75 + $4.75 = $14.70 (9.8%). This is one of the few cases where eBay’s base fee is lower.

Seller performance

If eBay rates your account Below Standard at its evaluation on the 20th of the month, you pay 6 extra percentage points the next month (7 after four or more months in a row). The $55 sale then costs 19.6% x $55 + $0.40 = $11.18.

International buyers

eBay adds 1.65% (about $0.91 on $55) if you don’t use eBay International Shipping. eBay’s currency conversion fee is 3.25%, against Etsy’s 2.5%.

Compared with: an eBay Store

Basic Store subscribers and above pay 12.7% up to $2,500 per item in “all other categories,” according to eBay’s Store fees page. Starter subscribers still pay 13.6%.

$55 sale, Basic Store   12.7% x $55 + $0.40 = $7.39  (13.4%)
Saving vs no Store      $7.88 - $7.39       = $0.49 per sale
Basic, annual plan      $21.95 / $0.49      = 45 sales a month to break even
Basic, monthly plan     $27.95 / $0.49      = 58 sales a month to break even

Both sales counts are rounded up. A Basic Store also includes 1,000 free fixed-price listings, so every listing beyond the first 250 saves $0.35 and heavy listers break even sooner. Even with a Store, $7.39 is still more than Etsy’s $5.68 for the same sale. Etsy has no tier that lowers its commission. Etsy Plus costs $10 a month and buys 15 listing credits (worth $3) plus $5 in Etsy Ads credit. Unused credits don’t roll over.

Worked example: one month, 20 sales

Assumptions, numbered so you can swap in your own:

1. 20 sales a month at $55 each (item plus shipping), so $1,100 gross.
2. Each shipping label costs $5, so $100 a month.
3. Etsy: 3 of the 20 orders come through Offsite Ads at 15%, and the shop is under $10,000.
4. eBay: listings are promoted at a 5% rate, and 10 of the 20 sales follow an ad click.
5. No eBay Store, under 250 listings, and sales tax left out.

Etsy base fees     20 x $5.68  = $113.60
Etsy Offsite Ads    3 x $8.25  =  $24.75
Etsy fees total                  $138.35  (12.6% of $1,100)
Etsy net after labels  $1,100 - $138.35 - $100 = $861.65

eBay base fees     20 x $7.88  = $157.60
eBay ads           10 x $2.75  =  $27.50
eBay fees total                  $185.10  (16.8% of $1,100)
eBay net after labels  $1,100 - $185.10 - $100 = $814.90

Difference                       $46.75 a month in Etsy's favor

A new Etsy shop also pays the one-time setup fee in its first month. It has ranged from $15 to about $30, which cuts the first month’s gap to between about $17 and $32. For context on what a month of part-time selling tends to add up to, see side hustle with a full-time job: median pay is $200 a month.

Getting paid

Cashing out $40 fast costs $0.40 on Etsy and $2.00 on eBay. Etsy can hold back part of each physical-item sale in a reserve, for example after a first sale, a sudden jump in orders, or missing tracking. Most reserves are lifted within 90 days, and support agents can’t remove them. eBay lists its own holds, including performance holds and W-9 tax-information holds. On either platform, expect your first payouts to arrive later than the sale date suggests.

Taxes: the same 1099-K rules on both

For tax year 2025, both platforms issue a 1099-K when gross payments are over $20,000 and there are more than 200 transactions. Both say they also apply a state’s threshold where it’s lower. The federal threshold went back to $20,000 and 200 transactions under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (IRS 1099-K FAQ). The IRS says income is taxable whether or not you get the form. Etsy asks for your taxpayer details once you reach $500 in sales in a year.

The 25% set-aside in the opening table is a rough assumption, not a calculation. Your real bill depends on your total income, your state, and the item and shipping costs you can deduct. This is arithmetic, not tax advice. A tax professional can price your own situation.

Hidden costs neither fee page shows

• Shipping labels. We assumed they cost exactly what the buyer pays for shipping. If they cost more, the difference comes out of your net. Etsy says its labels can be up to 30% below USPS retail, which is a best case.
• Packaging, printer ink and tape. These cost the same on either platform and are left out of every figure above.
• Unpaid time spent photographing, listing, answering messages and driving to the post office. It’s the same on both platforms, so it doesn’t change the comparison. It does decide whether selling beats other options per hour: see most effective side hustles, ranked by after-tax pay per hour.
• Scams. Etsy says it never sends links asking you to verify your shop or bank details, and new sellers are a common target.

Verdict in one number

$2.20: eBay takes $2.20 more than Etsy on a $55 sale before ads, and the gap only closes or flips for Etsy sales that come through Offsite Ads or for sneakers at $150 or more on eBay.