The short answer
For a standard US sale with no ads, Etsy takes $0.20 plus 9.5% of the order revenue plus $0.25. That breaks into the $0.20 listing fee, 6.5% transaction fee, and 3% plus $0.25 payment processing. The typical seller loses roughly 10% of a sale to fees without ads, and 20 to 25% when an Offsite Ad is involved.
Fee math at five price points
All rows assume a US seller, the shipping shown charged to the buyer, and no Offsite Ads.
| Item + shipping | Listing | Transaction (6.5%) | Processing (3% + $0.25) | Total fees | You keep |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| $5 + $0 | $0.20 | $0.33 | $0.40 | $0.93 | $4.07 |
| $10 + $0 | $0.20 | $0.65 | $0.55 | $1.40 | $8.60 |
| $25 + $5 | $0.20 | $1.95 | $1.15 | $3.30 | $26.70 |
| $50 + $5 | $0.20 | $3.58 | $1.90 | $5.68 | $49.32 |
| $100 + $5 | $0.20 | $6.83 | $3.40 | $10.43 | $94.57 |
Why small orders pay the highest percentage
The $0.20 listing fee and the $0.25 fixed processing charge never shrink. On a $5 sale they add $0.45 before any percentage is applied, which is why the effective rate hits 18.5%. On a $105 sale the same fixed charges are a rounding error, and the rate drops to 9.9%. If you sell low-priced items, fees are your pricing problem, not your volume problem: a $5 item needs nearly double the margin percentage of a $50 item to clear the same profit.
With Offsite Ads: the $100 comparison
Take a $100 item with free shipping. The base fees are $0.20 listing, $6.50 transaction, and $3.25 processing, totaling $9.95, and you keep $90.05. If the buyer arrived through an Etsy offsite ad, add 12% ($12.00) for shops over $10,000 a year, for $21.95 in fees and $78.05 kept. Shops under $10,000 pay 15% ($15.00), for $24.95 in fees and $75.05 kept. That is the difference between a healthy sale and a sale that barely pays you: know your ad attribution before you judge a month's profit.
What a table misses that the calculator catches
Tables use round numbers. Your listings do not. Quantity changes the listing fee ($0.20 per unit sold on multi-quantity listings). Shipping you charge raises the sale total that percentages apply to. Your item cost turns fees into profit and margin, which is the number that actually decides your price. Run your real numbers rather than eyeballing a table row.