Transaction fee

The transaction fee is the headline cut Etsy takes from every sale: 6.5% of the item price, plus 6.5% of shipping you charge, plus 6.5% of any gift wrap charge. It’s separate from the payment processing fee (which Etsy also takes) and from any ad fees.

What’s in the 6.5% base

• Item price (per unit, multiplied by quantity)
• Shipping you charge the buyer
• Gift wrap charge if you offer it

What’s not in the base

• Sales tax (Etsy collects and remits in marketplace facilitator states; not subject to your fee)
• Discounts the buyer applied (transaction fee is on the discounted total)
• Etsy-funded coupons (rare; same as above)

Why “free shipping” doesn’t help your margin

A common myth: offering free shipping lets you avoid the transaction fee on shipping. It doesn’t. You roll the shipping cost into the item price, and Etsy takes 6.5% of that bigger item price instead. Net fee paid: identical.

Stacking

On a typical $30 sale with $5 shipping in the US, the transaction fee alone is $35 × 6.5% = $2.28. Add the payment processing fee (~$1.30) and the listing fee ($0.20), and Etsy’s take is around $3.78 - about 13% before any ad fees.