The short answer
Etsy charges per sale and Shopify charges per month. Etsy's fees on one order are fixed by the order, while Shopify's plan fee is the same whether you sell ten items or a thousand, so it gets cheaper per order as you grow.
We take the same sale on both: a $25.00 item with $4.99 shipping, paid by card. On Shopify we spread the $39.00 Basic monthly plan over the orders you take in a month and add the 2.9% + $0.30 card fee.
At 10 orders a month Etsy is cheaper, because the plan share alone is $3.90 per order. By 25 orders Shopify has already moved ahead, and by 500 it saves $2.05 on every order.
| Orders a month | Shopify plan share | Shopify fees | Etsy fees | Shopify saves per order | Shopify saves over the month | Lower fees |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10 | $3.90 | $5.07 | $3.30 | -$1.77 | -$17.70 | Etsy |
| 25 | $1.56 | $2.73 | $3.30 | $0.57 | $14.25 | Shopify |
| 50 | $0.78 | $1.95 | $3.30 | $1.35 | $67.50 | Shopify |
| 100 | $0.39 | $1.56 | $3.30 | $1.74 | $174.00 | Shopify |
| 250 | $0.16 | $1.33 | $3.30 | $1.97 | $493.50 | Shopify |
| 500 | $0.08 | $1.25 | $3.30 | $2.05 | $1,026.00 | Shopify |
Computed by the Shopify and Etsy calculators. Shopify Basic billed monthly with Shopify Payments, Etsy with a $0.20 listing fee for the sold item and no Offsite Ads.
What Etsy charges per order
Etsy takes a 6.5% transaction fee and payment processing of 3% + $0.25 on the item plus shipping, along with a $0.20 listing fee and a regulatory operating fee where one applies. On our order that is $3.30.
Offsite Ads are the swing. When a buyer comes through one of Etsy's ads on another site, Etsy charges 15% of the order, which takes the fees to $7.80. Etsy's help page says shops that made $10,000 or more cannot opt out, and smaller shops can.
What Shopify charges per order
The plan is the fixed cost. Shopify Basic is $39.00 a month in the US, or $29.00 a month when billed yearly. On top comes the card fee, which is 2.9% + $0.30 for online orders on Basic, charged on the item plus shipping.
Using a third-party payment gateway instead adds Shopify's own transaction fee of 2% on Basic on top of the provider's fee. At 100 orders a month that alone is $0.60 per order, before the provider charges anything.
| Plan | Monthly price | Online card rate | Fees per order | Orders a month to beat Etsy |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Basic | $39.00 | 2.9% + $0.30 | $1.56 | 19 |
| Grow | $105.00 | 2.7% + $0.30 | $2.16 | 48 |
| Advanced | $399.00 | 2.5% + $0.30 | $5.04 | 177 |
Plan prices are for monthly billing.
Where the break-even sits
Shopify's fees on one order fall below Etsy's at 19 orders a month in this example. The break-even moves with the price of the item, because Etsy's percentages (9.5% before fixed fees) are larger than Shopify's 2.9% card rate. The dearer the item, the sooner the plan pays for itself.
At the break-even of 19 orders, Shopify's fees for the month are $61.23 and Etsy's are $62.70. Shopify's plan is paid whatever you sell, so a slow month costs the same as a busy one.
| Item price | Etsy fees per order | Shopify fees at 100 orders | Orders a month to beat Etsy |
|---|---|---|---|
| $10 | $1.87 | $1.12 | 35 |
| $25 | $3.30 | $1.56 | 19 |
| $100 | $10.42 | $3.73 | 6 |
Shipping charged is $4.99 in every row.
The same sale in other countries has a different break-even, because each store has its own plan price, card rate and Etsy fees.
| Country | Shopify Basic | Card rate | Etsy fees per order | Orders a month to beat Etsy |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| United States | $39.00 a month | 2.9% + $0.30 | $3.30 | 19 |
| United Kingdom | £25.00 a month | 2% + £0.25 | £3.64 | 9 |
| Canada | C$49.00 a month | 2.8% + C$0.30 | C$3.53 | 21 |
| Australia | A$56.00 a month | 1.7% + A$0.30 | A$3.39 | 22 |
Each row is in local currency, with the same item and shipping amounts as the US example.
What this comparison leaves out
- Marketing. Etsy has its own buyers and search, while a Shopify store has to find its customers, and that cost is not in the table.
- Apps, themes, a domain and a store designer. Shopify charges separately for these.
- Etsy Ads, and Offsite Ads apart from the single order priced above.
- Sales tax, chargebacks, Shopify Plus and the Shopify POS plan.
- Premium, Amex and international cards on Shopify, which cost more than the standard card rate used here.
The plan share is an estimate, because Shopify bills the plan monthly and not per order. At 10 orders a month the plan alone is $3.90 per order.