The baseline cut: ~10% on every order
Three fees apply to every sale Etsy processes, with no way to opt out: the $0.20 listing fee (charged when the listing sells), the 6.5% transaction fee on item + shipping + gift wrap, and payment processing at country-specific rates (3% + $0.25 for US sellers using Etsy Payments).
On a $50 order with shipping rolled into the price, that's $0.20 + $3.25 + $1.75 = $5.20, or 10.4% of revenue. That's the floor — you can't get below it without changing platforms.
The Off-Site Ads cut: the one that turns 10% into 28%
Etsy runs paid ads for your listings on external networks (Google, Facebook, Pinterest, Instagram). When a buyer clicks one of those ads and purchases within 30 days, Etsy charges 12% (shops over $10k trailing revenue, mandatory) or 15% (shops under $10k, opt-out available) of the entire order including shipping.
This is the single biggest cut Etsy takes — and it's the one most new sellers don't model into their pricing. The fee is capped at $100 per order, which is why high-ticket sellers see an effective Off-Site Ads rate below 15% once orders cross ~$667.
Edge cases that push the cut higher
Currency conversion adds 2.5% if your listing currency differs from your payout currency. The regulatory operating fee (0.25%–1.1%) applies to sellers in the UK, France, Italy, Spain, and Turkey, among others. EU sellers pay higher payment processing (4% + €0.30) than US sellers.
Stack all of these and a UK seller's effective fee rate on an Off-Site Ads-attributed order can reach 30%+. Most US sellers land in the 10–25% range depending on Off-Site Ads exposure.