🇺🇸 Updated 2026-07-27 · 5 min read · every figure sourced & dated (dataset 2026.07)
If you list the same $30 product on Amazon and Etsy, you will not keep the same amount of money. The two platforms charge in completely different ways, and the “cheaper” one flips depending on what you sell and what it costs. Here’s the 2026 picture, from the same sourced dataset that powers our Amazon US and Etsy US calculators.
Amazon takes a single referral fee on the total sale (item price plus the shipping you collect): 15% in most categories, 8% for electronics, and 17% for apparel over $20, with a $0.30 minimum. That’s it for the sale itself — but selling seriously means the $39.99/month Professional plan, and if you use FBA, fulfilment fees on top.
Etsy looks far cheaper at first: a 6.5% transaction fee. The catch is the pile of smaller charges around it — a $0.20 listing fee per item (renewed every four years or per sale), and Etsy Payments at 3% + $0.25 per order. On a $30 sale that stacks up to roughly $3.30 all-in — about 11%.
Take a $30 apparel item costing $8, with $5 shipping:
So on a low-priced apparel item, Etsy wins. But push the price to $120 and Amazon’s flat percentage often beats Etsy’s percentage-plus-fixed structure — and if you’re in electronics, Amazon’s 8% band undercuts Etsy outright. Category and price decide it, which is exactly why a single “who’s cheaper” answer is misleading.
Etsy’s headline rate is lower, but its fixed fees and narrower audience mean it wins mainly for lower-priced, handmade-leaning products. Amazon’s flat referral fee scales better on higher-priced items and non-handmade categories, at the cost of a monthly fee and ad spend. Don’t take a rule of thumb — put your real price, cost and category into the Amazon and Etsy calculators, or compare every US marketplace at once on the United States hub.
On headline rate, yes — Etsy's 6.5% transaction fee is well below Amazon's typical 15% referral fee. But once you add Etsy's $0.20 listing fee and 3% + $0.25 payment processing, a low-priced item can pay 11%+ all-in. Amazon adds the $39.99/month Professional plan and (if used) FBA. The real winner depends on your price, category and volume — run your numbers in the calculators.
Amazon charges a referral fee on the full sale (item + shipping): 15% in most categories, 8% for electronics, and 17% for apparel over $20, with a $0.30 minimum. US referral fees are frozen through 2026. A Professional seller account is $39.99/month, and FBA fulfilment is extra.
Both do. Amazon and Etsy are marketplace facilitators, so they collect and remit US state sales tax at checkout — it never touches your margin. You only handle sales tax yourself on an own-store platform like Shopify where you have nexus.