Etsy brings you buyers and keeps them. Shopify gives you customers and no traffic. They are not really rivals — they are two different businesses, and many sellers end up running both.
We earn a commission if you sign up through the links on this page. We pay for every tool we test and no brand sees a draft before it goes live. How this site makes money.
The short answer
Start on Etsy if you make things, have no audience yet and want your first sales without paying for traffic. Add Shopify once you have customers who come back to you by name — that is the point where Etsy’s fees stop buying you traffic and start taxing your own customers.
| Shopify | Etsy | |
|---|---|---|
| Monthly fee | From $29/mo, billed yearly | None (optional Etsy Plus subscription) |
| Listing a product | Unlimited products included | $0.20 per listing, renewed every four months |
| Fee on each sale | The card rate: 2.9% + 30¢ on Basic | 6.5% transaction fee, plus payment processing |
| Advertising fee | None | Offsite Ads: 15% of attributed orders (optional below $10,000 a year); 12% and mandatory for life once a shop passes $10,000 |
| Where buyers come from | You bring them | Etsy's marketplace brings them |
| Who owns the customer | You | Etsy |
Etsy figures from Etsy's Fees & Payments Policy, checked 24 September 2026. Shopify figures from its published US pricing, checked 24 September 2026.
What a $40 sale costs
On Etsy: $0.20 to list it and a 6.5% transaction fee ($2.60) — $2.80 before Etsy’s payment processing. If the order came through Etsy’s Offsite Ads, add 15% ($6.00), or 12% once your shop passes $10,000 a year. On Shopify Basic: $1.46 in card fees, and no advertising fee — because on Shopify, you pay for the advertising yourself, before the sale.
That last point is the whole comparison. Etsy’s fees are the price of its traffic. If you can bring your own buyers more cheaply than that, Shopify is cheaper. If you cannot, Etsy is.
The fee you cannot switch off
Offsite Ads can be declined while a shop is under $10,000 in sales over the past year. Once it crosses that line, participation becomes mandatory at 12% of attributed orders — and, under Etsy’s own policy, stays mandatory even if sales later fall back under the threshold.
Running both
The common pattern: Etsy for discovery, Shopify for repeat customers and your own brand. Put a card in every Etsy parcel that sends buyers to your own store next time, and keep inventory in sync so the same item does not sell twice.
Questions we get asked
Is Shopify cheaper than Etsy?
Per sale, yes, by a wide margin. Per customer, only if you can bring buyers yourself for less than Etsy’s fees.
Can I sell the same products on Etsy and Shopify?
Yes. Keep stock synchronised between them, or you will eventually sell the last unit twice.
Start your free trialNo credit card to start