What Amazon, eBay and Etsy actually keep at every price
Headline commission rates hide the fixed fees, and fixed fees are what decide the cost of cheap items. We ran each marketplace’s official fee table from $3 to $200 to see who takes the most at each price, and where the order flips.
Key numbers
- 19.6%of a $5 eBay sale goes in fees (13.6% plus the $0.30 per-order fee). On Etsy it is 18.5%, on Amazon 15.0%.
- $8.19is where Etsy becomes cheaper than a 15% Amazon category. Below it Etsy’s $0.45 of fixed fees (listing + processing) costs more.
- $28.58is where eBay’s 13.6% plus $0.40 becomes cheaper than Amazon’s 15%.
- 25.4%of a $50 Etsy sale when the order comes through Offsite Ads at 15% — more than double the 10.4% of an ordinary Etsy order.
- Etsy + Offsite Ads (15%)
- eBay, most categories
- Amazon, 15% category
- Etsy, no ads
| Sale price | Amazon (15% category) | eBay (most categories) | Etsy (no ads) | Etsy + Offsite Ads 15% | Amazon, Individual plan |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| $5 | $0.75 · 15.0% | $0.98 · 19.6% | $0.93 · 18.5% | $1.68 · 33.5% | $1.74 · 34.8% |
| $10 | $1.50 · 15.0% | $1.66 · 16.6% | $1.40 · 14.0% | $2.90 · 29.0% | $2.49 · 24.9% |
| $15 | $2.25 · 15.0% | $2.44 · 16.3% | $1.88 · 12.5% | $4.13 · 27.5% | $3.24 · 21.6% |
| $20 | $3.00 · 15.0% | $3.12 · 15.6% | $2.35 · 11.8% | $5.35 · 26.7% | $3.99 · 20.0% |
| $25 | $3.75 · 15.0% | $3.80 · 15.2% | $2.83 · 11.3% | $6.58 · 26.3% | $4.74 · 19.0% |
| $30 | $4.50 · 15.0% | $4.48 · 14.9% | $3.30 · 11.0% | $7.80 · 26.0% | $5.49 · 18.3% |
| $50 | $7.50 · 15.0% | $7.20 · 14.4% | $5.20 · 10.4% | $12.70 · 25.4% | $8.49 · 17.0% |
| $100 | $15.00 · 15.0% | $14.00 · 14.0% | $9.95 · 9.9% | $24.95 · 24.9% | $15.99 · 16.0% |
| $200 | $30.00 · 15.0% | $27.60 · 13.8% | $19.45 · 9.7% | $49.45 · 24.7% | $30.99 · 15.5% |
Assumptions: US seller, the buyer pays no separate shipping, no sales tax, no store subscription, no promoted listings. eBay: no Store, within the 250 free listings a month. Etsy: US Etsy Payments rate (3% + $0.25), 6.5% transaction fee, $0.20 listing fee per sale. Amazon: referral fee only (15% with a $0.30 minimum), so add FBA fees if you use FBA; the Professional plan’s $39.99 a month works out to $1.00 an order at 40 orders.
Three things the table says that the headline rates don’t
1. Under $10, fixed fees are the real cost
At $5, the fixed parts — eBay’s $0.30 per order, Etsy’s $0.20 listing plus $0.25 processing — add 6 to 9 points to the percentage rate. Amazon has no fixed part above $2 in most categories, which is why it is the cheapest of the three for very cheap items, unless you are on the Individual plan, where the $0.99 per-item fee takes 34.8% of a $5 sale.
2. Etsy’s low rate depends on Offsite Ads not firing
An ordinary Etsy order costs 11.0% of a $30 sale. If the buyer arrived through an Etsy Offsite Ad, add 15% (12% once you have sold $10,000 in the past year), capped at $100 an order. You do not choose which orders are attributed, so price as if some share of them will be.
3. All three charge commission on the shipping you collect
Amazon’s referral fee, eBay’s final value fee and Etsy’s transaction and processing fees all use the order total including shipping. That has a useful consequence: moving shipping into the item price (“free shipping”) does not change the fee. Whether to show shipping separately is a conversion decision, not a fee decision — except near a price line such as Amazon clothing’s $20 or eBay sneakers’ $150.
| Shipping charged to the buyer | Amazon (15%) | eBay (13.6%) | Etsy (6.5% + 3%) |
|---|---|---|---|
| $4.00 | $0.60 | $0.54 | $0.38 |
| $6.00 | $0.90 | $0.82 | $0.57 |
| $8.00 | $1.20 | $1.09 | $0.76 |
| $12.00 | $1.80 | $1.63 | $1.14 |
The profit margin calculator takes any marketplace’s rates; the Amazon, eBay and Etsy calculators apply each official table for you.
Sources
- Amazon, Selling on Amazon pricing: referral fees ↗
- eBay, Selling fees (sellers without a Store) ↗
- Etsy Help, What are the Fees and Taxes for Selling on Etsy? ↗
- Etsy Help, What are Payment Processing Fees for Selling on Etsy? ↗
Fee pages checked on 28 October 2026. Fees change; the calculators link to the same pages so you can re-check before you price.