Etsy Fees in the UK: What Etsy Takes From a Sale
Last verified: November 2, 2026
On a £30 sale with free shipping, Etsy takes £4.66 in fees from a UK seller — including VAT on those fees — and pays out £25.34, before the seller pays for the item and the shipping label. UK shops also carry a Regulatory Operating Fee that most other countries don't. This guide shows every fee a UK seller pays, what it is charged on, and how to turn the total into profit.
The fees at a glance
| Fee | Rate (UK seller) | What it is charged on |
|---|---|---|
| Listing fee | 0.15 GBP per listing | A listing lasts four months. Renewing it, including when an item sells, costs the same amount again. |
| Transaction fee | 6.5% | Item price, shipping you charge and gift wrapping. |
| Payment processing | 4% + 0.20 GBP per order | The full amount charged to the buyer, including shipping and any VAT. |
| VAT on Etsy's fees | 20% | Etsy's own transaction, payment processing, listing and Regulatory Operating fees — not your sale price. Reverse-charged at 0% if you have a VAT number on file with Etsy. |
| Regulatory Operating Fee | 0.48% | A UK-specific surcharge on your item price and shipping, separate from VAT. |
| Currency conversion | 2.5% | Sales where your listing currency differs from your payment account currency. |
| Offsite Ads | 15%, or 12% after $10,000 in sales within any 365 days; max $100 per order | Only orders from an ad the buyer clicked within the previous 30 days. Optional below the threshold. |
A worked example: one £30 sale
A UK seller sells a £30 item with free shipping, with VAT charged to the buyer. The item and packaging cost £7.00 and the shipping label costs £4.80.
| Line | Amount |
|---|---|
| Item price (excl. VAT), free shipping | £30.00 |
| VAT charged to buyer (20%) | +£6.00 |
| Buyer pays | £36.00 |
| Transaction fee (6.5% of £30) | −£1.95 |
| VAT on transaction fee (20%) | −£0.39 |
| Payment processing (4% of £36 + 0.20 GBP) | −£1.64 |
| VAT on payment processing (20%) | −£0.33 |
| Listing fee | −£0.15 |
| VAT on listing fee (20%) | −£0.03 |
| Regulatory Operating Fee (0.48%) | −£0.14 |
| VAT on regulatory fee (20%) | −£0.03 |
| Etsy pays out | £25.34 |
| Materials and packaging | −£7.00 |
| Shipping label | −£4.80 |
| Your profit | £13.54 |
That is a 45.1% margin. The buyer's VAT (£6.00) isn't the seller's money — Etsy collects and remits it — but it does raise the base the payment processing fee is charged on, which is a real cost.
Want to try it with your own numbers? Open the calculator, already set to this example →
What if the order came from Offsite Ads?
If a buyer clicked one of Etsy's off-platform ads and bought within 30 days, Etsy charges an extra 15% of the sale — the same rate everywhere, stated in USD by Etsy regardless of the seller's own currency. Shops that have never reached $10,000 in sales within any 365 days can opt out; larger shops pay 12% and cannot. We cover the details in Etsy Offsite Ads: how the fee works and whether you can opt out.
Fees are not profit
Etsy's fees only describe what Etsy takes. Profit is what is left after your own costs: materials, packaging, the shipping label, and your time. A product that looks fine at a 45.1% margin can fall further once an ad fee, a refund or an unlucky shipping rate is added. That is why it is worth calculating profit per order instead of looking at revenue.
Common questions
Do I get Etsy fees back if I refund an order?
According to Etsy's help pages, the transaction and payment processing fees are credited back when you refund through Etsy. The listing fee is credited only if you also cancel the order.
Do I need to register for VAT to sell on Etsy from the UK?
That depends on your total turnover and your own circumstances — this is not tax advice, so check with an accountant or HMRC. What Etsy itself does is separate: it charges VAT on its own fees (transaction, payment processing, listing, Regulatory Operating Fee) unless you have a VAT number on file with Etsy, in which case that VAT is reverse-charged at 0%.
What is the Regulatory Operating Fee?
A UK-specific surcharge Etsy added on top of its other fees, charged as a percentage of your item price and shipping. It is separate from VAT and shows as its own line on your payment account.
Can I avoid the Offsite Ads fee?
Only if your shop has never reached $10,000 in sales within any 365 days. After that, participation is required.
Calculate your own sale
Put your price, shipping and costs into the free Etsy fee and profit calculator and see the same breakdown for your numbers. If you want your real monthly profit instead of one hypothetical sale, CraftKept turns your Etsy payment statement into profit per order. Start my $1 trial
Try the free calculator →Selling from a different country? See the Germany fees guide or read Etsy Fees Explained for the US rates.
How we checked this: UK rates come from Etsy's published fee pages, last verified October 27, 2026. This is an estimate for one sale, not tax advice. Rates change, so check Etsy before you price.
Sources
- Etsy Fees policy
- Fees and Taxes for Selling on Etsy
- Payment Processing Fees
- What is a Regulatory Operating Fee
- How Etsy's Offsite Ads Work
Last verified: November 2, 2026.