Last verified: November 4, 2026
To price an Etsy product for profit, add up what one order costs you (materials, packaging, the shipping label and your time), add Etsy's fixed fees, then divide by what is left of the price after Etsy's percentage fees and the margin you want to keep. For a US seller, the formula is:
Price = (your costs + $0.45) ÷ (0.905 − your target margin)
This guide shows where the formula comes from, works through a full example, and shows how Offsite Ads and sales change the answer. It uses US seller fees, verified on November 4, 2026. Sellers in other countries can use the free Etsy fee and profit calculator, which covers 9 countries, or read the UK fees guide.
Most sellers set a price from what competitors charge, or from "materials times two". Both skip the same things: Etsy's fees, the shipping label, the cost of an Offsite Ad order and the hours you spend making the product.
Etsy's standard fees alone take about 11% of a $30 sale ($3.30), and that is before your own costs. If the price was never built around them, the shop can look busy and still earn very little. For the full fee breakdown, see Etsy Fees Explained.
Write down the cost of one order, not one month. Include:
Time is the cost that is left out most often. A product that sells well but takes two hours to make can earn less per hour than a cheaper, faster one. The free profit spreadsheet has a profit-per-hour column for this reason.
In the examples below, one order costs $11.80: $7.00 in materials and a $4.80 shipping label. Your time is added in a second example further down.
These are the standard fees for a US seller:
| Fee | Rate | Applies to |
|---|---|---|
| Listing fee | $0.20 | Each listing; renews every 4 months and when it sells |
| Transaction fee | 6.5% | Item price + shipping you charge + gift wrap |
| Payment processing | 3% + $0.25 | The full amount the buyer pays, including shipping and tax |
| Currency conversion | 2.5% | Only when currencies differ |
| Offsite Ads | 15% (12% after $10,000 in sales in any 365 days) | Only orders that came from an Offsite Ad; capped at $100 per order |
For pricing, the fees split into two parts. The fixed part is $0.45 per sale ($0.20 listing + $0.25 processing). The percentage part is 9.5% (6.5% + 3%), so you keep 90.5 cents of every dollar before your own costs. That is where 0.905 in the formula comes from.
Profit is the price minus Etsy's fees minus your costs. Etsy takes 9.5% of the price plus $0.45, so:
Profit = price − (0.095 × price) − $0.45 − costs
If you want the profit to be a certain share of the price (your margin), you can solve that for the price:
Price = (costs + $0.45) ÷ (0.905 − target margin)
Margin here means profit as a share of the price. A 40% margin on a $24.26 sale is $9.71.
One order costs $11.80 and you want a 40% margin:
($11.80 + $0.45) ÷ (0.905 − 0.40) = $12.25 ÷ 0.505 = $24.26
Check: Etsy's fees on a $24.26 sale are $2.75, so $24.26 − $2.75 − $11.80 leaves $9.71, which is 40% of the price.
Here is the same product at four different targets, with what happens if the order comes from a 15% Offsite Ad:
| Target margin | Price | Etsy fees | Profit | Profit if it is a 15% ad order |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Break-even (0%) | $13.54 | $1.74 | $0.00 | −$2.03 |
| 30% | $20.25 | $2.37 | $6.08 | $3.04 |
| 40% | $24.26 | $2.75 | $9.71 | $6.07 |
| 50% | $30.25 | $3.32 | $15.13 | $10.59 |
Costs are $11.80 per order. Prices are rounded to the cent, so the margins are within a hundredth of a percent of the target.
Now add 30 minutes of work at $15 an hour. That is $7.50, so your costs become $19.30:
($19.30 + $0.45) ÷ (0.905 − 0.40) = $39.11
Same product, same 40% margin, and the price is $14.85 higher. If you leave your time out, you are working for less than you think.
If an order comes from an Offsite Ad, Etsy charges 15% of the sale (12% once your shop has passed $10,000 in sales in a 365-day period). That fee comes straight out of your profit, so the margin on that order falls by 15 points. A 40% margin becomes 25%, a 30% margin becomes 15%, and a price with no margin buffer becomes a loss, as the table above shows.
Decide the lowest margin you will accept on an ad order, then price for it:
Price = (costs + $0.45) ÷ (0.755 − lowest acceptable ad-order margin)
With $11.80 in costs and a 20% floor, that is $12.25 ÷ 0.555 = $22.07. An ad order then earns $4.41 (20%), and an order that did not come from an ad earns $7.72 (35%).
Cheap products are hit hardest, because the ad fee is a share of the price while your costs are fixed. A $12 keychain with $2.50 profit drops to $0.70 after a 15% ad. Shops that have never reached $10,000 in sales in a 365-day period can opt out of Offsite Ads. For the rules and how to opt out, see the Offsite Ads fee guide.
Discounts feel small and cost a lot, because your costs and Etsy's fixed fees do not go down when the price does.
Take the $30.25 product from the table: profit $15.13, a 50% margin. Run a 20% sale and the price becomes $24.20. Etsy's fees fall to $2.75, your costs stay at $11.80, and profit drops to $9.65. A 20% discount cut your profit by 36%.
Before you run a sale, work out the profit at the sale price. If it is too low, raise the regular price first, or run a smaller discount.
The math is the same either way. Etsy's transaction fee applies to the shipping you charge, and payment processing applies to the whole amount the buyer pays, so charging for shipping separately does not avoid any fees. If you offer free shipping, build the label cost into your price, as in the examples above. For how free shipping works on Etsy today, see the Etsy Help Center.
Look at similar listings to see whether your price is realistic. Do not copy their prices, because you do not know their costs, their fees or whether they make any money.
If the formula gives a price well above what others charge, do not cut the price below your break-even point. Find out which part is too high: materials, time, shipping, or the margin you picked. Then change that, improve the listing, or drop the product.
Raise a price when your costs or Etsy's fees go up, when a product that sells well has the lowest margin, or when many of its orders come from ads. Change one product at a time, and check its profit per order afterwards, not only its sales.
Add up your costs per order (materials, packaging, shipping label and your time), then use Price = (costs + $0.45) ÷ (0.905 − target margin). The $0.45 and 0.905 come from Etsy's US listing fee, transaction fee and payment processing fees.
There is no official benchmark. Choose the margin that pays for your time and leaves room for ads, discounts and slow months. The table above shows 30%, 40% and 50% as examples.
Yes. Etsy takes its fees from every sale, so they are a cost of that sale. If your price does not cover them, you pay them out of your own profit.
Add the shipping label to your costs and use the formula. The buyer sees one price, and you still cover the label and the fees on the whole amount.
Decide the lowest margin you accept on an ad order, then use Price = (costs + $0.45) ÷ (0.755 − that margin). The 0.755 is 0.905 minus the 15% ad fee. After $10,000 in sales in a 365-day period the fee is 12%, so use 0.785.
No. The formula uses US fees. Other countries have different fees, and in some, VAT on the fees. Use the free calculator for 9 countries, or the UK fees guide.
This guide is an estimate for planning and pricing, not tax or financial advice. CraftKept is not affiliated with Etsy.
Last verified: November 4, 2026.