What are Etsy's fees in the UK?

On 6 October 2026 Etsy charged a listing fee of $0.20 (shown as about £0.15), a 6.5% transaction fee on the item price plus delivery, payment processing of 4% + £0.20 for UK sellers, and a 0.48% regulatory operating fee. Offsite Ads adds 15% on sales it brings in, or 12% for shops over $10,000 in yearly sales. Fees exclude VAT.

How much does Shopify cost compared with Etsy?

Shopify Basic is £25 a month, or £19 a month billed yearly, plus card fees of 2% + 25p online. On a £20 sale that is about 65p in fees, against roughly £2.55 on Etsy before any Offsite Ads charge. The catch is that Shopify sends you no buyers, so you pay for traffic in time or ads instead.

Does Etsy charge VAT on fees in the UK?

Etsy's fees exclude VAT. If you are not VAT registered and have no VAT ID on your Etsy account, Etsy charges VAT on its fees. With a valid VAT ID on file, it does not.

Can I use Etsy and Shopify together?

Yes. Many sellers list on Etsy to be found and run a Shopify store for repeat customers and their own marketing. The work is keeping stock and listings in step between the two.

Etsy vs Shopify UK (October 2026): Real Fees and Which to Pick

Q: Is Etsy or Shopify better for a UK small business?

Etsy is better if you have no audience yet, because people already search Etsy to buy. Shopify is better once you can bring your own customers, because the fees per sale are much lower and you own the customer relationship. Plenty of sellers use both.

Q: When should I move from Etsy to Shopify?

When you can bring your own buyers and the per-sale saving covers Shopify's monthly fee. At a £20 average sale, the saving is about £1.90 per order, so Shopify Basic pays for itself at around 13 orders a month, as long as those orders come from your own traffic.

Q: Can I sell digital products on Shopify?

Yes, with a digital downloads app. Etsy handles digital downloads natively, and it collects and pays buyer VAT on automatic-download digital items in certain countries for you.

Ad/affiliate disclosure: this post contains affiliate links. If you sign up through one I may receive a referral payment, at no extra cost to you and with no reduction to any bonus. I only recommend products I have used myself.

Short answer: Etsy brings you buyers. Shopify brings you lower fees. On a typical £20 UK sale, Etsy takes about £2.55 before any Offsite Ads charge, and Shopify Basic takes about 65p but costs £25 a month and sends you nobody. If you have no audience yet, start on Etsy. Once you can bring your own customers, Shopify is the cheaper home.

I have been on both sides of this. I sell digital products on Etsy, and through my agency I build Shopify stores for clients.

The Difference in One Table

	Etsy	Shopify
Brings you buyers	Yes, people search Etsy to shop	No, you bring every visitor
Monthly cost	None	Basic £25, or £19 billed yearly
Listing fee	$0.20 per listing (about £0.15)	None
Transaction fee	6.5% of item price plus delivery	None with Shopify Payments
Card processing (UK)	4% + £0.20	2% + 25p on Basic
Other fees	0.48% regulatory fee, Offsite Ads 12% to 15%	Apps you choose to add
Who owns the customer	Etsy	You
Your own brand and design	Limited to the Etsy shop page	Full control
Best for	Getting found with no audience	Selling to people you bring yourself

Fees from Etsy's UK fee policy and Shopify's UK pricing page on 6 October 2026. Both exclude VAT.

Why I Sell on Etsy

My Etsy shop, DesignsByGlide, has sold digital products for about two years: a website theme and a printable invitation, with a 5.0 rating from five reviews. Small numbers, but every one of those buyers found me on Etsy. I did not send them.

That is the whole reason I chose Etsy. The buyers for digital products are already there, searching for exactly what you sell.

I could have started a Shopify store from scratch instead. But then I would have needed to do all of the SEO myself to appear for those searches, and that is another ball game. Getting a new shop to rank for product searches takes months of content and links. Etsy gave me a shot at sales on day one.

Nothing against Shopify. I build every client's online shop on it, and I explain why in my Shopify UK review. It is a question of where the buyers are.

Worked Example: Fees on a £20 Sale

Here is what each platform takes on a single £20 order with no delivery charge, using the October 2026 rates.

Etsy

Fee	Cost
Listing fee	about £0.15
Transaction fee, 6.5%	£1.30
Payment processing, 4% + £0.20	£1.00
Regulatory operating fee, 0.48%	about £0.10
Total	about £2.55 (12.7%)
Plus Offsite Ads, if the sale came from an Etsy ad, 15%	£3.00

Shopify Basic

Fee	Cost
Card fee, 2% + 25p	£0.65
Monthly plan	£25 a month, spread across your orders
Per-order fee	£0.65 (3.25%)

The saving with Shopify is about £1.90 an order. Shopify Basic at £25 a month pays for itself at around 13 orders a month. Below that, Etsy is cheaper, and that is before counting the buyers Etsy brings you.

If you are not VAT registered, add VAT on top of both platforms' fees.

Offsite Ads: The Fee People Miss

Etsy advertises listings on Google, social media and other sites. If a buyer clicks one of those ads and buys within 30 days, Etsy charges an Offsite Ads fee on that order:

15% if your shop made under $10,000 in the last 12 months. You can opt out.
12% once you pass $10,000. It becomes compulsory for the life of the shop.
Capped at $100 per order.

On a £20 sale with Offsite Ads, Etsy's total cut goes from about 12.7% to nearly 28%. Check your Offsite Ads setting if you are a smaller shop and do not want it.

When to Pick Etsy

You are starting with no audience, no email list and no social following.
You sell handmade, vintage or digital products, which are what Etsy buyers search for.
You want sales this month, not after six months of SEO.
You sell fewer than about 13 items a month at around £20.

When to Pick Shopify

You already have customers, an email list, a social following or local footfall.
You want your own brand, your own design and your own customer list.
You sell enough that per-sale fees matter more than a monthly bill.
You sell physical products in volume, or want in-person sales too.

Or Use Both

A lot of sellers get found on Etsy and then build a Shopify store for repeat customers. Etsy keeps the customer relationship, so moving buyers to your own shop needs your own list or packaging inserts. The extra work is keeping stock and listings in step between the two.

Starting on Shopify

Shopify's UK pricing page currently offers 3 days free, then £1 a month for the first 3 months on most plans.

Start a Shopify store with the £1-a-month trial

Read my Shopify UK review first for the full pricing, card fees and which plan to pick. If you are weighing up self-hosting instead, my Shopify vs WooCommerce UK costs guide covers that.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Etsy or Shopify better for a UK small business?

Etsy if you have no audience yet. Shopify once you can bring your own customers.

What are Etsy's UK fees?

$0.20 per listing, 6.5% transaction fee, 4% + £0.20 payment processing and a 0.48% regulatory fee. Offsite Ads adds 12% to 15% on sales it brings in.

How much does Shopify cost?

Basic is £25 a month or £19 billed yearly, plus 2% + 25p per online card payment.

When should I move from Etsy to Shopify?

When your own traffic brings around 13 or more orders a month at a £20 average, the per-sale saving covers Shopify's monthly fee.

Can I sell digital products on Shopify?

Yes, with a digital downloads app. Etsy handles them natively.

More Guides

Mike McDonnell. I write The Growth Toolkit, a free Sunday email on getting the most out of AI, with the setups I use explained in plain English.

Etsy vs Shopify UK: Fees and Which to Sell On (October 2026)