How Etsy fees work for UK sellers
Every Etsy sale is charged several separate fees, and most of them are worked out on more than just your item price. If your payment account is in pounds, a typical order costs you:
- Listing fee: US$0.20 per listing, and another US$0.20 for each extra item sold from a multi-quantity listing. It is charged in dollars and converted to pounds at the market rate, so the amount in pounds moves with the exchange rate.
- Transaction fee: 6.5% of the item price plus postage and gift wrap.
- Payment processing: 4% + £0.20 on the total amount of the sale, including postage.
- Regulatory Operating Fee: 0.48% of the item price, postage, gift wrap and personalisation.
On top of that, an Offsite Ads fee applies when a buyer clicks an Etsy ad on another website and buys within 30 days, and a 2.5% currency conversion fee applies if you list in a currency other than pounds.
What changed in 2026
On 22 June 2026 Etsy raised the UK Regulatory Operating Fee from 0.32% to 0.48%, a 50% increase. It sounds small, but it applies to postage as well: on a £100 order the fee goes from 32p to 48p before VAT. Many calculators online still use the old 0.32%. Etsy also updated its Fees & Payments Policy on 5 October 2026; the UK rates used here were re-checked against it on 8 October 2026.
Worked example
You sell a print for £20 with £3.50 postage and you are not VAT registered (exchange rate assumed at 0.75):
- Listing fee: US$0.20 × 0.75 = £0.15
- Transaction fee: 6.5% × £23.50 = £1.53
- Payment processing: 4% × £23.50 + £0.20 = £1.14
- Regulatory Operating Fee: 0.48% × £23.50 = £0.11
- VAT at 20% on listing, transaction and regulatory fees: £0.36
- Total: £3.29, so Etsy pays out £20.21
If the same order came through Offsite Ads, you would pay another 15% (£3.53) plus £0.71 VAT, and your fees would more than double.
VAT on Etsy fees
Etsy lists every fee excluding VAT. If you are a UK seller and have not added a VAT number to your shop, Etsy charges VAT on your seller fees. Etsy does not print the rate, so this calculator uses the UK standard rate of 20% and labels it as an assumption. Etsy says VAT may also apply to payment processing fees; we leave that off by default because it is not confirmed. Once you add a valid VAT ID, Etsy stops charging VAT on its fees and you account for it yourself under the reverse charge. If you are VAT registered, you can also tell the calculator to deduct the VAT included in your selling price, so the profit figure is what you really keep.
Offsite Ads and the US$100 cap
The Offsite Ads fee is 15% of the order total, or 12% for shops that have made US$10,000 or more in the previous 365 days (once you reach 12%, it stays for the life of the shop, and the ads become mandatory). Shops under that threshold can opt out. The fee is capped at US$100 per order: at an exchange rate of 0.75 that is £75, which you reach on orders of £500 at the 15% rate.
Share & Save
If a buyer purchases through your own Share & Save link, Etsy refunds 4% of the order total (calculated the same way as the transaction fee). Choose “My Share & Save link” as the order source to see the refund on the receipt. It cannot be combined with Offsite Ads on the same order.
Sources: Fees & Payments Policy, Etsy Payments Policy, Regulatory Operating Fee and VAT on seller fees.