The short answer
Start on Etsy if you make handmade, vintage or craft-supply products and need shoppers right now. Build your own store if you want to own your brand and customer list, sell products Etsy doesn't allow, or already have an audience on social media. If you're unsure, you can do both, and many sellers do.
The rest of this guide walks through the real trade-offs: fees, traffic, control and long-term value.
What Etsy actually costs (US sellers)
Etsy publishes its fees on its Fees & Payments Policy and Sell on Etsy pages. For a seller with a US bank account, the core fees are:
- Listing fee: $0.20 per listing. Listings last four months or until the item sells, and auto-renew at $0.20 unless you turn that off.
- Transaction fee: 6.5% of the item price plus the shipping and gift-wrap price you charge.
- Payment processing fee: 3% + $0.25 per order through Etsy Payments.
- Offsite Ads fee: charged only when a sale comes from an ad Etsy runs for you on other sites. According to Etsy's Help Center, it's 15% for shops that have always made under $10,000 in any 365-day period (you can opt out), and 12% for shops above that, which must take part. The fee per order is capped at $100.
Fees can change, so always check Etsy's own pages before you plan your pricing.
Example math: one $30 sale
Here's an illustrative calculation, not a quote. Say you sell a $30 mug and charge $5 shipping, so the buyer pays $35 before tax.
| Fee | Amount |
|---|---|
| Listing fee | $0.20 |
| Transaction fee (6.5% of $35) | $2.28 |
| Payment processing (3% of $35 + $0.25) | $1.30 |
| Total without Offsite Ads | about $3.78 (roughly 11%) |
| Offsite Ads fee, if the sale came from one (15% of $35) | $5.25 |
| Total with an Offsite Ads sale | about $9.03 (roughly 26%) |
On your own store, the same $35 order through a standard card processor like Stripe (2.9% + 30¢ for US cards on its standard plan) costs about $1.32 in processing. You also pay your store platform's monthly subscription, whether or not you sell anything that month. For the full picture on processors, see our guide to accepting payments on your online store.
The rule of thumb: at low sales volume, Etsy's pay-per-sale model is often cheaper than a monthly subscription. As your sales grow, percentage fees add up and a flat-fee store usually wins.
Traffic: the biggest real difference
Etsy is a marketplace. Buyers go there to search, so a well-titled, well-photographed listing can get found without you running ads or building a following. That built-in traffic is the main reason to start there.
Your own store starts with zero visitors. You have to bring people in through search, social media, email, ads or word of mouth. That's more work at the start, but every visitor lands on a page with only your products, not next to a dozen competitors.
Free ways to build traffic to your own store:
- Write product pages and blog posts that answer real buyer questions. See our store SEO checklist for beginners.
- List your products for free on Google. Our guide to Google Merchant Center free listings covers the setup.
- Post short videos where your buyers already spend time, like in our guide to Instagram and TikTok for your first sales.
Control and what you're allowed to sell
On Etsy, you follow Etsy's rules. Its guide to what you can sell and Creativity Standards limit the marketplace to items you make or design yourself, vintage items at least 20 years old, and craft and party supplies. Reselling ready-to-use, mass-produced goods isn't allowed, so if that's your model, Etsy isn't the right home. Etsy can also change fees, search ranking or policies, and it can suspend shops that break its rules.
On your own store, you decide the design, the checkout, the policies and what you sell, within the law and your payment processor's rules.
Who owns the customer
This is the difference people underestimate. On Etsy, the buyer is an Etsy customer first. Etsy's seller policies limit how you can use buyer information, so you can't simply add every buyer to your marketing email list without their consent.
On your own store, shoppers can sign up for your email list directly, and you can reach them again for new launches and seasonal sales. Over time, that list is often a small business's most valuable asset. Our email marketing basics guide shows how to start one.
Side-by-side comparison
| Etsy | Your own store | |
|---|---|---|
| Upfront cost | $0.20 per listing | Monthly platform fee |
| Per-sale cost (US) | 6.5% + 3% + $0.25, plus possible Offsite Ads fee | Card processing only (often 2.9% + 30¢) |
| Built-in shoppers | Yes | No, you bring traffic |
| What you can sell | Handmade, vintage, craft supplies, your own designs | Anything legal your processor allows |
| Branding | Etsy-styled shop page | Fully yours |
| Customer list | Limited by Etsy policy | Yours to build |
| Rule changes | Set by Etsy | Set by you |
A practical path many beginners use
- Test demand on Etsy if your products fit its rules. Learn which items, photos and prices sell.
- Open your own store once you have a few best-sellers and some repeat interest. Use what you learned to write strong product pages; our product page checklist helps.
- Point new fans to your own store through your social accounts and packaging inserts, where the rules allow, so future orders carry lower fees.
- Keep Etsy as a discovery channel if it keeps bringing in new buyers profitably.
If you want to skip the marketplace and launch your own branded store quickly, you can start with Newcomer. It's built for first-time sellers who don't want to wrestle with themes and plugins. Pricing your products for either channel? Read how to price your products so fees don't eat your margin.
The bottom line
Etsy trades a share of every sale for ready-made traffic. Your own store trades a monthly fee and more marketing work for lower per-sale costs, full control and a customer list you own. Neither is wrong. Pick the one that fits where you are today, and revisit the choice as your sales grow. For more options, see our honest look at Shopify alternatives for beginners.
Questions, answered.
Is Etsy cheaper than having my own website?
At low sales volume it often is, because Etsy charges per listing and per sale instead of a monthly fee. In the US that's $0.20 per listing, 6.5% per sale and 3% + $0.25 payment processing. As sales grow, those percentages add up and a flat-fee store with standard card processing usually costs less per order.
Can I sell on Etsy and my own store at the same time?
Yes. Many sellers use Etsy to reach new shoppers and their own store for repeat customers and their full range. Just keep your inventory counts in sync so you don't sell the same item twice.
What is the Etsy Offsite Ads fee?
It's a fee charged only when a sale comes from an ad Etsy runs for your listing on other websites. Etsy says it's 15% for shops that have always made under $10,000 in a 365-day period, who can opt out, and 12% for larger shops, who must participate. The fee is capped at $100 per order.
Can I sell anything on Etsy?
No. Etsy limits sales to items you make or design yourself, vintage items at least 20 years old, and craft and party supplies. Reselling ready-to-use, mass-produced goods isn't allowed. Your own store doesn't have that limit.
Do I own my customers on Etsy?
Not in the same way. Etsy's seller policies limit how you can use buyer information, including adding buyers to marketing emails without consent. On your own store, shoppers can join your email list directly so you can reach them again.