Marketplace Fees Compared: Amazon vs eBay vs Etsy vs Shopify

Compare the model, not just one percentage

The four calculators do not model an identical fee base. Amazon combines a sale-price referral percentage with fixed fulfillment and storage or other fees, then subtracts product and inbound costs. eBay applies final-value and promoted-listing percentages to item price plus shipping charged, adds a per-order fee, and subtracts item and shipping costs.

Amazon: separate percentage and fixed charges

The Amazon calculator's defaults use a $35 sale price, a 15% referral rate, a $5 fulfillment fee, $0.50 storage and other fees, $10 product cost, and $1.50 inbound shipping. Those editable defaults produce $10.75 in modeled Amazon fees and $12.75 in contribution profit before costs that are not entered.

eBay: include shipping charged in modeled revenue

The eBay calculator's defaults use a $100 item price and $10 shipping charged, with a 13.25% final-value rate, no promoted-listing percentage, and a $0.30 per-order fee. Its formula applies the percentages to $110 of modeled revenue, producing $14.88 in displayed platform fees and $42.13 profit after the default $45 item cost and $8 shipping cost.

Etsy: combine listing, transaction, payment, and optional ad fees

The Etsy calculator's defaults model one $25 item plus $5 shipping charged, a $0.20 listing fee, a 6.5% transaction rate, and payment processing of 3% plus $0.25, with offsite ads set to none. That produces $3.30 in displayed Etsy fees and $17.70 profit after the default $5 product cost and $4 shipping cost.

Shopify: allocate order-level operating costs

The Shopify calculator's defaults model $100 revenue, payment processing of 2.9% plus $0.30, $35 product cost, $8 shipping, $12 advertising, and $2 of allocated platform and app cost. The displayed payment fee is $3.20 and estimated order profit is $39.80 under those assumptions.

Use one scenario before comparing platforms

A $35 Amazon item, a $110 eBay sale including shipping, a $30 Etsy order, and a $100 Shopify order are four calculator defaults, not a channel ranking. For a real comparison, enter the same product price, shipping treatment, product cost, fulfillment cost, advertising assumption, and applicable account terms in every relevant calculator.

Normalize the revenue base before reading a percentage

A percentage only makes sense alongside the amount it is applied to. In the eBay calculator, the default final-value percentage uses item price plus shipping charged. In the Etsy calculator, transaction and payment percentages use item price plus shipping charged. Amazon referral fees use the entered sale price in this model, while Shopify's displayed processing fee uses entered order revenue. Write down whether shipping is charged, absorbed, or excluded before you compare a displayed percentage or total.

Separate platform charges from the rest of order economics

A displayed platform or payment fee is not the full cost of an order. Product cost, inbound or outbound shipping, packaging, returns, advertising, app allocation, and taxes may sit in separate inputs or outside a particular model. Keep each layer visible before deciding whether a listing price works.

Common mistakes

Do not treat a default example as a current fee quote, compare percentages calculated on different revenue bases without noticing, omit shipping charged from a model that includes it, or call a payment-processing fee the total cost of selling. The calculators are planning tools; account-specific policies and marketplace terms control the actual charge.

Decision checklist

First choose the exact product and order scenario. Next enter the same controllable assumptions where each model supports them, identify costs that remain outside a given calculator, compare estimated profit rather than one fee percentage, and then verify the relevant platform policy before publishing a price.

Replace defaults and verify current policy

Every figure in these examples comes from an editable calculator default, not a promise of a current or account-specific charge. Replace the defaults with the category, market, plan, payment, advertising, fulfillment, and account terms that apply to you, then verify them against the platform's current policy.

Sources and further reading

• Amazon — Selling plans, referral fees, and fulfillment pricing
• eBay — Current selling fees
• Etsy — Fees and payments policy
• Shopify — Plans and payment fees