"Should I sell on Etsy or build my own store?" is one of the most common questions handmade sellers ask — and most answers compare features. This guide compares money instead: what each platform costs on a sale, what it costs every month whether you sell or not, and at what order volume the cheapest option changes. The short version is that the cost structures are completely different, so the right choice depends on your numbers, not on which platform is "better."
What's the basic difference in how they charge?
Etsy charges mostly per sale: a $0.20 listing fee, a 6.5% transaction fee and 3% + $0.25 payment processing on each US order, with no required monthly fee (Etsy's fee policy). Shopify and WooCommerce charge mostly per month — a subscription or hosting bill — plus card processing of around 2.9% + $0.30 per order.
That single difference drives everything else. Etsy is cheap when you sell a little and expensive when you sell a lot. A store of your own is the opposite. If you're comparing marketplaces instead, how Etsy's fees stack up against eBay's runs the same order through both.
How do the three platforms compare?
| Etsy | Shopify | WooCommerce | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Monthly fee | None required | Subscription plan (see Shopify's pricing page) | None for the plugin; you pay for hosting |
| Per-sale platform fee | 6.5% + $0.20 listing | None with Shopify Payments; 2% extra on Basic if you use another payment provider | None |
| Card processing (US) | 3% + $0.25 | 2.9% + 30¢ online on Basic with Shopify Payments | Set by your provider — e.g. Stripe's standard 2.9% + 30¢ |
| Where buyers come from | Etsy's marketplace | You bring them | You bring them |
| Owns the customer relationship | Etsy | You | You |
Stripe's published US pricing is 2.9% + 30¢ per successful online card charge, and it's a common choice for WooCommerce stores. Shopify's card rates depend on your plan.
What does a real month cost on each?
Take a shop that sells 40 orders a month at $30 each (a $25 item plus $5 shipping, no sales tax):
- Etsy fees: $3.30 per order × 40 = $132 a month
- Card processing on your own store: $1.17 per order × 40 = $46.80 a month
On per-order costs alone, your own store saves $2.13 an order. But your own store also has monthly costs Etsy doesn't: hosting, plugins or apps, a domain, and — the big one — marketing to bring in buyers Etsy would have sent you for free.
With $30 hosting, $20 in apps, a $15/year domain, $150 a month of marketing and a $2,000 setup cost spread over two years, the own-store total comes to about $331 a month. At 40 orders, Etsy is cheaper by roughly $200 a month.
At what point does your own store win?
Divide your own store's fixed monthly costs by the per-order saving. In the example above: about $285 of fixed monthly costs ÷ $2.13 saved per order ≈ 134 orders a month. Above that, your own store costs less than Etsy's fees; below it, Etsy does.
That break-even point moves a lot with your numbers:
- Higher order values save more per order, so you break even sooner.
- A smaller marketing budget lowers fixed costs — but only if you can still get the traffic.
- Offsite Ads raise Etsy's cost per order, which also brings break-even down.
We walk through these scenarios in When should you move from Etsy to your own website?
Is cost the only thing that matters?
No, and it's worth being honest about what each option gives you:
- Etsy gives you buyers. People search Etsy specifically for handmade and vintage items. Your own store starts with zero traffic.
- Your own store gives you ownership. Your brand, your customer emails, your rules — and no marketplace policy change can shut you down overnight.
- Many sellers do both. Keeping Etsy for discovery while building an own-store customer list is a common middle path.
Related guides cover how much Etsy takes per sale and pricing on Etsy so fees don't eat your profit.
