Marketplace Fees Compared: Amazon, Etsy, Shopify

I talk to eCommerce founders every week who think they are profitable on Amazon. Then we do the math together. We add up the referral fee, the FBA fee, the storage fee, the advertising cost, and the return processing fee. Suddenly their "profitable" product has a 6% margin.

On their own Shopify store, that same product runs at a 45% margin.

But Amazon has the traffic. And Etsy has the buyers. And your Shopify store requires you to drive every single visitor yourself.

So which platform is actually the best deal? The answer depends on your product, your margins, and where you are in your business. But you cannot make that decision without understanding the true cost of each platform.

Here is every fee, clearly laid out, so you can run the numbers for your own products.

Amazon Fees Breakdown

Amazon is the most expensive marketplace to sell on. But it is also the largest. Understanding the full fee stack is critical before you commit inventory.

Seller Account Fees

Individual plan: $0.99 per item sold. No monthly fee. Makes sense only if you sell fewer than 40 items per month.

Professional plan: $39.99 per month. No per-item fee. Required if you want to run ads, use advanced features, or sell in restricted categories.

Referral Fees

Amazon charges a percentage of the total sale price (item price plus shipping) for every item sold. The percentage varies by category:

• Most categories: 15%
• Electronics: 8%
• Computers: 8%
• Camera: 8%
• Clothing and accessories: 17%
• Jewelry: 20% (5% for portions above $250)
• Grocery: 8% to 15%
• Health and beauty: 8% to 15%
• Home and garden: 15%
• Books: 15%
• Media: 15%

Minimum referral fee: $0.30 per item.

For a $50 product in a standard 15% category, that is $7.50 gone immediately.

FBA Fees (Fulfillment by Amazon)

If you use FBA (and most serious Amazon sellers do because it enables Prime shipping and the Buy Box), you pay:

Pick and pack fees (per unit):

• Small standard (under 1 lb): $3.22
• Large standard (1-2 lb): $4.75 to $5.40
• Large standard (2-3 lb): $5.40 to $6.50
• Large bulky (over 3 lb): $9.73+

Monthly storage fees:

• January to September: $0.87 per cubic foot
• October to December: $2.40 per cubic foot (peak season surcharge)

Aged inventory surcharge (items stored 271+ days):

• 271-365 days: $1.50 per cubic foot
• 365+ days: $6.90 per cubic foot (or $0.15 per unit, whichever is greater)

Advertising Costs

You cannot sell on Amazon without advertising. Organic visibility is nearly impossible for new products.

Average advertising cost of sale (ACOS) varies by category:

• Overall average: 25 to 35% ACOS
• Competitive categories (supplements, electronics): 40 to 60% ACOS
• Niche categories: 15 to 25% ACOS

For a $50 product with 30% ACOS, you spend $15 per sale on ads.

Returns Processing

Amazon has a generous return policy (for customers). For sellers:

• Return processing fee: $2 to $5 per unit (varies by size and weight)
• Refunded referral fee: Amazon refunds the referral fee minus a 20% processing charge
• Average return rate by category: 10 to 25% for clothing, 5 to 10% for most other categories

Total Amazon Cost Example

Product: $50 item in Health and Beauty category

• Referral fee (15%): $7.50
• FBA fee (standard size, 1 lb): $4.75
• Advertising (30% ACOS): $15.00
• Monthly storage (prorated): $0.25
• Total fees: $27.50 per unit sold (55% of revenue)

Your product cost better be under $10 if you want a meaningful profit.

Etsy Fees Breakdown

Etsy is significantly cheaper than Amazon but still adds up more than most sellers realize.

Account and Listing Fees

Listing fee: $0.20 per listing. Each listing lasts 4 months or until it sells. Auto-renewal: $0.20 again.

Multi-quantity listing: If you list 10 units of the same item, you pay $0.20 once. Each sale within that listing triggers another $0.20 renewal.

Transaction Fees

Transaction fee: 6.5% of the total order amount (item price plus shipping charged to buyer).

This is Etsy's core revenue from sellers. For a $50 item with $5 shipping, you pay 6.5% of $55 = $3.58.

Payment Processing Fees

Etsy Payments: 3% + $0.25 per transaction.

For that $55 order: 3% of $55 = $1.65 + $0.25 = $1.90.

Advertising Fees

Etsy Ads (on-platform): You set a daily budget. Etsy charges per click. Average CPC is $0.30 to $1.00. You control spend.

Offsite Ads: Etsy automatically advertises your products on Google, Facebook, Instagram, and Pinterest. If a customer clicks one of these ads and purchases within 30 days, Etsy charges:

• 15% of the order total (if your annual revenue is under $10,000)
• 12% of the order total (if your annual revenue is over $10,000)

The offsite ads fee is mandatory. You cannot opt out unless you make under $10,000/year.

Etsy Plus (Optional)

$10/month for advanced shop customization, discounts on custom domains, and credits for ads and listings.

Total Etsy Cost Example

Product: $50 item with $5 shipping

• Listing fee: $0.20
• Transaction fee (6.5% of $55): $3.58
• Payment processing (3% + $0.25): $1.90
• Total without ads: $5.68 (10.3% of revenue)
• Total with offsite ad sale (12%): $12.28 (22.3% of revenue)

The offsite ads fee is the wild card. On a good month where all sales are organic, Etsy takes around 10%. On months where offsite ads drive sales, it jumps to 20%+.

Shopify Fees Breakdown

Shopify is not a marketplace. It is a platform where you build your own store. The fee structure is fundamentally different because you are not paying for access to a marketplace's traffic.

Monthly Subscription

• Basic Shopify: $39/month
• Shopify: $105/month
• Advanced Shopify: $399/month
• Shopify Plus: $2,300+/month (enterprise)

Payment Processing

Shopify Payments (built-in processor):

• Basic plan: 2.9% + $0.30 per online transaction
• Shopify plan: 2.6% + $0.30
• Advanced plan: 2.4% + $0.30

Third-party payment provider (if not using Shopify Payments):

• Additional transaction fee: 2% (Basic), 1% (Shopify), 0.5% (Advanced)
• Plus the processor's own fees

No Referral Fees

Shopify charges zero referral fees. Zero commission on sales. Zero percentage of revenue beyond payment processing.

Apps and Extensions

Most Shopify stores use several paid apps. Common monthly costs:

• Email marketing (Klaviyo): $0 to $150+/month based on list size
• Reviews: $0 to $50/month
• Subscription: $50 to $200/month
• SEO tools: $0 to $50/month

Average app spend for a growing store: $100 to $300/month.

Total Shopify Cost Example

Product: $50 item

• Payment processing (2.9% + $0.30): $1.75
• Monthly subscription (prorated, assuming 500 orders/month on Shopify plan): $0.21 per order
• Apps (prorated at $200/month): $0.40 per order
• Total platform fees: $2.36 per order (4.7% of revenue)

The Real Comparison

Let me put these side by side for a $50 product:

| | Amazon | Etsy | Shopify | |---|---|---|---| | Platform fees per sale | $27.50 | $5.68 to $12.28 | $2.36 | | Percentage of revenue | 55% | 10-22% | 4.7% | | Traffic included? | Yes | Partial | No | | Control over branding | Minimal | Moderate | Complete | | Customer data access | No | Limited | Full | | Repeat customer potential | Low | Low | High |

The Hidden Cost: Customer Ownership

The most expensive fee on Amazon and Etsy is not listed anywhere. It is the cost of not owning your customer.

When someone buys on Amazon, that customer belongs to Amazon. You cannot email them. You cannot retarget them. You cannot build a relationship. Every future sale requires either another ad or another organic search on Amazon.

When someone buys on your Shopify store, you own that relationship. You have their email. You can send them campaigns, build flows, create a loyalty program, and drive repeat purchases at near-zero cost.

The lifetime value difference is enormous:

• Amazon customer LTV: typically 1 to 1.3 orders (minimal repeat behavior)
• Shopify customer LTV: typically 2 to 4 orders over 24 months (with proper retention marketing)

A customer worth $50 on Amazon might be worth $150 to $200 on Shopify over their lifetime.

The Right Multi-Channel Strategy

The answer is not "pick one platform." The answer is understanding what role each platform plays in your business.

Amazon: Use for discovery and acquisition. Accept the lower margins as a customer acquisition cost. Use Amazon traffic to build brand awareness and capture reviews. But do not build your entire business here.

Etsy: Good for handmade, vintage, and craft-adjacent products. Lower fees than Amazon and the audience is buying intent-heavy. But limited scalability and you still do not own the customer.

Shopify: Your home base. This is where margins are highest, customer relationships are built, and long-term brand value accrues. Drive traffic here through SEO, email, social, and paid ads.

The winning formula for most brands: Sell on Amazon to get discovered. Invest profits into building your Shopify store's traffic. Over time, shift volume from Amazon to your own store as your organic and retention channels strengthen.

The Bottom Line

Amazon is not free traffic. It is very expensive traffic disguised as a marketplace fee. Etsy is more reasonable but still takes a meaningful cut. Shopify is the cheapest platform but requires you to generate your own traffic.

Run the numbers for your specific products. Know your true margin on each platform. And make channel decisions based on profit, not revenue.

Revenue on Amazon looks great. Profit on Amazon often does not.

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Want help building a multi-channel strategy that maximizes profit across platforms? Book a free strategy call and we will analyze your unit economics on each channel.