In the eCommerce industry, Shopify and Etsy are well-known selling platforms allowing sellers to list products to broad online audiences. Shopify is known as the best eCommerce platform with all the selling tools needed to start, manage, and grow a business. Meanwhile, Etsy is one of the top online marketplaces for independent artists and crafters who sell handmade and vintage items.
Let LitCommerce provide you with a detailed comparison of Shopify vs Etsy fees by diving further into:
Shopify vs Etsy: Why Not Both? LitCommerce helps you connect Shopify and Etsy and manage them in one single dashboard. All your orders and inventory are synced, eliminating inaccurate data across channels. |
Shopify Fees vs Etsy Fees: An Overview
Before going into details about the differences between Shopify fees and Etsy fees, we will take a glance at how much it would cost when selling on these platforms.
Looking at the pricing overview, it’s easy to recognize that Etsy has very little upfront cost. As a standard Etsy seller, you can start selling your items at no monthly subscription fee. Other expenses (such as listing, transaction, and payment processing fees) are only applied to products and orders.
On the other hand, Shopify charges higher upfront expenses, but the store owners get what they pay for. After the 3-day free trial period, you can proceed with any of the three Shopify pricing plans ranging from $29 to $299 (yearly plans).
With each upgrade, you will unlock more eCommerce possibilities, and when compared to what you might get when using Etsy Plus and Etsy Pattern, Shopify surely comes ahead.
Let’s say you sell an item for $50. Regarding transaction fees, selling on Etsy costs $4.45, while Shopify only charges $1.75 for the same service. What happens if you sell this item 100 times within one month and assume you don’t even pay for Etsy Plus or Pattern? You could make $5,000 in sales on Etsy, but you’d have to pay $445 for transaction fees alone, whereas Shopify only costs $204 (including the Basic Shopify subscription).
Shopify Fees Breakdown
Let’s begin with the Shopify fees. We will break down the initial cost of running a Shopify store, from monthly subscription fees to designs, integrations, and any charges related to payment and transactions.
1. Shopify monthly subscription fees
When it comes to Shopify vs Etsy fees, Etsy doesn’t offer subscription plans except for Etsy Plus and Etsy Pattern. In contrast, Shopify offers 5 different pricing options for store owners: Shopify Starter, Shopify Basic, Shopify Plan, Advanced Shopify, and Shopify Plus.
Shopify pricing plans | Monthly fees | Annual fees (Save 25%) | Will you try? |
Basic | $39/month | $29/month | |
Shopify | $105/month | $79/month | |
Advanced | $399/month | $299/month |
Each Shopify plan has unique features catering to different business sizes. Only the pricing estimates for 3 main Shopify pricing plans (Basic, Shopify & Advanced) will be discussed in this section.
I. Shopify Basic plan
After trying Shopify for 3 days at no charge, you can extend your experience with Shopify Basic at only $1 per month for the next three months. You will be granted full feature accessibility without providing any credit information.
After that, you can pay $39 per month (or save 25% by switching to the yearly plan) to utilize the following features:
- Build a customized eCommerce store with Shopify’s built-in theme editor;
- Activate SSL certificates to encrypt your online store’s content;
- Create up to 2 staff accounts;
- Publish articles about events and promotions via Shopify’s built-in blogging engine;
- Track business performance via general reports (analytics page, finance reports, acquisition reports, inventory reports, behavior reports, marketing reports, etc.);
In general, the Basic plan is the most affordable option for small or newly-established businesses looking to build a fully functional eCommerce site.
II. Shopify plan
The Shopify plan is ideal for growing eCommerce businesses looking to improve their store operations. A monthly subscription at $105 gets you all of the Basic Shopify features plus the following notable extras:
- Ability to create up to 5 staff accounts;
- Accessibility to professional reports;
- Discounts on credit card rates and shipping costs.
With the upgrade from Basic to the Shopify plan, you will undoubtedly understand your customer’s shopping behavior better, making it easier to develop more effective marketing strategies to boost conversion rates.
III. Advanced Shopify plan
As your business grows, you may need to invest in more advanced capabilities to deal with increased in-store traffic. Regarding improving store administration, the Advanced Shopify plan is the cream of the crop.
With a monthly fee of $399, this most expensive Shopify pricing plan includes all features of the Shopify package and the following notable add-ons:
- Up to 15 staff accounts;
- Competitive transaction fees;
- Carrier-calculated shipping from third-party shipping providers (which allows customers to determine pricing fees during the checkout process);
- Most comprehensive reports with the ability to create custom reports based on your specific needs and get a bird’s eye view of what you want to improve.
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2. Other Shopify fees
I. Shopify domain name
In fact, Shopify provides a free “myshopify.com” domain for all merchants. However, having a unique domain name can establish a firm basis because it will increase the visibility of your products. Therefore, you have an excellent chance to enhance your brand authority, which is important to growing your business’s reach.
Notably, you can use your existing domain name for your Shopify store if you already have one. You can link or transfer your current domain to Shopify for free. Then, you can manage all domain settings via your Shopify admin, including making payments to your domain provider.
Otherwise, you can purchase a Shopify domain name for $11/year. The price will vary depending on your selected top-level domain (TLD) extension.
II. Shopify themes and designs
The appearance of online stores plays an essential role in retaining customers and converting leads, making it essential to pick out an appealing yet appropriate theme for your eCommerce site.
When selling on Shopify, you’ll have the access to a wide selection of over 110 beautifully designed templates in the Shopify theme store. Each template comes at a fast loading speed, great ease of use, and excellent customer service, so starting out safe with one of the existing free Shopify themes is possible.
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III. Shopify integrations and apps
Add-ons and integrations are critical components for extending the functionality of your online store. Acutely aware of this issue, Shopify’s developers provide many freemium applications in the Shopify App Store, allowing online merchants to add specific functionality to their Shopify sites.
Being strictly evaluated by the Shopify team, each and every Shopify application is mobile responsive and does no harm to your store’s performance. The majority of premium apps cost between $20 and $29, with only a few exceeding $70. With the help of Shopify apps, you can easily customize your store design or improve store performance and inventory management.
What if you are just taking your first steps into the eCommerce world and want to start out safe? You can make use of some best free Shopify apps at a fairly generous trial period (from 14 to 30 days).
IV. Shopify transaction fees
The transaction fees are another critical factor of Shopify fees to consider when comparing Shopify vs Etsy fees. Every time a customer makes a purchase on your online store (a transaction), Shopify will apply a charge according to your Shopify subscription plan, which varies as follow:
- Basic Shopify plan: 2,0%;
- Shopify plan: 1,0%;
- Advanced Shopify plan: 0,5%.
You can, however, use Shopify Payments to avoid additional transaction fees. This is a Shopify-developed in-house payment system designed to simplify the payment process.
V. Shopify payment processing fees
When accepting payments via credit cards, there is a fee that you have to bear no matter what: the payment processing fees. Hence, it’s critical to consider this factor when deciding which platform you should go with between Etsy vs Shopify.
It’s worth noting that Shopify charges a higher rate for online credit cards than in-person payments due to the security risks associated with processing digital data. Online credit card rates per transaction also vary according to the Shopify plans you choose, similar to transaction fees:
- Basic Shopify plan: 2,9% + 0,3 USD;
- Shopify plan: 2,6%+ 0,3 USD;
- Advanced Shopify plan: 2,4% + 0,3 USD.
And the rates for Shopify POS per transaction are charged as follows:
- Basic Shopify plan: 2,7%;
- Shopify plan: 2,5%;
- Advanced Shopify plan: 2,4%.
These Shopify fees will be applied on a per-transaction basis, not on a per-item one. For example, if a customer purchases 10 items from your store in a single transaction, you will be charged only once, not 10 times.
3. Shopify Plus
Suppose the aforementioned pricing plans do not suit your high-growth business. In that case, Shopify offers an inexpensive and enterprise-level option named Shopify Plus, which has worked well with large corporations such as Rothy’s, Heinz, and Allbirds.
I. Monthly subscription fees
While you can have a crystal clear view of how much a Shopify store costs with Shopify Basic ($39/month), Shopify plan ($105/month), and Advanced Shopify ($399/month), things will be a bit more complicated when it comes to the Shopify Plus monthly subscription.
You have to contact Shopify experts directly for a detailed quotation based on your business model and marketing needs. Bigger volumes mean higher subscription costs, but you will have to pay at least $2000 per month for regular setups and integrations.
II. Transaction fees
Unlike other Shopify pricing plans where every transaction fee is fixed per transaction when using Shopify Plus, you can negotiate with Shopify experts for a preferable charge or pay it forward at 0.15% on a per-transaction basis.
You can waive all these charges by using Shopify Payments or even take it to the next level with an 18% higher conversion rate with Shop Pay.
III. Add-ons and extension fees
Shopify Plus will not replace any previously installed apps except for the automation and customization add-ons. As a result, major businesses continue to require specialized tools and apps to manage certain operations effectively. The more add-ons and extensions you integrate into your online store (ranging from $20 to $70 each), your monthly expenses will increase.
You now have two choices. The first option is to seek assistance from Shopify Plus professionals. They will examine your company and determine which apps should be installed.
Otherwise, you can look into Shopify Plus Partners for eCommerce services (Marketing Strategy, Onsite SEO,…) or certified third-party apps (Messaging and Notification, Loyalty & Rewards,…).
IV. Other fees
With Shopify Plus, you may establish and manage unlimited online stores. Each of them can be displayed in various languages and, of course, in various currencies. This means you may make your site more accessible to potential buyers worldwide, and you can freely offer different product niches in each store.
The standard setup charges ($2000) include the price for your primary store and as many as 9 additional stores. After that, you’ll have to spend $250 for each additional store.
One-time theme purchases are another possible cost to pay attention to. But don’t freak out yet, as Shopify Plus allows you to add up to 100 themes to your account, and it’s even possible to apply the same Shopify theme to multiple stores you own.
Verdict:
In a nutshell, Shopify offers a variety of pricing plans to meet different business needs and sizes. With each upgrade, you can unlock more eCommerce features and pay fewer transaction and payment processing fees.
Additionally, Shopify prices are pretty clear and easy to understand. As for extra Shopify fees of domain, themes, and integration, you can add them based on specific needs, making it effortless to estimate how much it would cost for building a store on this platform.
Etsy Fees Breakdown
In general, when selling on Etsy, you don’t need to pay for a domain name, themes, or integrations, but other costs like payment processing fees, listing fees, etc. need to be included. Here are some detailed Etsy seller fees you should be aware of.
1. Listing fees
Whether your item sells or not, Etsy applies a charge of 20 cents for each listing on Etsy’s website or mobile app, based on a per-item basis. Find below how Etsy charges when you sell on this marketplace:
- A new or renewed listing will cost you $0.20;
- Listings are valid for 4 months, after which you must pay $0.20 to renew them in order to keep them active;
- You can make free changes to existing listings;
- The listing renewal fee is the same whether you use auto-renew or do it manually;
- There is no fee for listing an item on Etsy Pattern. Your Pattern subscription payments cover listings (more on this later);
- You won’t be charged to list an item again if you have already paid to list it and wish to relocate it to your Pattern store.
2. Transaction fees
When comparing Shopify vs Etsy fees, we cannot miss the transaction fees, which might consume a large amount of your profit when selling on Etsy.
You’ll be charged a transaction fee of 6.5% – every time you sell something on Etsy. This is a percentage of the entire purchase price, which includes shipping and gift wrapping.
- A 6.5% transaction fee is applied to each completed sale.
- This charge also includes shipping and gift wrapping. Unless your listing fee pricing consists of these, this fee will not be added on top of sales tax.
- If you sell somewhere that requires you to include tax in the listing price, your transaction fee will, by default, contain tax.
- Any customization fees you pay on top of the final transaction fee are also included in the final transaction fee.
3. Payment processing fees
Etsy sellers who use Etsy Payments can accept various forms of payment in their local currency. Unlike Shopify Payments which waives every transaction fee for Shopify store owners, Etsy payment processing fees are in addition to the transaction fees mentioned above. It might be a significant disadvantage for Etsy when comparing Shopify vs Etsy fees.
Etsy payment processing fees will vary by country and is a percentage set on the total sales price of your items (3% + $0.25 per transaction), including shipping fees and applicable taxes.
Here are some notes you should take into consideration when using Etsy Payments:
- The costs differ depending on the location of your bank account;
- When Etsy releases money to your account, you must pay a fixed deposit fee if your funds are below a specific threshold. Deposit costs are deducted from your Available Funds, and processing fees are charged from the sale amount in your payment account;
- The daily payout threshold in the United States is $25, and the payment processing charge is 3% + $0.25;
- If you need to convert currencies, you’ll have to pay an additional 2.5% currency conversion fee, except for transaction fees, offsite ad fees, payment processing fees, and deposit fees;
- You will need to pay a certain amount when you use Etsy gift cards, credits, or coupons to make a purchase.
4. Shipping fees
When comparing Shopify vs Etsy fees, Etsy sellers in specific locations can purchase shipping labels through Etsy and pay based on the carrier, shipment origin, destination, weight, and package dimensions. If you charge buyers a separate shipping fee when ordering from your shop, Etsy collects 5% of the total shipping charges.
To purchase shipping labels through Etsy, sellers have to sign up for Etsy Payments (and bear the payment processing fees associated with their preferred payment methods) or use PayPal to collect payments. Additionally, any seller purchasing package insurance or electronic signature confirmation will have to pay additional expenses accordingly.
5. Advertisement and promotion fees
Etsy Ads will then charge on a CPC (cost-per-click) basis. It means that means you will only have to pay when your ads are clicked, not simply when they are displayed. These fees never exceed your daily budget; you can pause the campaign anytime.
Besides that, all Etsy sellers have automatically enrolled in Etsy Offsite ads when meeting certain criteria, while only some are able to opt out of the program. To some merchants, that can be a huge drawback when comparing Shopify vs Etsy fees regarding advertising costs.
In compensation, Etsy Offsite ads will bring your products to a variety of social media channels as well as on search engines. These include but are not limited to Facebook, Google, Pinterest, Instagram, and Bing.
6. Etsy subscription fees
Etsy Pattern
You can use Etsy Pattern at no charge for the first 30 days, but there will be a $15 monthly subscription price after that. Your first month’s bill will be prorated according to the time you signed up for the program. Each month using Pattern, you will pay the total subscription amount.
A massive benefit of Etsy Pattern over its sister platform:
- You don’t have to pay any listing or transaction fees for Pattern-only listings. The sellers can decide at any time to make Pattern listings available in their Etsy shops and then pay the usual listing fees of $0.2 each.
- Any Pattern-only listings paid through Etsy Payments will incur the above payment-processing fee.
Etsy Plus
If you prioritize Etsy Plus when considering between Shopify vs Etsy fees, here are the details of Etsy Plus subscription costs and what you will get when using this particular tool:
- With their monthly subscription, Etsy Plus sellers receive 15 listing credits and $5 in Etsy ad credits. These will not roll over into the next month;
- You can use and get a discount on a custom domain name for the first year;
- You can have “sold out” ads that help notify customers when you refill;
- Custom shipping boxes are available at a discount for sellers in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, and Europe;
- Etsy Plus sellers can now save 30% on business cards at Moo, an Etsy Plus partner store;
- You can find discounts and benefits through Shop Manager -> Settings -> Your Subscriptions -> Discounts and Benefits.
- You can cancel your membership anytime after your current billing period ends. Subscription costs will not be returned.
Double Your Sales with Shopify Etsy Integration Leverage the potential of both platforms with LitCommerce integration features. |
Shopify Fees vs Etsy Fees – FAQs
- Is Etsy or Shopify better?
There is no one-size-fits-all answer to this nerve-racking question, as the products you sell determine whether Etsy or Shopify is better than its competitor.
If you want to build a noticeable brand offering a lot of items, Shopify is an optimal choice. This platform comes with a wide range of eCommerce possibilities and integrations, and no fees apply to listing an item for sale.
On the other hand, Etsy goes along well with artists who only have a few handcrafted items or vintage treasures and don’t want to spend much time building an entire online store. In terms of Etsy vs Shopify fees, you don’t have to pay any monthly subscription when selling on Etsy.
In conclusion, both Shopify vs Etsy have their own advantages and disadvantages; and ultimately, it comes down to what works best for your business needs. You can always optimize their advantages with a simple Shopify Etsy integration from LitCommerce, a reputed multichannel selling solution with over 10 years of experience in dealing with multiple eCommerce platforms.
- Is Etsy cheaper than Shopify?
It’s a Yes, and No at the same time. Etsy does not apply any monthly charge as Shopify does, but it costs $0.2 for each individual listing on this marketplace whether your items are sold or not. Adding to that, you might have to pay a renewal listing fee after every 4 months to keep your listings active. Moreover, the transaction fees when selling on Etsy can be a nightmare if you do not price your items well.
Shopify can cost from 39$ to $399 on a monthly basis according to the subscription plans you choose (and how you want to be billed, monthly or annually). It’s not to mention other domain names, themes, and integration investments. However, it is worth every penny with the sufficiency of eCommerce features, the unlimited scalability, and the fairly affordable transaction fees.
After reading this thorough Shopify vs Etsy fees comparison, you will have your own answer to this question based on your business size and personal selling needs.
- How much does Shopify take per sale?
With each transaction made on your online store, Shopify will charge a certain percentage of the total order value based on your chosen subscription plan.
- Basic Shopify: 2.0%;
- Shopify: 1.0%;
- Advanced Shopify: 0.5%.
If you process your orders with Shopify Payments, you can waive these additional charges (and spend them on other marketing purposes).
- How do I avoid fees on Etsy?
We can recommend 3 actions to help you avoid the new 1.5% fees and still remain the competitive sellers on Etsy:
- Increase your products’ pricing to stay profitable.
- Evaluate the shipping method and see where else you can cut costs.
- Put more effort into your marketing and SEO to cut down advertising fees.
For more information, we’ve already breakdown the costs when selling on Etsy and some tips to help you save money.
- Can I integrate my Shopify store with Etsy?
The answer is definitely YES. You can integrate your Shopify store with Etsy using multichannel selling tools. We highly recommend using LitCommerce to help you save a lot of money as well as manage all data from a single dashboard.
This tool is preferable for non-tech sellers, all you need to do is create an account, connect Shopify and Etsy within a few clicks and you’re ready to go!
For more information, you can contact the customer support team or check out this page.
Shopify vs Etsy Fees: Which One Gets Your Money Worth?
From a pricing point of view, the main advantage of using Etsy over Shopify is that it lets you avoid monthly fees. However, when looking at the disadvantages, the transaction fees are very high compared to Shopify’s. Moreover, because Shopify and Etsy are pretty different in their natures, you should highlight the contexts where using one over the other makes more sense.
Although this Etsy vs Shopify fees comparison has looked at the differences so far, it’s important to note that you don’t have to stick with one platform to run your business. If you’re interested in multichannel selling, check out LitCommerce to prepare for your first step!
If you need more info, please leave us a message. Also, join our community or our Retailer Blog for more eCommerce tips and news, good luck!
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