Etsy Fees for Digital Downloads (2026): Every Fee, by Country, and What You Keep
Etsy has no monthly fee, but a digital download still pays a listing fee, a transaction fee, payment processing, and sometimes a 15% ad fee. Here is each one, with the math at $10 to $100.
A US seller who sells a $10 digital download to a US buyer pays Etsy $1.40 and keeps $8.60 (14%). If the buyer came through an Etsy Offsite Ad, a 15% fee is added and you keep $7.10. At $50 the base fees fall to 10.4% of the price. Sellers outside the US pay a higher processing rate (4% in the UK and the EU) and, in nine countries, a Regulatory Operating fee on top.
Every Etsy fee that can hit a digital download
Scroll the table sideways to see every column.
| Fee | Amount | When it applies to a download |
|---|---|---|
| Listing fee | $0.20 per listing | When you publish or renew. A listing lasts 4 months, then auto-renews for another $0.20 unless you switch renewal to manual. |
| Renewal after a sale | $0.20 per sale | A listing with more than one in stock (normal for downloads) auto-renews each time a copy sells. |
| Transaction fee | 6.5% | On the item price plus any shipping and gift wrap. US sellers: not charged on sales tax. Non-US sellers: charged on a price that includes the taxes you are responsible for. |
| Payment processing (Etsy Payments) | US: 3% + $0.25. Varies by the country of your bank account. | Every order. Calculated on the order total, including tax and shipping. |
| Offsite Ads | 15% (shop under $10,000 in the last 365 days) or 12% (at or over $10,000) | Only on orders from a buyer who clicked an Etsy ad on another site and bought within 30 days. Capped at $100 per order. |
| Regulatory Operating fee | 0.05% to 1.97% | Sellers in Canada, France, Hungary, Italy, India, Spain, Türkiye, the UK, and Vietnam. |
| Currency conversion | 2.5% | When your listing currency differs from your payment account currency. |
| Shop set-up fee | One-time; varies by location | Shown and charged during shop set-up where it applies. Not refundable. |
| Etsy Ads (on Etsy) | Your daily budget | Optional. You set the maximum per day. |
| Etsy Plus | $10 a month | Optional subscription. Includes 15 listing credits ($3) and $5 of Etsy Ads credit each month. |
What you keep, by price (US seller)
US seller, US buyer, card payment, no shipping, no sales tax added, one copy per order, $0.20 renewal charged on each sale. Payhip Free is shown for comparison: 5% plus 2.9% + $0.30 card processing.
Scroll the table sideways to see every column.
| Price | Etsy fees | You keep on Etsy | Keep with Offsite Ads (15%) | Keep with Offsite Ads (12%) | You keep on Payhip Free |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| $10 | $1.40 (14.0%) | $8.60 | $7.10 | $7.40 | $8.91 |
| $20 | $2.35 (11.8%) | $17.65 | $14.65 | $15.25 | $18.12 |
| $50 | $5.20 (10.4%) | $44.80 | $37.30 | $38.80 | $45.75 |
| $100 | $9.95 (10.0%) | $90.05 | $75.05 | $78.05 | $91.80 |
How the $10 row adds up: $0.20 renewal + $0.65 transaction fee (6.5%) + $0.55 processing (3% of $10 = $0.30, plus $0.25) = $1.40. The fixed $0.45 per order ($0.20 + $0.25) is why low prices lose a bigger share. For a closer look at $1 to $5 products, see what fees take from low-priced products.
Fees by country
Etsy’s processing fee depends on where your bank account is, and some countries add a Regulatory Operating fee. The last column adds the percentage and per-order fees on a sale of 10 in your own currency. It leaves out the $0.20 listing renewal and any VAT on Etsy’s fees.
Scroll the table sideways to see every column.
| Seller’s bank account | Processing | Regulatory Operating fee | Fees on a 10.00 sale |
|---|---|---|---|
| United States | 3% + $0.25 | None | $1.20 |
| United Kingdom | 4% + £0.20 | 0.48% | £1.30 |
| Canada (domestic or US buyer) | 3% + CA$0.25 | 0.50% | CA$1.25 |
| Canada (other international buyer) | 4% + CA$0.25 | 0.50% | CA$1.35 |
| Australia (domestic buyer) | 3% + A$0.25 | None | A$1.20 |
| Australia (international buyer) | 4% + A$0.25 | None | A$1.30 |
| Germany, Ireland, Netherlands | 4% + €0.30 | None | €1.35 |
| France | 4% + €0.30 | 1.14% | €1.46 |
| Japan | 6% + $0.30 (USD) | None | $1.55 (on a $10 sale) |
Other Regulatory Operating fee rates: Italy 0.80%, Spain 0.88%, Hungary 1.97%, Türkiye 1.67%, Vietnam 1.24%, India 0.05%. If you price in a currency other than your payment account’s, add 2.5% for conversion. Sellers outside the US who sell to many countries should also read who pays the sales tax on each platform.
Monthly cost at $10 per download
Total fees per month at a $10 price. “With Offsite Ads” assumes one order in four comes from an Offsite Ad. At 300 sales a month the shop passes $10,000 a year, so that row uses the 12% rate. Payhip plans: Free (5%), Plus ($29 a month, 2%), Pro ($99 a month, 0%), all plus 2.9% + $0.30 card processing.
Scroll the table sideways to see every column.
| Sales a month | Revenue | Etsy | Etsy with Offsite Ads | Payhip Free | Payhip Plus | Payhip Pro |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 20 | $200 | $28.00 | $35.50 | $21.80 | $44.80 | $110.80 |
| 50 | $500 | $70.00 | $88.75 | $54.50 | $68.50 | $128.50 |
| 100 | $1,000 | $140.00 | $177.50 | $109.00 | $108.00 | $158.00 |
| 300 | $3,000 | $420.00 | $510.00 | $327.00 | $266.00 | $276.00 |
Break-even: on a $10 download Etsy leaves you $8.60 and Payhip Free $8.91. If you would sell 100 copies a month from your own audience on Payhip, Etsy needs to sell about 104 to match it (100 × $8.91 ÷ $8.60 = 103.6). In other words, Etsy pays off when its search brings you at least about 4% more sales than you would get on your own. Payhip Plus beats Payhip Free above about $967 a month in sales, and Pro beats Plus above $3,500.
Costs that are easy to miss
Renewals on listings that never sell
Every listing renews every 4 months for $0.20 while auto-renew is on. A shop with 100 listings pays $20 every 4 months even with no sales. Switch slow listings to manual renewal in Listings Manager.
Offsite Ads become mandatory at $10,000
Below $10,000 in sales over the last 365 days you can opt out of Offsite Ads. Once your shop reaches $10,000, you are enrolled at 12% for the life of the shop, even if sales later drop. The $10,000 counts item prices after discounts, not shipping, tax, or Etsy’s fees.
VAT on Etsy’s fees
The fees in Etsy’s policy exclude VAT. Sellers in VAT countries are charged VAT on Etsy’s seller fees, including the Regulatory Operating fee, at the local rate.
Sales tax and digital VAT on the buyer’s side
Etsy collects and pays US sales tax for orders where it is required, and collects VAT on automatically downloaded items in the countries that require it. That tax is added to the buyer’s price, not taken from yours, but the processing fee is calculated on the total including tax.
Refunds
If you refund a buyer in full or in part, Etsy recalculates the processing fee and other sale fees on the adjusted amount and credits the difference. If Etsy refunds the buyer itself, for example under its purchase protection, you do not get those fees back. Set-up fees and other service fees are non-refundable.
Who Etsy suits, and who should look elsewhere
Etsy suits you if you have no audience yet, you sell printables, planners, or templates that buyers search Etsy for, and you are happy to pay about 10% to 14% for that search traffic.
Look elsewhere if most of your buyers come from your own email list, YouTube, or social posts. You pay Etsy’s marketplace fees on sales it did not bring in, and you cannot send buyers to an outside store. A store like Payhip costs $0 a month on the Free plan and charges 5% plus card processing. Compare them side by side in Etsy vs Payhip for digital downloads, or run your own numbers in the Etsy fee calculator.
Not sure which platform fits your numbers? Put in your price and monthly sales and see what you keep on every platform at once. If you are just starting, a Payhip store costs $0 until you sell, so you can set it up first and decide later.
Compare my numbers →Start a free Payhip storeFAQ
How much does Etsy take from a $10 digital download?
For a US seller and a US buyer, $1.40: a $0.20 listing renewal, a 6.5% transaction fee ($0.65), and 3% + $0.25 processing ($0.55). You keep $8.60. An Offsite Ads order adds 15%, leaving $7.10.
Do digital downloads pay the $0.20 listing fee on every sale?
Usually yes. A download listing normally has more than one copy available, so it auto-renews for $0.20 each time a copy sells. You also pay $0.20 when you first publish it and every 4 months if auto-renew is on.
Can I opt out of Etsy Offsite Ads?
Only while your shop has made less than $10,000 in the last 365 days. After it reaches $10,000, Offsite Ads are required at a 12% fee for the life of the shop. The fee is capped at $100 per order.
Does Etsy handle sales tax and VAT on digital downloads?
Etsy collects US sales tax where required and collects VAT on automatically downloaded items in countries that require it. Sellers in VAT countries also pay VAT on Etsy’s own fees.
Do I get Etsy’s fees back if I refund a buyer?
If you issue the refund, Etsy recalculates processing and other sale fees on the reduced amount and credits the difference. If Etsy refunds the buyer under its protection program, those fees are not returned.
Is Etsy Plus worth it for digital sellers?
Etsy Plus costs $10 a month and includes 15 listing credits ($3) and $5 of Etsy Ads credit. If you use both credits every month, the extra cost is about $2. Unused credits expire each month.
