Shopify vs Etsy Fees 2026: Cost Table and Break-Even

Etsy costs less per month and more per sale. On a hypothetical $50 order, Etsy’s listing, transaction and processing fees come to $5.20, while Shopify Payments on the Basic plan costs $1.75. Billed yearly, Basic pays for itself from about 6 orders a month (November 2026). Sell a few items to Etsy’s shoppers: stay. Sell steadily or build your own brand: Shopify.

The fee table below comes from Etsy’s help pages and Shopify’s pricing page, read on November 6, 2026. The math is shown, and every example is labelled hypothetical.

1. Shopify vs Etsy: Side-by-side comparison overview

	Shopify	Etsy
Monthly plan	Basic $25 a month ($19 billed yearly). Grow $65 ($49). Advanced $399 ($299). Plus from $2,300.	No subscription fee listed for a standard shop. Etsy Plus is optional at $10 a month, with 15 listing credits and $5 in Etsy Ads credit.
Listing fee	None listed for products in your own store. Every plan sells unlimited products.	$0.20 per listing. A listing lasts four months, and auto-renew charges $0.20 again.
Transaction fee	None on Shopify Payments orders. With a third-party provider: 2% Basic, 1% Grow, 0.6% Advanced, 0.2% Plus.	6.5% of the item price plus shipping and gift wrap.
Card processing (US, online)	2.5% to 2.9% plus 30 cents, depending on plan.	3% plus $0.25 per order, on the total including shipping and any sales tax.
Other fees	Apps, theme and domain.	Offsite Ads: 15% (shop under $10,000 on Etsy in the past 365 days) or 12% ($10,000 or more), capped at $100 per order. A regulatory operating fee applies in some countries, not the US.
Hypothetical $50 order	$1.75 on Basic with Shopify Payments (3.5%).	$5.20 (10.4%): $0.20 listing, $3.25 transaction, $1.75 processing.
Break-even	Basic billed yearly pays off from 6 orders a month at $50 each.	Cheaper below that, because there is no plan fee.
Audience	You bring the shoppers.	Etsy’s marketplace brings shoppers, mostly for handmade, vintage and craft supplies.
Branding	Your own store, domain and design.	Your shop sits inside Etsy’s layout.
In-person selling	Shopify POS. Casual in-person selling is included in every plan.	Etsy connects to Square for in-person sales.

The biggest difference between Shopify and Etsy

The most significant difference between Shopify and Etsy is that Shopify is a standalone e-commerce platform that allows users to create customizable online stores, giving them complete control over their brand and website design. On the other hand, Etsy is an online marketplace where sellers list their products within the Etsy platform, offering less design flexibility and a more uniform shopping experience for customers.

Shopify can sell a wide range of products, but Etsy is limited to handmade, vintage goods, and craft supplies.

However, Etsy provides a basic setup to start with and utilizes its pre-made customer base, while Shopify requires a bit more effort to build your audience from scratch.

Shopify also allows you to expand your audience across various platforms like Facebook and TikTok, whereas Etsy primarily focuses on selling within its platform.

In summary, Shopify is suitable for businesses looking to grow and scale, while Etsy is best suited for small and medium-sized businesses that are not yet ready to focus on extensive branding or large-scale expansion.

Compare Shopify plans

2. Shopify vs Etsy: Which is better?

Shopify and Etsy are both well-known platforms for online product sales. They cater to different business needs and come with their own set of pros and cons. In this comparison, we’ll help you decide which platform is right for you by outlining where Shopify excels over Etsy and vice versa.

2.1. Etsy: Pros & Cons, where Etsy excels

Pros:

• Start with no subscription fee (none listed for a standard shop)
• Easy store setup for new businesses
• Immediate built-in audience and traffic due to Etsy’s marketplace

Cons:

• Limited products to craft or handmade goods
• 6.5% transaction fee plus payment processing on each sale (see the fee table)
• Competition is getting fierce, hard to make your store stand out
• Limited design customization
• Limited e-commerce tools
• Limited branding & customer experience
• Limited SEO
• Etsy connects to Square for in-person sales
• Limited analytics
• No store ownership and customer data
• Hard to scale

Where Etsy wins:

• Etsy offers an easy store setup for new businesses, requiring less effort than setting up a Shopify store.
• Etsy has a built-in audience specifically for handmade goods, providing a ready customer base to tap into.
• No subscription fee listed for a standard shop

2.2. Shopify: Pros & Cons, where Shopify excels

Pros:

• Unlimited product types
• Allows you to create your own e-commerce website with your domain
• Getting store ownership and accessing customer data
• No listing fee for products in your own store, and no Shopify transaction fee on Shopify Payments orders
• Live chat support 24/7 on every plan
• Customize your storefront in the theme editor
• Extremely scalable with robust e-commerce tools
• Full control of branding and customer experience
• Good for improving SEO
• Supports POS (Point of Sale)
• Customized shipping options
• Comprehensive analytics

Cons:

• Starts at $25 per month ($19 billed yearly) as of November 2026, which may not suit very small budgets
• Creating a full website with Shopify can be more labor-intensive
• You may need to build a customer base from scratch
• Requires a significant amount of effort and skills to fully utilize

Where Shopify wins

• Shopify supports an unlimited range of product types, not limited to craft or handmade items like Etsy.
• With Shopify, you have store ownership and control over customer data.
• A subscription costs more up front, but fees per sale are lower. On the hypothetical $50 order, Shopify Payments costs $1.75 and Etsy costs $5.20.
• Live chat is available 24/7 on every plan. Email support comes with Plus and Retail, and phone support with Plus, Retail and Shopify POS Pro.
• You can customize your storefront extensively with Shopify, giving you full control over your brand’s representation.
• Shopify’s App Store lists over 16,000 apps to help you build and grow your online business (read November 6, 2026).
• You can build your brand from scratch with Shopify, shaping it exactly the way you envision.
• Implementing SEO is straightforward when using Shopify to build your online store.
• Shopify supports Point of Sale (POS), making it suitable for businesses that operate both online and offline stores.
• Shopify offers a high degree of shipping flexibility, allowing you to choose from various carriers, and methods, set your own shipping rates, and offer multiple shipping options to customers.
• Shopify provides robust analytics and reporting tools, offering detailed insights into your store’s performance, including sales data, traffic sources, conversion rates, and more.

2.3. Top questions to help you decide which platform to sell on

• What type of products am I selling, and which platform suits them better?
• Do I want to build my brand or tap into an existing customer base?
• How much customization and control over the store design do I need?
• What are the costs, both initial and ongoing, on each platform?
• Do I have the skills and resources for effective store management?
• Is scalability important for my business growth?
• What level of customer support do I require from the platform?
• Do I need advanced e-commerce tools and analytics?
• Will I sell both online and offline (Point of Sale)?
• Do I have specific SEO and marketing strategies?
• What are my shipping preferences?
• Is store and customer data ownership a priority for me?

2.4. Choosing Etsy is a good option if you:

• Sell crafts, art, and other handmade items
• Aren’t yet ready to commit to a strong brand identity
• Want to utilize a built-in audience for homemade products
• Sell a small number of products

2.5. Choosing Shopify is a good option if you:

• Need a standalone website on your own domain.
• Want to engage in local selling and require Point-of-Sale (POS) capabilities.
• Desire extensive customization options for your website and wish to sell on multiple platforms.
• Already have a strong brand or are ready to establish one.
• Sell steadily. At about 6 orders a month and $50 per order, Shopify Basic billed yearly costs less than Etsy’s fees (hypothetical, see the fee table).
• Possess certain skills to acquire customers independently.

3. Deep Comparison: Shopify vs Etsy across 13 key factors

3.1. Shopify vs Etsy: Products

Etsy is known for handmade goods, vintage products, and craft supplies, making it perfect for creative sellers. 

Shopify, on the other hand, is a versatile e-commerce platform that suits high-volume sellers. It lets them sell a wide range of products, including manufactured goods.

This is an important factor to help you decide which platform to sell on. Handmade goods, vintage products, and craft supplies are the best fit for Etsy.

3.2. Shopify vs Etsy: Pricing plan & fees

Shopify

Shopify’s bill has three parts: the plan, card or gateway fees, and extras such as apps, a theme and a domain. Shopify’s pricing page lists no listing fee for products in your own store, and every plan sells unlimited products.

Subscription fees

As of November 2026, Shopify’s US pricing page lists four plans. Basic is $25 a month, or $19 a month billed yearly. Grow is $65 or $49. Advanced is $399 or $299. Plus starts at $2,300 a month.

What the plans add

• Basic: for solo entrepreneurs
• Grow: up to 5 staff accounts
• Advanced: up to 15 staff accounts

Transaction fees

There is no Shopify transaction fee on orders paid through Shopify Payments. If you use a third-party payment provider, Shopify adds 2% on Basic, 1% on Grow, 0.6% on Advanced and 0.2% on Plus.

Card rates

Shopify’s US pricing page shows no online card rate. Shopify’s blog (October 22, 2026) gives 2.5% to 2.9% plus 30 cents for standard online cards, depending on plan. The examples on this page use 2.9% plus $0.30, the top of that range, so the comparison leans toward Etsy, not Shopify.

Shopify app fees

Apps for personalization, SEO, upsells or other features have their own prices. Shopify’s Digital Downloads app is free (App Store listing, read November 6, 2026).

Etsy

Subscription fees

Etsy’s fee pages list no subscription fee for a standard shop. Etsy Plus is optional at $10 a month and includes 15 listing credits and $5 in Etsy Ads credit each month.

Listing fees

• $0.20 per listing, charged whether or not the item sells.
• A listing expires after four months. Auto-renew charges $0.20 again.

Transaction fees

• 6.5% applies to the item price plus shipping and gift wrap.

Payment processing fees

• In the US, 3% plus $0.25 per order on Etsy Payments sales.
• The fee is taken on the total sale price, including shipping and any sales tax.

Advertising and promotional fees

• Offsite Ads: 15% of the order total if the shop made under $10,000 on Etsy in the past 365 days, 12% at $10,000 or more, capped at $100 per order.

In-person selling fees

• With Square, items synced to your shop renew at the usual $0.20 listing fee.
• Items not synced carry a $0.20 fee per transaction, shown on your bill as a Square manual fee.

Regulatory operating fees

• Charged only to sellers in the UK, France, Italy, India, Spain, Turkiye, Vietnam and Canada. Not charged to US sellers.

Worked example (hypothetical)

One US order of $50: a $45 item plus $5 shipping, no sales tax. Card fees on Shopify use 2.9% plus $0.30. Assumption: one $0.20 listing fee is charged per order, as when a listing with a quantity above 1 renews on each sale. Etsy lists $0.20 per additional quantity.

• Etsy listing: $0.20.
• Etsy transaction: 6.5% x $50 = $3.25.
• Etsy processing: 3% x $50 = $1.50, plus $0.25 = $1.75.
• Etsy total: $5.20 (10.4%).
• Shopify Basic with Shopify Payments: 2.9% x $50 = $1.45 plus $0.30. Total: $1.75 (3.5%).
• Gap per order: $5.20 minus $1.75 = $3.45.

Break-even on Basic billed yearly ($19): $19 divided by $3.45 = 5.5, so 6 orders a month. At 6 orders Etsy costs $31.20 and Shopify costs $19 + $10.50 = $29.50. At 5 orders Etsy costs $26.00 and Shopify costs $19 + $8.75 = $27.75.

Billed monthly ($25): $25 divided by $3.45 = 7.2, so 8 orders a month.

This leaves out Offsite Ads, apps, a theme, a domain and your own marketing. It also leaves out the shoppers Etsy brings you, which is what many sellers pay Etsy for. The break-even moves with order value, card rate and Offsite Ads share.

3.3. Shopify vs Etsy: Customer support

In some cases, you don’t know how to set up your store or your image accidentally disappears at 2 a.m. Customer support is essential to help resolve any issues promptly and make sure your online store runs smoothly. 

Shopify’s Help Center lists live chat as available 24/7 on every plan. Email support comes with Plus and Retail. Phone support comes with Plus, Retail and Shopify POS Pro. Shopify also has a Help Center, a community forum and docs.

Etsy has a Help Center and a Community forum. Check Etsy’s current help pages for how to reach a person, because contact options change.

3.4. Shopify vs Etsy: Ease of use

Etsy and Shopify are both designed to be user-friendly to those new to e-commerce. They provide step-by-step guidance through the setup process, making it easy to complete each stage. Additionally, they offer a range of online resources and video tutorials to provide further support.

With Etsy, you’re essentially adding listings to an existing online marketplace. To get started, you need to create an account, answer a few questions, choose your store name, stock your store, take high-quality product photos, and enter your billing details to ensure you get paid. Writing effective product descriptions is also crucial for standing out on Etsy. The setup process is straightforward, quick, and simple.

If you are still choosing a name for your shop, these Etsy shop name ideas are sorted by style and niche.

Shopify’s setup is more extensive because you’re building an entirely new website. To launch your Shopify store, you’ll need to familiarize yourself with tasks such as creating your own brand, customizing templates, building web pages, and setting up domain mapping. 

While Shopify may seem slightly more technical, especially for those new to web design, it has been designed to simplify this process as much as possible. Shopify also helps manage your store by syncing your inventory, tracking orders, and more.

Both Etsy and Shopify cater to e-commerce beginners with user-friendly setup processes and abundant resources. Etsy is quick and straightforward, while Shopify offers more extensive customization and assistance for building a new website.

3.5. Shopify vs Etsy: Design flexibility

When it comes to design flexibility, Shopify and Etsy offer contrasting experiences. 

Etsy provides limited room for customization, with seller pages following Etsy’s layout. You also don’t have your own domain. Your store will look like this: www.etsy.com/shop/your-store-name

This makes it hard to stand out in a crowded marketplace. Etsy may not be the best choice if you want to build a strong online brand.

On the other hand, Shopify gives you themes as the building blocks of your website. Its Theme Store listed 24 free themes and 1,335 paid ones on November 6, 2026. These themes let you customize colors, fonts, and images, so you can create a unique online presence. Shopify lets you switch themes easily, so your brand can evolve with your business.

You can have a custom domain like www.borcellebakery.com, making your online store look more trustworthy, professional, and recognizable.

>>> Learn more: Shopify vs eBay: Which is Better for Starting an Online Store?

3.6. Shopify vs Etsy: eCommerce tools

In terms of eCommerce tools, both Etsy and Shopify offer options to help you grow your online business. 

Etsy provides simple yet effective tools, which are suitable for small-scale selling of homemade and craft products.

On the other hand, Shopify stands out in the eCommerce tools department. Its App Store lists over 16,000 apps (read November 6, 2026).

These powerful tools offer a wide range of benefits to store owners, including:

• Finding products (source products from wholesale and suppliers)
• Selling products (Sell more with sales channels, subscriptions, product options, digital downloads)
• Store design (Customize pages with reviews, currency converters, translation, popups)
• Orders and shipping (Handle fulfillment with inventory management, order printers, invoices, order tracking)
• Marketing and conversion (Get customers with SEO, upsells, bundles, discounts, email marketing)
• Store management (Support customers with help centers, chat, wishlists, FAQs, loyalty programs)

While Etsy does have tools for customizing products, design, and marketing, Shopify offers more inventory tools, including tracking, management, and analytics.

3.7. Shopify vs Etsy: Brand exposure & Customer experience

When you sell on Etsy, your options for presenting your business are limited. Your online presence will look similar to other Etsy shops, and customization options are limited.

On the other hand, with Shopify, building your brand may take some time, but the possibilities are virtually limitless. It offers extensive control over your brand and user experience.

For example, with Shopify, you can also implement advanced marketing strategies, such as personalized product recommendations and automated email campaigns, to enhance the customer experience. Plus, you have access to a wide range of third-party apps and integrations that can further improve your online store’s functionality like multi-currency and multilingual support.

3.8. Shopify vs Etsy: Audience & Traffic source

One more aspect that newcomers care about when deciding to sell on Shopify or Etsy is how and where to sell their products, how to draw traffic to their store, and their access to customer data for remarketing.

Etsy

Audience: Etsy is an established marketplace where buyers look for handmade and vintage goods. As a seller on Etsy, you can benefit from this premade customer base.

Traffic source: Etsy provides a platform where you can list your products and attract customers from within the marketplace. There is no guarantee that visitors to Etsy will end up on your specific shop, because you compete with every other seller of similar items.

Customer data: on Etsy, buyer data sits inside Etsy’s marketplace and Etsy’s policies. On Shopify you build your own customer list.

Marketing tools: Etsy offers basic marketing tools that can be effective for beginners in online business but may not be sufficient for experienced merchants with diverse marketing strategies.

Shopify

Audience: Shopify is primarily an e-commerce website builder, so you need to promote your store and build your brand to attract customers. It does not come with a pre-existing customer base like Etsy.

Traffic source: You must actively promote your Shopify store across social media and other digital platforms. This requires skills in areas such as SEO, email marketing, and advertising, which can be a challenge for newcomers.

Customer emails: Shopify allows you to collect customer emails, provided they opt-in during the checkout process. This gives you the ability to send newsletters and store updates, helping you build a customer base that you can market to directly.

Marketing tools: Shopify provides a range of marketing tools and integrations, including SEO tools, email marketing capabilities, and advertising options. These tools are more comprehensive and suitable for experienced merchants with various marketing strategies.

Some merchants choose to operate stores on both Etsy and Shopify. This allows them to leverage Etsy’s large marketplace to reach potential customers and use Shopify for more control over branding and customer data. Over time, successful Shopify stores may lead merchants to phase out their Etsy presence to save on fees.

The choice between Etsy and Shopify depends on your specific business goals, marketing skills, and preferences. Etsy offers a ready-made audience but limited control over customer data, while Shopify requires more active promotion but provides greater flexibility and access to customer emails for marketing purposes. Merchants may also opt for a combination of both platforms to maximize their reach and control.

3.9. Shopify vs Etsy: SEO

If you care about SEO (getting found on search engines) in your marketing strategy, think about how each platform handles it to make the right choice.

Shopify

Comprehensive SEO tools: Shopify provides a wide array of built-in SEO tools and features to help you optimize your online store for search engines. This includes customizable meta titles, descriptions, and headers for product pages, collections, and blogs.

Editable URLs: You have full control over your URLs, allowing you to create clean, keyword-rich URLs that can improve your search engine rankings.

Mobile optimization: Shopify’s themes are mobile-responsive, ensuring that your store performs well on mobile devices, which is crucial for SEO since mobile-friendliness is a ranking factor for search engines.

Schema markup: Shopify uses schema markup, enhancing your product listings’ appearance in search engine results with rich snippets, like star ratings and pricing.

Integration with SEO apps: Shopify integrates seamlessly with various SEO apps, enabling you to extend functionality and implement advanced SEO strategies.

Site speed: Shopify provides reliable hosting and content delivery networks (CDNs) to ensure fast page load times, which is another SEO ranking factor.

Etsy

Limited SEO control: Etsy offers more limited SEO control compared to Shopify. While you can add keywords to product titles, descriptions, and tags, the extent of optimization options is not as comprehensive.

Structured URLs: Etsy generates URLs automatically based on your product titles, making them less customizable and potentially less optimized for specific keywords.

Limited mobile control: Etsy’s mobile optimization is not as customizable as Shopify’s, which may impact your store’s performance in mobile search results.

Structured data markup: Etsy uses structured data markup to a degree, but it may not provide as rich of a result appearance in search engine listings as Shopify can.

External SEO tools: Etsy allows you to use third-party SEO tools and apps, but it doesn’t offer as many built-in SEO features as Shopify does.

Shopify offers more robust built-in SEO capabilities, making it easier to optimize your online store for search engines. Its customization options, mobile optimization, and integration with SEO apps provide a comprehensive SEO toolkit. In contrast, Etsy provides more limited control over SEO elements, making it potentially less effective for those aiming to maximize their organic search visibility. Your choice should align with your SEO strategy and goals.

3.10. Shopify vs Etsy: Local selling and Point of sale (POS)

When comparing Shopify and Etsy for local selling and point of sale (POS), there are distinct differences to consider.

Shopify

Local selling: Shopify provides comprehensive tools for local selling. You can set up a physical point of sale using Shopify POS, which integrates seamlessly with your online store. This is great for businesses with physical locations or selling at events, markets, or pop-up shops.

Inventory management: Shopify offers robust inventory management for both online and offline sales. You can track stock levels in real time, making it easier to manage your products across different sales channels.

Payment processing: Shopify’s POS system allows you to accept various payment methods, including credit cards, cash, and mobile payments. It provides a smooth and secure checkout experience for in-person customers.

Hardware integration: You can use Shopify’s POS hardware, such as card readers, cash registers, and barcode scanners, to streamline your in-store sales operations.

Etsy

Local selling: Etsy is built for online selling. It connects to Square for in-person sales.

Inventory management: Etsy offers basic inventory management features for your online store, but it may not be as robust or suitable for managing physical store inventory.

Payment processing: Square sales have their own fees. Items synced to your Etsy shop renew at the usual $0.20 listing fee. Items not synced carry a $0.20 fee per transaction (Etsy Help Center).

Hardware: the card reader comes from Square, not Etsy.

If you plan to sell both online and in-person, Shopify is the more versatile choice. It provides a dedicated POS system, inventory management, and hardware integration options. On the other hand, Etsy is primarily designed for online selling, making it less suitable for businesses with a significant focus on local sales or point-of-sale transactions.

3.11. Shopify vs Etsy: Shipping

When comparing Shopify and Etsy for shipping, there are important differences to consider:

Shopify

Shipping flexibility: Shopify provides a high degree of flexibility when it comes to shipping. You can choose from a variety of shipping carriers and methods, set your own shipping rates, and offer multiple shipping options to customers.

Integration with shipping apps: Shopify offers integration with various shipping apps and services, allowing you to streamline your shipping process. This includes printing shipping labels, tracking packages, and calculating shipping costs automatically.

Etsy

Fees on shipping: Etsy applies its 6.5% transaction fee and its processing fee to the shipping you charge, so shipping revenue is not fee-free.

Shopify offers more flexibility in how you set shipping rates and options. On Etsy, shipping you charge is part of the order total that the fees apply to. Your choice between the two platforms will depend on your specific shipping requirements and preferences.

3.12. Shopify vs Etsy: Analytics

When comparing Shopify and Etsy, it’s crucial to think about how they show you how your business is doing. They have different ways of doing this, and knowing these distinctions is vital when making a choice

Shopify

Comprehensive analytics: Shopify provides robust analytics and reporting tools. You can access detailed information about your store’s performance, including sales data, traffic sources, conversion rates, and more. This data is crucial for understanding your business’s strengths and weaknesses.

Customization: Shopify allows you to customize reports and dashboards to focus on the metrics that matter most to your business. You can create custom reports or use third-party analytics tools to gain even more insights.

Integration: Shopify integrates seamlessly with various analytics and reporting apps, offering additional features and capabilities for in-depth analysis.

Real-time data: You can access real-time data on Shopify, enabling you to make informed decisions quickly and adjust your strategies as needed.

Etsy

Limited analytics: Etsy provides basic analytics tools for sellers. You can view information about your shop’s views, orders, and revenue. While this data is helpful, it’s less comprehensive than what Shopify offers.

Traffic sources: Etsy’s analytics include data on where your shop’s traffic is coming from, such as direct links, Etsy searches, or external sources.

Conversion rates: You can see conversion rates for your shop and individual listings on Etsy, helping you understand how well your products are selling.

No customization: Etsy’s analytics tools are not as customizable as Shopify’s. You have limited control over the types of reports and data you can access.

Shopify provides more comprehensive and customizable analytics tools, allowing you to gain a deeper understanding of your online store’s performance. Etsy, on the other hand, offers basic analytics focused on shop views, orders, and revenue. Your choice between the two platforms will depend on the level of analytics detail and customization you require for your business.

>>> Learn more: Shopify vs Volusion: The Pros, Cons, and In-Between

3.13. Shopify vs Etsy: Scalability

When you’re setting up your online store, choosing a sales channel that can keep up with your business goals is essential. If it can’t scale at the same pace as your vision, it may require significant time and resources down the road.

Etsy

Etsy is an excellent platform for quickly getting started with your online store. However, as you aim to scale, it may struggle to keep up. In some cases, it can even hinder rapid growth. Several factors can potentially stand in the way of scaling on Etsy:

Listing fees: Listing fees can discourage you from experimenting with a wide range of products, limiting your ability to expand.

Direct competition: You’ll find yourself directly competing with every other shop selling the same product within the Etsy marketplace.

Limited sales tools: Etsy offers a limited set of built-in sales tools, making it challenging to implement advanced sales strategies.

Ownership: Your Etsy store is owned by Etsy itself, and you’re sharing the traffic within the marketplace, limiting your control over your brand’s growth.

Shopify

On the other hand, Shopify is specifically designed for scaling eCommerce businesses. Its pricing plans work as a tiered ladder, offering more powerful features as your store grows. Here’s why Shopify is an excellent choice for rapid scaling:

No product listing fees: You can add a wide range of products without incurring extra fees, encouraging experimentation and growth.

No direct competition: Shopify doesn’t have the same direct competition dynamics as Etsy, allowing your store to stand out more effectively.

Focused traffic: The traffic you receive on Shopify is centered on your store, enhancing your brand’s visibility and growth potential.

Ownership: Your Shopify store is entirely your own, and you even have the option to sell it once it has scaled to your satisfaction.

App ecosystem: Shopify boasts thousands of apps designed to drive growth and help your store scale by adding advanced functionality.

Design flexibility: Shopify offers design flexibility, enabling you to create a unique store and build a strong brand presence.

While Etsy can provide a quick start to your online venture, its marketplace nature and limited tools can hinder rapid growth. Shopify, on the other hand, is designed to facilitate rapid expansion, offering scalability and a wealth of resources to support your e-commerce ambitions. Your choice should align with your long-term vision for your business.

4. Shopify and Etsy: Can we use them together?

With Etsy, you can reach its existing customers. Meanwhile, Shopify offers customization and many third-party apps to help your online store grow.

To connect Etsy and Shopify, list your products on Etsy first, then add a sync app. Our Etsy to Shopify migration guide covers the import steps. Shopify’s own Marketplace Connect app does not cover Etsy: its listing names Amazon, Target Plus, Walmart and eBay. Shopify’s Etsy migration guide names Shuttle and ShopList, which sync listings, orders and inventory. Shuttle has a free plan (10 product and 10 order transfers a month) and paid plans at $12, $19 and $39 a month. ShopList runs from $4.99 to $39.99 a month. Prices were read on November 6, 2026.

Compare Shopify plans

5. Digital products and artists: which platform costs less?

On low-priced items Shopify costs less per sale. Etsy costs less only below about 24 download sales or about 5 print orders a month (hypothetical, Basic billed yearly).

Both groups sell low-priced items, so the fixed part of each fee hurts more. Our worked example assumes $0.20 per order for the listing, 6.5% for the transaction and 3% plus $0.25 for processing. On a $10 download that is $1.40, or 14%. All numbers below are hypothetical and use the same assumptions as the worked example above.

Hypothetical example	Etsy	Shopify Basic with Shopify Payments	Gap per order	Break-even (Basic billed yearly)
Digital download, $10	$1.40: $0.20 + $0.65 + $0.55	$0.59: 2.9% x $10 = $0.29 + $0.30	$1.40 minus $0.59 = $0.81	$19 divided by $0.81 = 23.5, so 24 sales a month
Art print, $60 + $8 shipping = $68	$6.91: $0.20 + $4.42 + $2.29	$2.27: 2.9% x $68 = $1.97 + $0.30	$6.91 minus $2.27 = $4.64	$19 divided by $4.64 = 4.1, so 5 orders a month

If an Offsite Ads click brings the $68 order, add 15% ($10.20), capped at $100.

Shopify’s Digital Downloads app is free and made by Shopify. It attaches files or links to products and sends access links after purchase (App Store listing, read November 6, 2026). The $10 example does not include any other app.

Which one fits you

• A few sales a month and no audience of your own: stay on Etsy. A standard shop has no subscription fee listed.
• Digital products with steady sales: in the $10 example, Basic billed yearly with the free Digital Downloads app costs less from about 24 sales a month.
• Artists with a following or an email list: Shopify keeps more per sale. Keep Etsy only while it still sends you orders.

Compare the plan prices before you decide.

See current Shopify plan prices

6. Conclusion

In summary, whether you should go with Shopify or Etsy for your online business startup depends on what you’re selling, how much control you want, and your growth plans. Shopify is the go-to choice for those who want complete control and room to grow. On the other hand, if you prefer a simpler start and have handmade or unique products, Etsy can be a great launchpad.

Pick by volume and by who finds your customers. Below about 6 orders a month at $50 each (a hypothetical example), Etsy’s fees can come out lower. Above that, Shopify Basic billed yearly costs less per month, and you own the store. Prices were read on November 6, 2026.

Looking to expand beyond Shopify and Etsy? Don’t overlook the best Shopify alternatives available.

7. FAQs