Yes, you can make money on Etsy, but between the price a buyer pays and the money that reaches your bank sit Etsy's fees, the product cost and shipping. Whether anything is left over depends mostly on working out those costs before you set a price, listing steadily, and giving the first months the time they need.
This guide is for new Etsy sellers, especially in print on demand. It makes no income promises: it collects the fees, waiting times and rules from Etsy's own help pages.
Where the money goes in a single sale
You set the price. The buyer pays it plus any shipping you charge, Etsy deducts its fees, and the rest lands in your Etsy Payment account. With print on demand, a production partner prints and ships the item, and you pay the product cost and shipping on every order. So the useful question is "what is left from each sale", and our guide to the margin math for print on demand pricing shows how to build prices around it.
Etsy's fees: what is charged, and when
Etsy charges $0.20 for every listing, whether or not the item sells. A listing expires after 4 months, and an automatic renewal costs another $0.20 (Etsy fees). On each sale, Etsy takes a transaction fee of 6.5% of the order total, including the shipping and gift wrap you charge.
The payment processing fee depends on where your bank account is: 3% + $0.25 for a US account and 6.5% + 14 TRY for a Turkish one, taken from the total including shipping and any sales tax (Etsy payment processing fees). Sellers in some countries also pay a regulatory operating fee, for example 1.67% in Türkiye and 0.48% in the United Kingdom (Etsy regulatory operating fee).
Listing in a currency other than your bank account's adds a 2.5% conversion fee, and opening the shop costs a one-time, non-refundable set-up fee that varies by location (Etsy fees). Offsite Ads promote your listings on sites such as Google, Instagram and Pinterest, and on a sale from one of those ads Etsy charges 15% of the order total if you made less than $10,000 on Etsy in the past 365 days, or 12% if you made at least that (Etsy fees), never more than $100 per order (Etsy Offsite Ads).
| Cost | When it is charged | Amount, per Etsy's help pages |
|---|---|---|
| Listing fee | Each listing, renewal and extra unit sold | $0.20 |
| Transaction fee | Every sale, shipping included | 6.5% of the order total |
| Payment processing | Every sale | Türkiye 6.5% + 14 TRY, US 3% + $0.25 |
| Regulatory operating fee | Every sale, in certain countries | Türkiye 1.67%, UK 0.48% |
| Currency conversion | Listing and bank currencies differ | 2.5% |
| Offsite Ads | Only on sales from an ad | 15% or 12%, at most $100 per order |
| Shop set-up fee | Once, when you open | Varies by location |
| Product and shipping (POD) | Every order | Depends on the product and partner |
A $25 sale, worked through
Take a $25 order with no shipping charge, leaving sales tax aside. With a US bank account you pay about $1.63 in transaction fee, $1.00 in processing and $0.20 for the listing: about $2.83. In Türkiye you pay about $1.63 in transaction fee, about $1.63 plus 14 TRY in processing, about $0.42 in regulatory operating fee and $0.20 for the listing: about $3.88 plus 14 TRY, plus the 2.5% conversion fee if your listing and bank currencies differ.
A sale from an Offsite Ad loses another $3.75, all before product and shipping. Depending on your business status and location, Etsy may also collect VAT on its seller fees (Etsy VAT on seller fees). For a fuller breakdown, see what you actually keep from a $25 sale.
Time: why the first sale and first payout take a while
A new listing can take up to 48 hours to appear in Etsy search (Etsy listing guide), and a new shop waits 15 days before it can start an Etsy Ads campaign (Etsy Ads).
If your new shop has a payment reserve, the reserved funds are released once Etsy can confirm shipping. For most sellers the reserve is removed within 90 days (Etsy payment reserves). For new sellers, deposits default to weekly, every Monday, and a standard bank transfer can take 1 to 5 business days (Etsy deposit schedule). In Türkiye, a deposit above the 50 TRY minimum but below the 600 TRY threshold costs a 42 TRY fee (Etsy deposit fees), so avoid many small transfers.
No help page says when the first sale arrives, because that depends on your product, price and listing quality. We cover how to use the wait in why your first Etsy sale takes time.
The learning curve: what the first months go into
Selling on Etsy means learning several skills at once:
Search: titles of up to 140 characters (Etsy listing guide) and 13 tags of up to 20 characters each (Etsy tags).
Images: up to 20 photos and 2 videos per listing (Etsy listing guide). Print on demand needs no camera, but it does need convincing mockups.
Customer service: replies to 80% of first messages within 24 to 48 hours and at least 80% of orders shipped on time (Etsy customer service standards).
Rules: print on demand is allowed when the item is your original design, drop shipping is not (Etsy print on demand rules), and you disclose your production partner, as explained in the production partner rules for print on demand.
Language: Turkish is not one of Etsy's site languages (Etsy site languages), so from Türkiye you write listings in your buyers' language, most often English.
None of this is hard alone, but together it takes time.
What a realistic start looks like
In the first months, treat Etsy as a small business rather than a salary:
Pick one group of buyers (teachers, dog owners, a hobby) and make original designs for them, with no brand names, characters or celebrities.
Set no price until you can see the profit after every fee and the product cost.
Order a sample of your own product and check the print and fit yourself.
List steadily, and every few weeks use your stats to improve titles, tags and photos.
Record the profit on every order to see which product earns.
Tax, company setup and invoicing depend on your country, so check Etsy's help pages and a qualified accountant for those.
How Alomations makes the math visible
We built Alomations so you can answer "what did I actually make" per order. On paid plans, the profit view shows what you kept after Etsy fees and product cost on fulfilled orders. Every credit you spend is itemised, with plan credits and top-ups counted separately, and on every plan the orders screen shows item cost and shipping separately before you pay a production partner.
The Free plan is $0 and gives you 40 credits a month once your Etsy shop is connected, about 4 to 6 full listings, plus up to 4 AI images a month, real orders and the listings manager, with no card. See what you can do with 40 credits a month.
Frequently asked questions
How much money do you need to start selling on Etsy?
With print on demand you hold no stock, so start-up costs are small: the shop set-up fee, which varies by location, $0.20 per listing (Etsy fees) and any samples you order.
Do I have to pay for Etsy Ads?
No. Etsy Ads is optional, the minimum daily budget is $1, and you pay only when someone clicks an ad (Etsy Ads). Offsite Ads is separate: it charges only on a sale that came from an ad, and shops that have never made $10,000 in a 365-day period can opt out (Etsy Offsite Ads).
Can sellers in Türkiye get paid through PayPal?
No. Because PayPal does not operate in Türkiye, Etsy Payments sellers there cannot accept PayPal (Etsy Payments). Whatever the payment method, the money goes to your Etsy Payment account first.
If you want to try your first listings and orders without paying anything up front, start with the free plan.