What is the minimum selling price to avoid a loss on Etsy?
By the TrueSellerPrice team · Updated · How we calculate
The minimum selling price to avoid a loss on Etsy is your break-even price: the price at which, after Etsy takes its fees, the sale exactly covers your materials, packaging and postage. Selling for less loses money on every order. Here is how to work it out.
The fees to include
For a US seller, Etsy's standard fees on a sale are (checked October 2026; confirm on Etsy's fee page):
- a $0.20 listing fee, charged again when a multi-quantity listing renews after a sale;
- a 6.5% transaction fee on the order total, including the shipping and gift wrap you charge;
- payment processing of 3% of the total the buyer pays plus $0.25 per order.
Offsite Ads, currency conversion and regulatory fees can apply on top, depending on your shop.
The formula
Add up everything that does not depend on the price: your costs plus the fixed fees. Then divide by one minus the percentage fees. With free shipping and no sales tax:
break-even price = (costs + $0.20 + $0.25) ÷ (1 − 0.065 − 0.03)
Illustrative inputs, not a quote from any platform. Calculated with the same engine as the calculator above.
- Materials
- $6.50
- Packaging
- $0.90
- Postage (free shipping)
- $4.80
- Listing fee per sale
- $0.20
- Transaction fee
- 6.5%
- Payment processing
- 3% + $0.25
| List price | $13.98 |
| Customer pays (incl. tax) | $13.98 |
| Indirect tax collected for authorities VAT / GST / sales tax — not seller revenue | $0.00 |
| Net revenue | $13.98 |
| Listing fee per sale Marketplace / referral · fixed per order | −$0.20 |
| Transaction fee Marketplace / referral · 6.5% of order total excl. tax (13.98) | −$0.91 |
| Payment processing rate Payment processing · 3% of order total incl. tax (13.98) | −$0.42 |
| Payment processing fixed fee Payment processing · fixed per order | −$0.25 |
| Product cost 6.50 USD per unit | −$6.50 |
| Packaging 0.90 USD per unit | −$0.90 |
| Outbound shipping 4.80 USD per unit | −$4.80 |
| Contribution profit Contribution margin 0.01% | $0.00 |
| Profit after allocated overhead | $0.00 |
| Margin | 0.01% |
| Markup on total cost | 0.01% |
Your minimum is not your price
Break-even pays for materials and fees but nothing for your time, failed prints, returns or the tools you use. Treat it as a floor for sales and coupon codes, not as your normal price. In the example, a 10% minimum margin requires $15.72 and a 25% margin requires $19.32.
If you offer free shipping, the postage moves into your item price; if you charge for shipping, Etsy's transaction fee applies to it, so the break-even item price falls by less than the shipping you charge.
Try it with your own costs in the Etsy pricing tool; the “Load typical US fees” button fills in the fees above.
Try it with your own numbers
Listing, transaction and payment processing fees, including shipping.
Open Etsy pricing toolThis guide is general information for decision support, not tax, legal or accounting advice. Fee figures were checked on the date shown against third-party summaries of each platform's fee page; platforms change their fees, so confirm current rates on the official page.