Fees verified 2026-08-22 Source-cited fees Open methodology →

Platform Fee Comparison

Price one product through every platform's own fee schedule and see which one actually nets you more. All rates verified against official sources.

Quick answer

On a $25.00 order, Etsy takes $2.83 and Shopify Payments takes $1.03, so Shopify's $39 plan pays for itself at about 22 orders a month ($550.00 of GMV). Below that, Etsy's no-subscription model is cheaper; above it, the lower per-order take wins. Amazon FBA takes the most per order ($8.50) and gives back fulfilment, returns handling, and its buyer base.

Your product, every platform

Enter one product once. Each platform is priced through its own fee schedule and its own realistic settings — Amazon on FBA with a general-merchandise referral rate, Shopify on the Basic plan, dropshipping through a standard gateway.

Ignored for Amazon FBA, which fulfils for you.
PlatformFees per orderNet per orderMarginTake rateNet per month
ShopifyBest here$1.03$8.9835.9%7.2%$409.75
TikTok Shop$2.00$8.0032.0%8.0%$400.00
Dropshipping$2.28$7.7330.9%9.1%$386.25
Etsy$2.83$7.1828.7%11.3%$358.75
Print on Demand$2.83$7.1828.7%11.3%$358.75
Walmart Marketplace$3.75$6.2525.0%15.0%$312.50
eBay$3.80$6.2024.8%15.2%$310.00
Amazon FBA$8.67$4.3317.3%37.9%$176.70

At $25.00 and 50 orders a month, Shopify nets $409.75 a month — $9.75 more than TikTok Shop. Its take rate is 7.2% of revenue against 8.0%, and that ranking moves with your order volume: a monthly plan costs the same whether you sell ten orders or a thousand, while a percentage fee never stops scaling.

Open the Shopify calculator →Open the TikTok Shop calculator →Open the Dropshipping calculator →Open the Etsy calculator →Open the Print on Demand calculator →Open the Walmart Marketplace calculator →Open the eBay calculator →Open the Amazon FBA calculator →

Fee structures side by side

Fee type Etsy Shopify Dropshipping Amazon FBA
Listing fee $0.20 per listing None None None
Percentage fees 6.5% transaction + 3% + $0.25 processing 2.9% + $0.30 (Shopify Payments) Whatever your channel charges 15% referral (typical)
Charged on shipping you collect? Yes Yes Usually Yes
Monthly plan Optional add-on $39/mo (Basic) Depends on channel Professional plan (not modelled)
Fulfilment You ship You ship Supplier ships FBA per-unit fee by size and weight
Fees on a $25.00 order $2.83 $1.03 Set your own rate $8.50 (with a $4.75 fulfilment fee)

Every figure here is computed from the same fee data the calculators use, last verified 2026-08-22. See the fee changelog for what changed and when.

Frequently Asked Questions

Which ecommerce platform has the lowest fees?+
It depends on your order volume, because the platforms trade a subscription against a per-order take rate. On a $25.00 order, Etsy takes $2.83 and Shopify Payments takes $1.03 — a gap of $1.80 per order. Shopify's $39 plan therefore pays for itself at about 22 orders a month ($550.00 of GMV) at that order value; below it, Etsy's no-subscription model is cheaper. Amazon FBA has the highest per-order take once fulfilment is included, but it absorbs pick, pack, ship, and returns.
Does Etsy charge a higher transaction fee than Shopify?+
Yes. Etsy's 6.5% transaction fee sits on top of 3% + $0.25 payment processing, against Shopify Payments' 2.9% + $0.30. Both are charged on the order total including the shipping you collect. Etsy has no required subscription, so the crossover is a question of volume — see the order-count answer above, and note that it moves with your average order value.
Are Amazon FBA fees worth it compared to selling on Shopify?+
Amazon FBA has the highest combined fee structure — a 15% referral fee on the order total, a per-unit fulfilment fee set by size and weight (which rose in January 2026 and carries a 3.5% fuel surcharge from April 2026), and monthly storage — but it includes warehousing, pick-pack-ship, customer service, and access to Amazon's buyer base with built-in trust. For a single seller running their own Shopify store you pay less in fees but you also do the fulfilment yourself, run your own ads, and build your own trust. Most established sellers operate on both.
Why is dropshipping considered low-margin even with no listing fees?+
Because the supplier captures most of the wholesale spread you would normally make, leaving you primarily competing on marketing. Typical dropshipping economics: 25-35% gross margin before ads, 5-15% after ads. Platform fees are usually a smaller line item than ad spend (often 30-50% of revenue at scale).
How often do these platforms change their fees?+
Etsy and Shopify typically adjust fees annually, often in Q1. Amazon moves more often — it raised US FBA fulfilment fees in January 2026 and added a 3.5% fuel and logistics surcharge in April 2026. Every rate we apply is dated and sourced on our fee changelog, our build fails its checks when a fee record goes past its review interval, and the calculator itself flags rates that need re-checking rather than showing a green badge it has not earned.

Why these fees vary

Listing vs. transaction

Some platforms (Etsy) charge a fee just to list inventory. Others (Shopify) only collect on conversion. High listing fees punish slow-moving SKUs.

Take-rate vs. flat plan

Shopify and Amazon mix a monthly subscription with per-transaction percentages. Volume tilts the math: at low GMV the subscription dominates.

Fulfillment offload

FBA bundles pick-pack-ship into a single per-item fee. It's higher than self-fulfilled rates, but you trade time and inventory complexity for the cost.