Every fee both marketplaces charge a UK seller, side by side — then the same product run through both so you can see what actually lands in your pocket.
On a £24.99 item with £6.00 of product cost and £4.00 of shipping, Etsy leaves you about £0.11 more per unit than eBay — £7.72 against £7.61. That is before advertising, and it can reverse at a different price point or in a different category, which is exactly why the calculator below takes your numbers.
Dataset 2026.10 · worked with the same engine as every Farolane calculator · example uses the general category; ranges reflect published commission bands.
| Category | eBay | Etsy |
|---|---|---|
| Apparel & Accessories | 11.9% | 6.5% |
| Footwear | 11.9% | 6.5% |
| Consumer Electronics | 9.9% | 6.5% |
| Electronics Accessories | 9.9% | 6.5% |
| Computers | 9.9% | 6.5% |
| Beauty, Health & Personal Care | 10.9% | 6.5% |
| Baby Products | 10.9% | 6.5% |
| Home & Kitchen | 11.9% to £500, then 7.9% on the rest | 6.5% |
| Furniture | 10.9% to £500, then 7.9% to £1,000, then 3% on the rest | 6.5% |
| Jewelry | 14.9% to £1,000, then 4% on the rest | 6.5% |
| Watches | 12.9% to £750, then 3% on the rest | 6.5% |
| Toys & Games | 10.9% | 6.5% |
| Grocery & Gourmet | 10.9% | 6.5% |
| Pet Supplies | 10.9% | 6.5% |
| Sports & Outdoors | 10.9% | 6.5% |
| Office Products | 10.9% | 6.5% |
| Automotive & Powersports | 10.9% | 6.5% |
| Tools & Home Improvement | 6.9% to £400, then 3% on the rest | 6.5% |
| Bags, Luggage & Backpacks | 12.9% to £800, then 7% on the rest | 6.5% |
| Media (Books, DVD, Music, Software) | 10.9% | 6.5% |
| Other / General | 10.9% | 6.5% |
| eBay | Etsy | |
|---|---|---|
| Commission charged on | Item price + shipping you charge | Item price + shipping you charge |
| Payment processing | No separate fee — bundled into the commission | 4% + £0.20 |
| Per-order / closing fee | £0.30 up to £10, £0.40 above that | £0.16 per order |
| Fixed monthly cost | None | None |
| Rates verified | Yes — 2026-10-15 | Yes — 2026-10-15 |
Sources: eBay fee schedule · Etsy fee schedule
Both figures come from the same calculation: order revenue minus commission on whichever base the platform actually uses, minus per-order and payment fees, minus the consumption tax sitting inside your price where that applies, minus your product cost and shipping. No midpoints are invented — where a marketplace publishes a band, you see the band.
Business-seller rates, re-sourced from eBay UK’s own business fee page (last updated 30 Sep 2026). The 12.9% flat rate carried here since July was WRONG across the board: the standard rate is 10.9%, clothing and home are 11.9%, and the big electronics groups are 9.9%. Several categories are marginal, charged on the portion up to each per-item threshold. The 0.35% regulatory operating fee is now a regulatory fee record rather than being smuggled in as a payment percentage, because it is charged on the total sale including postage. Not modelled: the reduced 10p per-order fee on some Collectables and Home listings, the trainers exception (7% at £100 or more), and the 2.75% currency conversion charge from 1 Dec 2026. 6.5% transaction fee on item plus postage, £0.16 listing fee, and Etsy Payments at 4% + £0.20, all confirmed from Etsy’s own fee and payment-processing pages this pass. Etsy’s regulatory operating fee is now modelled: 0.48% in the UK, charged on item price plus shipping, and it is a real cost rather than a reclaimable memo. Offsite Ads is 15%, or 12% once a shop passes $10,000 in trailing 365-day sales, capped at $100 per attributed order, and applies only to attributed orders, so it is not included here.
On a £24.99 product costing £6.00 with £4.00 shipping, Etsy nets about £7.72 per unit versus £7.61 on eBay — a gap of roughly £0.11. That ordering can flip with a different price or category, so run your own numbers before committing.
eBay charges 10.9% in the general category and Etsy charges 6.5%. Both vary by category — the full table on this page lists every one.
Yes. In United Kingdom your listed price is VAT-inclusive, so the tax inside the price is removed from revenue before margin is calculated.
Yes, and most established sellers do — the point of comparing is knowing which one deserves your ad budget and your best pricing. The Goal Planner can split a monthly profit target across both channels at once.