Marketplace Fee Comparison: Where You Keep the Most
One sale, seven platforms, one table. The fee difference is usually larger than the price difference.
Short answer
On the same $50 sale, the marketplaces compared here take very different amounts. Vinted charges sellers nothing; Depop about 4.2%; Mercari 10.0% and Etsy 10.4%; Whatnot 11.5%; eBay US 14.4%; and Poshmark a flat 20%. Across a $50 item that is a spread of roughly $10 per sale between the cheapest and the most expensive — before any consideration of which platform actually has a buyer for it.
Your numbers
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The same sale, six marketplaces
| Platform | Total fees | Effective fee rate | Net profit |
|---|---|---|---|
| eBay (US) | $7.20 | 14.4% | $21.30 |
| Etsy | $5.20 | 10.4% | $23.30 |
| Poshmark | $10.00 | 20.0% | $18.50 |
| Mercari | $5.00 | 10.0% | $23.50 |
| Depop (US) | $2.10 | 4.2% | $26.40 |
| Vinted (US) | $0.00 | 0.0% | $28.50 |
| Whatnot (US) | $5.75 | 11.5% | $22.75 |
Fees are the second question, not the first
It is tempting to list wherever the fee is lowest. On a per-sale basis that is Vinted, and the table below shows it clearly. But a sale you do not make has a 0% fee and a 0% payout.
The right sequence is: which platform has buyers for this item, then what does each charge on that sale. Fees decide margin; audience decides whether there is a sale at all.
The category effect is bigger than the platform effect
eBay's rate card alone spans 6.7% to 15.3% depending on category. That is a wider spread than the gap between eBay and several other platforms.
Etsy is the opposite case: a single 6.5% transaction rate covers every category it sells. Poshmark, Mercari, Depop and Vinted do not vary by category either.
How to read the table
The comparison holds the sale constant and varies only the platform. Shipping is entered as a cost you bear, so the table reflects a seller who pays for the label — adjust the inputs if the buyer pays.
The effective rate column is the number to compare, not the headline rate. It captures the fixed fees, the fee bases and the platform's quirks in one figure.
Etsy is the one row carrying a charge that is not tied to the sale: its $0.20 listing fee is payable on every listing, whether or not it sells.
eBay (US) rate table
| Most categories | 13.6% up to $7,500.00, then 2.35% |
|---|---|
| Books, movies & music | 15.3% up to $7,500.00, then 2.35% |
| Trading cards, collectibles & coins | 13.25% up to $7,500.00, then 2.35% |
| Jewelry & watches | 15% up to $5,000.00, then 9% |
| Watches, parts & accessories | 15% up to $1,000.00, 6.5% to $7,500.00, then 3% |
| Women's bags & handbags | 15% up to $2,000.00, then 9% |
| Athletic shoes $150+ (authenticated)per-order fee waived | 8% |
| Guitars & basses | 6.7% up to $7,500.00, then 2.35% |
| Business & industrial | 3% up to $15,000.00, then 0.5% |
| Motors parts & accessories | 13.6% up to $7,500.00, then 2.35% |
| Per-order fee | $0.30 on orders up to $10.00, $0.40 above |
| Promoted Listings (standard)charged only on sales attributed to the ad | your chosen ad rate, 2%–20% of the sale |
| International sale | about 1.65% of the total transaction |
| Currency conversiontypically 2–3% worse than mid-market, never shown as a fee | embedded in the exchange rate |
- Rates last verified
Etsy rate table
| Listing feeper item listed, and again on every auto-renewal | $0.20 |
|---|---|
| Transaction feecharged on the item price plus shipping and gift wrap | 6.5% of the order total |
| Payment processing — USUK sellers pay 4% + £0.20, most of the EU 4% + €0.30 | 3% + $0.25 |
| Offsite Adscapped at $100.00 per attributed order; becomes mandatory above $10,000 in 365 days | 15% optional, 12% once mandatory |
| Currency conversionwhen the buyer pays in a currency your shop does not hold | 2.5% |
| VAT on seller feesadded to fees in the UK and EU; reclaimable if you are VAT-registered | varies by seller country |
- Rates last verified
Poshmark rate table
| Sale under $15the same fee whether the item sells for $5 or $14.99 | $2.95 flat |
|---|---|
| Sale of $15 or more | 20% of the item price |
| Listing fee | None |
| Payment processing | None charged to the seller |
| Shippinga seller-funded discount comes out of your payout | buyer-paid flat rate |
| Canada | C$3.95 under C$20, then 20% |
- Rates last verified
Mercari rate table
| Selling fee | 10% of item price plus buyer-paid shipping |
|---|---|
| Payment processingremoved for new and updated listings | None charged to the seller |
| Listing fee | None |
| Buyer Protection feepaid by the buyer; never deducted from you | about 3.6% of the item price |
| Instant Paystandard bank transfers are free | flat fee per cash-out |
| Shipping weight correction | applies if the parcel exceeds the label bought |
- Rates last verified
Depop (US) rate table
| Marketplace commission — US & UK sellerson new or updated listings | 0% |
|---|---|
| Marketplace commission — outside US & UK | 10% |
| Payment processing — UScharged on item price plus buyer-paid shipping | 3.3% + $0.45 |
| Payment processing — UK | 2.9% + £0.30 |
| Boosted listingcharged on sales through the boost, on listings created from 23 Mar 2026; 8% applies outside the UK and US | 12% US / UK |
- Rates last verified
Vinted (US) rate table
| Seller commission | 0% |
|---|---|
| Listing fee | None |
| Payment processing | None charged to the seller |
| Buyer Protection feepaid by the buyer on the item price; never deducted from you | 5% + $0.70 |
| Shipping | buyer-paid, priced by parcel size tier |
| Market coverage | US marketplace is domestic-only |
- Rates last verified
Whatnot (US) rate table
| Commission — Most categoriescharged on the item sale price only; shipping and tax excluded from this base | 8% |
|---|---|
| Commission — Comics, trading cards, toys & hobbiescharged on the item sale price only; shipping and tax excluded from this base | 8% up to $1,500.00, then 0% |
| Commission — Coins & moneycharged on the item sale price only; shipping and tax excluded from this base | 4% up to $1,500.00, then 0% |
| Commission — Electronicscharged on the item sale price only; shipping and tax excluded from this base | 5% |
| Commission — Wholesale (pallets)charged on the item sale price only; shipping and tax excluded from this base | 4% |
| Payment processingcharged on the whole order total, shipping and tax included | 2.9% + $0.30 |
| Volume discountunlocked at US$15,000 in a rolling 4-week period; recalculated every 4 weeks | down to 3% |
| UK / EU commissionwith processing at 2.42% + £0.35 or €0.25 | 6.67% + VAT |
| Listing fee | None |
| Monthly subscription | None |
- Rates last verified
Formula
effective rate = total marketplace fees ÷ total the buyer paysWhat each term means
eBay US- 13.6% of the total the buyer pays plus $0.40, in a standard category
Etsy- 6.5% transaction fee plus 3% + $0.25 processing and a $0.20 listing fee, in a standard category
Poshmark- 20% of the item price on sales of $15 and above
Mercari- 10% of item price plus buyer-paid shipping
Depop- 0% commission plus 3.3% + $0.45 processing
Vinted- 0% — the buyer pays the fee instead
Whatnot- 8% of the item price plus 2.9% + $0.30 on the whole order
Assumptions
- US marketplaces, USD, identical sale inputs on every row.
- eBay is modelled with a store-free account in a standard category; Poshmark uses the 20% tier; Etsy uses its 6.5% standard transaction rate.
- The category selector changes the eBay rate only. Etsy has no per-category rate card and the remaining platforms charge a flat rate.
- The Etsy listing fee of $0.20 is charged per listing rather than per sale; it is counted here because the table prices one completed sale.
- Amazon is excluded: it is a retail channel with its own selling plans and fulfilment fees, not a venue for crosslisting the same used item.
- Buyer-paid fees on Vinted and Mercari are shown for context and never deducted from the seller payout.
- Reach, audience size and sell-through rate are outside the scope of a fee table — and they usually matter more.
Worked examples
A $50 item with free shipping, seller pays a $6.50 label
- Buyer pays
- $50.00
- Total fees
- $7.20
- Effective rate
- 14.4%
- Net profit
- $21.30
Fee breakdown
- Final value fee · Most categories
13.60% × $50.00−$6.80 - Per-order fee
$0.40−$0.40
The widest gap is between Poshmark and Vinted: roughly $10 per sale, or about $400 on forty sales a month.
The same item at $12 — below the Poshmark threshold
- Buyer pays
- $12.00
- Total fees
- $2.03
- Effective rate
- 16.9%
- Net profit
- $1.97
Fee breakdown
- Final value fee · Most categories
13.60% × $12.00−$1.63 - Per-order fee
$0.40−$0.40
Below $15 Poshmark charges a flat $2.95, which is 24.6% of a $12 sale — a higher effective rate than its own 20% headline. Mercari takes $1.20 (10%), Etsy $1.59 (13.3%) and Vinted nothing at all.
Every figure above is computed from the rate schedule on this page for eBay (US), using the same engine as the calculator — not typed in by hand.
Common mistakes
Choosing a platform on fees alone
The cheapest platform is worth nothing without a buyer. Sell-through rate multiplies every fee calculation you make.
Comparing headline rates
Depop's 0% still carries processing, and eBay's 13.6% includes its regulatory fee. Only the effective rate on your actual sale is comparable.
Assuming you must pick one
Crosslisting the same item is normal. The comparison tells you which platforms justify the extra effort for that item, not that you must choose one.
Forgetting the shipping base differences
eBay and Mercari include shipping in the fee base; Poshmark does not. Identical prices therefore produce different fees.
Ignoring buyer-side fees
Vinted and Mercari add a protection fee at checkout. It does not reduce your payout, but it does raise the total the buyer sees against your price — which affects conversion.
Treating the Etsy listing fee as a cost of the sale
Etsy charges $0.20 every time an item is listed or renews, including listings that never sell. On an item that closes quickly it is negligible; on stock that sits for months it is the dominant cost of selling there.
Questions
- Which resale marketplace has the lowest seller fees?
- Vinted, at zero — no commission, no listing fee and no processing fee. Depop is next at roughly 4–5% effective for US sellers, then Mercari at 10.0% and Etsy at 10.4% in a standard category, Whatnot at about 11.5%, eBay US around 14.4% in a standard category, and Poshmark at 20% above $15.
- Does the cheapest platform always make more money?
- No. Fees only matter on sales that happen. A platform with a 20% fee and a buyer beats a platform with a 0% fee and no buyer every time.
- How much difference does the platform make on a $50 sale?
- Roughly $10 between the cheapest and most expensive of the seven compared here, before the fixed fees and shipping bases shift the result.
- Should I sell on more than one platform?
- Crosslisting is common and usually sensible for higher-value items. The trade-off is admin time and the risk of selling the same item twice.
- Why is eBay's rate higher than most?
- eBay reaches a far larger and broader buyer base than the fashion and collectibles platforms, and its category rates reflect that reach. For branded and collectible goods the audience frequently justifies the fee.
- Do these rates apply outside the US?
- No. Each marketplace sets rates per market. eBay UK business sellers, for example, work from a different rate card with VAT added on top of fees.
Related calculators
These calculators apply published marketplace fee schedules. They are general information tools, not tax, legal, accounting or financial advice — check your own payout statement and speak to a qualified professional where it matters.
eBay (US) — 13.6% + $0.40. Etsy — 6.5% + 3% + $0.25 + $0.20 listing. Poshmark — 20% (flat $2.95 under $15). Mercari — 10%. Depop (US) — 0% + 3.3% + $0.45 processing. Vinted (US) — 0% (buyer pays the fee). Whatnot (US) — 8% (coins/electronics/wholesale lower) + 2.9% + $0.30. Rates last verified: .