Is Mercari cheaper than Poshmark?

On every sale above $15, yes — 10% against a flat 20%. On a $50 sale Mercari takes $5.00 and Poshmark $10.00.

When does Poshmark charge the flat $2.95?

On sales below $15. On a $12 sale that is 24.6% of the price, a higher effective rate than the platform 20%.

Does Poshmark take a cut of shipping?

No. The Poshmark fee applies to the item price. Shipping is handled through its own label system and is not part of the fee base.

Why is the Poshmark fee so much higher?

It bundles payment processing, buyer protection and a social marketplace into a single rate. Nothing is itemised out, so the headline number looks larger than an unbundled fee would.

Which is better for low-priced items?

Mercari, clearly. The $2.95 floor makes cheap items disproportionately expensive on Poshmark — and it is charged whether or not the platform did anything for the sale.

Can I list the same item on both?

Yes, and crosslisting is common. The trade-off is keeping two listings accurate so the same item is not sold twice.

Poshmark vs Mercari Fees: Is 20% Worth It?

One takes a flat fifth of the sale, the other a tenth. The percentage gap never changes — and it grows in dollars as your prices rise.

Short answer

On a $50 sale, Poshmark takes $10.00 (20%) and Mercari takes $5.00 (10%) — a difference of $5.00 on the same item. Below $15 Poshmark switches to a flat $2.95, which is 24.6% of a $12 sale, while Mercari stays at 10%.

Your numbers

Item sale price

Shipping the buyer pays

What your label costs

What you paid for the item

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The same sale, six marketplaces

Platform	Total fees	Effective fee rate	Net profit
Poshmark	$10.00	20.0%	$18.50
Mercari	$5.00	10.0%	$23.50

Two different shapes of fee

Poshmark charges 20% of the item price on sales of $15 and above, and a flat $2.95 below that. Its percentage is not charged on shipping, and payment processing is not itemised out to the seller separately.

Mercari charges 10% on the item price plus the shipping the buyer pays. Payment processing is absorbed into that number rather than billed on top of it.

The flat fee is the trap below $15

A $2.95 charge sounds harmless until you set it against a low-value item. On a $12 sale it is 24.6% — higher than the Poshmark headline rate and more than double what Mercari takes.

Poshmark is at its strongest on higher-priced items, where its flat floor disappears into the percentage.

What the difference is worth

On a $50 sale it is $5.00. On a $200 sale it is $20.00. The percentage gap never changes, but the dollar gap scales with your prices — and dollars are what show up in monthly profit.

At forty sales a month on $50 items, that is $200 a month and roughly $2,400 a year.

Fees are not the whole comparison

Poshmark bundles social sharing and live selling into its model, and sellers who work the sharing mechanic report faster turnover. Mercari is closer to a straightforward list-and-wait platform.

Both add a buyer protection fee at checkout, which raises the total the buyer sees without reducing your payout. Reach and sell-through rate sit outside the fee table and usually decide more than the fee does.

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%

Source: the marketplace's own fee page
Rates last verified: 2026-09-20

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

Source: the marketplace's own fee page
Rates last verified: 2026-09-20

Formula

effective rate = seller fees ÷ item price

What each term means

Poshmark: 20% of the item price on sales of $15 and above; a flat $2.95 below $15
Mercari: 10% of the item price plus the shipping the buyer pays

Assumptions

US marketplaces, USD, identical item price on both rows.
Poshmark charges on the item price alone; Mercari charges on the item price plus buyer-paid shipping.
The Mercari figure is the seller fee. Its buyer protection fee is separate and paid by the buyer at checkout.
The 20% Poshmark tier applies at $15 and above; below that a flat $2.95 is charged instead.
Advertising and promoted listings are excluded on both rows.

Worked examples

A $50 sale with a $6.50 label

Buyer pays: $50.00
Total fees: $10.00
Effective rate: 20.0%
Net profit: $18.50

Fee breakdown

Marketplace commission · $15 and above20% × $50.00−$10.00

Total fees$10.00

Poshmark takes $10.00 and Mercari $5.00. The $5.00 difference is $200 a month across forty sales.

A $12 sale, below the Poshmark threshold

Buyer pays: $12.00
Total fees: $2.95
Effective rate: 24.6%
Net profit: $1.05

Fee breakdown

Marketplace commission · under $15$2.95−$2.95

Total fees$2.95

The flat $2.95 works out to 24.6% against the Mercari 10% — the clearest illustration of why a flat fee is not the same thing as a low fee.

A $200 sale of a higher-value item

Buyer pays: $200.00
Total fees: $40.00
Effective rate: 20.0%
Net profit: $88.00

Fee breakdown

Marketplace commission · $15 and above20% × $200.00−$40.00

Total fees$40.00

Poshmark takes $40.00 and Mercari $20.00. At this price the ten-point rate difference is the whole story.

Every figure above is computed from the rate schedule on this page for Poshmark, using the same engine as the calculator — not typed in by hand.

Common mistakes

Reading 20% as the only Poshmark rate

Below $15 the charge is a flat $2.95, which on a $12 sale is 24.6% — worse than the headline rate, not better.

Assuming the Mercari 10% is the whole cost

The percentage applies to the item price plus the shipping the buyer pays, so a sale with a large shipping charge costs more than the item price alone suggests.

Choosing on the fee alone

A ten-point saving is worth nothing on a platform where the item never sells. Check where your category actually has buyers before moving stock to the cheaper rate.

Ignoring the sharing mechanic on Poshmark

Sharing and following are part of how items surface there. Treat the 20% as covering a system you are expected to work, not just a payment rail.

Assuming one listing works on both

The two platforms reward different listing styles. Copying one listing across, photographs and all, usually underperforms on one of them.

Questions

Is Mercari cheaper than Poshmark?: On every sale above $15, yes — 10% against a flat 20%. On a $50 sale Mercari takes $5.00 and Poshmark $10.00.
When does Poshmark charge the flat $2.95?: On sales below $15. On a $12 sale that is 24.6% of the price, a higher effective rate than the platform 20%.
Does Poshmark take a cut of shipping?: No. The Poshmark fee applies to the item price. Shipping is handled through its own label system and is not part of the fee base.
Why is the Poshmark fee so much higher?: It bundles payment processing, buyer protection and a social marketplace into a single rate. Nothing is itemised out, so the headline number looks larger than an unbundled fee would.
Which is better for low-priced items?: Mercari, clearly. The $2.95 floor makes cheap items disproportionately expensive on Poshmark — and it is charged whether or not the platform did anything for the sale.
Can I list the same item on both?: Yes, and crosslisting is common. The trade-off is keeping two listings accurate so the same item is not sold twice.

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.

Poshmark — 20% (flat $2.95 under $15). Mercari — 10%. Rates last verified: 2026-09-20.