warebyshopify vs etsy: your own store, or a marketplace?
the biggest question for a growing maker: stay on etsy, where the buyers are, or open your own store, where the customers are yours?
etsy brings you buyers, takes about $3.78 of a $35 sale, and keeps the customer on etsy. shopify is your own store: $39 a month ($29 billed yearly) plus 2.9% + 30¢ a sale, and every buyer is one you bring and keep. on fees alone, shopify comes out ahead once you sell about 16 orders of $35 a month (about $560). the real question is whether you can bring your own traffic. most sellers start on etsy and add their own store once they have repeat customers.
which should you pick?
| if you… | start with | why |
|---|---|---|
| are just starting and need buyers to find you | etsy | buyers already searching for handmade |
| have followers, an email list or repeat customers | shopify | lower fees per sale, and the customer is yours |
| want both | both | etsy for discovery, shopify for regulars |
| sell mostly to people near you | wareby | shoppers within 25 miles, pickup and local delivery |
what does each cost?
| etsy | shopify basic | |
|---|---|---|
| monthly | $0 | $39 ($29 yearly) |
| on a $35 sale | $3.78 | $1.32 |
| 20 sales a month | $75.60 | $65.40 with the plan |
| 50 sales a month | $189.00 | $105.00 with the plan |
etsy’s fees per sale are the 20¢ listing, 6.5% and 3% + 25¢ processing, before any offsite ad fee. shopify’s are 2.9% + 30¢ with shopify payments, plus the monthly plan. at about 16 sales of $35 a month (roughly $560), the two cost about the same with shopify billed monthly; past that, shopify costs less. try your own numbers in the selling fee calculator.
who brings the buyers?
on etsy, etsy does: shoppers search, find your listing and buy. on shopify, you do: instagram, email, google, markets and ads. a new shopify store gets no visitors until you send them, which is the cost the fee table can’t show.
what do you control on each?
on shopify, almost everything: your web address, design, checkout, emails and customer list. on etsy, your shop lives inside etsy’s rules, and etsy’s off-platform policy doesn’t allow sending buyers to your own site from etsy.
what if your buyers live near you?
if your buyers live near you, there’s a third option. wareby only lists verified local businesses, shown to shoppers within 25 miles, with pickup and your own delivery. it’s free to open, with no listing or ad fees, and its fees are on the items only, never on shipping. we make wareby, so weigh that, but here’s how it compares with each.
questions people ask
is shopify better than etsy?
for sellers who can bring their own buyers, usually: lower fees per sale and you keep the customer. for sellers who need buyers to find them, etsy usually sells more at first.
is it cheaper to sell on shopify or etsy?
per sale, shopify: $1.32 vs $3.78 on $35. but shopify costs $39 a month, so etsy costs less until you sell about 16 orders of $35 a month.
can i link my etsy shop to my shopify store?
not from etsy itself: etsy’s rules don’t allow listings or messages that send buyers off etsy. you can share both links on your own social media and website.
should i leave etsy for shopify?
most sellers don’t leave at once. they open their own store, send their regulars there, and keep etsy for new buyers until the numbers say otherwise.
sources
- etsy: fees & payments policy
- etsy: off-platform transactions policy
- etsy, inc.: 2025 annual report (form 10-k)
- shopify: pricing
- shopify: domains
- wareby: seller plans
we checked every fee and fact about other companies on october 12, 2026, on their own pages. fees change, so check theirs before you decide. spot something out of date? email hello@shopwareby.com and we’ll fix it.
etsy, amazon handmade, ebay, shopify, square online, wix, squarespace, big cartel, hotplate, bakesy, castiron, instagram, facebook marketplace, nextdoor, doordash, uber eats and grubhub are trademarks of their owners. wareby isn’t affiliated with any of them, and we make wareby, so weigh our opinions with that in mind.
we started tandoco, a small bakery in minneapolis, and sold under a blue tent at farmers markets before we built wareby. our story
