Etsy fees on a $5 digital download: what you actually keep
Short answer: a US shop selling a $5 digital download pays $0.93 in Etsy fees and keeps $4.07, which is 18.6% of the price. If that buyer came through an Etsy Offsite Ad, the fees rise to $1.68 and you keep $3.32. Here's where every cent goes, for US, UK and EU shops, using Etsy's published rates checked on October 30, 2026.
| Fee | Amount |
|---|---|
| Listing fee | $0.20 |
| Transaction fee (6.5%) | $0.33 |
| Payment processing | $0.40 |
| Total Etsy fees | $0.93 (18.6%) |
| You keep | $4.07 |
Two of those fees are flat: the $0.20 listing fee and the $0.25 part of payment processing. Together that's $0.45 on every sale whatever the price, which is 9% of a $5 item before any percentage fee. That's why cheap downloads lose a bigger share than expensive ones.
Why the listing fee counts on every sale
Etsy charges $0.20 when you publish a listing, and a digital download usually has a quantity above 1. Etsy's fee page lists an "auto-renew sold" fee of $0.20 for each additional quantity sold, so each sale of the same download costs another $0.20. Counting $0.20 per sale is the honest per-sale number. Unsold listings also renew every 4 months for $0.20 if auto-renew is on.
Try your own price
$5 in the UK and the EU
UK and EU shops pay a higher processing rate (4%), and shops without a VAT ID also pay VAT on Etsy's fees. UK shops pay a 0.48% Regulatory Operating fee too.
| Fee | Amount |
|---|---|
| Listing fee | £0.15 |
| Transaction fee (6.5%) | £0.33 |
| Payment processing | £0.40 |
| Regulatory Operating fee | £0.02 |
| VAT on Etsy's fees | £0.18 |
| Total Etsy fees | £1.08 (21.6%) |
| You keep | £3.92 |
| Fee | Amount |
|---|---|
| Listing fee | €0.18 |
| Transaction fee (6.5%) | €0.33 |
| Payment processing | €0.50 |
| VAT on Etsy's fees | €0.19 |
| Total Etsy fees | €1.20 (24.0%) |
| You keep | €3.80 |
$5 vs nearby prices
Because $0.45 of the fee is flat, a small price rise keeps most of the extra money:
| Price | Etsy fees | Fees as % of price | You keep |
|---|---|---|---|
| $3.00 | $0.74 | 24.7% | $2.26 |
| $4.00 | $0.83 | 20.8% | $3.17 |
| $4.99 | $0.92 | 18.4% | $4.07 |
| $5.00 | $0.93 | 18.6% | $4.07 |
| $5.99 | $1.02 | 17.0% | $4.97 |
| $6.00 | $1.02 | 17.0% | $4.98 |
| $7.00 | $1.12 | 16.0% | $5.88 |
| $8.00 | $1.21 | 15.1% | $6.79 |
Moving from $5 to $6 keeps $0.91 more per sale. Whether buyers accept $6 depends on your niche, so check what similar listings charge before you change anything. The full $1 to $50 table is on Etsy fees by price.
What isn't included
Sales tax or VAT the buyer pays (Etsy collects it on top), the 2.5% currency conversion fee if your listing currency differs from your bank's, Etsy Ads (on-site ads) spend, the one-time shop set-up fee, and any subscription. Your Etsy payment account shows the final figures.
Free: the 1-page Etsy fee cheat sheet
Every Etsy fee for US, UK and EU sellers on one printable page, with VAT on fees, worked examples and the price to charge to keep a target per sale.
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Pricing a whole shop rather than one listing? The $9 Etsy Seller Profit Kit (through Sun, Nov 1) has a price & profit worksheet that does this math for every listing with your own costs, a monthly profit tracker and an order ledger. See what's inside.
Questions
How much does Etsy take from a $5 digital download?
For a US shop, about $0.93: $0.20 listing, $0.33 transaction fee (6.5%) and $0.40 payment processing (3% + $0.25). You keep about $4.07.
Is a $5 Etsy download worth it after fees?
Fees take about 19% of a $5 US sale, so you keep about $4.07. Since a download has no materials or postage, most of that is margin, but the flat $0.45 per sale means slightly higher prices keep noticeably more.
Do Offsite Ads change the fees on a $5 sale?
Only on sales attributed to an Offsite Ad. Those pay 15% more ($0.75 on $5), so you'd keep about $3.32.
More Etsy fee guides
- Free Etsy fee calculator (physical and digital, any country)
- What Etsy keeps at every price, $1 to $50
- Etsy Offsite Ads fee calculator
- Etsy fees UK: digital products in £
- Etsy listing fee vs transaction fee
- How to price printables on Etsy
Method and sources
Fees per order = listing fee + 6.5% transaction + processing % and fixed fee + Regulatory Operating fee (UK, France, Italy, Spain) + Offsite Ads where selected, then VAT on that total for UK/EU shops without a VAT ID. Fixed USD fees are converted at the ECB reference rate of Oct 27, 2026 (about £0.15 / €0.18 for $0.20). Rates checked on Etsy's help pages on October 30, 2026. These are estimates from published rates; your Etsy payment account shows the final fees.
Sources: Etsy Help: payment processing fees by country · Etsy Help: fees and taxes for selling on Etsy · Etsy Help: Regulatory Operating fee · Etsy Help: how VAT is collected on seller fees · Etsy UK: fees on the How to sell on Etsy page · Etsy Fees & Payments Policy · Etsy Help: how Offsite Ads work.
Educational content only, not tax or financial advice. Revenue Operator is a small Tyasi LLC brand that makes free tools for people selling digital products. Questions or corrections: [email protected].