Why monthly profit is not just per-order profit times orders
Some Etsy charges follow the order and some do not. Transaction and payment processing fees are charged on every order. Listing fees are charged when you publish or renew a listing, so they depend on how many listings you create, not on how many sell. Offsite Ads fees apply only to the share of orders that came through those ads. This calculator keeps these three apart, which is why its monthly total can differ from simply multiplying one order’s profit.
How the monthly figure is built
- Revenue: orders × (item price + shipping charged).
- Per-order fees: 6.5% transaction fee plus payment processing for your country (for example 3% + 0.25 USD in the US).
- Listing fees: new or renewed listings × 0.20 USD.
- Offsite Ads: 15% (or 12% from 10,000 USD of sales in 365 days) of the orders you mark as ad orders, capped at 100 USD each.
- Other monthly costs: Etsy Ads, packaging, software, anything else you pay monthly to run the shop.
A worked example
A shop with 40 orders a month at $25.00 plus $5.00 shipping, 20 new listings a month, 10% of orders from Offsite Ads and $30.00 of other costs has revenue of $1,200.00. Etsy fees come to $146.00 ($4.00 of that is listing fees and $18.00 is Offsite Ads). After $320.00 of goods, $180.00 of shipping and the other costs, monthly profit is $524.00, or $13.10 per order.
Where monthly profit usually leaks
- Renewing listings that never sell. Each renewal costs a listing fee with no revenue behind it.
- A growing share of orders from Offsite Ads. Every ad order costs several percent more than an organic one.
- Shipping that you subsidise. If your cost is higher than what buyers pay, the gap is paid out of every order.
- Costs you forget to enter, such as packaging and subscriptions. Put them in other monthly costs so the profit figure is honest.
Frequently asked questions
Is per-order or monthly profit the better number?
Per-order profit tells you whether a product is worth selling. Monthly profit tells you whether the shop is worth running, because it includes listing fees and fixed monthly costs that no single order shows.
Do I pay a listing fee on every sale?
You pay 0.20 USD when a listing is published or renewed. Etsy’s fee page explains when renewals happen, for example when a listing runs out or when a unit sells from a multi-quantity listing. Enter the number of listings you publish or renew per month and the calculator does the rest.
How do I find my share of Offsite Ads orders?
Etsy reports orders attributed to Offsite Ads in your shop statistics and in the fee line items on your payment account statement. Divide the number of ad orders by your total orders for the period.
Can I use it for a shop with many different products?
Yes. Enter the average item price, average cost and average shipping across your orders. For better accuracy, weight the averages by how many of each product you sell.
What is not included?
Income tax, VAT on Etsy’s own fees, regulatory operating fees and deposit fees in some countries are not included. Add recurring costs you want counted under other monthly costs.