Shopify vs Etsy: The Real Cost at 100 Orders a Month
Guide · 2026-10-17
The comparison is usually framed as "Etsy charges fees, Shopify charges a subscription". That is true and almost useless. What matters is the all-in cost per order at your actual volume.
The model
Assume a $40 average order, $12 product cost, 100 orders per month, and no paid advertising.
Etsy
- Transaction fee 6.5% of $40: $2.60
- Payment processing 3% + $0.25: $1.45
- Listing fee: $0.20
- Per order: $4.25
- Monthly total: $425
Shopify Basic
- Subscription: $39
- Payment processing 2.9% + $0.30: $1.46
- Per order: $1.46 plus $0.39 of subscription
- Monthly total: $185
On paper Shopify is less than half the cost. The catch is that Etsy brings the traffic and Shopify does not. At 100 orders a month from organic search, Shopify wins decisively. At 100 orders a month that only exist because Etsy's marketplace surfaced them, Shopify would generate zero orders and the $185 saving is imaginary.
What Shopify actually costs beyond the subscription
- Apps: reviews, email, upsells. Realistically $30-80 per month.
- Theme: $0-300 one-off, or a developer.
- Traffic: this is the real number. Paid acquisition at $15 CAC on 100 orders is $1,500.
- Third-party gateway fee: 2% if you do not use Shopify Payments.
The decision rule
If your orders come from people searching for the product category rather than your brand, Etsy's marketplace traffic is worth far more than the fee difference. If people already search for your brand, you are paying Etsy for traffic you do not need.
A common path is to start on Etsy, build a customer list, and migrate the repeat buyers to Shopify where the fee is lower. The mistake is migrating before the list exists.
Break-even volume
Shopify's fixed costs mean it only makes sense above a volume threshold. At $39 subscription and a $2.79 per-order fee saving versus Etsy, you need roughly 15 orders a month just to cover the subscription, before counting app costs and the traffic you now have to buy.