On a plain sale Etsy is cheaper: a US shop pays 9.5% plus $0.45 against 12.9% plus $0.80 for a Gumroad direct card sale. Etsy's Offsite Ads fee reverses that on any product above $3.02, and Gumroad Discover's flat 30% costs more than either. The break-even depends on who brought the buyer, so work out your Offsite Ads share before you compare.
Etsy fees vs Gumroad fees comes out in Etsy's favour on a plain sale: a US Etsy shop pays 9.5% of the price plus $0.45 per digital sale, and a Gumroad direct card sale costs 12.9% plus $0.80. That makes Etsy cheaper by 3.4% plus $0.35 at every price. The result reverses when the Etsy sale comes through Offsite Ads (24.5% plus $0.45, dearer than Gumroad direct on anything above $3.02), and reverses again against Gumroad Discover's flat 30%.
Checked on 11 October 2026 against Etsy's Fees & Payments Policy and Etsy Help on payment processing fees, Offsite Ads and Share & Save, plus Gumroad pricing and Gumroad's fees help page. Every figure below is arithmetic on those rates at stated example prices.
A flat "Etsy takes X, Gumroad takes Y" table is wrong for most shops, because both platforms charge two different rates depending on who brought the buyer. This page works out the break-even points instead. For the wider field of storefronts and marketplaces, see where to sell digital products in 2026; for one platform in depth, read Gumroad fees explained; for eight platforms on one fee table, see the digital product platform fees comparison.
Etsy fees vs Gumroad fees: the findings
- Etsy, US shop: $0.20 listing + 6.5% + 3% + $0.25 = 9.5% + $0.45
- Gumroad direct: 10% + $0.50 + 2.9% + $0.30 = 12.9% + $0.80
- Offsite Ads and Discover each change the answer
Source: Arithmetic on Etsy's Fees & Payments Policy and gumroad.com/pricing, checked October 2026
- Plain sale against plain sale, Etsy wins at every price. The gap is 3.4% of the price plus $0.35: $0.69 on a $10 product, $1.03 on a $20 product.
- One Offsite Ads sale costs more than a Gumroad direct sale on any product above $3.02 at the 15% rate, or $4.07 at the 12% rate.
- The mix decides it. While under 22.7% of your Etsy sales come through Offsite Ads at 15%, Etsy is still cheaper overall at every price.
- Marketplace against marketplace, Etsy wins. Etsy search costs less than Gumroad Discover above $2.20, and even an Offsite Ads sale costs less than a Discover sale above $8.18.
- For your own traffic, Etsy's Share & Save is the cheapest route of all at 5.5% plus $0.45, under half the fees of a Gumroad direct sale from $10 upward.
| Etsy (US shop) | Gumroad | |
|---|---|---|
| Listing or monthly fee | $0.20 per listing for four months, charged again each time the item sells | None |
| Fee on the sale | 6.5% transaction fee | 10% + $0.50 |
| Payment processing | 3% + $0.25 (US bank account; varies by country) | 2.9% + $0.30 on card sales |
| Plain sale, added up | 9.5% + $0.45 | 12.9% + $0.80 |
| When the platform finds the buyer | Offsite Ads: 15% more, or 12% for shops past $10,000, capped at $100 an order | Discover: 30% flat, processing included |
| When you bring the buyer | Share & Save: 4% back on orders from your own links | Direct rate; 5% + $0.50 only after $20,000 of paid sales in a month |
| Optional subscription | Etsy Plus, $10 a month | None |
| Sales tax and VAT on digital items | Collected and remitted by Etsy where marketplace rules apply | Collected and remitted by Gumroad as merchant of record |
| Payout | Weekly on Mondays by default for new shops; daily, biweekly or monthly available | Weekly, monthly or quarterly ($100 minimum); daily for eligible US sellers |
How the break-even was worked out
The inputs are five illustrative prices, $4, $10, $20, $50 and $100, for one digital item per order with no shipping. The Etsy side assumes a US bank account on Etsy Payments. Both sides assume a card payment, the price before tax, and no refund.
- Etsy plain sale: price × 9.5% + $0.45.
- Etsy Offsite Ads sale: price × 24.5% + $0.45 at the 15% rate, or price × 21.5% + $0.45 at 12%.
- Etsy Share & Save sale: price × 5.5% + $0.45.
- Gumroad direct sale: price × 12.9% + $0.80.
- Gumroad Discover sale: price × 30%.
A break-even price is where two of those lines cross. Setting Etsy with an Offsite Ads share s equal to Gumroad direct gives price = $0.35 ÷ (ad rate × s − 3.4%). When the bracket is zero or negative there is no crossing, and Etsy is cheaper at every price.
Etsy vs Gumroad cost per sale at five prices
Per sale, the cheapest route at every price is an Etsy sale from your own Share & Save link. The dearest is a Gumroad Discover sale on anything above $8.18; below that, an Etsy Offsite Ads sale costs more because of the fixed $0.45. The table shows total fees for each route.
| Price | Etsy plain sale | Gumroad direct | Etsy via Offsite Ads (15%) | Gumroad Discover | Etsy via Share & Save |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| $4 | $0.83 | $1.32 | $1.43 | $1.20 | $0.67 |
| $10 | $1.40 | $2.09 | $2.90 | $3.00 | $1.00 |
| $20 | $2.35 | $3.38 | $5.35 | $6.00 | $1.55 |
| $50 | $5.20 | $7.25 | $12.70 | $15.00 | $3.20 |
| $100 | $9.95 | $13.70 | $24.95 | $30.00 | $5.95 |
$20 is an illustrative price. US Etsy shop, card payment, before tax. Source: Arithmetic on Etsy's Fees & Payments Policy and gumroad.com/pricing, checked October 2026
Notice how the fixed fees behave. Etsy's $0.45 and Gumroad's $0.80 are the same at every price, so they matter most on cheap files: at $4, fees take 21% on Etsy and 33% on Gumroad direct. By $100 the percentages have taken over and the two sit at about 10% and 14%. If you sell printables under $5, the fixed fee is the number to watch, and our Etsy digital product profit margins breakdown shows the same effect at lower prices.
Which is cheaper, Etsy or Gumroad? Ask who brought the buyer
Compare like with like and Etsy is cheaper in each pairing at ordinary prices: your traffic against your traffic, marketplace search against marketplace search, platform advertising against platform advertising. Both platforms charge one rate when you bring the buyer and another when they do.
- You bring the buyer. Etsy with Share & Save beats Gumroad direct by 7.4% of the price plus $0.35. On $20 that is $1.83 a sale.
- The platform's own search brings the buyer. Etsy search (9.5% plus $0.45) beats Discover (30%) on anything above $2.20.
- The platform's advertising brings the buyer. An Etsy Offsite Ads sale at 15% beats a Discover sale above $8.18, and at 12% above $5.29.
Fees are not the only thing those rows decide. Where a follower lands, how the checkout feels and whether you can reach that buyer again all change what a sale is worth, and no fee table can settle that. Test both with your own links before you move an audience.
Gumroad fees vs Etsy with Offsite Ads: the break-even
Offsite Ads is the fee that makes Gumroad direct cheaper than Etsy, and at the 15% rate it only does so once the ads drive more than 22.7% of your sales. Etsy charges it when a buyer clicks one of Etsy's ads on sites such as Google, Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest and Bing, then orders from your shop within 30 days. The rate is 15%, or 12% once your shop has made $10,000 in any 365-day period, capped at $100 an order.
| Share of your Etsy sales from Offsite Ads | Break-even price at 15% | Break-even price at 12% |
|---|---|---|
| Up to 22.7% | None: Etsy is cheaper at every price | None |
| 25% | $100.00 | None |
| 30% | $31.82 | $175.00 |
| 40% | $13.46 | $25.00 |
| 50% | $8.54 | $13.46 |
| 75% | $4.46 | $6.25 |
| 100% | $3.02 | $4.07 |
Read a row like this: if 40% of your Etsy sales come through Offsite Ads at 15%, products priced above $13.46 cost less in fees on Gumroad direct, and products below it cost less on Etsy. The curve is steep. Between a 25% and a 50% share, the break-even price falls from $100 to $8.54.
Above the break-even price, Gumroad direct costs less per sale than Etsy at that Offsite Ads share. Source: Arithmetic on Etsy's Fees & Payments Policy and gumroad.com/pricing, checked October 2026
Two rules shape what you can do about it. A shop that has never made $10,000 in a 365-day period can opt out of Offsite Ads in Shop Manager, which puts every sale back on the plain 9.5% plus $0.45. A shop that has passed $10,000 is enrolled for life at 12%, even if sales later fall. Your real share is in Shop Manager under Marketing, then Offsite Ads.
One caution on reading this as "Etsy got expensive". An Offsite Ads sale is one Etsy's advertising produced, so the fair comparison is with a sale Gumroad produced, and Discover charges 30% for that. Compared with a buyer you brought yourself, both are expensive.
Volume: the costs that do not scale with a sale
Gumroad costs nothing until you sell; Etsy has small standing costs, and each platform has one volume threshold that changes its rate.
- Etsy listing renewals. A listing that goes four months without selling costs another $0.20 to renew, or expires if you switch auto-renew off. Fifty slow listings cost $30 a year (50 × $0.20 × 3). At $10 a sale, where Etsy's edge over Gumroad direct is $0.69, that takes 44 sales a year to earn back.
- Etsy set-up fee. Etsy says new shops may be charged a one-time set-up fee, shown before you finish opening the shop. Its policy does not publish the amount.
- Etsy Ads. On-site ads are a daily budget you set, not a percentage. Treat the spend as a fee: $30 a month uses up the fee advantage of 44 sales of a $10 product.
- Etsy's $10,000 threshold. Past it, Offsite Ads become mandatory at 12%.
- Gumroad's $20,000 threshold. Past $20,000 of paid sales in a calendar month, new direct sales cost 5% plus $0.50. With card processing that is 7.9% plus $0.80, which undercuts Etsy's plain sale on products above $21.88.
Here is one month worked through with illustrative inputs: a $10 product and 60 sales.
| Where the 60 sales came from | Working | You keep |
|---|---|---|
| Etsy, every sale from your Share & Save links | 60 × $9.00 | $540.00 |
| Etsy, every sale from Etsy search | 60 × $8.60 | $516.00 |
| Etsy, 30% of sales through Offsite Ads at 15% | 42 × $8.60 + 18 × $7.10 | $489.00 |
| Gumroad, every sale direct | 60 × $7.91 | $474.60 |
| Gumroad, 30% of sales through Discover | 42 × $7.91 + 18 × $7.00 | $458.22 |
The spread between the best and worst row is $81.78 on $600 of sales. That is real money, but look at what moves it: not the platform name, the traffic source. Our Digital Products program spends its time there, on building products and traffic you control, because that is the part a fee table cannot do for you.
Find your own crossover
- 1Find your Offsite Ads share
In Etsy Shop Manager, open Marketing, then Offsite Ads, and divide attributed orders by total orders.
- 2Pick your ad rate
15% if your shop has never made $10,000 in a 365-day period, 12% if it has.
- 3Work out the break-even price
$0.35 ÷ (ad rate × share − 3.4%). A zero or negative bracket means Etsy is cheaper at every price.
- 4Compare with your price
Priced above the break-even, the product costs less on Gumroad direct. Below it, Etsy costs less.
For the monthly picture, use our free platform break-even calculator. It has Etsy, Gumroad direct and Gumroad Discover as presets, every rate is editable, and it reports net per sale, net per month and the sales volume where one platform overtakes another. To model Offsite Ads, raise Etsy's platform fee by your ad rate multiplied by your share. The Etsy profit margin calculator takes the Offsite Ads share as a direct input.
- Buyers find you through Etsy search
- Offsite Ads drive under 22.7% of sales, or you have opted out
- You send your own traffic through Share & Save links
- Your products are cheap enough for fixed fees to matter
- Most of your Etsy sales come through Offsite Ads
- Your price sits above the break-even for your ad share
- You pass $20,000 a month and sell products above $21.88
- You have no slow listings to keep renewing
If you are choosing a first platform rather than switching, fees should rank below traffic. Etsy is a search marketplace first. Gumroad is a storefront first, with Discover as an extra you qualify for after $100 in genuine sales and a risk review. Our Etsy vs Gumroad comparison covers traffic, tools and who should start where. The guides to selling digital products on Etsy and selling on Gumroad cover setup, and Payhip vs Etsy runs the same comparison against a lower-fee storefront.
Limits of this analysis
Both fee schedules change. Etsy's policy and Gumroad's pricing page are the sources of record, and every rate in this article can be rechecked there in a few minutes.
Etsy fees vs Gumroad fees: FAQ
Which is cheaper, Etsy or Gumroad?
On a plain sale, Etsy. A US Etsy shop pays 9.5% of the price plus $0.45 on a digital sale (listing, transaction and processing fees), while a Gumroad direct card sale costs 12.9% plus $0.80. Etsy is cheaper by 3.4% plus $0.35 at every price. The answer changes when Etsy's Offsite Ads fee of 12 to 15% applies, or when the Gumroad sale comes through Discover at 30%. Checked October 2026.
How much does Etsy take from a $20 digital sale compared with Gumroad?
Etsy takes $2.35 from a US shop: $0.20 listing, $1.30 transaction fee and $0.85 processing, leaving $17.65. A Gumroad direct card sale costs $3.38, leaving $16.62. If the Etsy sale came through an Offsite Ad at 15%, fees rise to $5.35. If the Gumroad sale came through Discover, the flat 30% takes $6.00. This is arithmetic on both published fee schedules.
When do Etsy fees become higher than Gumroad fees?
When enough of your Etsy sales come through Offsite Ads. At the 15% rate, Etsy stays cheaper at every price as long as under 22.7% of sales are Offsite Ads sales. Above that share there is a break-even price: $31.82 at a 30% share, $8.54 at 50% and $3.02 if every sale is an Offsite Ads sale. Products priced above the break-even cost less on Gumroad direct.
Can I turn off Etsy Offsite Ads to keep fees low?
Only while your shop is small. Etsy's help center says a shop that has never made $10,000 in any consecutive 365-day period can opt out in Shop Manager under Settings. Once a shop reaches $10,000, participation is required for the lifetime of the shop, at a discounted 12% instead of 15%. The fee on a single order never exceeds $100.
Does Share & Save make Etsy cheaper for my own traffic?
Yes. Etsy's Share & Save program refunds 4% of the order total when a buyer orders within 30 days of clicking a link you shared. That turns the plain 9.5% plus $0.45 into 5.5% plus $0.45, against 12.9% plus $0.80 for a Gumroad direct sale. You have to enroll in Shop Manager and use the trackable links for the refund to apply.
Do Etsy and Gumroad both handle sales tax and VAT on digital products?
Both collect and remit it for you in most cases. Gumroad says it has been merchant of record since January 2025 and handles sales tax collection and remittance worldwide. Etsy says it collects and remits US state sales tax under marketplace laws and VAT on digital items for buyers in the EU, UK and a list of other countries. Income tax on your earnings is still yours on both.
The fee gap is a few cents a sale. The traffic plan is the business.
The Digital Products program, included in All Access, covers choosing what to sell, building listings that get found and bringing your own buyers, so the platform fee becomes a line item instead of the deciding factor. The other three programs, live coaching and the private community come with the same subscription.
Work out your crossover, free
Put your price, your monthly sales and your Offsite Ads share into the calculator and see which platform keeps more. Then join the free Telegram channel for fee changes as they happen.