Etsy fees in Germany
Germany is the largest Etsy seller market in Europe, and the single biggest variable in this table is not a fee at all — it is whether you are a Kleinunternehmer. Below is every line on a real order, in the order Etsy charges them, with nothing folded together to make the total look smaller.
Fee mechanics only. Nothing here is tax advice — registration and liability questions belong with an accountant. Not affiliated with Etsy, Inc.
A $30 item with $6 shipping, sold from Germany
Costing you $8 in materials, labour and packaging. Every figure is generated from the same dataset as our calculator, so this page and the tool can never disagree.
| Line | Amount | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Item price | $30.00 | |
| Shipping charged to the buyer | $6.00 | Etsy charges its transaction fee on this too — a point that surprises most sellers |
| Gross order value | $36.00 | |
| Listing fee | −$0.20 | Flat $0.20 per listing, charged in USD everywhere, and again on every renewal |
| Transaction fee (6.5%) | −$2.34 | On item price and shipping |
| Payment processing (4.0% + $0.35) | −$1.79 | The fixed part is 0.30 EUR, shown here converted to USD |
| VAT / tax on Etsy fees (19.0%) | −$0.82 | Applied to the fees above, not to your sale price |
| Total Etsy takes | −$5.15 | 14.3% of the gross order |
| Your cost — materials, labour, packaging | −$8.00 | |
| What you actually keep | $22.85 |
Etsy takes 14.3% of the gross order. A US seller pays 10.8% on the identical order — the difference is explained below.
What is specific to Germany
The headline 6.5% is the same everywhere. These are the lines that actually differ.
The same order, sold from every country Etsy supports
Same $30 item, same $6 shipping, same $8 cost. Sorted from cheapest to most expensive. This is the table that shows how much of your margin is decided by geography.
| Seller country | Etsy takes | % of gross | You keep |
|---|---|---|---|
| United States | $3.87 | 10.8% | $24.13 |
| Australia | $4.18 | 11.6% | $23.82 |
| Canada | $4.18 | 11.6% | $23.82 |
| New Zealand | $4.37 | 12.1% | $23.63 |
| Singapore | $4.80 | 13.3% | $23.20 |
| Switzerland | $4.97 | 13.8% | $23.03 |
| Germany ← | $5.15 | 14.3% | $22.85 |
| Brazil | $5.18 | 14.4% | $22.82 |
| Austria | $5.19 | 14.4% | $22.81 |
| Bulgaria | $5.19 | 14.4% | $22.81 |
| Belgium | $5.24 | 14.5% | $22.76 |
| Czech Republic | $5.24 | 14.5% | $22.76 |
| Netherlands | $5.24 | 14.5% | $22.76 |
| Romania | $5.24 | 14.5% | $22.76 |
| United Kingdom | $5.31 | 14.7% | $22.69 |
| Norway | $5.31 | 14.8% | $22.69 |
| Ireland | $5.32 | 14.8% | $22.68 |
| Poland | $5.32 | 14.8% | $22.68 |
| Portugal | $5.32 | 14.8% | $22.68 |
| South Africa | $5.36 | 14.9% | $22.64 |
| Greece | $5.37 | 14.9% | $22.63 |
| Sweden | $5.37 | 14.9% | $22.63 |
| Mexico | $5.37 | 14.9% | $22.63 |
| Finland | $5.43 | 15.1% | $22.57 |
| India | $5.45 | 15.2% | $22.55 |
| Denmark | $5.46 | 15.2% | $22.54 |
| Japan | $5.50 | 15.3% | $22.50 |
| Spain | $5.62 | 15.6% | $22.38 |
| Italy | $5.63 | 15.6% | $22.37 |
| France | $5.69 | 15.8% | $22.31 |
| Hungary | $6.40 | 17.8% | $21.60 |
| Turkey | $6.92 | 19.2% | $21.08 |
Local-currency fixed fees are converted to USD at a stored reference rate, so treat the last decimal as indicative. Excludes Etsy Ads and Offsite Ads — those are a chosen budget and an order-specific fee, not a cost on every sale.
Three things that surprise almost everyone
- Etsy charges its transaction fee on shipping. The 6.5% applies to the postage you charge the buyer, not just the item. Pricing shipping at cost still costs you 6.5% of it.
- The listing fee is charged again on renewal. $0.20 is per listing per four months, and again every time an item sells if auto-renew is on. A 100-listing shop is paying $20 every cycle before a single sale.
- Offsite Ads can take 12–15% of an order on top of everything above, and once your shop passes the revenue threshold it is mandatory. It is order-specific, so it is deliberately excluded from the table above — but it is real, and it lands on your biggest orders.
Free tools — no account, nothing stored
- Etsy fee & policy changes — dated log of what Etsy changed and when, every entry linked to Etsy’s own page. The regulatory operating fee moved in seven markets on 22 June 2026.
- Etsy fee calculator — all 32 seller countries, every fee on its own line.
- Etsy title checker — the 140-character limit and the first 40 characters a buyer actually sees.
- Etsy tag checker — all 13 slots, the 20-character limit, duplicate coverage.
- Etsy photo checker — size, upload limits, and what the thumbnail crop cuts off.
Common questions
What are Etsy fees in Germany in 2026?
A German seller pays a $0.20 listing fee, a 6.5% transaction fee on item price plus shipping, payment processing of 4% + €0.30, and 19% USt on all of those fees. On a $30 item with $6 shipping that totals about $5.15, or roughly 14.3% of the gross order.
Does Etsy charge USt on its fees to German sellers?
Yes, 19% Umsatzsteuer is applied to Etsy's fees. If you have provided a valid USt-IdNr. to Etsy, the reverse-charge mechanism generally applies instead. If you are a Kleinunternehmer under §19 UStG you cannot reclaim input USt, so you absorb it. Confirm your own treatment with a Steuerberater.
Is Etsy worth it for Kleinunternehmer in Germany?
It can be, but the arithmetic is worse than for a regelbesteuerter seller, because a Kleinunternehmer absorbs the 19% USt on Etsy's fees with no way to reclaim it. On a typical order that is roughly 2.3% of gross revenue permanently gone. Whether crossing the threshold and registering is better depends on your margins and buyer mix — that is a Steuerberater question.
Are Etsy fees higher in Germany than in the US?
Yes, substantially. On an identical $30 + $6 shipping order a US seller pays about 10.8% and a German seller about 14.3%. The gap is higher payment processing (4% + €0.30 vs 3% + $0.25) and, mainly, 19% USt applied on top of every fee.
Does Etsy charge fees on shipping in Germany?
Yes. The 6.5% transaction fee applies to shipping charged to the buyer as well as to the item price. Pricing shipping at cost still costs you 6.5% of it, plus payment processing and USt on that fee.
Fees are the easy part. Pricing is the hard part.
Growtsy reads live Etsy market data and tells you whether a product is worth making before you make it — and whether a listing is ready to publish. One verdict, one full listing and three AI photos, free, no card.