Etsy free shipping: the $35 guarantee and the $6 line
Etsy’s ranking policy names three shipping offers to US shoppers that may improve where a listing ranks: a US free shipping guarantee, free shipping, or shipping under $6. The guarantee covers US orders and single items of $35 and up. Moving the shipping cost into the item price does not change Etsy’s fees: they are charged on price plus shipping. Enter your price and US shipping to see which case you are in. Nothing you type leaves your browser.
Need the full fee breakdown of an order? The fee calculator has every line. Want a price that leaves you a set profit, shipping included? The pricing calculator works backwards from it. Setting shipping prices, buying labels, and how much of a shipping charge Etsy keeps: Etsy shipping costs.
What Etsy’s ranking policy says about shipping
Shipping: shipping price and method are factors in search ranking.
If sellers offer a US free shipping guarantee, free shipping or shipping prices under $6 to US shoppers, a Delivered Duty Paid (DDP) shipping method to US shoppers, or if they offer lower shipping prices to buyers in their own country, it may improve their listings rank in search results.
“May” is Etsy’s word. Shipping is one factor next to relevancy, engagement, recency, listing quality and customer service — see why a listing doesn’t show in search. Shipping to the US from another country? Etsy requires Delivered Duty Paid (DDP) on those orders.
The $35 free shipping guarantee
A free shipping guarantee automatically applies free shipping for US buyers when they purchase the following from your shop:
An individual item $35 USD and up
An order with a total cost of $35 USD and up
The free shipping guarantee applies to both domestic and international sellers shipping orders to US buyers.
Your shipping prices for buyers in other countries will not change from what is set in your shipping profiles and item listings.
If a buyer chooses to purchase shipping upgrades, they will be charged for those even if their order qualifies for free shipping.
The order rule matters for cheaper items: with the guarantee, a US order of $35 or more ships free even when each item is under $35, and When you offer free shipping in your shop, you’ll still need to pay the shipping carrier to deliver your orders.
Moving shipping into the price: same fees
When you make a sale through Etsy.com, you will be charged a transaction fee of 6.5% of the price you display for each listing plus the amount you charge for shipping and gift wrapping.
- Payment processing:
The fees are taken from the item’s total sale price, including its shipping fees, and any applicable sales tax.
When you add the cost to ship to the item price, the listing will still show free shipping, and you won’t lose profits.
Imagine that you sell a $35 item, and you currently charge a $5 flat rate to ship it. By adjusting the item price to $40, you recover your shipping cost without charging a separate shipping fee.
To recover your shipping costs, use the smart pricing tool to bulk edit your listing prices for items costing over $35.
So the fees follow what the buyer pays, not how it is split. Sold from the United States, Etsy’s example order costs $4.25 in fees either way: $35.00 + $5.00 shipping, or $40.00 with free shipping.
Worked examples, sold from the United States
One item per order, no sales tax on the order. Etsy’s fees are the listing, transaction and payment processing fees on what the buyer pays, from the same dated table as the fee calculator.
| Item price | US shipping | Buyer pays | Etsy’s fees, either way | What Etsy’s rules point to |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| $35.00 | $5.00 | $40.00 | $4.25 | $40.00 item, free shipping |
| $32.00 | $5.00 | $37.00 | $3.97 | $37.00 item, free shipping |
| $20.00 | $8.00 | $28.00 | $3.11 | $22.01 + $5.99 shipping, or $28.00 free |
| $20.00 | $4.50 | $24.50 | $2.78 | Under the $6 line already |
| $15.00 | Free | $15.00 | $1.88 | Free shipping already |
Sources: Etsy’s “Search, advertisement and recommendation ranking” policy (“Last updated on Oct 16, 2025”, 22 Sep 2026 copy); help article “How to Offer Free Shipping” (8 Oct 2025 copy, the newest archived); “Fees & Payments Policy” (“Last updated on Oct 5, 2026”) and Etsy’s payment processing help article. Payment processing is also taken from any sales tax on an order, which these numbers leave out.
Common questions
Does free shipping help your Etsy ranking?
It can. Etsy’s ranking policy: “Shipping: shipping price and method are factors in search ranking.” And: “If sellers offer a US free shipping guarantee, free shipping or shipping prices under $6 to US shoppers, a Delivered Duty Paid (DDP) shipping method to US shoppers, or if they offer lower shipping prices to buyers in their own country, it may improve their listings rank in search results.” Etsy says “may”: it is one factor among several, not a guaranteed position.
What is Etsy’s $35 free shipping guarantee?
Etsy: “A free shipping guarantee automatically applies free shipping for US buyers when they purchase the following from your shop: An individual item $35 USD and up; An order with a total cost of $35 USD and up.” “The free shipping guarantee applies to both domestic and international sellers shipping orders to US buyers.”
Does adding shipping to the item price increase Etsy fees?
No, as long as the buyer pays the same total. The transaction fee is charged on “the price you display for each listing plus the amount you charge for shipping and gift wrapping”, and payment processing on “the item’s total sale price, including its shipping fees”. A US seller’s $35.00 item with $5.00 shipping and the same item at $40.00 with free shipping both cost $4.25 in Etsy fees (no sales tax on the order).
Do I lose money offering free shipping on Etsy?
Not if the shipping cost moves into the price. Etsy: “When you offer free shipping in your shop, you’ll still need to pay the shipping carrier to deliver your orders.” “When you add the cost to ship to the item price, the listing will still show free shipping, and you won’t lose profits.”
Does the free shipping guarantee apply to buyers outside the US?
No. It is for US buyers, from US and non-US shops alike. Etsy: “Your shipping prices for buyers in other countries will not change from what is set in your shipping profiles and item listings.”
Can buyers still pay for faster shipping?
Yes. Etsy: “If a buyer chooses to purchase shipping upgrades, they will be charged for those even if their order qualifies for free shipping.”
Do you store what I type?
No. The calculation runs in your browser and the numbers you type never leave it. We count anonymously that the page was used and which case it showed, so we can tell whether the page earns its place.
Shipping is one line. The product is the decision.
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Start free →Fee rates are the same sourced, dated table as the Etsy fee calculator; the shipping rules are quoted from Etsy’s ranking policy and help center. · Not showing in search · DDP to the US · All free tools