Every Etsy listing limit, quoted from Etsy
Etsy does not publish a single listing spec sheet. The limits are scattered across six help pages, none of which carry a “last updated” date, and in two places Etsy’s own pages contradict each other. This page collects all of it, quotes Etsy word for word, links every source, and flags the contradictions instead of pretending they are not there.
Quotes are Etsy’s wording, not ours. If Etsy changes a page, ours becomes wrong — tell us at hello@growtsy.com. Not affiliated with Etsy, Inc.
Start here: the number almost everyone gets wrong
The spec sheet
Every row is Etsy’s own wording. Where Etsy states something on two pages with two different values, both are shown.
| What | Limit | Etsy’s own wording | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Title length | 140 characters | “A listing’s title can be up to 140 characters long.” | Create a listing ↗ |
| Tags per listing | 13 | “You can use up to 13 tags per listing.” | Tags ↗ |
| Characters per tag | 20 | “Each tag can contain up to 20 characters.” | Tags ↗ |
| What a tag may contain | Spaces, letters, numbers | “Tags can only include spaces, letters, numbers.” | Tags ↗ |
| Photos per listing | 20 — not 10 | “You can add up to 20 photos and 2 videos that are 5-15 seconds in length to each listing.” | Create a listing ↗ |
| First photo minimum | 635px wide & tall | “Your first listing photo should have a width and height of at least 635 pixels to avoid showing up lower in searches.” | Images ↗ |
| Photo size recommended | 2000px or more | “We recommend your listing photos have a width and height of at least 2000 pixels or more.” | Images ↗ |
| Photo file size | Etsy says both 1MB and 300k | “Images larger than 1MB in file size may not finish uploading, especially on a slower internet connection.” | Images ↗ |
| Photo file types | .jpg .gif .png .svg .heic | “All images in your shop should be one of these file types: .jpg, .gif, .png, .svg, or .heic.” | Images ↗ |
| Colour profile | sRGB | “Convert your images to sRGB using an image editing software before uploading.” | Images ↗ |
| Videos per listing | 2 | “You can add two videos per listing” | Listing videos ↗ |
| Video length | Etsy says both 3–15s and 5–15s | “Your video may be 3-15 seconds long” | Listing videos ↗ |
| Video file size | 100 MB | “The maximum size is 100 MB” | Listing videos ↗ |
| Video resolution | min 500px, ideal 1080px+ | “While the minimum video resolution is 500px, the ideal video resolution is at least 1080px” | Listing videos ↗ |
| Video audio | Stripped on upload | “will not contain any audio once uploaded to your listing” | Listing videos ↗ |
| Digital files per listing | 5 | “You can upload up to five digital files. The maximum size for each file is 20MB.” | Digital items ↗ |
| Materials per listing | Etsy publishes no limit | “— no statement found on any Etsy-owned page —” | not published |
| How long a listing lasts | 4 months | “This will give it a new listing date and a new expiration date (4 months from the renewal date)” | Renewing listings ↗ |
| Renewal fee | $0.20 | “there will be a $0.20 USD fee charged to your Payment account each time you renew” | Renewing listings ↗ |
| Auto-renew default | On | “New listings are set to renew automatically when they expire by default.” | Renewing listings ↗ |
| Listing fee | $0.20 per listing | “You will be charged a listing fee of $0.20 USD for each item that you list” | Fees policy (dated 13 Feb 2026) ↗ |
| Transaction fee | 6.5% | “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.” | Fees policy (dated 13 Feb 2026) ↗ |
Where Etsy contradicts itself
Two live contradictions, both on undated pages, so there is no way to tell which one is current. Here is what we do about each.
What the limits mean in practice
- 140 characters is not a target. The first roughly 40 characters are what a buyer sees in search results and browser tabs before truncation, so the front of your title carries almost all of the work. Fill the rest for the algorithm, but never at the cost of the opening. Check a title free.
- Use all 13 tags, every time. An unused tag slot is a search phrase you cannot rank for. Twenty characters is enough for a two- or three-word phrase, which is what buyers actually type — single words are usually too competitive to win. Check your 13 tags free.
- Twenty photo slots do not mean twenty photos. Ten strong images beat twenty where the last ten repeat the first. Cover the jobs — hero on clean background, lifestyle in context, scale reference, detail close-up, variations, packaging — then stop.
- A four-month clock is running on every listing. Auto-renew is on by default and each renewal is another $0.20. Across 100 listings that is $20 every four months whether or not anything sold. See how long an Etsy listing lasts.
How to check any of this yourself in one minute
This is the whole method, and it works on any Etsy claim you read anywhere.
- Open the Etsy page, not the blog. Every row above links to the exact etsy.com page it came from.
- Look for the date stamp. Etsy’s legal pages carry one — the fees policy says “Last updated: Feb 13, 2026”, the Creativity Standards say “Jun 10, 2025”. Etsy’s help pages do not. Every limit on this page comes from an undated help page, which is exactly why we quote them verbatim rather than paraphrasing.
- Prefer the specific page over the general one. Where the video page and the create-a-listing page disagree, the video page is the more specific source — but neither is dated, so we publish both.
- Distrust any round number with no link. “10 photos” and “13 materials” are both repeated everywhere, and one is out of date while the other has no Etsy source at all.
Free tools that check these limits for you
- 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 — 635px, 2000px, the file-size thresholds, and what the thumbnail crop cuts off.
- Etsy fee calculator — 32 seller countries, every fee on its own line.
No signup, nothing stored, arithmetic you can check against Etsy’s own pages.
Common questions
What is the Etsy title character limit?
A listing title can be up to 140 characters. Etsy’s listing help page states: "A listing’s title can be up to 140 characters long." Practically, the first roughly 40 characters carry almost all of the work, because that is what a buyer sees in search results and browser tabs before truncation. Fill the rest for search, but never at the cost of the opening.
How many tags can you have on Etsy?
Thirteen, each up to 20 characters. Etsy states "You can use up to 13 tags per listing" and "Each tag can contain up to 20 characters." Tags may contain only spaces, letters and numbers. Use every slot — an unused tag is a search phrase you cannot rank for — and prefer two- or three-word phrases, because single words are usually too competitive to win.
How many photos can you add to an Etsy listing?
Twenty photos and two videos. Etsy’s wording is: "You can add up to 20 photos and 2 videos that are 5-15 seconds in length to each listing." The widely repeated figure of 10 photos and 1 video is out of date — it appears across seller blogs, tutorials and tool documentation, and it was wrong on two pages of this site until we corrected them on 18 August 2026.
What size should Etsy listing photos be?
At least 2000 pixels on each side is Etsy’s recommendation: "We recommend your listing photos have a width and height of at least 2000 pixels or more." The 635-pixel figure is a search-ranking threshold, not an upload minimum — Etsy says your first photo should be at least 635px "to avoid showing up lower in searches." Convert to sRGB before uploading. Accepted file types are .jpg, .gif, .png, .svg and .heic.
What is the maximum file size for an Etsy photo?
Etsy states two different numbers on two different pages, and neither page carries a date. The images page says "Images larger than 1MB in file size may not finish uploading, especially on a slower internet connection." The create-a-listing page warns that files bigger than 300k may time out. Both are worded as upload warnings rather than hard rejections. Exporting JPEG at 2000px and 80–90% quality normally lands between 300KB and 800KB, which clears the stricter of the two.
How long can an Etsy listing video be?
Etsy contradicts itself here too. The dedicated listing-video page says "Your video may be 3-15 seconds long"; the create-a-listing page says videos are "5-15 seconds in length". Neither page is dated. Aiming for 6 to 14 seconds sits inside both stated ranges. Videos are capped at 100 MB, audio is stripped on upload, and you may add two per listing.
How many materials can you list on Etsy?
Etsy publishes no limit that we could find. The commonly cited "13 materials" does not appear on any Etsy-owned page — not on the listing help page and not on the attributes page. The only sources are community forum threads, which are user-generated. We will not print a number Etsy does not publish, so the honest answer is that this one is undocumented.
How long does an Etsy listing stay active?
Four months, then it expires or auto-renews for $0.20. Etsy’s wording is "a new expiration date (4 months from the renewal date)" and "New listings are set to renew automatically when they expire by default." Renewal preserves the listing’s original view count, favourites and web address.
Fitting the limits is not the same as being ready to publish
A title can be 140 valid characters and still be the wrong title. Growtsy reads live Etsy market data and ends with one decision — publish now, improve first, fix the visuals, or pick a different niche. Free, no card.