Which marketplace costs you least?
On fees alone, the cheapest marketplace depends on your price point and category — referral percentages, fixed per-order fees, and subscriptions cross over at different volumes. Enter your numbers below for a ranked, cited comparison; fee-blind 'best marketplace' lists can't answer this for your product.
| Channel | Fees per order | % of price | Monthly total (fees + subscription) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lowest costShopify (Basic + Shopify Payments) | $1.17 | 3.9% | $156 |
| TikTok Shop (US) | $1.8 | 6% | $180 |
| Etsy | $3.3 | 11% | $330 |
| eBay (US, no Store) | $4.48 | 14.93% | $448 |
| Walmart Marketplace (US) | $4.5 | 15% | $450 |
| Amazon (US, Professional) | $4.5 | 15% | $489.99 |
Shopify (Basic + Shopify Payments): breakdown & fit
- Referral/final-value fee (0%) official fact$0
- Payment processing 2.9% + $0.3 official fact$1.17
- Subscription (Basic, billed monthly; $29/mo billed yearly)$39/mo
SellerSays rule — fit, not fees:
- No referral fee because nobody brings you buyers — you pay for traffic instead. Best economics once you own your audience.
- Full brand and data control; the natural home for DDP checkout, IOSS, and multi-currency selling.
⚠ Using an external payment provider adds a 2% fee on Basic (1% Grow, 0.6% Advanced).
⚠ Currency conversion costs 1.5% (US) / 2% (elsewhere) on top when settling across currencies.
TikTok Shop (US): breakdown & fit
- Referral/final-value fee (6%) official fact$1.8
SellerSays rule — fit, not fees:
- Lowest referral rate of the majors, but sales are content-driven: without live/short-video output or affiliates, the low fee buys nothing.
⚠ Base 6% for most categories; exceptions exist (5% fine-jewelry subcategories, 3% select collectibles).
⚠ Affiliate commissions you offer creators are on top and typically 10%+.
Etsy: breakdown & fit
- Referral/final-value fee (6.5%) official fact$1.95
- Listing fee official fact$0.2
- Payment processing 3% + $0.25 official fact$1.15
SellerSays rule — fit, not fees:
- Buyer expectation is handmade/vintage/craft supplies — category fit matters more than fees here.
⚠ Transaction fee applies to item price plus shipping charged.
⚠ Offsite Ads takes another 15% (12% once you pass $10k/yr, capped at $100/order) when an ad brings the sale.
⚠ 2.5% currency conversion when your listing and payout currencies differ.
eBay (US, no Store): breakdown & fit
- Referral/final-value fee (13.6% ≤$7500 / 2.35% above (per portion)) official fact$4.08
- Per-order fee official fact$0.4
SellerSays rule — fit, not fees:
- Best for used, collectible, refurbished, and long-tail inventory; auction format still matters in niches.
- Store subscriptions (from $4.95/mo) cut the final value fee to 12.7% for most categories — worth it at volume.
⚠ Final value fee applies to the total including shipping charged.
⚠ 250 free listings/month, then $0.35 insertion fee.
⚠ International fee 1.65% and 3% currency conversion apply to cross-border orders.
Walmart Marketplace (US): breakdown & fit
- Referral/final-value fee (15%) official fact$4.5
SellerSays rule — fit, not fees:
- No monthly fee and Amazon-like rates, but seller approval is gated and cross-border seller onboarding is stricter.
⚠ Referral range is 6–15% by category; the common categories modeled here mirror Amazon's tiers.
Amazon (US, Professional): breakdown & fit
- Referral/final-value fee (15%) official fact$4.5
- Subscription (Professional plan; casual sellers pay $0.99 per item instead)$39.99/mo
SellerSays rule — fit, not fees:
- Largest US buyer pool and the default search engine for products — strongest for demand capture, weakest for brand control.
- Electronics schedule shown is the Accessories tier; main Consumer Electronics runs 8% flat.
⚠ 'Most categories' modeled at 15%; verify your exact category on the official fee schedule.
⚠ FBA fulfillment is a separate size/weight rate card plus a 3.5% fuel surcharge (2026) — not included here.
Fees are only half the decision
The ranking above is pure economics: what each channel takes per order at your price and volume. It deliberately excludes what we can't measure for you — audience match, competition density in your niche, and fulfillment expectations.
Treat the fee ranking as a floor. A channel that costs 3 points more but doubles your sell-through is the better business — the fit notes under each channel flag these qualitative factors and are labeled as our rules, not data.
Common questions
- Do these fees include payment processing?
- Marketplaces bundle it except where shown as a separate line (Etsy shows payment processing separately, and storefronts like Shopify charge it on top).
- What about FBA and fulfillment fees?
- Fulfillment is a separate decision with size- and weight-dependent rates. This page compares selling fees; keep fulfillment out of the ranking unless you're comparing like for like.