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Etsy pricing guides
How to price handmade items for Etsy
Add up what one item costs you, your time included, then use one formula to find the price that leaves your margin after Etsy's fees.
Updated October 11, 2026
What goes into a price
A price has to cover five things. Miss one and a busy shop can lose money on every order.
- Materials
Everything in or on the item, at what it costs to buy again today, plus waste and failed batches.
- Your time
Minutes per item times an hourly rate, counting finishing, photos and packing. Our guides use $15 an hour.
- Packaging and shipping
Box, padding and mailer, plus the postage label if shipping is free.
- A share of monthly costs
Etsy Ads, software and tools, divided by monthly sales: $30 a month over 60 sales adds $0.50 an item. The examples below leave this out.
- Etsy's fees
A $0.20 listing renewal on each sale, 6.5% of the item price plus shipping, and 3% + $0.25 processing on the order, tax included. Offsite Ads sales add 15% (12% over $10,000 a year), capped at $100.
The formula
price = (total cost + $0.45) ÷ (0.905 − margin)
The 6.5% and 3% fees take 9.5% of each dollar, leaving 0.905; $0.45 is the listing fee plus the fixed processing fee. This assumes free shipping and no Offsite Ads. If you charge shipping, subtract it.
- 8 oz soy candle, total cost
- $12.20
- Target margin
- 40%
- ($12.20 + $0.45) ÷ 0.505
- $25.05
Six crafts compared
One worked example from each guide, with the same fees and a $15 hourly rate. Cost per item includes materials, packaging, the shipping label and the maker's time. Profit is after Etsy's fees and paying yourself.
| Craft and example | Cost per item | Sells for | Etsy fees | Profit | Margin | Price for 40% margin | Biggest cost |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Candles8 oz soy candle in a tin | $12.20 | $22.00 | $2.5411.5% of sale | $7.26 | 33% | $25.05 | Shipping label45% of cost |
| Soap4.5 oz cold process soap bar | $9.40 | $9.00 | $1.3014.5% of sale | −$1.71 | −19% | $19.50 | Shipping label48% of cost |
| CrochetCrochet baby blanket | $192.00 | $85.00 | $8.5310.0% of sale | −$115.53 | −136% | $381.09 | Your time78% of cost |
| JewelrySterling silver stacking ring | $17.75 | $34.00 | $3.6810.8% of sale | $12.57 | 37% | $36.04 | Materials38% of cost |
| StickersVinyl sticker (3 inch, die cut) | $2.13 | $4.50+ $1.25 shipping | $1.0017.3% of sale | $2.62 | 46% | $3.86+ shipping | Your time35% of cost |
| Art prints8x10 giclee art print | $16.50 | $28.00 | $3.1111.1% of sale | $8.39 | 30% | $33.56 | Materials55% of cost |
Source: the worked examples in our six Etsy pricing guides, recomputed and checked against the published guides on October 11, 2026. Free shipping except the sticker ($1.25 charged). No Offsite Ads, sales tax or monthly costs. Example costs are illustrations, not market data.
What the comparison shows
Time-heavy pieces break hourly pricing
The crochet blanket clears $34.48 after fees, materials and postage: about $3.45 an hour for 10 hours. At $15 an hour, a 40% margin takes $381.09. The sticker earns about $67 per hour of work. For pieces like that, the fixes are fewer hours per piece, smaller items, or selling the pattern too.
Small orders pay the most in fees
The flat $0.45 per order is 7.8% of a $5.75 sticker order but 0.5% of the $85 blanket, so fees take 17.3% of one and 10.0% of the other. The $9 soap bar keeps $0.29 before your time, which is why the soap guide suggests sets.
Shipping can cost more than materials
The shipping label is the biggest single cost for the candle (45%) and the soap bar (48%). Weigh a packed item before you set a free-shipping price.
Offsite Ads and your margin
An ad sale costs another 15% of the order. On the $22 candle, profit after your time drops from $7.26 to $3.96; on the $34 ring, from $12.57 to $7.47. A 40% margin keeps 25% on an ad sale; below 15%, an ad sale loses money.
Pricing guides by craft
How to price candles on Etsy
The $5.50 shipping label costs more than the $4.20 of materials; $25.05 gives a 40% margin.
Read the guide →How to price soap on Etsy
A $9 bar keeps $0.29 before your time, which is the case for selling sets.
Read the guide →How to price crochet items on Etsy
A 10-hour baby blanket at $85 pays about $3.45 an hour.
Read the guide →How to price jewelry on Etsy
A $34 sterling silver stacking ring keeps a 37% margin after paying for 25 minutes of your time.
Read the guide →How to price stickers on Etsy
Fees take 17.3% of a $4.50 sticker order, so packs and a shipping minimum matter.
Read the guide →How to price art prints on Etsy
An outsourced 8x10 giclee print in a rigid mailer needs $33.56 for a 40% margin.
Read the guide →Questions
What profit margin should I aim for?
Our guides use 40% and 50%, after every fee and cost, your time included. Lower margins leave little room for problems: at 30%, one Offsite Ads sale gives up half its profit.
Should I count my time if I'm not paying myself yet?
Yes, at a rate you'd accept; our guides use $15 an hour. A price that only works when your time is free won't survive more orders or hired help. At least check your hourly pay: the $85 blanket earns about $3.45.
Should I offer free shipping?
Etsy's 6.5% and 3% fees apply to shipping you charge too, so folding it into the price doesn't change your fees, and Etsy favors free-shipping listings in US search. It's easy for light items like the ring ($4.75 label on $34). For heavy ones, build the whole label into the price.
How often should I recheck my prices?
Whenever a material, postage rate or Etsy fee changes, and at least yearly. Etsy raised its transaction fee from 5% to 6.5% in 2022, and silver prices can move a jeweler's costs within weeks.
Example costs are illustrations; use your own. US seller fees as of October 2026. Oscar Kiki isn't affiliated with Etsy.
Run your own numbers.
The free fee calculator runs this math for one item and offers a one-page cheat sheet. The Pricing & Profit Calculator ($11.99, Excel and Google Sheets) prices every product in your shop for Etsy, Shopify, craft fairs and wholesale.