● Money & small business
Etsy Offsite Ads: what an ad sale really costs at every order size (and when the $100 cap helps)
When a buyer clicks an Etsy ad on another site (Google, social media) and orders within 30 days, Etsy charges an Offsite Ads fee on top of the normal fees: 15% of the order, or 12% if your shop made $10,000 or more in the past year, capped at $100 per order. Shops under $10,000 can opt out; shops over it can't. Here's what it does to real orders (item price only, no shipping or sales tax).
| Order | Normal Etsy fees | Ad fee at 15% | Ad fee at 12% | Total fees, ad sale at 15% | You keep: normal → ad sale |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| $15.00 | $1.88 | $2.25 | $1.80 | $4.13 (27.5%) | $13.12 → $10.87 |
| $25.00 | $2.83 | $3.75 | $3.00 | $6.58 (26.3%) | $22.17 → $18.42 |
| $50.00 | $5.20 | $7.50 | $6.00 | $12.70 (25.4%) | $44.80 → $37.30 |
| $100.00 | $9.95 | $15.00 | $12.00 | $24.95 (24.9%) | $90.05 → $75.05 |
| $250.00 | $24.20 | $37.50 | $30.00 | $61.70 (24.7%) | $225.80 → $188.30 |
| $500.00 | $47.95 | $75.00 | $60.00 | $122.95 (24.6%) | $452.05 → $377.05 |
| $700.00 | $66.95 | $100.00 (capped) | $84.00 | $166.95 (23.8%) | $633.05 → $533.05 |
| $1,000.00 | $95.45 | $100.00 (capped) | $100.00 (capped) | $195.45 (19.5%) | $904.55 → $804.55 |
What stands out
- Etsy's cut goes from about 10% to about 25%. On a $50 order, normal fees are $5.20; an ad sale costs $12.70.
- The $100 cap only matters above about $667 (100 ÷ 15%). On a $1,000 order the ad fee is $100, not $150.
- The 12% rate isn't a discount you choose. It applies once your shop passes $10,000 a year, which is also when opting out stops being possible.
Should you opt out?
If you can (under $10,000 a year), compare the extra sales against the fee. An ad sale on a $25 item leaves you $18.42 instead of $22.17. That's still profit if your costs are low and the sale wouldn't have happened otherwise. If your margins are thin, price for the ad case, or opt out. The Etsy fee calculator shows both cases for your own item and costs.