Etsy Offsite Ads fees are 15% on attributed orders for shops that have not reached the qualifying $10,000 USD sales threshold, or 12% once they qualify. The ad fee is capped at $100 USD per attributed order. It is an extra charge alongside ordinary Etsy selling fees, not a replacement for them. A buyer's purchase within 30 days of clicking an offsite ad can trigger it, including a purchase of another item from the same shop.
Participation is automatic. Shops that have never reached the threshold can opt out; qualifying shops must participate for their lifetime, even if sales later fall. This guide uses Etsy's live policies reviewed October 3, 2026. The worked amounts are USD examples for U.S. sellers using U.S. Etsy Payments. Your bank location, taxes, currency and account charges can change the full cost. Check your payment account rather than treating a planning estimate as Etsy's bill.
When are Etsy Offsite Ads fees 15% or 12%?
The standard rate is 15%. Etsy's Fees & Payments Policy says that reaching $10,000 USD or more in sales over the prior 365 days qualifies a shop for the 12% rate. It checks on the first day of each month. For a shop that qualifies later, the lower rate applies on the first day of the following month. Its Advertising & Marketing Policy describes any consecutive 365-day period after February 20, 2019, extended to 366 days in a leap year. Use the tier Etsy displays in Shop Manager; calendar-year revenue alone does not establish eligibility.
Once qualified, a shop stays at 12% and must participate for its lifetime, to the extent permitted by law. Dropping back below $10,000 does not restore the optional 15% tier or the earlier opt-out. A shop that opted out before qualifying can still become required to participate when it reaches the threshold. The lower percentage therefore comes with a lasting enrollment obligation.
What sales count toward the $10,000 threshold?
The threshold is not the same calculation as an individual ad fee. Etsy multiplies item price by quantity, minus discounts or formally cancelled orders. It excludes Pattern orders, In Person Payment orders, Etsy fees, and separately charged shipping, taxes or gift wrap from the threshold calculation. Do not use bank deposits or the full amount buyers paid as a substitute for the displayed qualifying sales total.
For example, $9,800 in qualifying item sales plus $500 in separately charged shipping does not become $10,300 of threshold sales just by adding those lines. Shipping can still enter the ad-fee base on an attributed order. For a non-USD shop, Etsy converts the relevant order amounts using the exchange rates it used when the sales were processed. A fresh conversion of an annual total at today's exchange rate is not equivalent.
Which purchases are attributed within 30 days?
Etsy charges when a buyer clicks an offsite ad and places an order from your shop within 30 days. There is no Offsite Ads fee for a click without a purchase. The attribution follows the shop, so an order does not have to contain only the listing originally advertised. One click can lead to multiple separate purchases in that window, each with its own possible fee. The $100 cap is per attributed order, not per buyer, per click or per month.
There is a stated last-click exception: if the buyer's last click before ordering is through an Etsy Ad within that window, only the Etsy Ads fee applies under that rule. Etsy Ads is a separate onsite, cost-per-click program with a daily budget. Do not model those clicks as another 12% or 15% commission. An attributed order is evidence of Etsy's charging rule; it does not prove that the ad caused a sale you would otherwise have missed.
What is the Offsite Ads fee base and $100 cap?
Etsy applies 12% or 15% to the displayed listing price plus shipping and gift wrapping charged to the buyer. Paid personalization is added to the listing price. For U.S. sellers, sales tax is excluded from the Offsite Ads fee base. Outside the U.S., applicable taxes included in listing prices can enter that base. This is why a tax-inclusive order receipt should not automatically be multiplied by the ad percentage.
For the U.S. examples here, ad fee = the smaller of $100 and the applicable rate multiplied by item price plus charged shipping and gift wrap. A $50 item with $5 shipping has a $55 base: 15% is $8.25, or 12% is $6.60. A $1,000 base would produce $150 or $120 without a cap, but either tier is limited to $100 for that order. The cap only limits the Offsite Ads charge; transaction and payment fees still apply under their own rules.
The linked calculator models one U.S. order. Include paid personalization in item price; if there is gift wrap, include its charge with buyer-paid shipping for this estimate. Select the actual ad tier yourself: the tool cannot observe attribution or determine lifetime enrollment. It applies the $100 USD ad cap and excludes buyer tax from the ad base. Other countries and currencies need their own policy and statement checks.
How do ad fees change payout and seller profit?
Take a $50 item, $5 buyer-paid shipping and no sales tax. Assume one $0.20 listing or renewal fee, Etsy's 6.5% transaction fee, and U.S. Etsy Payments at 3% plus $0.25. The transaction fee is $3.575 before cent rounding; processing is $1.90 including its fixed part. Using the linked calculator's aggregate rounding gives an estimated ordinary-fee total of $5.68. With a 15% attributed ad, add $8.25: estimated total fees $13.93 and payout $41.08. Payout subtracts the unrounded modeled deductions from $55, then rounds; independently displayed rounded lines can differ by a cent.
If materials and production labor entered as item cost total $20, postage costs $5 and packaging costs $1, direct costs are $26. Estimated profit is $15.08 for the 15% ad order, compared with $23.33 without an attributed ad. At 12%, the ad fee is $6.60, estimated payout $42.73 and profit $16.73. These are planning examples, not a documented Etsy component-rounding rule. Your payment statement controls the charged cents, and payout timing can also differ from modeled order proceeds.
For a second example, a $100 item with no shipping or tax has ordinary modeled fees of $9.95: $6.50 transaction, $3.25 processing and $0.20 listing. A 15% ad adds $15, leaving $75.05 before direct costs. At 12%, the ad adds $12 and leaves $78.05. With $60 of materials, labor and fulfillment costs, profit is $15.05 or $18.05. The three-percentage-point rate difference is $3 on this base, not a guarantee that either sale meets your profit goal.
For the cap example, a $1,000 item with no shipping or tax has $65 transaction, $30.25 processing and $0.20 listing in this same model. Add the capped $100 ad charge for total deductions of $195.45 and estimated payout $804.55 at either ad tier. If direct costs are $600, profit is $204.55. Subscriptions, currency conversion, tax on seller services, extra listing events and other account costs are excluded from all these examples. Add any that apply before judging your business's profit.
Are Etsy Offsite Ads worth it for your shop?
For an optional shop, compare contribution after ordinary fees and direct costs with the ad charge. If an uncapped order has $10 left before Offsite Ads and a $100 ad-fee base, a 15% fee turns that modeled $10 contribution into a $5 loss. A 12% fee leaves a $2 loss. Positive revenue is not enough. Include your production labor or evaluate what the remaining amount pays you for the time involved.
Review attributed orders in Etsy's Offsite Ads dashboard alongside the payment account. Compare products and price points using actual fulfillment costs, refunds and deductions. Total attributed revenue by itself cannot establish incremental profit. If capacity is limited, an order with a small contribution can also displace more profitable work. If participation is mandatory, test realistic prices and product costs; raising every price by exactly 12% will not generally offset all stacked percentage and fixed charges.
Can you opt out and stop every future fee immediately?
Eligible shops can turn off participation from the Offsite Ads settings in Shop Manager. Etsy's Advertising & Marketing Policy says removal of listings from the program may take up to three business days. A buyer who clicked before the opt-out becomes effective can still place an attributed order within 30 days of that click, subject to the last-click exception. An ad fee after opting out is therefore not automatically an error.
You cannot choose which listings Etsy advertises through Offsite Ads. Etsy decides where eligible listings appear. Before changing participation, save the dashboard view and check the lifetime threshold status. If a fee appears inconsistent with the policy, compare the attributed click and order information with your payment account and ask Etsy support about that transaction. Marketplace Math is independent of Etsy and cannot remove a charge or decide an account's eligibility.
Sources
- Etsy Help: how Offsite Ads work ↗
- Etsy: Fees & Payments Policy, rates, threshold and cap ↗
- Etsy: Advertising & Marketing Policy, attribution and opt-out timing ↗
- Etsy: Etsy Payments Policy, U.S. processing rate ↗
Frequently asked questions
Is Etsy's 15% Offsite Ads fee the total selling fee?
No. It is an additional fee on attributed orders. Listing or renewal fees, transaction fees, payment processing and applicable account costs remain separate.
Does the $100 cap apply to all orders together?
No. It caps the Offsite Ads charge on each attributed order. Multiple purchases within the attribution window can each incur a fee.
Can a shop return to optional participation after sales fall?
Once a shop qualifies at the $10,000 USD threshold, Etsy says participation and the 12% tier continue for the shop's lifetime, to the extent permitted by law.
Are shipping and sales tax included in the ad fee?
Charged shipping and gift wrap are included. Sales tax is excluded for U.S. sellers; outside the U.S., applicable taxes included in listing prices can be included. Payment processing uses a different base.
Why did I get an ad fee after opting out?
Removal may take up to three business days, and clicks before the opt-out becomes effective can still lead to attributed orders within 30 days. Check the click and order details and Etsy's last-click rule.