What it actually costs to sell here.
No monthly fees. No per-listing fees. 3% transaction for life if you join the founder cohort. Below: a line-for-line breakdown vs Etsy, Shopify, Amazon Handmade, and Faire — with citations.
Updated June 2026.
Founder pricing — locked for life
- Listing fee · Free tierFirst 10 listings free for life · $0.20 per additional listing or renewal
- Listing fee · Crafters PlusFirst 15/month free · $0.20 after
- Monthly fee$0 on Free tier · Crafters Plus optional at $12/mo
- Commission5% on Free · 4% on Plus
- Payment processing2.9% (Stripe processing — applies to all tiers)
- Total deducted per saleFree: 7.9% · Plus: 6.9%
- Off-site ad fee12% only on sales attributed to off-site ads we run for you (Google / Meta)
- Promoted listing$5.00 / week (optional, opt-in only)
Fees are calculated on the item subtotal (excluding shipping & sales tax) and deducted automatically from each payout via Stripe Connect. Listing-fee charges accrue and settle against your next payout — never billed to a card.
Side-by-side comparison
How we compare
Honest, line-for-line. No “starting at” asterisks — these are the fees you'll actually pay on your first $1,000 sold. Citations below.
| Feature | Crafters Market | Etsy | Shopify | Amazon Handmade | Faire (wholesale) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Monthly fee | Free during beta Founder pricing available | Free to open shop | $39/mo Basic[3] $29/mo on annual plan | $0[5] No Pro Selling plan required for Handmade | $0[6] Free for brands |
| Listing fee | None | $0.20 per listing[2] | None | None[5] | None[6] |
| Transaction fee | 3% for life[1] Founder pricing | 6.5%[2] On every sale | None*[3] *if using Shopify Payments — otherwise additional fees | 15%[5] Referral fee on every sale | 15% / 0%[6] 15% on new orders, 0% on reorders from same retailer |
| Payment processing | Stripe processing applies | ~3% + $0.25 (US)[4] | 2.9% + $0.30[3] Basic plan | Included[5] Bundled into the 15% referral fee | Free[6] Faire absorbs processing |
| Marketplace traffic | Shared marketplace Curated maker community | Massive built-in Millions of shoppers | None You bring 100% of traffic | Amazon-scale Hundreds of millions of shoppers | Wholesale only 100k+ retail boutique BUYERS — no consumer DTC |
| Community features | Maker-focused Showcases, clip feed, leaderboards | Limited seller community | None built-in | None | Light brand community |
| Competition | Curated maker marketplace Hand-reviewed apps | Millions of sellers Open marketplace | Only your store | Amazon-scale Every product on Amazon competes for attention | Curated brand pool Faire reviews brand applications |
| SEO responsibility | Shared — platform + maker Auto-tagging, sitemaps, schema | Etsy generates traffic | Seller responsible DIY | Amazon search algorithm Internal Amazon search drives discovery | Faire-internal discovery No public SEO surface |
| Advertising required | Optional Promote engine helps you scale when ready | Increasingly important Visibility shrinks without ads | Often required Required for growth | Sponsored Products growing Optional but increasingly important | Optional Faire promotes top brands |
- [1]Instagram · Maker fee breakdown reel
- [2]Etsy · Fees & Payments Policy
- [3]Shopify · Pricing
- [4]eufyMake · Etsy fees breakdown 2026
- [5]Amazon Handmade · Pricing & fees
- [6]Faire · Selling on Faire
Fees current as of June 2026. Third-party pricing may change — we'll update this table within 30 days of any public fee change.
Frequently asked
What does it cost to sell on Crafters Market?+
During beta, opening a shop is free. Approved makers in the founder cohort lock in a 3% transaction fee for life. Stripe processing applies on top (standard 2.9% + $0.30). No monthly fees, no listing fees, no hidden cuts.
How does Crafters Market compare to Etsy fees?+
Etsy charges $0.20 per listing plus a 6.5% transaction fee on every sale, plus ~3% + $0.25 payment processing. Crafters Market charges no listing fees and 3% transaction (founder pricing for life). On a $50 sale you'd save roughly $1.95 per order vs Etsy — about $195 on 100 sales.
How does Crafters Market compare to Amazon Handmade?+
Amazon Handmade charges a 15% referral fee on every sale (includes payment processing). Crafters Market is 3% + Stripe processing (~5.9% effective total) — roughly a 60% reduction in platform take versus Handmade for the same $50 sale.
Is there a monthly subscription?+
No. Crafters Market is free to open a shop during beta. Compare to Shopify Basic at $39/month (or $29/month annually), which has no built-in marketplace traffic at all.
Do I need to run ads to make sales here?+
Ads are optional. Crafters Market includes a built-in promotion engine that helps you allocate budget across Meta, Google, and Microsoft when you're ready to scale — but unlike platforms where visibility shrinks without paid placement, organic discovery is built into the marketplace.
How is Crafters Market different from a Shopify store?+
Shopify gives you a storefront but no traffic — you bring 100% of buyers yourself. Crafters Market is a shared marketplace with curated maker discovery, a community clip feed, monthly leaderboards, and built-in SEO infrastructure (auto-tagging, sitemaps, structured data). Lower upfront marketing cost to first sale.
Lock in founder pricing.
Apply once. We review applications by hand within 48 hours. Approved makers join the founder cohort with 3% transaction pricing for life and dedicated onboarding.