TL;DR
- Etsy: per-listing fee + transaction fee + payment processing (+ possible offsite-ads fee). Cost scales with every sale.
- Shopify: fixed monthly plan + payment processing via Shopify Payments. No per-listing or marketplace cut.
- Low volume → Etsy is cheaper (no subscription, pay when you sell).
- Higher volume → Shopify is cheaper per order, and the gap widens with scale.
- Beyond fees: Etsy = built-in traffic, less branding; Shopify = own your brand, list, and data.
- Rates change, confirm current numbers on Etsy's and Shopify's official pricing pages.
Two different cost shapes
The whole comparison comes down to shape. Etsy charges you in small amounts tied to activity: a fee to list each item, a transaction fee on every sale (including the shipping you charge), a payment processing fee per order, and potentially an offsite-ads fee on sales it attributes to its advertising. There's no monthly subscription required, so it's cheap to open, but every order you make carries a stack of percentage fees.
Shopify charges mostly a fixed monthly plan plus a payment processing fee per transaction (via Shopify Payments). There are no per-listing fees and no marketplace commission on sales, so once you've covered the monthly plan, each additional order only costs payment processing. (Using a third-party gateway instead of Shopify Payments adds a transaction fee, which is why most sellers use Shopify Payments.)
Exact rates and plan prices change and vary by country, so confirm the current figures on Etsy's official seller-fees page and Shopify's official pricing page before doing your math.
Fee structure side by side
| Cost | Etsy | Shopify |
|---|---|---|
| Monthly subscription | None required (optional paid tier exists) | Yes, fixed monthly plan |
| Per-listing fee | Yes, per item (renews on sale/expiry) | None, unlimited products |
| Transaction / commission | Yes, % of each sale | None with Shopify Payments |
| Payment processing | % + small fixed fee per order | % + small fixed fee per order |
| Offsite ads fee | Possible on attributed sales | None |
| Custom domain | n/a (etsy.com/shop URL) | ~$10-15/year (optional) |
| Cost shape | Scales up with every sale | Mostly fixed; flat at scale |
Illustrative structure; verify current rates with each platform.
The crossover: why volume decides it
Because Etsy's cost grows with each sale while Shopify's is mostly fixed, there's a crossover point. Imagine a store selling a modest number of orders a month: the Etsy fees on those orders total less than a Shopify monthly plan, so Etsy is cheaper. Now scale that store up several times over: Etsy's per-sale fees multiply with every order, while the Shopify plan stays flat (you only add payment processing), so Shopify becomes cheaper per order and the saving grows the more you sell.
The exact crossover depends on your average order value and monthly order count, so run it on your own numbers. But the rule holds: Etsy is cheaper at low volume; Shopify is cheaper at higher volume. For the full margin picture either way, see POD profit margins & pricing strategy.
Beyond fees: what actually matters
Fees are only half the decision. Etsy gives you built-in traffic: millions of buyers already search there, so you can make sales without building an audience, which matters early. The cost is that you compete with similar sellers on the same platform, branding is limited, and Etsy owns the customer relationship, the data, and the rules. Shopify gives you ownership: a branded store, your own customer list and data, full control of pricing and checkout, and a large app ecosystem. But you drive your own traffic via marketing, Pinterest, and email. For print on demand, Shopify also makes richer customer-facing personalization easy to offer, which is hard to replicate inside a marketplace listing. See the broader Etsy vs Shopify for print on demand comparison.
Moving to Shopify? Add personalization customers can't get on a marketplace
Print It My Way adds name, text, and photo personalization with a live preview, the kind of rich, branded buying experience that's hard to offer inside an Etsy listing. No code, free plan for your first product.
Install Print It My Way. Free How to migrate from Etsy to Shopify →Frequently asked questions
What fees does Etsy charge sellers?
Etsy's model is per-listing and per-sale rather than a monthly subscription: a listing fee per item (renewed when it sells or expires), a transaction fee as a percentage of each sale (including the shipping you charge), and a payment processing fee (a percentage plus a small fixed amount). It may also charge an offsite-ads fee on attributed sales, and there are optional costs like Etsy Ads and a paid subscription tier. Rates change and vary by country, so confirm current numbers on Etsy's official seller-fees page, the structural point is that Etsy's cost scales with every sale.
What does it cost to run a print on demand store on Shopify?
Mostly a fixed monthly subscription plus payment processing. You pay a monthly plan (tiers exist, often with a discounted intro period and lower annual pricing) and a payment processing fee per transaction via Shopify Payments. Using a third-party gateway adds an extra transaction fee, so most sellers use Shopify Payments. There are no per-listing fees (unlimited products) and no marketplace commission beyond payment processing. Optional costs: a custom domain (~$10-15/year) and any paid apps such as a personalizer. Confirm current plan pricing on Shopify's official pricing page.
Is Etsy or Shopify cheaper for print on demand?
It depends on volume. At low volume Etsy is usually cheaper, no monthly subscription, you pay only when you sell. As volume grows, Etsy's per-sale fees stack on every order while Shopify's cost is mostly the fixed plan plus payment processing, so beyond a certain monthly revenue Shopify becomes cheaper per order and the gap widens. The crossover depends on your prices and order count, but the pattern is consistent: Etsy wins on low volume and easy startup; Shopify wins on higher volume. Many sellers start on Etsy, then move to or add Shopify as they grow.
Does Etsy or Shopify take a cut of every sale?
Etsy takes a cut via its transaction fee and payment processing (and possibly an offsite-ads fee) on top of the per-listing fee, so a meaningful percentage of each order goes to Etsy. Shopify doesn't take a marketplace commission when you use Shopify Payments, you pay the monthly plan and payment processing per transaction, not a percentage "cut." (A non-Shopify gateway adds a transaction fee, which is why most use Shopify Payments.) So on Etsy more of each sale is consumed by fees as you scale; on Shopify your per-order cost is mostly just payment processing once the fixed plan is covered.
Beyond fees, what are the real trade-offs between Etsy and Shopify?
Etsy's advantage is built-in traffic, millions of buyers already search the marketplace, so you get sales without building an audience, valuable early. Downsides: you compete with similar sellers on-platform, branding is limited, and Etsy owns the customer relationship, data, and rules. Shopify's advantage is ownership, a branded store, your own customer list and data, full control of pricing, design, and checkout, and a large app ecosystem, but you drive your own traffic. For print on demand, Shopify also makes richer customer-facing personalization easier to offer, which is hard to replicate in a marketplace listing.
Should I sell print on demand on Etsy or Shopify?
For testing an idea or a small, low-volume shop with minimal setup, Etsy is a sensible start, pay mostly per sale and tap built-in traffic. For a durable, branded business, especially personalization-based with repeat gifting demand. Shopify is the stronger long-term home: lower per-order cost at scale, full branding and customer ownership, and easier rich personalization. A common path is to start on Etsy for reach, then build a Shopify store to keep more of each sale, optionally running both. Base the comparison on your actual prices and volume, and confirm current rates on each platform's official pricing page.
Is Print It My Way free to install?
Yes. Print It My Way is free to install from the Shopify App Store. The Free plan covers most small stores; paid plans unlock higher order volume, advanced features like Cart Transform per-character pricing, premium fonts, and white-glove support. There is no upfront fee and no credit card required to install.
How long does Print It My Way take to set up?
Most stores set up their first personalized product in under 15 minutes. The Shopify App Store install takes about 60 seconds; adding text fields, photo upload, color swatches, and live preview to a product takes 5-10 minutes. Catalog-wide rollout (50+ products) uses bulk-apply templates and typically takes 30-60 minutes total.
Does Print It My Way work with Shopify Basic, Shopify, Advanced, and Shopify Plus?
Yes. Print It My Way works on every Shopify plan including Basic, Shopify, Advanced, Plus, and Shopify Starter. Some advanced features like Cart Transform (per-character pricing) and B2B company accounts require Shopify Plus, but the core personalization fields, live preview, and order capture work on every tier.
Does Print It My Way slow down my Shopify store?
No. Print It My Way uses Shopify's storefront block architecture, which loads only on personalized product pages and doesn't add render-blocking scripts site-wide. Lighthouse and Core Web Vitals scores on personalized product pages stay green when the app is configured with default settings.
Does Print It My Way work with Printful, Printify, Gelato, and other POD partners?
Yes. Print It My Way has native integrations with Printful, Printify, Gelato, and other major print-on-demand partners. The customer's personalization data flows through Shopify's standard order pipeline, so any partner that reads line-item properties (which all major POD apps do) receives the print files automatically.
Does Print It My Way support Shopify Markets, multiple currencies, and multiple languages?
Yes. Field labels translate per language, upcharge prices can be set per currency, and the personalizer fully supports right-to-left languages including Arabic and Hebrew. The personalizer also handles Unicode for Cyrillic, CJK (Chinese/Japanese/Korean), Greek, and accented Latin characters with appropriate font fallback.
Sources & further reading
Primary sources referenced in this article. We link to official platform documentation and standards bodies rather than secondary summaries so you can verify claims directly.