Offsite Ads are the one Etsy fee you don't see coming, because you only get charged after a sale. Etsy shows your listings on Google, Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest and Bing, and if a shopper clicks one of those ads and buys, Etsy takes 12–15% of the whole order on top of the normal fees.
So are they worth it? For some shops it's found money. For others it quietly erases the profit on sales you might have made anyway. Here's how to tell which one you are.
How Offsite Ads actually work
- Etsy advertises your listings on external sites at no upfront cost to you.
- You're charged only when a shopper clicks an offsite ad and buys from your shop (within 30 days of the click).
- The fee is 15% of the order if you've made under $10,000 on Etsy in the past 365 days, or 12% if you've made $10,000+.
- Under $10,000 you can opt out. At $10,000+ it becomes mandatory (at the lower 12%).
- The fee is capped at $100 per order, and never charged twice for the same order.
When they're worth it — and when they're not
The whole question comes down to one thing: does the profit on the extra sales survive the 12–15% fee?
The breakeven math (with an example)
Take a $40 sale that came from an Offsite Ad, at the 15% rate, with free shipping:
If that $40 item cost you $12 to make, you still net about $17.75 — a solid outcome for a sale you may not have won without the ad. Now run the same 15% on a $9 item netting $3 before ads, and the $1.35 offsite fee plus base fees leaves almost nothing. Same fee percentage, completely different verdict — because margin, not the fee, decides it.
Check your own break-even in 10 seconds
Our free Offsite Ads calculator shows whether the fee pays off at your price and margin — no signup.
Try the Offsite Ads calculator →How to decide for your shop
- Know your real margin first. You can't judge a 15% fee without knowing what you actually keep per sale. Start with the free fee calculator or the full 2026 fee breakdown.
- If you're under $10k and margins are thin, it's reasonable to opt out and lean on organic + your own promotion.
- If your margins are healthy, leaving Offsite Ads on is usually net-positive — the incremental sales more than cover the fee.
- If you're over $10k, you can't opt out, so the move is to build the 12% into your prices rather than absorb it.
If you'd rather have an advisor do this for every listing automatically — plus pricing, bookkeeping and tax prep — that's what our Etsy Seller Suite is built for.
Frequently asked questions
How much are Etsy Offsite Ads?
15% of the order if your shop has made under $10,000 on Etsy in the past 365 days, or 12% at $10,000+. The fee only applies when an offsite ad drives the sale, and it's capped at $100 per order.
Can I turn off Etsy Offsite Ads?
Yes, if you're under $10,000 in the last 365 days. Once you cross $10,000, participation is mandatory at the 12% rate.
Are Etsy Offsite Ads worth it?
They pay off when your margins are healthy enough that the extra sales survive the 12–15% fee — more likely on higher-priced items. They hurt on thin-margin, low-price items where the fee eats most of the profit.
Fee rates verified against Etsy's published fee policy in July 2026. Always confirm current numbers at etsy.com/legal/fees.