Etsy vs Shopify: where the break-even actually is
Published August 9, 2026
Quick answer
At a $40 average order value, Shopify Basic becomes cheaper than Etsy at 14 orders a month. Both cost about $4.25 per order at that point. Below it Etsy wins, above it Shopify pulls away fast: at 100 orders a month Shopify costs $1.85 per order against Etsy's unchanging $4.25.
Why the two cannot be compared by percentage
Etsy's cost is purely per-transaction, so it is the same 10.6% of a $40 order whether you sell one a month or a thousand. Shopify charges $39 a month for Basic plus 2.9% and $0.30 per transaction. That fixed $39 is what makes the comparison volume-dependent: it is $39 spread across however many orders you actually get.
The numbers at each volume
On a $40 order, Shopify Basic costs $5.36 per order at 10 orders a month, $4.25 at 14, $3.02 at 25, $2.24 at 50, $1.85 at 100 and $1.54 at 500. Etsy sits flat at $4.25 throughout. The crossover is 14 orders a month, and by 50 orders Shopify costs roughly half what Etsy does.
The cost Shopify's pricing page does not show
Etsy's fee buys you traffic. Shopify's does not. A Shopify store with no marketing gets no visitors, so the real comparison is Shopify's plan plus whatever you spend acquiring customers against Etsy's fee with buyers already there. For most sellers that acquisition cost dwarfs the $2.40 per order the fee comparison saves. The break-even above is a floor, not a full accounting.
What this means in practice
If you are under roughly 14 orders a month, Shopify is more expensive on fees and you would also be buying your own traffic. Most sellers who move successfully run both: Etsy for discovery, their own store for repeat buyers who already know the brand and cost nothing to reacquire.
Frequently asked questions
At what point is Shopify cheaper than Etsy?
At a $40 average order value, 14 orders a month. Both work out to about $4.25 per order there. Higher order values move the break-even down, lower ones move it up.
How much does Shopify cost per order?
It depends entirely on volume, because the $39 monthly plan is spread across your orders. On $40 orders it is $5.36 each at 10 orders a month and $1.85 each at 100.
Should I leave Etsy for Shopify?
Rarely as a straight swap. Etsy's fee includes buyer traffic that Shopify's does not, so the fee saving is usually smaller than the marketing cost that replaces it. Running both is the common answer.