Every time we read a "complete guide to Etsy fees" we have the same reaction: great, but what about the 3% + AU$0.25 payment processing rate? What about the GST on top of fees? What about the fact that Etsy charges listing fees in USD and converts to AUD, which means the listing fee isn't actually $0.20 for us?
Most Etsy fee content is written by Americans for Americans. And fair enough, the US is Etsy's biggest market. But if you're running an Etsy shop from Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, or anywhere else in Australia, there are some meaningful differences in what you pay and how taxes work.
So here's the Australian version. All amounts in AUD unless stated otherwise, with GST explained properly, and worked examples you can actually use for your pricing.
What we'll cover
Every Etsy Fee for Australian Sellers
Here's the complete breakdown. We're using an approximate exchange rate of 1 USD = 1.55 AUD (March 2026), which Etsy applies automatically when processing your fees.
1. Listing Fee: ~AU$0.31
Etsy charges US$0.20 per listing. For Australian sellers, this is converted to approximately AU$0.31 at the current exchange rate. You pay this when you create a listing, when it auto-renews every 4 months, and again each time the item sells.
The sneaky thing about this fee is that it fluctuates with the exchange rate. When the Aussie dollar is weak (as it has been for most of 2025-2026), the listing fee effectively costs more. At AU$0.31 per listing, a shop with 100 active products costs about AU$31 per quarter just to keep the lights on, before a single sale.
2. Transaction Fee: 6.5%
Same as everywhere in the world: 6.5% of the total order amount, including the item price, shipping, and gift wrapping. No surprises here, though remember it applies to shipping too. If you charge AU$50 for a product and AU$10 for shipping, Etsy takes 6.5% of AU$60, not AU$50.
3. Payment Processing Fee: 3% + AU$0.25
This is where it gets Australia-specific. Australian sellers using Etsy Payments (which is mandatory for AU shops) pay 3% + AU$0.25 per transaction for domestic sales.
For international sales (when a buyer outside Australia purchases from your shop), the rate increases to 4% + AU$0.25. Since a lot of Etsy traffic comes from the US, many Australian sellers find that a significant portion of their sales carry the higher international rate.
| Fee | Rate (Australian Sellers) | Applied To |
|---|---|---|
| Listing fee | ~AU$0.31 (US$0.20) | Per listing created/renewed/sold |
| Transaction fee | 6.5% | Item price + shipping + gift wrap |
| Processing (domestic) | 3% + AU$0.25 | Sales to Australian buyers |
| Processing (international) | 4% + AU$0.25 | Sales to overseas buyers |
| Offsite Ads | 15% (under $10k) / 12% (over $10k) | Ad-attributed sales only |
| Currency conversion | 2.5% | If listing currency differs from AUD |
How GST Works on Etsy Fees (This Is Where People Get Confused)
Right, this is the bit that trips everyone up. There are two separate GST situations to understand:
GST That Etsy Charges ON Your Fees
Etsy adds 10% GST on top of all the fees they charge you. So that AU$0.31 listing fee actually costs you AU$0.34. The 6.5% transaction fee plus 3% processing fee have GST added on top. This means your effective fee rate is about 10% higher than the headline numbers suggest.
If you're GST-registered: You can claim the GST on Etsy fees back as an input tax credit on your BAS. This effectively brings your fees back down to the pre-GST amounts. If you're turning over more than AU$75,000 across all your businesses, you're required to register for GST anyway.
GST That Etsy Collects From Your Buyers
For sales under AU$1,000 to Australian buyers, Etsy automatically collects and remits the 10% GST on your behalf. The buyer pays it, Etsy handles it, and it doesn't come out of your pocket. You don't need to do anything.
For sales over AU$1,000, or if you're GST-registered, the rules get more complex and you should talk to your accountant. But for the vast majority of digital product sellers, Etsy handles it automatically.
Important: This guide covers the general GST situation for Australian Etsy sellers. Everyone's tax position is different. If you're unsure about your GST obligations, please talk to a registered tax agent. We're sellers, not accountants.
Worked Examples: What Australian Sellers Actually Keep
Let's run four common price points and see what lands in your Australian bank account after all fees. We're assuming domestic sales (3% processing rate) and no Offsite Ads. GST on fees is included but not claimed back (most small sellers aren't GST-registered).
| Item | AU$15 Product | AU$30 Product | AU$50 Product | AU$100 Product |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sale price | AU$15.00 | AU$30.00 | AU$50.00 | AU$100.00 |
| Listing fee | -AU$0.34 | -AU$0.34 | -AU$0.34 | -AU$0.34 |
| Transaction (6.5%) | -AU$1.07 | -AU$2.15 | -AU$3.58 | -AU$7.15 |
| Processing (3% + $0.25) | -AU$0.72 | -AU$1.18 | -AU$1.78 | -AU$3.30 |
| GST on fees (10%) | -AU$0.21 | -AU$0.37 | -AU$0.57 | -AU$1.08 |
| Total fees | -AU$2.34 | -AU$4.04 | -AU$6.27 | -AU$11.87 |
| You keep | AU$12.66 | AU$25.96 | AU$43.73 | AU$88.13 |
| Effective fee % | 15.6% | 13.5% | 12.5% | 11.9% |
A few things jump out from these numbers. First, the effective fee rate is higher for cheaper products because of the fixed AU$0.25 processing fee and AU$0.34 listing fee. On a AU$15 item, you're losing 15.6%. On a AU$100 item, it's 11.9%. This is why pricing your digital products too cheaply on Etsy is a bad idea for Australian sellers in particular.
Second, if the buyer is international (most US buyers), swap that 3% processing for 4%, and your fees go up by roughly another 1% of the sale price.
Third, if Offsite Ads are involved, add another 15% on top of everything. On a AU$50 item, that's an extra AU$7.50, pushing your total fees to nearly AU$14 (28% of the sale).
Want to calculate your exact fees? Our free Etsy fee calculator has Australia as a preset country - just select it and plug in your numbers.
Australia vs US: How Much More Do We Pay?
Short answer: a little bit more, mainly because of higher payment processing rates on international sales and GST on fees.
| Fee Component | US Seller | AU Seller (Domestic) | AU Seller (International) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listing | US$0.20 | ~AU$0.31 | ~AU$0.31 |
| Transaction | 6.5% | 6.5% | 6.5% |
| Processing | 3% + US$0.25 | 3% + AU$0.25 | 4% + AU$0.25 |
| GST on fees | None | 10% | 10% |
| Effective rate (AU$50 item) | ~10.4% | ~12.5% | ~13.6% |
The difference isn't dramatic, but it's there. An Australian seller pays roughly 2-3% more in effective fees than a US seller on the same price point. Over hundreds of sales, that adds up. It's another reason to make sure your pricing has enough margin built in.
5 Tips for Aussie Sellers to Keep More of Each Sale
1. Price in AUD, not USD
If you list in USD and your Etsy Payments account is in AUD, Etsy charges a 2.5% currency conversion fee on every deposit. List in AUD to avoid this entirely. Etsy will show your prices to US buyers in USD automatically using their own conversion rate.
2. Opt out of Offsite Ads (if you can)
If your shop made less than US$10,000 in the last 12 months, go to Shop Manager > Marketing > Offsite Ads and turn them off. That 15% fee on ad-attributed sales is brutal when you're already paying 12-13% in standard fees.
3. Consider GST registration if you're approaching AU$75k turnover
Once registered, you can claim back the 10% GST that Etsy charges on your fees. That effectively brings your fee rate back in line with what US sellers pay. Talk to your accountant about whether the timing makes sense for you.
4. Don't price too low
The fixed fees (AU$0.34 listing + AU$0.25 processing) hit hardest on cheap products. On a AU$5 item, those fixed costs alone are 11.8% before percentage-based fees even kick in. If you're selling digital products, AU$15 is probably the minimum price point where the maths starts to work in Australia.
5. Track your fees monthly
Download your Etsy payment CSV each month and check your actual fee percentage. It's easy to assume "about 12%" and discover it's actually 16% because half your sales were international with Offsite Ads. Knowing the real number lets you adjust pricing before it becomes a problem.
Calculate your exact Etsy fees in AUD
Our free Etsy Fee Calculator has Australia as a preset. Plug in your sale price and see exactly what you'll keep after every fee.
Open the CalculatorThe Bottom Line for Australian Etsy Sellers
Selling on Etsy from Australia costs a bit more than selling from the US, mainly because of higher international processing rates and GST on fees. The effective fee rate for most Australian sellers sits between 12-14% on standard sales, or up to 27-28% if Offsite Ads are involved.
None of that makes Etsy a bad platform for Aussie sellers. Access to 90 million buyers, most of whom are in the US (which means your products are automatically "international" and interesting to them), is worth paying for. But you need to price with these fees baked in from day one, not discover them after your first payout is 15% less than you expected.
Run your numbers before you list. Use our free calculator to see exactly what you'll keep. And if you're serious about tracking your profitability across products, our Digital Product E-Commerce Starter includes a multi-product pricing calculator that handles Australian fees automatically.
For a complete breakdown of every Etsy fee (not just the Australian ones), check out our detailed guide: Etsy Fees Explained 2026.