Etsy vs Amazon Handmade: Which Is Better for Handmade Sellers?

If you make things by hand and want to sell them online, Etsy and Amazon Handmade are the two biggest marketplaces built with you in mind. They work differently enough that the better choice comes down to what you sell, how much, and how you want to run your shop. Etsy is the easier place to start and the one buyers already connect with handmade goods. Amazon Handmade opens the door to a far larger audience and Prime shipping, but it screens applicants and takes a bigger cut of each sale.

This guide puts Etsy vs Amazon Handmade side by side on the things that actually change your bottom line: fees, how hard it is to get in, who's shopping, how you get found, and how much control you have over your brand. By the end you'll know which one fits your shop right now, and whether it's worth running both.

What You'll Learn

• The Quick Answer
• Etsy vs Amazon Handmade at a Glance
• How the Fees Compare
• How Hard Is It to Get Started?
• Who's Actually Shopping?
• Competition and Getting Found
• Branding and Shop Control
• Shipping and Fulfillment
• Which One Should You Choose?
• Can You Sell on Both?
• Frequently Asked Questions

The Quick Answer

For most makers, Etsy is the better place to start. You can open a shop today, the fees per sale are lower, and the people browsing are already there to buy handmade. Amazon Handmade makes more sense once your products sell reliably and you want reach you can't get anywhere else, plus the pull of Prime shipping. It costs more per order and makes you apply first, so it tends to be a second channel rather than a first one.

If you hate the idea of an application and you're still figuring out what sells, go Etsy. If you already have proven products, want the biggest possible audience, and can absorb a 15 percent cut, Amazon Handmade earns its place. Plenty of sellers eventually run both.

Etsy vs Amazon Handmade at a Glance

Here's the short version before we get into the detail. Etsy charges several small fees per sale that add up to roughly 10 percent plus a few fixed cents, and anyone can join in minutes. Amazon Handmade charges a flat 15 percent referral fee, waives its usual monthly seller fee for handmade sellers, and makes you pass an application before you can list.

Etsy's crowd comes specifically for handmade, vintage, and craft supplies. Amazon's crowd is enormous but shops for everything, so your work sits next to mass-produced goods. Etsy gives you a storefront that feels like yours, with your name and your policies. Amazon folds your listings into the standard Amazon look, where the brand on the page is Amazon, not you. Keep those trade-offs in mind as we break each one down.

How the Fees Compare

Fees are where the two marketplaces differ most, and it's the first thing to understand before you price anything.

Etsy stacks a few charges on every sale. There's a $0.20 listing fee each time you post an item, and that listing renews for another $0.20 every four months or whenever it sells. On top of that, Etsy takes a 6.5 percent transaction fee on the item price plus what you charge for shipping and gift wrap, then a payment processing fee that runs 3 percent plus $0.25 per order for US sellers. Add those up and a typical Etsy sale costs you somewhere around 10 percent plus the fixed cents. Our full Etsy shop setup fees breakdown walks through each one with examples.

Amazon Handmade keeps it simpler on paper: a flat 15 percent referral fee on each sale, with no listing fee and no separate payment processing charge. Normally an Amazon seller pays $39.99 a month for the Professional selling plan, but Amazon waives that fee for approved Handmade sellers. Some sellers report paying the first month before the waiver kicks in, so confirm the current terms in Seller Central when you sign up.

Put real numbers on it. On a $40 order with free shipping, Etsy's cut comes to about $4.25, roughly 10.6 percent. The same $40 order on Amazon Handmade costs you about $6.00 flat, the full 15 percent. Etsy is cheaper per order on paper. Where it gets murkier is advertising. Etsy's Offsite Ads can add 12 to 15 percent on sales they drive, capped at $100 per order, and that becomes mandatory once your shop passes $10,000 in annual sales. Amazon has its own optional ad costs too. So the headline rates aren't the whole story, but for a plain sale with no ads, Etsy keeps more in your pocket.

How Hard Is It to Get Started?

This is the biggest practical gap between the two.

Etsy has no gate. You create an account, open a shop, list your first item, and you're selling the same day. That low barrier is why so many makers test their first products there. It's also why the platform is crowded, which we'll get to.

Amazon Handmade makes you apply. You fill out an application, hand over your tax information and a government-issued ID, and wait for Amazon to review your shop and confirm your products are genuinely handmade. Approval can take up to about two weeks. The audit is the point. It's how Amazon keeps the Handmade section from filling up with factory goods, and it's part of why the handmade label still means something there. If you want the full walkthrough, our Amazon Handmade application guide covers what they ask for and how to get approved.

Whichever you pick, sort out the business basics before you start collecting money. Our craft fair tax guide covers the sales tax and income reporting that apply to online sales too, not just in-person ones.

Who's Actually Shopping?

Traffic and buyer intent matter more than raw size, and the two platforms are very different here.

Etsy is a handmade marketplace, full stop. People go there looking for handmade, vintage, custom, and craft supplies, so a shopper landing on your listing is already in the right headspace. Etsy reported roughly 87 million active buyers in its 2026 results, and all of them chose a site known for makers. That buying intent is Etsy's biggest advantage for a small shop.

Amazon's audience dwarfs Etsy's, but handmade is a tiny slice of it. Most people open Amazon to buy a phone charger or laundry detergent, not a hand-poured candle. Amazon doesn't publish how many shoppers browse the Handmade section specifically, so it's hard to compare the two head to head on audience. The upside is real, though. When one of your listings gains traction in Amazon's system, orders tend to come in steadily, and you reach Prime members who filter for fast, free shipping.

Competition and Getting Found

Being on a marketplace does nothing if buyers can't find you, so think about discoverability.

Etsy's open door cuts both ways. Because anyone can join, categories are packed, and you're up against everyone from weekend hobbyists to print-on-demand sellers who skirt the handmade line. Standing out takes good photos, smart titles and tags, and steady work on your listings. The search is handmade-focused, which helps, but you're one of many.

Amazon Handmade is less crowded within the handmade category, since the application thins the field. The catch is that your listings live inside the full Amazon catalog, so a search can put your work next to a mass-produced version of the same thing at a lower price. You get fewer handmade competitors and more competition from everything else. Winning there leans on the same Amazon playbook every seller uses: strong keywords, clean images, and reviews that build over time.

Branding and Shop Control

How much your shop feels like your brand is a real difference, not just a cosmetic one.

Etsy gives you a storefront with your shop name, a banner, a logo, an About section, and policies you write yourself. Buyers can follow your shop and come back to it. It's still Etsy's house, and you don't own the customer relationship the way you would on your own website, but your shop has an identity, and that supports repeat business.

Amazon Handmade wraps your products in the standard Amazon experience. The page looks like every other Amazon page, the name front and center is Amazon, and customer data stays with Amazon. You can build an Amazon storefront page, but shoppers mostly meet your items as individual listings, not as a shop with a personality. If building a recognizable brand matters to you, Etsy gives you more room, and your own website gives you the most. Our rundown of where to sell handmade items online compares both against standalone store options.

Shipping and Fulfillment

How orders get to buyers is handled differently, and it affects your time as much as your costs.

On Etsy, you ship everything yourself. You buy postage, often at a discount through Etsy, pack the order, and send it. You control the packaging and the unboxing, which many makers build into the experience. The trade-off is that it's all on you, every single order.

Amazon Handmade lets you self-ship too, but it also opens up Fulfillment by Amazon. With FBA, you send inventory to Amazon's warehouses and they pick, pack, ship, and handle returns, which makes your items Prime-eligible and can lift sales. FBA has its own storage and fulfillment fees, so run the numbers for your products first. For sellers who want to step back from daily packing, though, it's an option Etsy doesn't offer.

Which One Should You Choose?

Match the platform to where your shop is right now.

Start with Etsy if you're new, still testing which products sell, or you just want to be selling this week without an approval wait. The lower per-sale fees and the built-in handmade audience make it the lower-risk place to learn. It's also the natural online home for someone already selling at markets, which our Etsy vs craft fairs comparison digs into.

Reach for Amazon Handmade once you have products that sell consistently and you want scale. The bigger audience, the Prime shipping, and the FBA option can push volume past what a small Etsy shop does, as long as your margins can carry the 15 percent cut. Price with that in mind from the start. Our guide to pricing your products applies to online sales too, and the fee math is a big part of it.

Can You Sell on Both?

Yes, and a lot of established makers do. Nothing stops you from listing the same products on Etsy and Amazon Handmade at once, and spreading across two marketplaces means you're not betting everything on one platform's search algorithm or policy changes.

The thing to watch is your time and your stock. Two shops means two sets of listings, two inboxes, and the job of keeping inventory counts in sync so you don't sell something you've already run out of. Many sellers start on Etsy, get their systems down, then add Amazon Handmade as a second channel once the first one runs smoothly. And neither one has to be your only plan. Our list of where to sell handmade items locally covers the in-person outlets that bring in cash and customers no marketplace fee ever touches.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Amazon Handmade cheaper than Etsy?

Not on a single sale without ads. Amazon Handmade charges a flat 15 percent referral fee, while Etsy's combined fees usually land around 10 percent plus a few fixed cents. On a $40 order that's roughly $6.00 on Amazon versus about $4.25 on Etsy. Etsy's edge narrows once you add Offsite Ads or an Etsy Plus subscription.

Do you need approval to sell on Amazon Handmade?

Yes. Amazon reviews every Handmade application and verifies that your products are genuinely made by hand. You submit tax information and a government-issued ID, and approval can take up to about two weeks. Etsy has no approval process, so you can open a shop and start listing the same day.

Is Etsy or Amazon Handmade better for beginners?

Etsy is usually better for beginners. There's no application, the per-sale fees are lower, and the shoppers are already looking for handmade goods. It's the lower-risk place to test products and learn how online selling works before you consider adding Amazon Handmade as a second channel.

Can I sell the same products on Etsy and Amazon Handmade?

Yes. You can list identical products on both marketplaces at the same time, and many sellers do it to reach more buyers and lean less on any one platform. The main challenge is keeping inventory and listings in sync across two shops so you don't oversell something.

Does Amazon Handmade have a monthly fee?

Amazon normally charges $39.99 a month for its Professional selling plan, but it waives that fee for approved Handmade sellers. Some sellers report being charged for the first month before the waiver applies, so check the current terms in Seller Central when you sign up.

Ready to Sell in Person Too?

Online marketplaces are one piece of a handmade business, and the right one depends on your products, your margins, and how much you want to grow. Etsy gets you selling fast and cheap. Amazon Handmade trades a bigger cut and an application for a bigger audience and Prime. Many makers end up using both, with in-person markets alongside them.

If you want to add face-to-face sales to the mix, where there are no marketplace fees between you and the buyer, browse upcoming craft fairs near you on TheCraftMap and book your next show.