If you make handmade products, you've probably wrestled with this question: Should I sell on Etsy, at craft fairs, or both? Each channel has passionate supporters — and real trade-offs. This guide breaks down the costs, profits, time investment, and growth potential of each so you can make the smartest choice for your business in 2026.
The Quick Answer
Most successful handmade sellers use both. Etsy provides passive, year-round income while craft fairs deliver high-margin bursts of revenue and invaluable face-to-face customer relationships. But if you're just starting out or have limited time, the right choice depends on your products, personality, and goals.
Cost Comparison: Etsy vs Craft Fairs
Understanding the true cost of each channel is the first step. Many sellers underestimate the fees on one side or the other.
Etsy Fees (2026)
- Listing fee: $0.20 per item (renews every 4 months or when sold)
- Transaction fee: 6.5% of the sale price (including shipping)
- Payment processing: 3% + $0.25 per transaction
- Etsy Ads (optional): You set the budget, but many sellers spend $1–10/day
- Offsite Ads fee: 15% on sales from Etsy's external advertising (12% if you earn $10K+/year) — this is mandatory if your shop qualifies
Total Etsy cost per sale: Roughly 10–13% of your sale price goes to Etsy in fees, before shipping materials and Ads spend. On a $30 candle, that's $3.00–$3.90 in fees alone.
Craft Fair Costs
- Booth fee: $25–$300+ per event (varies widely by event prestige and location)
- Display equipment: $200–$1,000 one-time investment (tent, tables, displays, signage)
- Travel: Gas, tolls, possibly hotel for distant events
- Insurance: $200–$800/year or $50–100/event (see our insurance guide)
- Payment processing: 2.6–2.75% if using Square, Stripe, etc.
- Cash sales: 0% processing fees (a real advantage!)
Total craft fair cost per event: Your fixed costs (booth fee + travel) are spread across your total sales. At a fair where you pay a $100 booth fee and sell $1,500 worth of product, your "platform fee" is effectively 6.7% — often less than Etsy. If you have a great day and sell $3,000, that drops to 3.3%.
Profit Margins: Where You Keep More Money
This is where craft fairs often win, especially for higher-priced items:
Example: Selling a $35 Handmade Candle
On Etsy
- Sale price: $35.00
- Etsy transaction fee (6.5%): -$2.28
- Payment processing (3% + $0.25): -$1.30
- Listing fee: -$0.20
- Shipping (if free shipping offered): -$5.00 to -$8.00
- Packaging materials: -$2.00
- Net revenue: ~$21–$24
At a Craft Fair
- Sale price: $35.00
- Card processing (2.6%): -$0.91 (or $0 if cash)
- Booth fee allocated (assuming $100 fee, 50 sales): -$2.00
- No shipping costs
- Minimal packaging (bag + tissue): -$0.50
- Net revenue: ~$31.59–$32.50
That's a $8–$11 difference per sale in favor of craft fairs. Over a busy day with 50+ transactions, the difference adds up fast. This is why many experienced vendors say craft fairs are their most profitable channel.
Time Investment
Profit per sale doesn't tell the whole story. You need to factor in time.
Etsy Time Requirements
- Product photography: 1–3 hours per listing (good photos are essential)
- Writing listings: 30–60 minutes per listing (title, description, tags, SEO)
- Order fulfillment: 15–30 minutes per order (packaging, label, post office trip)
- Customer service: Messages, reviews, returns — ongoing
- Shop maintenance: Updating listings, running sales, SEO tweaks — 2–5 hours/week
- Social media: Driving external traffic to your shop — 3–10 hours/week
Etsy is never truly passive. The algorithm rewards active shops, and you're competing with millions of sellers. Most successful Etsy shops invest 10–20 hours per week beyond making products.
Craft Fair Time Requirements
- Finding and applying to events: 2–5 hours/month (use TheCraftMap to cut this dramatically)
- Prep and loading: 2–4 hours before each event
- Event day: 8–12 hours (including setup and teardown)
- Travel time: Varies — local events save hours vs. distant ones
- Unloading and restocking: 1–2 hours after
Craft fairs are concentrated effort. You invest a big chunk of time on event days, but between events you can focus entirely on making product. Many vendors find this rhythm more sustainable than the constant grind of online selling.
Customer Relationships
This is craft fairs' secret superpower, and it's hard to put a dollar value on it.
At Craft Fairs
- Face-to-face interaction builds trust instantly
- Customers can see, touch, and smell your products
- You get immediate feedback on new products, pricing, and displays
- Impulse purchases are common — people buy what catches their eye
- Repeat customers recognize you and seek you out at future events
- You build a local reputation that compounds over time
- Collect emails for your own mailing list (you own this relationship)
On Etsy
- Customers often don't remember your shop name — they remember "I bought it on Etsy"
- Etsy controls the relationship — they can change algorithms, raise fees, or suspend shops
- Reviews are public and permanent
- Hard to differentiate from competitors in search results
- Limited ability to build a direct relationship outside Etsy's platform
Key insight: At craft fairs, customers become your customers. On Etsy, they're Etsy's customers who happened to find you.
Scalability and Passive Income
Here's where Etsy has a genuine advantage:
- Etsy works while you sleep. Orders can come in 24/7, 365 days a year
- No geographic limits. You can sell to customers anywhere in the country (or world)
- Digital products on Etsy are truly passive — sell a printable template once, deliver it infinitely
- Craft fairs are limited by the number of weekends in a year and your physical stamina
If your goal is to build a business that generates income without your physical presence, Etsy (or your own website) is essential. Craft fairs alone can't scale beyond what you can personally attend.
Which Products Sell Better Where?
Products That Crush It at Craft Fairs
- Candles and wax melts — Scent sells in person (customers can smell before buying). Tools like WickSuite can help candle makers manage their business across both channels.
- Soaps and skincare — Texture, scent, and packaging matter. If you make soap, Soaply helps you perfect your recipes with a free lye calculator.
- Jewelry — Try-on factor is huge
- Food products — Samples close deals instantly
- Art and photography — Seeing the real piece beats a screen
- Anything large or heavy — No shipping costs or damage worries
Products That Do Well on Etsy
- Custom/personalized items — Etsy's customization features shine here
- Digital downloads — Zero shipping, infinite margin
- Niche/unique items — People search Etsy for specific things they can't find locally
- Small, lightweight items — Low shipping costs improve margins
- Gifts — Etsy is a go-to destination for unique gifts
- Seasonal items — Reach customers searching for holiday-specific products
The Hybrid Approach: Using Both
The smartest sellers don't choose — they use Etsy and craft fairs together strategically:
1. Use Craft Fairs to Test and Validate
Before investing time in an Etsy listing with professional photos and SEO-optimized descriptions, test new products at a craft fair. You'll learn in one weekend what sells, at what price point, and what customers say about it.
2. Drive Craft Fair Customers to Etsy
Include a business card with every sale that directs customers to your Etsy shop (or your own website). "Loved your purchase? Order again anytime at [your shop URL]." These warm leads convert at much higher rates than cold Etsy traffic.
3. Use Etsy for Year-Round Revenue
Craft fair season is heaviest from spring through the holidays. Etsy fills in the gaps during slow months (January–March) when few events are happening.
4. Build Your Email List at Fairs
Collect emails at every craft fair (offer a small discount or freebie as an incentive). Use that list to drive sales on Etsy, your website, or announce your upcoming fair appearances. This is the most valuable asset you can build.
5. Use Craft Fairs for Content
Take photos and videos at events for your Etsy shop, social media, and marketing. Authentic "behind the scenes" content from live events performs incredibly well online.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
Etsy Mistakes
- Underpricing to compete: Racing to the bottom on price destroys your margins. Compete on quality and brand, not price.
- Bad photography: This is the #1 reason Etsy shops fail. Invest in good lighting and a clean background.
- Ignoring SEO: Your beautiful products are invisible if you don't optimize titles, tags, and descriptions for search.
- Not factoring in all fees: That 6.5% transaction fee plus processing plus offsite ads can surprise you.
Craft Fair Mistakes
- Choosing the wrong events: Not all craft fairs are equal. Research attendance, vendor reviews, and location before applying. Use TheCraftMap to compare events and read reviews.
- Poor booth presentation: Your display is your storefront. Read our booth setup guide for tips.
- Not tracking expenses: If you don't know your actual costs per event, you can't know your true profit. WickSuite makes it easy to track costs and revenue per event.
- Doing too many events: Burnout is real. Quality over quantity — pick your best events and crush them.
Decision Framework: Which Is Right for You?
Ask yourself these questions:
Choose Craft Fairs First If:
- Your products benefit from in-person experience (scent, taste, touch)
- You enjoy talking to customers and get energy from events
- You're local to an area with lots of events (use our state directory to check)
- You want higher profit margins per sale
- You're testing a new product and want fast feedback
- You hate shipping logistics
Choose Etsy First If:
- Your products are small, lightweight, and easy to ship
- You sell custom/personalized items
- You sell digital products
- You can't commit to weekend events regularly
- You want 24/7 passive sales potential
- You're in a rural area with few local events
Use Both If:
- You want to maximize revenue and diversify income streams
- You have the time and inventory for both channels
- You want to build a real brand (not just an Etsy shop)
The Numbers Don't Lie
According to surveys of handmade sellers, the average craft fair vendor earns $500–$2,000 per event, while the average Etsy shop earns around $200–$500 per month. Top performers on both channels earn significantly more, but the craft fair ceiling per "session" is typically higher.
However, you can only do craft fairs on weekends (maybe 2–4 per month during peak season), while Etsy runs every day. Over a full year, a well-run Etsy shop can match or exceed craft fair revenue — but it requires consistent effort in marketing and SEO.
Getting Started with Craft Fairs
If you're an Etsy seller curious about craft fairs (or vice versa), here's how to take the first step:
- Find events near you — Browse craft fairs on TheCraftMap filtered by your state and preferred dates
- Start small — Apply to 2–3 local events to test the waters. Check our first craft fair application guide
- Invest in a basic display — Read our gear guide for what you actually need
- Price correctly — Our pricing guide helps you set prices that work for in-person sales
- Track everything — Record costs and revenue for each event so you know your true ROI
Bottom Line
Etsy and craft fairs aren't competitors — they're complementary channels. Craft fairs offer higher margins, real customer relationships, and instant feedback. Etsy offers reach, convenience, and year-round sales. The most resilient handmade businesses use both, letting each channel strengthen the other.
The worst thing you can do is put all your eggs in one basket — especially one controlled by a platform that can change its rules (and fees) at any time. Diversify your sales channels, build direct relationships with customers, and you'll have a business that lasts.
Ready to find craft fairs near you? Search thousands of events on TheCraftMap, filter by state, date, and type, and start building your 2026 craft fair calendar.