Etsy Offsite Ads: the fee, the opt-out and whether it pays

Etsy Offsite Ads are ads Etsy runs for your listings outside Etsy: on Google, Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest and other sites. You pay nothing up front. You pay only when a shopper clicks one of those ads and buys from your shop within 30 days. Then Etsy takes 15% of the order, or 12% if your shop has ever made $10,000 or more in a year, capped at $100 per order. Below: how it works, what it really costs, when you can opt out, and how to tell if it pays.

The short answer

• What it is. Etsy advertises your listings on search engines, social platforms and partner sites. You don't pick the listings or set a budget.
• What it costs. 15% of the order total for shops that have always made under $10,000 in any 365-day period. 12% for shops that have made $10,000 or more. Never more than $100 per order.
• When you pay. Only when a shopper clicks an Offsite Ad and buys from your shop within 30 days.
• Can you opt out? Only while your shop has never made $10,000 in any 365-day period. After that, it's required for the life of the shop.
• Is it worth it? For most items with a healthy margin, a sale with a 15% fee still makes money. The catch is the sales you would have made anyway.

How Etsy Offsite Ads work

Every shop is enrolled automatically. Etsy shares your listing data (title, images, description) with ad platforms, and their algorithms match your listing to shoppers. Etsy says ads can run on Google, Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, other search engines, partner shopping sites and the Google Display Network, and the list may change over time.

• You can't choose the listings. Etsy advertises what performs best on each channel, at its own discretion.
• There's no budget. Offsite Ads have no spend setting. You pay a fee per attributed order, not per click.
• The window is 30 days. If a shopper clicks the ad and buys from your shop within 30 days, the order counts. It doesn't have to be the item in the ad.
• One click can count more than once. If the same shopper places separate orders inside those 30 days, each one may carry the fee.
• The last click decides. If the shopper's final click before buying was an Etsy Ad (the on-site kind), only the Etsy Ads fee applies.

Etsy Offsite Ads fee: 15% or 12%, and when it's mandatory

Your rate and your choice depend on one number: your shop's revenue in any consecutive 365-day period, converted to USD if your shop uses another currency.

• Always under $10,000. Fee of 15% on an attributed order. You're enrolled, but you can opt out.
• $10,000 or more, even once. Discounted fee of 12%. Participation is required for the lifetime of your shop.
• The $100 cap. The fee on a single order never goes above $100. At 15% the cap only starts to bite on orders above about $667, at 12% above about $833.

Etsy checks your sales every month. The month your rolling 365-day total reaches $10,000, the opt-out is gone for good, even if sales drop later. The Offsite Ads fee sits on top of Etsy's other per-order fees: the 6.5% transaction fee, the $0.20 listing fee and payment processing, which varies by country. Check Etsy's current fee page before you price, because these numbers change.

Are Etsy Offsite Ads worth it? Do the margin math

Take a $40 order where the item, packaging and shipping cost you $18. Etsy's transaction fee (6.5%) is $2.60 and the listing fee is $0.20, so before payment processing you keep $19.20. That's 48% of the order.

• Normal sale: you keep $19.20.
• Offsite Ads sale at 15%: the fee is $6.00, you keep $13.20. About a third of your profit goes to the ad.
• Offsite Ads sale at 12%: the fee is $4.80, you keep $14.40.

Paying 15% of revenue is the same as running ads at a fixed ROAS of about 6.7. With a 48% margin, your break-even ROAS is about 2.1, so each attributed sale is still well in profit. Run your own price, costs and fees through the break-even ROAS calculator. If your margin before the ad is close to 15%, every Offsite Ads sale is a sale at cost.

The math above assumes the sale is new. It may not be. A shopper who already knew your shop can click an ad, buy two weeks later, and you still pay the fee. Repeat customers and gift buyers who would have found you anyway are where Offsite Ads cost the most. Check the dashboard to see which orders came through ads and which listings drew the clicks.

Opt out or stay in?

If your shop has never reached $10,000 in a 365-day period, you can turn Offsite Ads off:

1. On Etsy.com, open Shop Manager.
2. Choose Settings, then Offsite Ads.
3. Choose Opt out of Offsite Ads and confirm.

To come back, open the same page and choose Turn on Offsite Ads. You can switch, so test it: a few months on, a few months off, and compare total orders and profit, not just the attributed ones.

• Stay in if your margins are wide, your items sell to new buyers who search on Google or Pinterest, and the fee still leaves real profit.
• Opt out if your margins are thin, most buyers are repeat customers, or one $100 fee on a big custom order would hurt.
• Past $10,000? You can't opt out. Price the 12% into the items that get advertised most, and work on what you do control.

What you control: the listing the ad is built from

You can't pick listings or bids, but you control what Etsy sends to the ad platforms. Etsy shares your title, images and description, and its own advice is to improve listing quality to raise the chance your listings get advertised. A shopper on Instagram or Pinterest sees your photo first, among posts from people they follow. It has to stop the scroll on its own.

• First photo. The whole item, sharp, in good light, readable at thumbnail size. A shopper on another site sees a small picture before anything else.
• More than one angle. Detail shots, scale in hand, the item in use. Ad platforms and shoppers both need context.
• Titles with the words people search. The dashboard shows the search terms that brought traffic. Etsy suggests using them in titles, tags and descriptions.
• Listings with clicks but no sales. Etsy's own tip: test new photos, pricing or promotions on those.

Better photos don't have to mean a studio day. See what a product shoot really costs and the cheaper routes in our guide to product photography cost.

Your own ads as an alternative or an add-on

Offsite Ads are Etsy's campaign, with Etsy's choices. If you want to pick the product, the picture and the budget, run your own ads on Facebook, Instagram or Pinterest that link to your listings. You pay the platform per click or view, and buyers you bring yourself don't depend on Etsy's choice of listings.

One thing to know: if you're enrolled in Offsite Ads, a shopper who came from your own ad may also have clicked one of Etsy's Offsite Ads within the 30-day window, and that order can then carry the Offsite Ads fee. Check the dashboard before you judge your own campaign. For creative ideas that work on social, read our guide to ads for Etsy sellers.

How Vendy helps with photos and ads

The listing photo is the one part of Offsite Ads you fully own, and the same goes for your own ads. Vendy makes both from one product photo:

• Listing images. Lifestyle scenes, close-ups and short product videos from one phone shot, with the product kept exactly as it is, so buyers get what they saw. See the page for marketplace sellers.
• Product scenes. Your real product in a new scene with its own light, and a headline when you want one. Up to four versions per run, in eight frame sizes from 9:16 to 16:9. See AI product photos.
• Facebook and Instagram ads. Feed images in 1:1 and 4:5, carousels with square cards, and 9:16 videos for Reels and Stories, ready to upload to your ad account. See the AI Facebook ad generator.

Vendy doesn't run Etsy's ads, change your Offsite Ads settings or manage your listings. You download the files and upload them yourself, to your listing or your ad account.

Questions about Etsy Offsite Ads

What is the Etsy Offsite Ads fee?

15% of the order total if your shop has always made under $10,000 in any 365-day period, 12% if it has made $10,000 or more. The fee is never more than $100 per order and applies only to orders attributed to an Offsite Ad.

Can I opt out of Etsy Offsite Ads?

Yes, if your shop has never made $10,000 or more in any 365-day period. Go to Shop Manager, Settings, Offsite Ads and choose Opt out of Offsite Ads. Once you pass $10,000, Offsite Ads are mandatory for the life of the shop.

Are Etsy Offsite Ads free?

There's no upfront cost and no charge per click. You pay only when a click leads to a purchase from your shop within 30 days, and then the fee comes out of that sale.

What is the difference between Etsy Ads and Offsite Ads?

Etsy Ads show your listings inside Etsy, on a daily budget you set, and charge per click. Offsite Ads run outside Etsy, have no budget, and charge a share of the order when a sale is attributed. If the last click before a purchase was an Etsy Ad, only the Etsy Ads fee applies.

Why was I charged an Offsite Ads fee on more than one order?

One ad click opens a 30-day window. Each separate order the same shopper places from your shop in that window may carry the fee, even for items that weren't in the ad.