One of the big X-factors when it comes to choosing an eCommerce platform like Etsy, Woocommerce, eBay, or Shopify is how much their fees will cost you over the long run. Some fees are based on how many orders you sell, while others are based on the dollar value of each order. Well, dbdc is all about making selling things online easier for artists and makers, so I’ve collected the fees for over a dozen eCommerce platforms and whipped up a handy customizable eCommerce Fee Calculator spreadsheet to see how their fees stack up for your business.
A couple of notes before we go any further: the data that this spreadsheet bases its calculations on was collected by me from information available on the eCommerce platform providers’ websites on September 6th, 2022. I update the spreadsheet regularly, but you should verify fees yourself before making any financial commitment to an eCommerce platform. This spreadsheet is for informational use only and dbdc is not liable for any loss or damage due to its use.
(I’m not sure what this spreadsheet could physically damage, but that’s the legal term I’m supposed to use.)
With that out of the way, let’s get into the fun part.
What Platforms does the eCommerce Fee Calculator cover?
The eCommerce Fee Calculator has data for over a dozen different platforms, including marketplaces like Etsy and Aftcra, hosted stores like Bigcommerce and Shopify, selling platforms like eBay and Amazon Handmade, and host-it-yourself platforms like Magento and Woocommerce. Here’s the full list:
- Amazon Handmade
- Big Cartel
- Bigcommerce
- eBay Store
- Etsy
- Shopify
- Squarespace
- Volusion
- Weebly
- Wix
- Woocommerce
- Aftcra
How to Use the eCommerce Fee Calculator
The eCommerce Fee Calculator spreadsheet is split into two sheets: the eCommerce Platform Fee Calc sheet, and the raw Platform Fee Data sheet that the calculator uses to determine the fees.
The eCommerce Platform Fee Calc sheet is the one you should spend your time in:
The only cells you need to touch are the ones highlighted in orange. The rest gets calculated automatically, so you can see both the total dollar value of the fees you’d be charged by each service, and what that works out to as a percentage of your monthly gross sales revenue.
In order to provide the most accurate data, I selected specific plans for each eCommerce platform. They are all roughly equivalent, apart from the fact that Volusion and Big Cartel cap the number of products you can list in your store (their more expensive plans allow for more products).
In order to make things simple and keep the comparisons as direct as possible, I didn’t take into account fees for Shopify Apps, Woocommerce Plugins, or premium themes on any of the platforms. Note that although Volusion often has the lowest fees, they are unique among the platforms I included in that they do have bandwidth caps for all of their plans, and will charge you extra if you go over your cap for the month.
If you want to adjust the data that the Fee Calc sheet uses, head on over to the Platform Fee Data sheet:
This is where all the action happens. The sheet is locked by default so that you don’t change or delete anything by accident, but it is not password-protected so you can unlock it and make edits if you want to compare a different plan or different payment gateway for those platforms that support them.
Please view the full version of this page to download the calculator.
How to get the eCommerce Fee Calculator
Have fun with it, and contact me if you’d like to see any other eCommerce platforms added.