Tool for Etsy Sellers: Fee calculator spreadsheet

Oct 2 note: I have updated the file! Version 2.0 now available.

One thing a lot of Etsy sellers lose track of is just how much of their item price is paid out in fees, both to Etsy and to Paypal. Currently it costs 20 cents to list an item, then Etsy takes 3.5% of the price when the item sells. If your buyer pays with paypal (which the vast majority do), then Paypal takes a 30 cent fee and 2.9% of the selling price.

If you don't track this information, I can pretty much guarentee you you are underestimating the amount that Etsy and Paypal are taking from your sales.

Now, there's a lovely fee calculator here. The problem, however, is you can't save the information, and I like to be able to pull up that info for all my items and have it at my fingertips. I did a bit of searching, but couldn't find an existing spreadsheet that did what I wanted, so I created this one. Feel free to download it and use it yourself. Tweak it however you want! Get the file here.

The first page is the calculator, with some sample data.

The coloured columns are locked and can't be edited. Enter the name of your item, your selling price, and, if you know them, your materials/overhead costs and the number of minutes it takes you to make the item (must be entered in minutes). The rest of the columns will update automatically so you can see how much you will lose in fees, your net profit taking into account materials costs, and your estimated hourly earnings.

If you want to alter the spreadsheet, the password to unlock it is 'etsy'. I have it locked so that people who aren't familiar with Excel won't accidentally muck up the formulas.

Should Etsy or Paypal change their fees, go to the second page of the spreadsheet. You can update the number there, and the first page will automatically adjust.


If you try it out, please let me know what you think! And especially let me know if you find any errors! Note I have it saved in whatever version of Excel it is that I have here (2003? I'm not even sure). Let me know if it doesn't work for you and I'll see about uploading some different versions.

Get the file here.

Edit: I just realized that while I know Etsy doesn't take a percentage of the shipping cost, I'm not sure about paypal. I assumed when I wrote this spreadsheet that you are charging actual shipping and that paypal doesn't take a cut of the shipping fee. Therefore I left shipping off the spreadsheet entirely. I will adjust the spreadsheet soon if this is incorrect.

Edit (Oct. 2): Paypal does in fact take a percentage of your shipping fees, so I have updated the file to include columns for shipping charged, actual postage, and shipping materials costs, and all the formulas have been adjusted to reflect that change. Let me know if you find any errors!