8 Best Etsy Alternatives
Meaghan has provided content and guidance for indie retailers as the editor for a number of retail publications and a speaker at trade shows. She is Fit Small Business’s authority on retail and ecommerce.
Agatha Aviso is a writer of the Reviews Section at Fit Small Business, focusing on order fulfillment and eCommerce platforms. Agatha has a decade’s worth of experience writing online content for small businesses and marketing industries. She also served as a content strategist and digital marketing manager for many entrepreneurs.
This article is part of a larger series on Retail Management.
With Etsy hiking its transaction fees to 6.5% (a 30% increase) in February 2022, many sellers are looking for alternatives. When considering Etsy alternatives, there are three main options to keep in mind: creating a standalone website and online store, selling via a different marketplace, or, if you are a creative or creator with a following, promoting your products through a content creation/crowdfunding platform.
If you’re serious about growing your online business, opening an online store is your best option because it gives you the most flexibility and complete control over your data. The best online store Etsy alternatives are:
- Shopify: Best overall online store builder
- Big Cartel: Best for artists and creatives selling a limited number of products
- Squarespace: Best for beautiful templates and blogging tools
- IndieMade: Best standalone online store that syncs with Etsy
Marketplaces are ideal for sellers who want a boost in driving traffic to their products. The best marketplaces that serve as Etsy alternatives are:
- Bonanza: Best for Etsy sellers who want to reach a new audience
- Amazon Handmade: Best for sellers who want to use an automated fulfillment service
Finally, if you have a TikTok, Twitch, or other social media following and need a content creation platform to sell products or merchandise, your best Etsy alternatives are:
- Patreon: Best for content creators with marketing know-how
- Ko-fi: Best for creators who offer products and subscriptions
Top Etsy Alternatives Compared
Monthly Fees | Transaction Fees | Listing Fees | Standalone Website | Multichannel Selling | Marketing Tools | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Free | 6.5% from each sale (item price + shipping fee) | 20 cents per listing | ✕ | ✓ | ✓ | |
Starts at $39 | None, if using Shopify Payments | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | |
Free; paid tier starts at $9.99 | None | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | |
Starts at $26 | None | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | |
Starts at $4.95 | None | ✓ | ✓ | ✕ | ✓ | |
Free | 50 cents + 3.5% of item price | ✓ | ✕ | ✓ | ✓ | |
Free | 15% | ✓ | ✕ | ✓ | ✓ | |
Free | 5%–12% of monthly Patreon income | ✓ | ✕ | ✕ | ✕ | |
Free; paid tier $4.50, paid annually | 5% | ✓ | ✕ | ✕ | ✕ |
Even with Etsy’s fee hikes, it is still one of the best platforms for indie sellers because of the sheer number of shoppers that use it and how easy it is to set up and maintain. If you still think Etsy might be your best choice, read our guide on how to sell on Etsy and follow our selling tips to leverage your Etsy store.
Shopify: Best for Makers Ready to Grow Their Online Business
What We Like
- Unlimited products
- Extremely scalable
- Multichannel capabilities
What's Missing
- Limited exposure; need marketing
- No free plan but does offer free trial
- Add-ons (apps or integrations) can get expensive
Where Shopify Beats Etsy
- No listing fees and lower transaction fees
- Embeddable Buy Now buttons
- Built-in point-of-sale (POS) app
- Powerful marketing features, such as abandoned cart saver, email marketing, and SEO tools
- Learn more in our Shopify vs Etsy comparison
Shopify is our top pick for the best ecommerce platform and with good reason. It is easy to set up and affordable for the creative maker who wants to jump-start their business and provides powerful selling tools to help them scale their online store.
Unlike Etsy, Shopify doesn’t have the advantage of tapping into a marketplace of customers who are ready to shop. Since Shopify doesn’t have the traffic and customer base Etsy provides, one needs to start from scratch and market an online store. Fortunately, Shopify has plenty of free built-in tools to help market one’s business.
Shopify Pricing
Since our Last Update: Shopify Rate Increase
January 24, 2023 Shopify announced a price increase for its software subscriptions.
This new pricing is effective immediately for new sellers. Current Shopify subscribers can lock in their current rates by opting for an annual subscription before the new pricing takes effect for current sellers on April 23, 2023.
Shopify doesn’t have a free plan, but offers a a free trial, no credit card required. It also does not charge listing fees:
- Paid plans: Starts at $39 a month
- Transaction fees: None, if using Shopify Payments
- Payment processing fees: 2.9% plus 30 cents
You can read more about Shopify fees in our ultimate guide on Shopify pricing plans.
Shopify Features
Shopify is a better fit than Etsy for small businesses that want a standalone store, sell products online and in person, and have serious plans to grow their online store. Look at some of its scalable and robust ecommerce features below:
- Intuitive website builder with mobile-responsive website templates
- Multichannel selling capabilities (sell on eBay, Facebook, Instagram, and many others simultaneously)
- Inventory management tools for importing items, managing returns, and viewing basic inventory reports (advanced tools require an upgrade from the basic plan)
- Shopify App Store (thousands of integrations to third-party providers)
- Built-in marketing features like SEO tools, abandoned cart recovery, built-in email marketing tool
- Phone, email, and live chat support are available 24/7
Are you interested in a more in-depth review of Shopify’s features? Read our full Shopify review, learn how to set up a Shopify store using our guide.
Big Cartel: Best for Creatives Selling Limited Products
What We Like
- Low monthly fees
- Stylish website templates
- Straightforward platform
What's Missing
- Lacks marketing tools
- Limited integrations and payment providers
- Not scalable
Where Big Cartel Beats Etsy
- No transaction or listing fees (although payment processing fees will still apply)
- Standalone online store, even on a free plan
- Connect a custom domain on a free plan
- Stylish website themes suited for creatives wanting to highlight their products
Big Cartel is one of our top picks for the best free ecommerce website builder because of its stylish website templates and the ability to connect a custom domain on a free plan. Big Cartel specially designed its platform with artists in mind, knowing it would compete with Etsy as the platform of choice for creative makers.
Big Cartel has the edge over Etsy with its zero listing and transaction fees and fully customizable website, complete with multiple pages and a contact form—all on a free plan. While its free plan has a five-product limit and lacks marketing features, you can easily upgrade to unlock more products at a low monthly fee ($9.99) and refer to a strong artist community to help you figure out how to market your business.
We recommend Big Cartel for artists that sell a limited number of products at a time or run a seasonal business. You can use its free plan easily with zero to little overhead costs.
Big Cartel Pricing
Big Cartel offers a free plan to sell up to five products, create a standalone website (with multiple pages, a contact form, and a store), and use a custom domain. Paid plans start at $9.99 a month.
- Software fees:
- Gold ($0): Sell up to five products
- Platinum ($9.99): Sell up to 50 products
- Diamond ($19.99): Sell up to 500 products
- Transaction fees: None
- Payment processing fees: Stripe: 2.9% plus 30 cents; PayPal: 3.49% plus 49 cents
Big Cartel Features
Big Cartel lets you quickly set up products, process payments, and ship sold items. It provides website templates that are stylish and modern—an excellent fit for creatives and artists. Big Cartel’s features are straightforward and include the following:
- Website builder with a “what you see is what you get” (WYSIWYG) editor and free stylish website themes
- Product details setup, such as description, variants, category, pricing, shipping, and tax fees
- Inventory and shipment tracking
- Discounts and promos
- Integrations with Mailchimp, Instagram, and Zapier
- Email support is available from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Eastern time, including weekends
Read our review to learn more about Big Cartel’s features. Follow our step-by-step guide to setting up a Big Cartel store.
Squarespace: Best for Templates & Blogging
What We Like
- Sell on Instagram and Facebook
- Product and inventory management tools
- Stellar blogging tools
What's Missing
- Transaction fees without an upgrade
- Limited payment options
- Ecommerce features are only available on higher plans
Where Squarespace Beats Etsy
- Standalone website with drag-and-drop site builder
- Multichannel selling
- Sell services along with physical and digital goods
- Several blogging features similar to WordPress
Squarespace is another excellent ecommerce platform alternative for artisans. It provides a modern website builder—our favorite website builder for small businesses—with a variety of templates and drag-and-drop editor, making it ideal for beginners and those without technical knowledge in building a website.
What’s great about Squarespace is that it makes migrating from Etsy quick and easy, allowing you to keep your products and product URLs—making it one of the more accessible alternatives to Etsy if you’re looking to transfer platforms.
If you are a seller that relies on creating content to promote your products, you can take advantage of Squarespace’s powerful blogging tools and market your products with its built-in social media tools.
Squarespace Pricing
Squarespace doesn’t offer a free plan, but its entry-level ecommerce plan is generally less expensive than most ecommerce platforms. Its monthly plans with ecommerce capabilities have the following fees:
- Business ($26): Entry-level plan for ecommerce, unlimited products (physical and digital), 3% fee on transactions on top of payment processing fees
- Basic Commerce ($35): Same features as Business but without the extra 3% transaction fee, more advanced analytics
- Advanced Commerce ($54): Same features as Basic Commerce plus a United States Postal Service (USPS) shipping calculator, abandoned cart recovery, and the ability to sell subscriptions
Squarespace Features
Similar to Big Cartel, one of Squarespace’s standout features is the variety of aesthetically designed website templates available for you to use. You cannot go wrong with any of its website themes. Other noteworthy Squarespace features include:
- Website builder, which includes templates from portfolios to blogs
- Create variants for products, set up low stock alerts, set up product forms
- Multichannel selling on Facebook and Instagram
- Abandoned cart recovery, unlocked at the Advanced Commerce plan
- Commerce plan ($35 per month) provides a purchase funnel report—the percentage of visitors who view products, add them to their cart, and make purchases
- Email support is 24/7 and live chat support is available on weekdays, from 4 a.m. to 8 p.m. Eastern time
Do you want to know more about Squarespace? Read more in our in-depth Squarespace review and follow our guide on setting up a Squarespace ecommerce store.
IndieMade: Best Standalone Store for Syncing With Etsy
What We Like
- Low monthly fees
- Additional pages for standalone website
- 30-day free trial
What's Missing
- No built-in audience
- No product listing customization on lower-level plans
- Limited products unless on the highest paid plan
Where IndieMade Beats Etsy
- No transaction or listing fees
- Provides a standalone website
- Additional features for adding a blog, calendar of events, image galleries, and pages such as announcements
- Built-in inventory management and marketing features
IndieMade is a great Etsy alternative if you prefer a standalone website but have budget restraints and limited technical know-how on setting up a fully functional online store. It also provides an Etsy integration, so its 30-day free trial lets you test things out first without exerting too much effort by migrating product listings. Alternatively, its two-way Etsy integration is a great option if you want to explore alternatives without closing your Etsy shop.
IndieMade’s platform is straightforward, making it easy to update your product listings with video and image galleries. In addition to building an ecommerce store, you can add a blog, calendar of events, image galleries, and other pages.
Like many Etsy alternatives, IndieMade does not have a built-in marketplace, so you can’t get the traffic that Etsy offers. However, its monthly fees are the lowest among Etsy’s standalone store alternatives, making it an excellent option for creative artists on a limited budget who want their own store without Etsy’s branding.
Did you know?
Victorian Style Treasures maximizes IndieMade’s provision for additional pages, setting up pages for its store policies, contact form, and product categories. If you click on any of its product pages, you can see how you can add multiple pages and have a related products section at the bottom.
IndieMade Pricing
IndieMade provides a free 30-day trial, no credit card required. Paid monthly plans come in four tiers and include the ability to use a custom domain and a build a standalone online store:
- Basic ($4.95): Sell up to 10 products with up to five images per product, 10 pages, and 10 galleries
- Standard ($12.95): Sell up to 250 products with up to 10 images per product, and unlimited pages and galleries
- Pro ($14.95): Sell up to 500 products with up to 20 images per product, and unlimited pages and galleries
- Plus ($19.95): Sell unlimited products with unlimited images, and unlimited pages and galleries
IndieMade Features
All IndieMade features are included in every plan, including the Etsy integration. Features include:
- Website themes
- Product options, variations, and attributes
- Payment processing through PayPal, Stripe, and Square
- Coupons and discounts
- Pages, blogs, image galleries
- Digital downloads
- Etsy integration
Bonanza: Best for Etsy Sellers Who Want to Reach a New Audience
What We Like
- No listing fees
- Lower transaction fees than Etsy
- Automated product listings on Google Shopping and eBay
What's Missing
- Not limited to handmade items
- Complicated fees
- Smaller audience than Etsy
Where Bonanza Beats Etsy
- No listing fees
- Transaction fees based on item price alone and not item price + shipping
- Multiple sales channels
- Automated product listings on other sales channels
- Focused advertising
- Create freebies to offer customers
If you want an Etsy alternative that works similarly, Bonanza is for you. It is an online marketplace with the same demographic as Etsy, albeit a smaller audience. However, Bonanza gives you the best of both worlds: You can sell on Bonanza for marketplace exposure and build your online store. Similar to Etsy, there is no monthly fee to sell on Bonanza, but transaction fees are involved.
Bonanza has lower transaction fees than Etsy and better marketing tools such as cart abandonment savers, seller-first customer service, and buyer-to-seller communication. Note, however, that on Etsy, shoppers can message sellers to negotiate price, but it’s not the norm on that platform. On Bonanza, price negotiations are normal and even expected. It is a good idea to keep this in mind when pricing products so you can have room to accept shoppers’ offers and let them feel like they’re getting a deal.
Bonanza Pricing
Bonanza is transparent about its fees and doesn’t charge anything until you make a sale. You only get charged against the Final Offer Value (FOV): “The amount that the buyer paid to you for the item sold, plus any portion of the shipping fee that exceeds $10.”
- Product Listing Fees: $0
- Transaction Fees: 50 cents, plus 3.5% of the purchase price
- Advertising Fees: Paid from your commission on top of transaction fees and can range between 9% and 30% of product sales
- Webstore Builder (optional): $25 per month to create a fully functional online store
Bonanza Features
Bonanza works like Etsy, as it also provides a built-in audience for its sellers. Your Bonanza store is referred to as your Bonanza “booth.” It includes:
- Freebies, discounts, bundle discounts
- Website builder for a branded website (extra monthly fee)
- Built-in paid advertising on Google Shopping
- Etsy integration
- Multiple sales channels
Amazon Handmade: Best for Sellers Who Want To Use an Automated Fulfillment Service
What We Like
- Amazon-fulfilled shipping (Fulfillment by Amazon or FBA)
- Amazon analytics
- No monthly fees
What's Missing
- Strict customer data policies
- Expensive fees
- Lengthy application process for sellers
Where Amazon Handmade Beats Etsy
- No product listing expiration dates
- Automated fulfillment service through Amazon FBA
- More in-depth analytics
- Amazon-sponsored ads
Amazon Handmade is the part of retail giant Amazon dedicated to crafts and handmade products. Amazon is the most visited online marketplace—averaging 2 billion monthly visits—in the US. If you are looking to tap into Amazon’s buyer reach, apply as a seller for Amazon Handmade.
Getting approved as a seller allows you to list your products, manage orders, and automate fulfillment through Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA) within a central dashboard. Fees are waived for Amazon Handmade sellers, so you only pay for referral fees. However, Amazon Handmade charges more than Etsy on this—15% compared to 6.5%.
Amazon Handmade Pricing
You must have a Professional selling account to sell on Amazon Handmade, which has a monthly fee of $39.99. However, once your application to sell is approved, your selling fee is waived after your first month, saving $480 a year in fees. This discount is exclusive to sellers approved for Handmade.
There are no product listing fees, aside from a 15% referral fee on sales. Amazon Handmade fees are more expensive than Etsy’s, unless products are priced around $5 or less. Learn more about Amazon seller fees.
Amazon Handmade Features
Selling on Amazon Handmade unlocks the following benefits:
- Insightful analytics
- Shipping through FBA
- Access to Amazon’s stellar customer service (for sellers and buyers)
- Buyer reach
Learn how to sell on Amazon using our step-by-step guide.
Patreon: Best for Content Creators With Marketing Know-how
What We Like
- Competitive fees
- Paid per content produced/created
- Highly customizable campaigns
What's Missing
- Lacks built-in promotional tools
- Low discoverability, even with hashtags and keywords inside the platform
- Unpleasant user reviews
Where Patreon Beats Etsy
- No listing fees
- Creator pages for workshops
- Membership subscriptions available
Although not considered an online marketplace or an ecommerce platform, Patreon has become increasingly popular as an Etsy alternative, especially for content creators. Primarily a crowdfunding platform, Patreon operates on a rewards-based technique, with subscribers (called patrons) making recurring payments on an ongoing basis to access a creator’s content.
Patreon became popular with Etsy sellers because of its membership tiers. Etsy sellers usually have a Patreon page as an exclusive membership site, with monthly content in how-to videos, project inspiration examples, and bonus products.
What Patreon lacks are promotional tools and a built-in audience. You cannot sell one-time products since you technically do not have a store. However, if you have an established buyer following, know how to market your products, and can produce a steady stream of content—digital, educational, and physical products—Patreon can be a beneficial platform for you.
Patreon Pricing
Patreon is entirely free. It only deducts platform fees depending on your subscribed plan. Features are also available depending on your tier, with more functionalities unlocked in higher plans.
- Lite: 5% of the monthly income you earn on Patreon
- Pro: 8% of the monthly income you earn on Patreon
- Premium: 12% of the monthly income you earn on Patreon
Payment processing fees also apply.
- Standard rate: 2.9% plus 30 cents for donations over $3
- Micropayment rate: 5% plus 10 cents for donations of $3 or less
Patreon Features
Patreon has the following features:
- Hosted creator page
- Communication tools
- Patreon workshops
- Creator-led workshops
- Membership tiers
- App integrations
- Analytics
- Special Offers promo tool
- Dedicated Partner Manager
- Merch for membership
- Team accounts
Ko-fi: Best for Artists & Creators Offering Subscriptions & Product Sales
What We Like
- Can provide a paywall for exclusive content
- Low platform fees
- Unlimited products
What's Missing
- No standalone store
- Lacks multichannel selling features
- No built-in marketing tools
Where Ko-fi Beats Etsy
- No listing fees
- Accepts donations or tips with zero platform fees
- Sell membership subscriptions and products
Ko-fi is a popular Etsy alternative because it combines the benefits of selling on Etsy and keeping a Patreon exclusive membership with lesser fees. Ko‑fi lets you accept donations, set up memberships, sell products, and accept commissions—all in one place. With Ko-fi, you are saved from the hassle of maintaining different platforms for your buyers.
Ko-fi Pricing
Ko-fi doesn’t have platform fees for any donations you receive. A 5% transaction fee applies to any commission, membership, or shop sale. You also can subscribe to Ko-fi Gold for $4.50 a month (paid annually).
Ko-fi Features
One unique feature of Ko-fi is helping you let buyers pay what they want. You can set a minimum price or leave it entirely open for buyers to set the amount they want to pay. Other noteworthy features include:
- 200GB total storage
- Unlimited number of products
- Direct messages
- Gallery, blog posts, and crowdfund creative expenses
- Memberships (offer exclusive content through a paywall)
- Ability to offer commissions or take custom requests
- Set up a tip jar
- Create crowdfunding campaigns
- Integrations (Discord, Zapier, and more)
TIP: Do you have a large following on your social media accounts? You can directly sell on your social channels by following our guides below.
- How to sell on Facebook and Facebook Marketplace
- How to sell on Instagram
- How to sell on Pinterest
- How to sell on TikTok
Bottom Line
When considering an Etsy alternative, decide which features you prioritize and go with a platform that gives you just that. If Etsy’s marketplace and built-in customer base are crucial to your business, go with a marketplace alternative, such as Bonanza, Ko-fi, Patreon, and Amazon Handmade. If you have serious plans to grow your online business, setting up an online store is the way to go. We recommend Shopify because of its affordability and scalability. You can sign up for a 14-day free trial to see how it works and decide if it’s a good fit for your business.
