Etsy Ads and Offsite Ads: how Etsy's two ad programs work and what they cost

Etsy runs two opposite pricing models in one shop. Inside Etsy, the seller sets a daily budget and pays per click. Outside Etsy, the seller sets nothing: Etsy picks the listings and channels and takes a fee only when an ad click turns into an order. The fee is 15% for shops that have never made $10,000 in any 365-day period, and those shops may opt out. Larger shops pay 12% and must take part for the life of the shop (Etsy Help, accessed 9 November 2026).

No single order pays more than $100 in Offsite Ads fees (Etsy Help). For a growing shop, Offsite Ads behave less like advertising and more like a sales commission.

The network is built for very small businesses. Etsy says most Etsy Ads revenue comes from sellers with less than $100,000 in annual GMS. It also says it spends only part of the budgets sellers have set (Etsy, 28 October 2026). In practice, a higher daily budget is permission to spend, not a promise of more traffic. Etsy's ad growth comes from better matching on existing slots, so its ranking models decide how far a budget goes.

Etsy is now a single-marketplace ad business. It sold Depop to eBay for $1.4 billion, and the deal closed on 30 July 2026 (Value Added Resource, 31 October 2026). From Q3 2026, Etsy's continuing results cover the Etsy marketplace only. Depop's ad revenue now counts toward eBay Ads.

Onsite. Etsy Ads are sponsored products by another name. They appear in Etsy search, on category pages and on Market pages, on the website and in the app. Ads only show to buyers in countries the seller ships to (Etsy Help).

Offsite. Offsite Ads run on search engines, social platforms, curated catalogues from Etsy Publishing Partners and the Google Display Network. Etsy says the display network covers more than 2 million sites, including YouTube and Gmail (Etsy Help). Etsy notes that partners may change over time. The wider pattern of marketplace ads on outside channels is covered in marketplace retail media.

New controls. In September 2026 Etsy added Ad Groups, which let a seller sort advertised listings into up to 20 groups. It also asked some sellers about extra budget unlocked only on days when sales hit a goal (Value Added Resource, 1 September 2026).

Etsy targets with what shoppers search for and how they browse and buy on Etsy. In Q3 2026 Etsy said its matching and ranking models raised click-through and conversion, and better budget pacing moved spend toward stronger opportunities (Etsy, 28 October 2026).

For Offsite Ads, Etsy shares listing data, such as titles, images and descriptions, with ad platforms, whose algorithms then pick shoppers. Sellers cannot choose which listings go offsite (Etsy Help). Sellers receive dashboards, not buyer data.

Offsite Ads use a 30-day click window. A single click can lead to several attributed orders, and each one may carry a fee. If the buyer's last click before buying was an Etsy Ad, only the Etsy Ads charge applies (Etsy Help). The Offsite Ads dashboard shows revenue, fees, clicks and visits.

Etsy Ads report spend daily in the seller's payment account. We found no click-through or conversion benchmarks published by Etsy, and no third-party audit of its ad metrics. A shop can estimate what ads add by comparing return on ad spend (ROAS) with orders from listings it chose not to advertise.

1. Start Etsy Ads in Shop Manager or the Etsy Seller app. All current listings are advertised by default; switch off the ones you do not want.
2. Set a daily budget. The minimum is $1, and new sellers start with a maximum of $25 a day, recalculated weekly (Etsy Help).
3. Choose strategies once your maximum budget reaches $25, such as "Efficient spending" or "Lower click cost", and organise listings into Ad Groups.
4. Decide on Offsite Ads. Below $10,000 in any 365 days you can opt out; above it, plan your prices around the 12% fee.
5. Review attributed orders monthly in both dashboards, and compare margins after fees.

It suits:

• small and growing shops that want ads without a sales contract;
• sellers of handmade, vintage and personalised goods with strong listing photos;
• shops that prefer to pay offsite only when an order arrives.

It suits less:

• brands seeking audience data or display campaigns, which Etsy does not sell;
• low-margin shops above $10,000 in sales, which cannot leave Offsite Ads;
• sellers who need control over which items run outside Etsy.

• Etsy Ads revenue. Etsy reports it inside services revenue together with shipping labels.
• The start date of Etsy Ads before February 2020.
• Typical cost per click and ad-attributed share of sales.
• Whether the sales-goal budget feature will launch, and on what revenue basis.

1. Etsy, Inc., Q3 2026 shareholder letter (28 October 2026). https://investors.etsy.com/_assets/_9bb344225cb404039577b245ea686f33/etsy/db/938/10106/shareholder_letter/Final_Q32026_Shareholder_Letter_.pdf
2. Etsy, Inc., "Etsy Announces Leadership Transition" (28 October 2026). https://investors.etsy.com/news-events/press-releases/detail/230/etsy-announces-leadership-transition
3. Etsy, Inc., "Etsy Updates Advertising Offerings" (26 February 2020). https://investors.etsy.com/news-events/press-releases/detail/102/etsy-updates-advertising-offerings
4. Etsy Help, "How Etsy's Offsite Ads Work" (accessed 9 November 2026). https://help.etsy.com/hc/en-us/articles/360000338367-How-Etsy-s-Offsite-Ads-Work
5. Etsy Help, "How to Set Up and Manage an Etsy Ads Campaign" (accessed 9 November 2026). https://help.etsy.com/hc/en-us/articles/360033701174-How-to-Set-Up-and-Manage-an-Etsy-Ads-Campaign?segment=selling
6. Value Added Resource, "Etsy Q3 2026 Growth Accelerates As Search Changes, Advertising Revenue Rises" (31 October 2026). https://www.valueaddedresource.net/etsy-q3-2026-earnings/
7. Value Added Resource, "Etsy Rolls Out Ad Groups, Tests Higher Budgets Tied To Sales Goals" (1 September 2026). https://www.valueaddedresource.net/etsy-ad-groups-budget-test/