Etsy Offsite Ads Explained: The Hidden 15% Fee (And How to Opt Out)

I remember the first time I saw it on my Etsy statement. A $45 sale, but my deposit was way less than expected. I scrolled through the fee breakdown and there it was: "Offsite Ads Fee - $6.75."

Excuse me, what?

I didn't sign up for any ads. I didn't click any "promote my stuff" button. But there it was, taking 15% of my sale on top of Etsy's regular fees.

If you're new to Etsy—or if you've been selling for a while and just noticed this charge—let me explain what's going on, because this one catches a lot of sellers off guard.

What Are Etsy Offsite Ads?

Etsy runs ads for your products on Google, Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, and Bing. They pick which listings to advertise (you don't get to choose), and they show those ads to potential buyers across the internet.

When someone clicks one of those ads and buys your item within 30 days, you pay a fee.

Not when they click. When they buy. So in theory, you're only paying for ads that actually convert to sales.

Sounds reasonable, right? Here's where it gets sticky.

The Fee Is 12% or 15% (On Top of Everything Else)

Made less than $10,000 on Etsy in the last year? You pay 15% if a sale comes from an offsite ad.
Made $10,000 or more? You pay 12%.

And this is on top of Etsy's regular fees:

6.5% transaction fee
3% + $0.25 payment processing
$0.20 listing fee

So a sale that comes through an offsite ad could cost you over 25% in total fees.

Let that sink in for a second.

Can You Opt Out?

This is the part that really frustrates people.

If you made less than $10,000 in the last 12 months: Yes, you can opt out. Go to Shop Manager → Marketing → Offsite Ads → Turn it off.

If you made $10,000 or more: No. You're locked in. Mandatory participation, no escape hatch, forever. Etsy's reasoning is that bigger shops benefit more from their advertising reach. Sellers' reasoning is... less charitable.

If you're approaching that $10,000 threshold and you're on the fence about offsite ads, decide before you cross it. Once you're over, there's no going back.

How Often Do Offsite Ad Sales Actually Happen?

This varies wildly by shop, but in my experience, somewhere between 5-15% of my sales come through offsite ads. Some months it's zero. Some months it's several.

The frustrating part is you can't predict it. You'll have a random Tuesday where three sales come in, and two of them have the offsite ad fee attached. There's no way to know in advance which sales will trigger it.

The Real Cost: An Example

Let's say you sell a handmade item for $50 with $5 shipping. Here's what a regular Etsy sale looks like vs. an offsite ad sale:

Regular Etsy Sale:

Fee	Amount
Listing fee	$0.20
Transaction fee (6.5%)	$3.58
Payment processing (3% + $0.25)	$1.90
Total fees	$5.68
You keep	$49.32

That's about 10.3% in fees. Not great, but manageable.

Offsite Ad Sale (under $10k seller):

Fee	Amount
Listing fee	$0.20
Transaction fee (6.5%)	$3.58
Payment processing (3% + $0.25)	$1.90
Offsite ads fee (15%)	$8.25
Total fees	$13.93
You keep	$41.07

That's 25.3% in fees. A quarter of your sale, gone.

Is It Worth It?

Honestly? It depends on your margins and your perspective.

The case for offsite ads:

You're only paying when you make a sale (no upfront ad costs)
Etsy's advertising reaches people you'd never reach on your own
Some sellers report offsite ads bringing in sales they wouldn't have gotten otherwise
The buyer might not have found your shop without that ad

The case against offsite ads:

15% is steep, especially on lower-margin items
You have no control over which products get advertised
That buyer might have found you through Etsy search anyway (you'll never know)
Once you hit $10k, you can't opt out even if you hate it

My take: if your profit margins are healthy (40%+), offsite ads are annoying but survivable. If you're working with thin margins, that extra 15% can turn a profitable sale into a break-even or loss.

How to Check If You're Enrolled

Go to Shop Manager
Click Marketing
Click Offsite Ads

You'll see your current status and, if you're eligible, the option to turn it off.

While you're there, you can also see which of your sales came from offsite ads. It's illuminating—and sometimes depressing—to see how much you've paid in these fees over time.

Pricing Strategy: Bake It In

Here's my approach: I assume some percentage of my sales will come through offsite ads, and I price accordingly.

If I want to net $40 on an item, I don't price it at $50. I price it at $55-60, knowing that some sales will have that extra 15% bite taken out.

Is it annoying? Yes. But it's better than being surprised every time it happens.

The Bottom Line

Etsy Offsite Ads aren't a scam—they're a real advertising service that sometimes brings in sales you wouldn't have gotten otherwise. But 15% on top of Etsy's already-not-cheap fees is a lot, and the mandatory participation for larger sellers rubs a lot of people the wrong way.

If you're under $10k and the math doesn't work for your margins, opt out. If you're over $10k, factor it into your pricing and try not to think about it too hard.

Want to see exactly how offsite ads affect your Etsy profits? Our Etsy fee calculator includes an offsite ads toggle so you can compare your take-home with and without that extra 15%.

Have you had a different experience with offsite ads? Seen a huge chunk of your sales come from them, or barely any? I'm genuinely curious—drop me a line.