Etsy vs Amazon Handmade for Digital Products: Where I'd Put My Money

The question every Etsy seller eventually asks

About eight months into selling digital downloads on Etsy, I started wondering if I should expand to Amazon Handmade. Amazon has 300+ million active customers. Etsy has about 96 million active buyers. Triple the audience. The math seemed obvious.

So I spent two weeks researching it. Read every comparison post I could find. Talked to three sellers who sell on both. Even started the Amazon Handmade application process.

I didn't end up listing there. And I'm going to explain exactly why, so you can make your own call without spending two weeks like I did.

What Amazon Handmade actually is

Amazon Handmade is Amazon's marketplace for handmade and artisan goods. It launched in 2015 to compete with Etsy. Sellers apply, get approved, and list their products alongside everything else on Amazon.

Here's the key thing most comparison posts miss: Amazon Handmade was built for physical handmade products. Jewelry, pottery, candles, leather goods. Digital downloads aren't really their focus. They technically allow them, but the infrastructure wasn't designed for it, and it shows.

On Etsy, digital downloads are a first-class product category. The upload, delivery, and buyer experience are built for digital files. On Amazon Handmade, you're working within a system designed for physical goods that happen to support digital delivery as an afterthought.

Fees: the numbers side by side

This is where most people start, so let's get it out of the way.

Etsy fees on a $20 digital product: - Listing fee: $0.20 - Transaction fee (6.5%): $1.30 - Payment processing (3% + $0.25): $0.85 - Total fees: $2.35 - You keep: $17.65 (88.3%)Amazon Handmade fees on a $20 digital product: - No listing fee - Referral fee (15%): $3.00 - No separate payment processing fee - Total fees: $3.00 - You keep: $17.00 (85.0%)

Amazon's 15% referral fee is higher than Etsy's combined fees on most price points. At $20, you keep $0.65 less per sale on Amazon. At $10, the gap narrows because Etsy's flat fees ($0.20 + $0.25) bite harder on lower prices. At $30+, Amazon gets progressively more expensive.

The fee comparison changes if Etsy hits you with the 15% offsite ads fee. If that kicks in, Etsy suddenly costs more than Amazon on that specific sale. But offsite ads only affect a portion of your sales, not all of them. We wrote about [whether those ads are worth it](/blog/are-etsy-offsite-ads-worth-it) separately.

Use our [Etsy fee calculator](/tools/etsy-fee-calculator) to run the numbers at your specific price point.

The traffic question: this is what actually matters

Fees are a rounding error compared to the traffic difference. And here's where it gets complicated.

Amazon has way more total shoppers. But Amazon shoppers aren't browsing Amazon thinking "I want a printable budget planner." They're buying phone chargers and protein powder and diapers. The subset of Amazon's 300 million customers who search for digital downloads is small.

Etsy's 96 million buyers are there specifically to buy handmade, vintage, and digital products. When someone opens Etsy, they're already in the mindset of "I want something unique or creative." That intent matters more than raw numbers.

I talked to a seller who sells printable wall art on both platforms. Her Etsy shop does about $2,200/month from that category. Her identical listings on Amazon Handmade? $180/month. Same products, same photos, same prices. The traffic just isn't there for digital products on Amazon.

That's one data point, not gospel. But I heard similar stories from two other sellers. Amazon Handmade works great for physical handmade goods. For digital downloads, Etsy's audience is just more aligned.

Search and discovery: how buyers find you

On Etsy, SEO is a real lever. Your title keywords, tags, and category selection directly affect where you show up in search results. You can learn the system, optimize your listings, and see measurable results. I covered this in detail in our [guide to selling digital downloads on Etsy](/blog/how-to-sell-digital-downloads-on-etsy).

On Amazon, search is dominated by the A9/A10 algorithm, which heavily weights sales velocity and reviews. New products with zero reviews are essentially invisible. On Etsy, new listings get a temporary freshness boost that helps you get those first views. Amazon doesn't do that for Handmade products.

To rank on Amazon, you typically need to drive external traffic to your listing to generate initial sales, then hope the algorithm picks it up. For a digital product seller starting from scratch, that's a much harder cold start problem than Etsy.

Where Amazon Handmade wins

I don't want to be unfair to Amazon. There are genuine advantages.

Brand recognition. Buyers trust Amazon. They already have their credit card saved. The checkout experience is frictionless. Some buyers who would hesitate to purchase from an Etsy shop they've never heard of will buy without thinking twice on Amazon.No listing fees. Amazon doesn't charge you to list. On Etsy, every listing costs $0.20, and renewals add up when you have 100+ products. If you have a huge catalog, Amazon's zero listing fees save real money.Prime shipping doesn't apply to digital. This is actually neutral, not an advantage. But it means you don't need to worry about Prime eligibility for digital products.International reach. Amazon operates in more countries than Etsy. If you sell in markets where Etsy has low penetration, Amazon might reach buyers you otherwise wouldn't.

Where Etsy wins (for digital products specifically)

Purpose-built digital delivery. Upload your files, set it as digital, done. The buyer gets instant access after purchase. On Amazon, the digital delivery process is clunkier and less intuitive for buyers.SEO you can control. Thirteen tags, keyword-rich titles, category selection. Etsy gives you tools to control your search visibility. Amazon's algorithm is a black box that mostly rewards sales history you don't have yet.Lower total fees at most price points. At $15-30 (the sweet spot for digital products), you keep more per sale on Etsy.Community of digital product buyers. Etsy buyers actively search for printables, templates, and planners. It's a core product category. On Amazon, it's a niche within a niche.Easier to get started. List a product on Etsy, it's live in minutes. Amazon Handmade requires an application, approval process, and more setup overhead.

My honest recommendation

If you're selling digital products, start on Etsy. It's not even close for this category. The buyer intent, the digital delivery system, and the discoverability through Etsy search all favor digital sellers.

Consider Amazon Handmade if: - You sell physical handmade products alongside digital downloads - You've maxed out your Etsy growth and want to experiment with a new channel - You have a way to drive external traffic to Amazon listings (existing audience, ads budget) - You sell in international markets where Etsy has low penetration

Don't go to Amazon Handmade because "it has more customers." More customers doesn't help if they're not looking for what you sell.

If you're thinking about expanding to a second platform, Gumroad is a better bet for digital products than Amazon Handmade. You bring your own traffic, but you keep more per sale and have full control over your storefront. We compared [Gumroad vs Etsy in detail](/blog/gumroad-vs-etsy-which-platform-earns-you-more) if you want the full breakdown.

For a broader look at all your platform options, check our [best platform for digital products](/blog/best-platform-for-digital-products-2026) comparison. And if you want to see how fees compare at your exact price point across Etsy, Gumroad, and Shopify, the [platform comparison calculator](/tools/platform-comparison-calculator) does the math for you.

The bottom line

I stayed on Etsy for digital products. Not because it's perfect, but because it's where digital product buyers are. Amazon Handmade is a great platform for the right seller. For printables, templates, and digital downloads? Etsy wins today. That could change. Amazon has the resources to improve their digital product experience anytime they want. But right now, if you're picking one platform for digital products, pick Etsy. If you're picking two, pick Etsy and Gumroad. Amazon Handmade is platform three at best.