Should I Sell on Etsy or My Own Website (The Answer Changes Over Time)

The answer depends on one thing: where your buyers come from

If your buyers find you through Etsy search, stay on Etsy. You're paying 12-13% in fees for marketplace traffic that you'd spend even more to generate yourself.

If your buyers come from your email list, blog, or social media, your own website keeps more per sale. You're paying a subscription fee instead of per-sale fees to a marketplace you don't need.

Most sellers start in the first situation and gradually shift to the second. The right move isn't "Etsy or own website." It's "Etsy first, own website later, both for a while."

The revenue stages

$0-500/month: Etsy only.

You have no audience, no email list, no traffic sources. Your own website would sit empty. Etsy's 96 million active buyers and search engine are doing the work of finding customers for you. Pay the 12-13% fees and focus on creating products and learning what sells.

Don't even think about your own website at this stage. Every hour spent setting up Shopify or WooCommerce is an hour not spent making your next product for Etsy.

$500-2,000/month: Etsy + start collecting emails.

You have sales, reviews, and some repeat customers. Start collecting email addresses (Etsy allows this through the "favorited your shop" feature and through thank-you messages with newsletter signup links). Build your list. You'll need it later.

Consider adding Gumroad as a low-cost second channel for your email subscribers. No monthly fee, just 10% per sale. This is your first step toward owning customer relationships.

$2,000-5,000/month: Etsy + own website (or Gumroad).

At this volume, Etsy fees are $240-650/month. Your email list is growing. Repeat customers are a real percentage of revenue. This is when your own website starts making financial sense.

Options: Shopify ($39/month + low transaction fees) or WooCommerce (hosting costs but no subscription). We compared both in [Shopify vs WooCommerce for digital products](/blog/shopify-vs-woocommerce-digital-products).

Run both Etsy and your own site. Etsy stays as your discovery channel. Your website handles repeat customers and email-driven sales at better margins.

$5,000+/month: Both, with your website as primary.

At this level, you have enough data, customers, and traffic to run a serious branded store. Etsy becomes one channel among several, not your only channel. The fee savings of shifting sales from Etsy (12-13%) to your own site (3-4% processing) are hundreds of dollars per month.

Some sellers at this level consider leaving Etsy entirely. I wouldn't recommend it. Etsy still brings in new customers you wouldn't find otherwise. But it shifts from being your business to being one marketing channel within your business.

The cost comparison at $2,000/month revenue

Selling $2,000/month of $20 digital products (100 sales):

Etsy only: $235 in fees. You keep $1,765. Gumroad only: $200 in fees. You keep $1,800. Shopify only: $127 total ($39 sub + $88 processing). You keep $1,873. Etsy + Shopify (50/50 split): $181 total. You keep $1,819.

The Etsy + Shopify split saves $54/month vs Etsy alone. The question is whether the time spent running two platforms is worth $54/month. At $2,000/month, it's marginal. At $5,000/month, the savings triple and it's clearly worth it.

What "your own website" actually means for digital sellers

You don't need a fancy custom website. You need:

1. A domain name ($12/year) 2. A platform that handles checkout and digital delivery (Shopify, WooCommerce, or even Gumroad with a custom domain) 3. A few product pages 4. A way to collect emails 5. A blog (optional but good for SEO long-term)

The whole setup takes a weekend on Shopify. Longer on WooCommerce if you want customization. The ongoing maintenance is minimal for digital products since you're not managing inventory or shipping.

The biggest mistake

The biggest mistake I see: sellers moving to their own website too early and abandoning Etsy. They leave behind free marketplace traffic because they're frustrated with fees.

Etsy's fees are the cost of customer acquisition. Your own website's "fees" are the time and money spent on marketing to get those same customers. For most sellers under $5,000/month, Etsy's method is cheaper.

Use both. Let Etsy introduce you to new customers. Let your own website serve the customers who already know and trust you.

For the full fee comparison at your volume, use our [platform comparison calculator](/tools/platform-comparison-calculator). For help deciding between Shopify and alternatives, see [Shopify vs WooCommerce](/blog/shopify-vs-woocommerce-digital-products) and [is Shopify worth it](/blog/is-shopify-worth-it-digital-products). And for the complete picture on Etsy's costs, our [Etsy fees breakdown](/blog/etsy-fees-explained-what-you-actually-keep) covers every fee type.