Updated 1 October 2026 · Pludor team · 3 sources
Etsy is a marketplace where millions of shoppers already search for handmade and vintage goods; Pludor is your own free store with checkout, bookings and AI tools, where you keep the customer. On fees they cost about the same at most sales levels, so the real choice is between Etsy's ready-made buyers and owning your customer list; many makers use both. Pludor also includes a website, bookings and email marketing that Etsy sellers usually pay for separately (see the table).
What each one is and how each charges, from their published pricing.
| Etsy | Pludor | |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | A marketplace: buyers search across many sellers | Your own store at pludor.com/your-name, plus a Pludor marketplace |
| Monthly cost | $0 | $0 (optional plans $9, $29, $79 lower the sales fee) (pricing) |
| Fees per sale | $0.20 listing fee per item, 6.5% transaction fee including shipping, 3% + 25¢ processing in the US (Etsy) | 4.99% + 90¢ per order, plus Stripe card processing of 2.9% + 30¢ (pricing, Stripe) |
| Advertising | Optional ads; a 15% fee on sales from Offsite Ads (Etsy) | No ad fee on your own traffic |
| Customer relationship | Etsy controls messaging and customer data | You own the customer list and can export it |
| Beyond products | Physical and digital products | Products, downloads, bookings, courses, subscriptions, AI answering |
Fees checked 1 October 2026.
Many sellers pay for several tools to cover these jobs. Pludor includes them in one free store, with free amounts every month and pay-as-you-go past them (pricing).
| Job | Usual separate tool | On Pludor |
|---|---|---|
| Online store and checkout | Shopify Basic, $39 a month billed monthly (Shopify) | Included, $0 a month, no item limit |
| Website | Wix Core, $29.77 a month (Wix) | Included: store page and an AI-built website |
| Email marketing | Mailchimp Essentials, from $13 a month (Mailchimp) | Included; 500 marketing emails free each month |
| Bookings and deposits | Calendly Standard, $10 per seat a month billed yearly (Calendly) | Included; 30 bookings free each month, then pay as you go |
Monthly subscriptions in this table add up to about $91.77 a month before any per-sale fees; on Pludor the same jobs start at $0 a month plus 4.99% + 90¢ per paid order and card processing (pricing). Prices checked 1 October 2026 on each tool's pricing page.
Choose by where your buyers come from. If people find you by searching a marketplace, Etsy brings them. If they come from your social media, word of mouth or repeat customers, your own store avoids marketplace fees on sales you brought in yourself.
Add the listing fee, the 6.5% transaction fee on the total including shipping, and payment processing (Etsy).
Keep Etsy for discovery and send your own audience to your own store.
Export your listings, recreate them in your store, and keep Etsy running until your store makes steady sales.
Calculate both at your real monthly sales and number of orders; fixed per-order fees matter more for cheap items.
Bring your own traffic from social media, email, local events and repeat customers.
Own a channel you control: your store, your email list and your social following.
It depends on order size. On a $25 average order, total fees are close; for very cheap items Etsy can be cheaper because Pludor charges a fixed 90¢ per order (Pludor pricing, Etsy fees). See the worked numbers below.
Pludor has a marketplace and shoppable video feed, but it is much smaller than Etsy. Most Pludor sellers bring their own traffic.
Yes. Both deliver downloads after payment.
Yes. Many sellers use both: Etsy for discovery, their own store for their audience and repeat buyers.
On Etsy, Etsy owns the marketplace relationship. On your own Pludor store you own the customer list.
Yes. The 6.5% transaction fee is charged on the sale price including the shipping price you set (Etsy).
With a $25 average order: at $300 a month (12 orders), Etsy fees come to about $33.90 and Pludor Free about $38.07. At $1,000 (40 orders), Etsy is about $113 and Pludor about $126 on Free or Starter. At $5,000 (200 orders), Etsy is about $565 and Pludor about $564 on Growth or Scale. Figures use the published rates above (Etsy, Pludor, Stripe).
Etsy is good at finding first-time buyers. Turn them into repeat customers through packaging inserts, follow-up and your own store.
Set prices that leave a margin on your most expensive channel, so every sale is profitable wherever it happens.
If a large share of sales comes from Offsite Ads, your effective fee rises by 15% on those orders (Etsy). Track it monthly.
Sellers with a store, an email list and a marketplace are less exposed to one platform's algorithm or policy changes.
AI helps on both: better listings for Etsy search and less admin for your own store.
Check marketplace rules on AI-made content and photos, and keep product photos true to the real item.
Pludor is a free store where you sell products, downloads, bookings and courses from one link, with AI tools for photos, listings and answering customers. It suits makers who want their own store alongside, or instead of, a marketplace.
Free to start - no card, no item limit. Pay only for what you use past the monthly free amounts.
Open my free storeChecked 1 October 2026. Fees and rules change; follow the links for the latest.