Etsy vs Squarespace: Marketplace Shop or Your Own Website for Handmade and Vintage
For makers and vintage sellers choosing between Etsy's buyers and a Squarespace site of their own: what each charges on a sale, who finds you, and how to run both from one stock list.
7 days for £1, then from £9/month.
- Etsy brings buyers who are already searching for handmade and vintage. In the UK it charges £0.15 to list, a 6.5% transaction fee, and 4% plus £0.20 for payment processing.
- Squarespace gives you a website under your own name. On the Basic plan it takes a 2% transaction fee on online store sales, and higher plans take none.
- Etsy is where new customers find you. A Squarespace site is where returning customers, newsletter readers and Instagram followers buy without Etsy’s cut.
- FLUF runs both from one stock list. It sees Etsy sales and drops the Squarespace stock; a Squarespace order you mark sold in FLUF, which then ends the Etsy listing.
Which one is for you
Ask yourself where your next ten customers will come from. If you do not know them yet, they are most likely on Etsy, typing “personalised dog collar” or “70s wool coat” into its search bar. If they already follow you, have bought before, or found you at a craft fair, they can buy from your own site and you keep more of the sale.
Most makers end up with both. The Etsy shop does the finding, the Squarespace site does the keeping, and the question becomes how to stop the same one-off item selling twice.
What a sale costs on each
Etsy’s UK selling page lists a £0.15 listing fee for four months or until the item sells, a 6.5% transaction fee, a payment processing fee of 4% plus £0.20, and a 15% Offsite Ads fee on sales that come from Etsy’s own advertising elsewhere on the web. New shops may also see a one-off set-up charge before opening. On a £40 print that sells through Etsy search, you pay about £4.55 in fees before postage.
Squarespace charges a monthly subscription instead of a listing fee. Its pricing page shows the Basic plan with an online store transaction fee of 2%, and says upgrading removes it. On the higher plans, then, you pay no Squarespace cut on a physical product. Card processing through Squarespace Payments, Stripe or PayPal is charged on top at the processor’s rate. Plan prices are shown in your local currency when you open the page.
The comparison is simple once you have a few months of sales. If your own site sells enough each month that Etsy’s 6.5% would cost more than the Squarespace subscription, the site pays for itself on those sales. If it sells two things a month, it is a shop window and a mailing-list sign-up, and it earns its keep that way.
Who brings the buyers
Etsy spends on search and advertising to send shoppers to listings, and it charges for that through the transaction fee and Offsite Ads. Your listing can sell the week you post it.
Squarespace brings nobody. A new site starts with no traffic, and it grows through your own work: Instagram posts, a newsletter, the card in each parcel, a QR code on your stall. That work compounds. A buyer who finds you on Etsy and then signs up to your list can buy from your site next time without paying Etsy anything.
How much of the shop is yours
- Customer details. On your Squarespace site the buyer’s email is yours to use, within the consent they gave. On Etsy, messages and orders stay inside Etsy.
- Look and feel. Squarespace lets you design the whole site. An Etsy shop shares a layout with every other shop.
- Rules. Etsy decides what counts as handmade or vintage and can pause a shop. Your own site follows only the law and your payment provider’s terms.
- Work. Etsy handles checkout, payments and much of the trust. On Squarespace you set up shipping, returns and policies yourself.
Running both with FLUF
| Etsy | Squarespace | |
|---|---|---|
| How you connect | Sign in with your Etsy account | Connect from the Channels page, no browser extension needed |
| FLUF sees a sale here | Yes | No, mark it sold in FLUF |
| FLUF ends the listing here when it sells elsewhere | Yes | Yes, it drops the stock |
| Relisting | Included from the Seller plan upwards | No |
An Etsy sale looks after itself: FLUF records it and the Squarespace product goes out of stock. A Squarespace order needs one click in FLUF, and then the Etsy listing ends. For one-off vintage pieces, make that click when the order email arrives. For made-to-order items with plenty of stock, a slower rhythm is fine.
Which to choose
Start on Etsy if you are new and need customers this month. Add Squarespace when you have repeat buyers, a following to send somewhere, or a brand you want to own. If you already have a Squarespace site and it sells slowly, add Etsy to put the same stock in front of shoppers who are already looking.
What FLUF costs
Crosslisting and inventory sync are on every plan. Start with 7 days for £1, then from £9/month, then plans from £9/month. Relisting on Etsy is included from the Seller plan upwards.
| Plan | Monthly | Crosslisted products |
|---|---|---|
| Starter | £9/month | Unlimited |
| Pro | £29/month | Unlimited |
| Super Seller | Custom pricing — tell us what you need | Unlimited |
Sources
- Etsy UK: sell on Etsy (listing, transaction, processing and Offsite Ads fees)
- Squarespace: pricing (plans and transaction fees)
Sources checked September 2026.
Related guides
Frequently Asked Questions
Per sale, usually yes. Etsy UK takes a 6.5% transaction fee plus 4% and £0.20 for processing, while Squarespace's plans above Basic charge no transaction fee on store sales, only card processing. You pay a monthly Squarespace subscription whether or not you sell.
£0.15 per listing, a 6.5% transaction fee, 4% plus £0.20 payment processing, and a 15% Offsite Ads fee on sales that come from Etsy's advertising. Some new shops also pay a one-off set-up fee.
On the Basic plan, 2% on online store sales. Squarespace says upgrading removes it, leaving only the card processor's fee.
Yes. FLUF keeps one stock list for both. It sees Etsy sales and marks the Squarespace product out of stock; when an order comes through Squarespace, mark it sold in FLUF and the Etsy listing ends.
Not on its own. Squarespace has no marketplace, so traffic comes from your social media, newsletter and returning customers. Etsy is where new buyers find you.
No. Etsy connects by signing in, and Squarespace connects from the Channels page in FLUF.