Etsy vs Depop vs Vinted: UK Fees Compared (2026)

Etsy vs Depop vs Vinted: which is cheapest for UK sellers?

If you sell secondhand in the UK and want the short answer on fees: Vinted costs you nothing, Depop costs you a small processing cut, and Etsy costs you a serious chunk. The gap is bigger than most sellers expect, because Etsy’s headline “6.5% transaction fee” hides payment processing, a regulatory fee, a listing fee and VAT on the fees themselves.

That doesn’t automatically make Vinted the right choice for everyone — audience, sale prices and effort matter too — but on pure cost the ranking is unambiguous. This guide breaks down each platform’s 2026 UK fee structure, works through the same £40 sale on all three so you can compare like-for-like, and ends with which platform suits which seller.

All figures below were checked in October 2026 against the platforms’ own help pages and reputable UK fee trackers. Platforms change fees, so treat this as a snapshot and confirm before you price.

Vinted fees in 2026: the 0% baseline

Vinted is the baseline everything else is measured against, because the seller’s side is beautifully simple: £0 listing fee, 0% commission, 0% payment processing. List at £40, receive £40 in your Vinted Balance when the order completes. Unlimited listings, no tiers, no surprises.

The costs sit with the buyer instead: a Vinted fee of 3–8% + £0.30–£0.80 (UK price list updated 8 October 2026) plus postage, added at checkout. On a £40 item the buyer typically pays around £2.70 in Vinted fees plus £2–£4 postage — so your £40 listing costs the buyer roughly £45–£47 all-in. That buyer-side load is Vinted’s real “fee” from your perspective: it doesn’t touch your payout, but it affects what prices the market will bear.

Optional seller costs exist but are genuinely optional: Bump from ~£1 to promote a listing, Wardrobe Spotlight at £6.95 for seven days. Plenty of successful sellers never pay either.

Depop fees in 2026: small but real

Depop removed its UK selling fee in March 2024, which makes it look free at first glance — but unlike Vinted it still takes payment processing on every sale: 2.9% + £0.30 per transaction, charged on the item price plus shipping. Listing itself is free.

On a £40 sale with no shipping charged, that’s £1.46 in processing, leaving you £38.54. Add Depop’s optional Boosted Listings at 12% of the item price (raised from 8% on 23 March 2026, charged only when the boosted item sells) and the gap to Vinted widens fast — but unboosted, Depop costs you under 4% all-in.

Buyers on Depop also pay a marketplace fee of up to 5% + £1 at checkout, so the buyer-side load is comparable to Vinted’s. eBay’s completion of its Depop acquisition on 30 July 2026 brought no announced fee changes (checked 21 October 2026).

Etsy fees in 2026: the expensive one, in full

Etsy is where secondhand sellers get a shock, because the fees stack in layers. Here is every layer for a UK seller on Etsy Payments, checked October 2026. First, the listing fee: $0.20 (about £0.15–£0.16) per listing, charged when you list, again if it auto-renews after four months, and again per sale on multi-quantity listings.

Second, the transaction fee: 6.5% — and crucially, it applies to the item price plus the postage you charge the buyer, not just the item. Third, payment processing: 4% + £0.20 per order for UK sellers, on the full amount the buyer pays. Fourth, the UK regulatory operating fee: 0.48% of the order total (raised from 0.32% on 22 June 2026). Fifth, 20% UK VAT on Etsy’s fees themselves, unless you’re VAT-registered with a valid VAT ID on file.

Add it up on a £40 sale with £3 postage: transaction fee £2.80 (6.5% of £43), processing £1.92 (4% of £43 + £0.20), regulatory £0.21, listing £0.15 — about £5.08 before VAT on fees, roughly £6 after it. That’s around 14% of the order before you’ve paid for packaging or your time. And if the sale came through Etsy’s Offsite Ads, add another 15% (12% for shops over $10,000/year).

Etsy can still be worth it for handmade, vintage (20+ years old) and craft supplies — categories where buyers expect Etsy and pay premium prices. For ordinary secondhand clothes, the fee stack is brutal compared with Vinted’s zero.

Watch out for one more Etsy subtlety: because the 6.5% transaction fee applies to postage too, sellers who undercharge postage to look competitive still pay the fee on whatever postage they did charge — and sellers who overcharge postage to dodge fees pay 6.5% on the inflated postage as well. Price postage honestly; the fee follows it either way.

Worked example: a £40 sale on Vinted, Depop and Etsy

Same item, £40 sale price, UK seller, no postage charged, no promotions, no offsite ads. Here’s what you keep:

• Vinted: £40.00 kept. Fees: £0. Buyer pays ~£2.70 Vinted fee + postage on top.
• Depop: £38.54 kept. Fees: £1.46 (2.9% + £0.30 processing). Buyer pays up to 5% + £1 marketplace fee on top.
• Etsy: ~£35.50 kept. Fees: ~£4.50 (6.5% transaction + 4% + £0.20 processing + 0.48% regulatory + £0.15 listing, before 20% VAT on fees).
• The ranking holds at every price point: Vinted cheapest, Depop a few percent behind, Etsy roughly 11–14% all-in. At £15 the order is the same; at £100 Etsy takes about £10.85 before VAT on fees (Xero UK worked example, July 2026).

Which platform should a UK secondhand seller choose?

Choose Vinted if: you sell everyday secondhand clothes, shoes and accessories; you want maximum payout with minimum maths; you’re clearing your own wardrobe rather than running a business. The 0% seller fee is unbeatable and the audience is purpose-built for pre-loved.

Choose Depop if: you sell trend-led streetwear, vintage or distinctive pieces where Depop’s younger audience pays higher prices; the 2.9% + 30p is easily absorbed when your average sale is £50+; you like its social, boutique-style selling.

Choose Etsy if: you sell genuine vintage (20+ years), handmade, or craft supplies — the categories Etsy buyers specifically hunt for; your margins survive ~14% fees because your prices are premium; you want access to Etsy’s huge US buyer base. For ordinary used high-street clothes, Etsy’s fees rarely make sense.

Many successful UK sellers use two: Vinted for volume wardrobe-clearing, and Depop or Etsy for the pieces with character that command higher prices. Run any planned sale through our free calculators first:

• Vinted vs Depop vs eBay: Fee Comparison — three platforms, one price, side by side.
• Vinted Profit Calculator — your payout and your buyer’s total.
• Depop Fee Calculator — the exact processing cut on any sale.
• eBay Fee Calculator (UK) — don’t forget eBay’s £0 private-seller deal.