Whatnot fee calculator: what you actually take home

Enter a sale. You get the commission, the payment processing fee, the flat transaction fee, and your take-home, using Whatnot's published rates verified 31 July 2026.

You take home

$21.76

from $25.00 of sales. Total cost $3.24, an effective rate of 13.0%.

Fee breakdown for this sale
Sale price $25.00
Commission (8%) −$2.00
Payment processing (2.9% + $0.30) −$1.24
of which flat transaction fee $0.30
of which charged on shipping and tax you never keep $0.21
Take-home $21.76
Who pays the shipping

Whatnot may charge tax on its fees depending on your location. It publishes no single rate for this region, so this calculator does not add one.

Try a real scenario

Rates verified 31 July 2026 against Whatnot's published seller fee schedule. Sales tax is estimated on the item plus shipping; the real rule varies by state and country. Fee schedules change and Whatnot runs limited-time promotions, so confirm current rates before you plan around them.

What a $1 sale really pays you

$1 sale, heavy item, buyer pays $14 shipping. Commission is only $0.08, but the flat $0.30 transaction fee lands whatever the item sold for, and the 2.9% is charged on the shipping and tax as well as the item. You keep $0.15 of your $1.00.

You take home

$0.15

from $1.00 of sales. Total cost $0.85, an effective rate of 85.0%.

Fee breakdown for this sale
Sale price $1.00
Commission (8%) −$0.08
Payment processing (2.9% + $0.30) −$0.77
of which flat transaction fee $0.30
of which charged on shipping and tax you never keep $0.44
Take-home $0.15

Where the money goes

  • The flat fee does not scale down. $0.30 on a $1.00 sale is 30% of the hammer price on its own. On a $100 sale the same fee is a rounding error.
  • You pay a percentage on money you never receive. 2.9% is charged on the whole order total, so $0.44 of this fee falls on the shipping and tax that pass straight through to the carrier and the tax authority.
  • Commission is the small part. Whatnot charges commission on the item's sale price only, excluding shipping and tax. On a $1.00 item that is $0.08. The fee that hurts here is not the commission.
  • Lighter shipping, better outcome. The same $1.00 sale with $5.00 shipping instead nets $0.43, an effective rate of 57.0% rather than 85.0%.

Worked examples

Every scenario in the calculator above, computed. Whatnot seller fees (United States, Canada, Australia): commission = 8% of the item sale price for most categories, 4% for Coins & Money, charged on the sale price only and excluding shipping and tax; payment processing = 2.9% of the total order value (item + buyer-paid shipping + buyer-paid tax) plus $0.30 per transaction; net earnings = sale price - commission - payment processing, minus any shipping the seller covers. Each win is a separate transaction, so bundling a buyer’s wins into one shipment does not reduce fees.

Whatnot seller fees and take-home across eight scenarios, using rates verified 31 July 2026
Scenario Sale Commission Processing Shipping you cover Take-home Effective rate
$1 sale, buyer pays $5 shipping $1.00 $0.08 $0.49 $0.00 $0.43 57.0%
$1 sale, heavy item, buyer pays $14 shipping $1.00 $0.08 $0.77 $0.00 $0.15 85.0%
$25 single card $25.00 $2.00 $1.24 $0.00 $21.76 13.0%
$40 item, you cover the $8 shipping $40.00 $3.20 $1.55 $8.00 $27.25 31.9%
$40 item, buyer covers the $8 shipping $40.00 $3.20 $1.80 $0.00 $35.00 12.5%
$2,000 graded card $2,000.00 $120.00 $63.72 $0.00 $1,816.28 9.2%
$500 coin (Coins & Money) $500.00 $20.00 $16.15 $0.00 $463.85 7.2%
One buyer wins five $20 items $100.00 $8.00 $5.55 $0.00 $86.45 13.6%

Questions sellers ask about Whatnot fees

How much does Whatnot take per sale?

Two fees. Commission is 8% of the item sale price in most categories in the US, Canada, and Australia, and 4% for Coins & Money. Payment processing is 2.9% of the total order value plus a $0.30 transaction fee. On a $25 card with $4.99 buyer-paid shipping and 8% tax, that is $2.00 commission and $1.24 processing, leaving you $21.76.

Does combining a buyer’s wins into one order lower the fees?

No. Whatnot applies fees each time a buyer checks out, and states that even when purchases are later bundled into one order or shipment, fees are calculated separately per transaction. Five wins pay five commissions, five percentages, and five $0.30 fees. Combining saves postage and packing, not fees.

Is commission charged on shipping and tax too?

No. Whatnot charges commission on the item’s final sale price, excluding shipping and taxes. Payment processing is the one that is different: it is charged on the total order value, which does include buyer-paid shipping and buyer-paid tax. So you do pay a percentage on money that passes straight through to the carrier and the tax authority, but it is the 2.9%, not the commission.

Why does a $1 sale barely pay anything?

Because the $0.30 transaction fee does not scale down. On a $1 item that fee alone is 30% of the hammer price, and the 2.9% is charged on the shipping and tax as well. A $1 item that costs $14 to ship leaves you about $0.15. Cheap lots only work as a way to move volume or fill a show, never as margin.

What changes if I offer free shipping?

You absorb the postage, and it comes straight out of your take-home. A $40 item with $8 shipping nets you $35.00 when the buyer pays and $27.25 when you cover it. Your payment processing fee is slightly lower when you cover shipping, because the buyer pays less at checkout, but nowhere near enough to offset the postage.

Are there listing fees or monthly fees?

No. Whatnot does not charge to create, store, or manage listings. You pay when an item sells.

Do giveaways cost me seller fees?

No. Whatnot does not charge seller fees on giveaways, because the buyer pays nothing. You still cover the shipping, so budget giveaways as marketing spend rather than treating them as free.

What is the 0% commission above $1,500?

A limited-time promotion. In qualifying categories, including Comics, Trading Card Games, Sports Singles, and Toys & Hobbies, Whatnot charges its normal commission on the first $1,500 of an item’s sale price and 0% on the portion above it. Payment processing still applies to the full amount. Whatnot can change or end the promotion, so confirm it before pricing around it.

Do sellers outside the US pay the same rates?

No. In the EU and UK commission is 6.67% plus VAT for most categories and payment processing is 2.42% plus 0.25 plus VAT. In Japan it is 8% plus JCT with a 2.9% plus 50 yen processing fee. VAT and JCT are charged on Whatnot’s fees themselves, which the calculator shows as its own line when you switch region.

Is there a lower rate for electronics?

Not in Whatnot’s published fee table. Some third-party calculators list an Electronics rate of 5%, but Whatnot’s own schedule shows only three rows for the US, Canada, and Australia: qualifying promotional categories, Coins & Money at 4%, and all other categories at 8%. We do not publish a rate we cannot source.

For the full explainer, including shipping weight classes, giveaways, and margin across a whole show, read Whatnot seller fees explained.

One sale is arithmetic. A whole show is bookkeeping.

This page answers one sale with estimated rates. A real show is a few hundred sales, plus refunds, cancellations, giveaways, and postage, and the fees Whatnot actually charged you are on the receipts, not in a formula.

LiveStreamPro reads those receipts. Connect your Whatnot account and the P&L section reports the real commission, the real payment processing, and the real net for every show you have run, updating as sales land rather than at month end. It uses the figures Whatnot reported on each order, so it stays correct even when a rate changes or a promotion applies.