Whatnot fees on a $50 sale

Whatnot takes $5.95 on a $50 sale with $7 buyer-paid shipping and no sales tax: $4.00 commission (8% at the Standard tier) plus $1.95 payment processing. You keep $44.05, because the buyer’s shipping pays for the label.

Fee rules as of Oct 2026 · checked October 4, 2026 · sources

Your sale

What the item sold for, after any coupon you funded.

What the buyer paid for shipping. Enter 0 if you offered free shipping.

The marketplace collects and remits it, but some platforms charge fees on it.

What you paid for the item (cost of goods).

Free or discounted shipping, giveaway labels, overweight upgrades. Leave 0 if the buyer covers it.

Whatnot options

Live sales use the show’s category; marketplace sales use the product’s.

Your total sales in the previous 28-day period.

Comics & Anime, Toys & Hobbies, Coins & Money, TCG, Entertainment Cards, Sports singles (not breaks), Bags & Accessories, Jewelry & Watches.

Usual setup: the buyer’s shipping buys the label, so it isn’t paid out to you.

Estimated profit on Whatnot

$44.05

Margin 88.1% · Fees $5.95

Item price
$50.00
Buyer-paid shippingPays for the platform label, not paid out to you
$7.00
Commission8% of item price $50.00
−$4.00
Payment processing2.9% of $57.00 (item + shipping + tax) + $0.30
−$1.95
Total fees
−$5.95
Net payoutItem price − fees
$44.05
Item cost
$0.00
Extra shipping you cover
$0.00
Profit
$44.05
Margin (profit ÷ item price)
88.1%

Fees equal 11.9% of the item price. Estimate only; confirm on the platform before you price.

Prefilled with this page’s example. Change any number to run your own sale.

The $50 sale, line by line

Whatnot charges two fees on every order. Commission is 8% of the item price at the Standard tier (under $15,000 of sales in the last 28 days), so $4.00 here. It is not charged on shipping or tax. Payment processing is 2.9% + $0.30 on everything the buyer paid: 2.9% of $57 plus $0.30 is $1.95. Together that is $5.95, or 11.9% of the item price.

Worked examples

The same $50 item under different conditions. Every figure is computed by the engine behind our Whatnot fee calculator, with rates from Whatnot’s help pages.

Computed with our fee engine. The buyer’s shipping buys the Whatnot label, so “You keep” is the item price minus fees.
ScenarioCommissionProcessingTotal feesYou keepFees ÷ price
$50 item, no shipping or tax$4.00$1.75$5.75$44.2511.5%
$50 + $7 shipping (this page’s example)$4.00$1.95$5.95$44.0511.9%
$50 + $7 shipping + $4.00 sales tax$4.00$2.07$6.07$43.9312.1%
Coins & Money (4%), $7 shipping$2.00$1.95$3.95$46.057.9%
Tier 3, Other (5.5%), $7 shipping$2.75$1.95$4.70$45.309.4%

Shipping adds $0.20 in processing on $7 of shipping, and $4.00 of sales tax adds $0.12 more. Most categories (Sports, TCG, Fashion, Other collectibles and Other) are 8% at the Standard tier; Coins & Money is 4%.

Next to eBay: the same $50 item with $7 shipping pays $8.15 on eBay (13.6% of item, shipping and tax, plus the per-order fee), so you keep $41.85 there against $44.05 on Whatnot, assuming the label costs what the buyer paid (computed). More prices are in Whatnot vs eBay fees.

What this leaves out

  • Shipping you cover yourself, such as free-shipping offers or giveaway labels. Enter it as “Extra shipping you cover” in the calculator above.
  • Sales tax that Whatnot charges on its fees in a few states, the Premier Shop discount and promotional rates.
  • What you paid for the item. Add it as “Your item cost” to see profit.

Higher tiers lower the commission but not processing. The full rate card is in Whatnot’s 2026 fee tiers.

Estimates, fees as of Oct 2026. Not affiliated with any marketplace.

Frequently asked questions

How much does Whatnot take on a $50 sale?

About $5.95 at the Standard tier, with $7 of buyer-paid shipping and no sales tax: $4.00 commission (8% of the item price) plus $1.95 payment processing (2.9% of $57 plus $0.30). You keep $44.05.

Does Whatnot charge fees on shipping?

Whatnot’s commission is not charged on shipping, but its 2.9% + $0.30 processing fee is. On this sale, $7 of shipping adds $0.20 in processing.

What are Whatnot’s fees on a $50 coin sale?

Coins & Money is 4% commission at the Standard tier, so with $7 shipping the fees are $3.95 and you keep $46.05, by our calculation.

Is Whatnot cheaper than eBay on a $50 sale?

On fees alone, yes at Whatnot’s Standard tier and eBay’s non-Store rates: $5.95 on Whatnot versus $8.15 on eBay for a $50 item with $7 shipping and no tax, by our calculation. The price each platform gets you matters more than the fee gap.

Are these Whatnot fees exact?

They are estimates from Whatnot’s published fee pages as of Oct 2026, for US sellers at the Standard tier. Promotions, the Premier Shop discount and state tax on fees can change the result. Flip Profit HQ is not affiliated with Whatnot.