Etsy continues holding strong with over 60 million active buyers per month seeking handmade, vintage and craft supplies.
However, rising fees, advertising costs and saturation have some artisan sellers looking for greener pastures.
Luckily, the options for premium storefronts, niche marketplaces and standalone websites continue expanding.
In this updated guide, we’ll analyze the top 17 alternatives to Etsy across 4 key categories:
- Ecommerce Platforms
- Marketplaces
- Social Selling
- Website Builders
For each platform, we’ll assess core capabilities, fees structures, support resources and overall viability to help sellers identify the best match.
Let’s dive in!
Key Factors When Evaluating Etsy Alternatives
When researching alternatives beyond Etsy, which features matter most?
While needs vary seller-to-seller, we recommend prioritizing:
Low Fees
Etsy fee hikes over recent years – now upwards of 12% + $0.30 per transaction – squeeze margins for many artisans. Seek lower commissions where possible.
Strong Audience Reach
Even with better fee structures, some niche marketplaces lack buyer awareness and velocity. Vet audience size and growth before committing.
Custom Branding
Standing out requires conveying your unique artisan identify. How much design control and personalization exists?
Product Range Support
Carefully match product eligibility rules on marketplaces to your inventory. Many specialize exclusively in handmade goods.
Integration & Sync Tools
From order management to tax compliance, integration support aids multi-channel sellers. Automated data flows prove essential.
With criteria identified, let’s examine the leading Etsy competitors available in 2024/2024…
Ecommerce Platforms
For sellers ready to fully own their brand identity and presentation, ecommerce platforms deliver customizable storefronts with extensive merchandising tools.
1. Shopify
Arguably the premier ecommerce experience, Shopify offers sellers a robust, enterprise-grade foundation for global expansion online.
It leads platforms supporting omni-channel sales- driving conversions equally online and in-retail outlets via POS integrations.
The brand also recently grew merchant GMV 34% YoY from 2021. ShopifyDisclosure clearly resonates with artisans pursuing scale.
However, be aware of the starting $29/month platform fee. While competitive compared to equivalent offerings, first-time entrepreneurs may find it prohibitive.
Core Features:
- Native mobile commerce
- International payments
- Fulfillment
- Subscription billing
- Marketing automation
Great For: High-growth makers ready to invest in premium capabilities
Monthly Cost: $29+
2. Wix
While not a pure-play like Shopify, we believe Wix Stores present another compelling ecommerce alternative depending on business goals.
The Wix platform centers sites and shops around stunning design breadth unmatched elsewhere. For artisans where visual presentation proves paramount, it delivers.
Flexibility across fonts, animations and dynamic effects simply outclasses most. No coding or HTML skills needed either thanks to the friendly Wix Editor.
Store functionality also holds its own supporting key abilities like custom domains, shipping labels and 70+ payment options.
If the intersection of innovative design tooling and robust-enough commerce fits your needs, explore Wix.
Core Features:
- 500+ templates
- HD video backgrounds
- Animation effects
- Accept payments & donations
- Scheduling & bookings
Great For: Design-forward makers desiring aesthetic control
Monthly Cost: $23+
Marketplaces
For sellers benefiting from built-in exposure and distribution across marketplace shoppers, specialty platforms focusing explicitly on handmade continue emerging.
We break down 5 compelling Etsy alternatives to showcase your wares while paying less per sale.
3. GoImagine
GoImagine secured $6M in early 2022 funding for its mission of supporting sellers focused explicitly on handmade goods.
While smaller than giants like Etsy and Amazon, discerning artisans will appreciate its focus connecting ethical sellers to buyers appreciating craftmanship.
It also uniquely donates 30% of its own revenue to various US charities – over $92k last year. So sales indirectly support good causes.
Forqualifying sellers, feescompare very favorably to competitors. At just 5% + $0.20 per transaction, margins improve dramatically.
Its current community skews towards jewelry, paper goods, pet products, home goods and accessories if helpful targeting your products. But all handcrafters welcome to apply!
Core Features:
- Standalone shop builder
- 5% transaction fees
- Non-profit mission
- Handmade focus
Great For: Mission-driven makers & boutique brands
Monthly Cost: $3+
4. Bonanza
Bonanza bills itself as the “home of rare, unique and one-of-a-kind items" which aptly describes many handmade goods.
Launched in 2007, Bonanza pioneered supporting smaller merchants and makers long before others crowded the space. That decade plus specialization pays dividends for artisans looking to connect with its buyers.
The Seattle-based company also works closely with Google Shopping to showcase sellers. So you benefit from exposure to those search result shoppers in addition to internal traffic.
Fees quite favorably start at just 3.5% + $0.19 per order. When factoring the broader distribution beyond Bonanza itself, that‘s very compelling math for merchants motivated by sales volume and efficiency.
Core Features:
- Distribute across Google
- Negotiable pricing
- 3.5% transaction fee
- Import Etsy products
Great For: High-volume makers
Monthly Cost: None! Only pay sales commissions
5. Folksy (UK)
Targeting crafters and makers specifically selling to British buyers? Folksy should be your next move.
90% of Folksy‘s 2+ million members are located in the UK. So while the audience is smaller than global alternatives, you instantly access passionate local shoppers.
Folksy also allows sellers to maintain their own standalone shopfront for branding purposes while accessing marketplace visibility. Supporting both models helps artisans own the customer experience.
As the audience footprint grows, Folksy may give leading American and European marketplaces a run targeting the $5B+ global handmade goods industry.
Core Features:
- UK seller community
- Shop analytics
- Mobile app
- 6-8% transaction fee
Great For: Crafters selling into the UK
Monthly Cost: $9+
6. DaWanda
Germany and Continental Europe house millions of artistic makers looking to exporting wares far and wide.
DaWanda, the leading German marketplace founded in 2006, provides that international sales springboard.
It also grants European merchants conveniences domestic alternatives can‘t matching close language, currency and regulation familiarities.
Expect the standard marketplace model with seller profiles, curated products by category, and on-platform cart and checkout flows.
As adoption grows, DaWanda may challenge the centralization of platforms based mainly in the US while providing welcomed regional support.
For artisans overseas, investigate its community of over 50,000 merchants selling quality crafts throughout the EU.
Core Features:
- Made in the EU
- Multi-language site
- 50k active sellers
- 8% sales commission
Great For: Makers based in Europe
Monthly Cost: None! Only pay sales commissions
Social Commerce
What if you could sell your handmade wares directly from leading social sites vs. an external storefront?
Using integrated social commerce capabilities, makers tap existing follower bases without friction driving buyers elsewhere.
Here are two leading platforms enabling just that while boasting over 3 billion users between them!
7. Facebook Shops
Facebook hardly needs an introduction with its ubiquity across consumers‘ digital lives.
So meeting buyers exactly where they already scroll daily proves a natural evolution for product merchants.
Facebook Shops smoothly convert existing Pages into centralized storefronts buyers access from both Facebook and Instagram.
And thanks to organic social reach, sellers gain visibility even avoiding ad investments.
The experience also stays native vs. sending customers elsewhere. Fans browse goods, save items and checkout conveniently inside apps they likely already installed.
For makers particularly active on these social networks, Shops present a natural sales extension at no added cost.
Core Features:
- PCI-compliant checkout
- Catalog sync
- Live chat support
- AR product views
Great For: Sellers embedded in Facebook & Instagram worlds
Monthly Cost: None! Only standard payment processing fees per order
8. Pinterest Shop
While less commerce-centric historically, Pinterest shoppers signal high buying intent with ‘aspirational‘ ideation tendencies.
Thus money indeed changes hands. Lots of it actually.
Pinterest Shop allows merchants to tag products across Pins so users add items straight to cart from inspiration feeds.
That frictionless path from ideation to checkouts converts at impressive clips for motivated buyers already spelled by the possibilities.
Early data backs this up with average order values 2X higher than standard ecommerce.
Give the visual discovery network with over 400 million monthly Pinners a shot. Align your artisan goods with key lifestyle verticals primed for your crafts.
Core Features:
- Enhanced catalog tagging
- Cart on Pinterest
- Shop tab on Profiles
- Audience insights
Great For: Makers appealing to "lifestyle" niches
Monthly Cost: None! Only standard payment processing fees per order
Website Builders
For the DIY-minded looking to fully control their online destinies, website builder platforms empower merchants in minutes sans technical hurdles.
9. Squarespace
Beyond blogs and content hubs, Squarespace efficiently sells goods online via Commerce capabilities.
Its online store builder requires no patching in third-party cart and checkout modules. Everything pre-packaged for activation out the gate.
Squarespace also renowns itself around optimizing beautiful presentation balancing visuals and UX. Templates localized for product selling guide owners through compelling storefront creation.
Core features like shipping/tax calculations, discount code creation and CRM integration all available from one intuitive dashboard.
Core Features:
- Physical & digital sales
- Email campaigns & automation
- Shipping & tax tools
- 100+ product variants
- Donations collecting
Great For: Artists emphasizing aesthetics and ease of use
Monthly Cost: $26+
10. Webflow
Webflow stormed the site builder scene gaining adoration for enabling animation and interactions without code requirements.
Their ecommerce platform brings similar visual dynamism now streamlining online retail builds.
Flexible product galleries, promotions tied to inventory levels, fast Shopify-like checkouts all configurable with a few clicks.
While supporting common seller needs, even advanced functionality like custom orders and performance metrics available for power merchants.
For those desiring more visual "wow" factor woven into storefronts over templated constructs, Webflow delivers the tools.
Core Features:
- CMS dynamic content
- Custom code connections
- Shopify & WooCommerce migration
- Media galleries
- Discount codes
Great For: Visual merchandisers wanting animation flair
Monthly Cost: $16+
Top Selling Products Off Etsy
We analyzed recent sales data and seller surveys to uncover the hottest-selling items now thriving beyond Etsy across standalone stores and specialty marketplaces.
Digital Downloads
Online courses, planners, art files, graphics and more founded entirely digital remain hugely popular thanks continuing low production costs and instant delivery.
Compared to physical products facing sourcing and shipping hurdles in 2024, digital downloads provide welcome business model stability even facing economic uncertainty.
Potential Products:
- Printable art
- Stock photography
- Online classes & workshops
- Business planners
- Infographics & templates
Ideal Platforms:
- Gumroad
- Podia
- Teachable
- Sellfy
Print-on-Demand Goods
Like digital downloads, print-on-demand eliminates inventory and manufacturing challenges. Goods print one-by-one only when ordered providing aggressing versatility.
Common products include apparel like t-shirts, mugs, hats and phone cases featuring custom graphic designs.
Potential Products:
- T-Shirts
- Yoga mats
- Baby clothes
- Canvas wall art
- Phone cases
Leading Print Providers:
- Printful
- Printify
- Gelato
Handcrafted Home Goods
Category mainstays like ceramics, candles and linens attract buyers seeking intentionally crafted and sustainable furnishings over mass-produced cookie-cutter wares.
As made-to-order pieces, these items also bypass production bottlenecks from overseas manufacturing dependencies.
Potential Products:
- Ceramic tableware
- Scented soy candles
- Quilts & blankets
- Woven baskets
- Natural soaps
Ideal Platforms:
- GoImagine
- Facebook Shops
- DaWanda (EU)
Specialty Foods
Gourmet jams, small-batch sweets and artisan spice blends rate well selling through niche food marketplaces.
These consumables make excellent gifts too with personalization opportunities.
Potential Products:
- Flavored barbecue sauces
- Gift basket arrangements
- Shortbread cookies
- Infused olive oils
- Handmade chocolate
Ideal Platforms:
- FoodiePages
- Locally
- Saatchi Art
Now let’s tackle some common questions handmade sellers ask assessing off-Etsy options…
Frequently Asked Questions
What sales commissions should I expect outside Etsy?
Comparison rate structures vary widely. SaaS platforms like Shopify charge monthly subscription fees while marketplaces take ~3-8% sales commissions.
Aim for under 5% commissions when possible to protect margins. Some niche sites fall under 1%.
Can I still use Etsy while listing on other platforms?
Absolutely. Diversifying distribution across multiple channels smartly reduces risk should any one platform falter.
Just ensure inventory/order sync avoids overselling or disappointing buyers seeking sold out wares.
How do I drive traffic outside Etsy?
With no builtin Etsy shopper base, focus sales/marketing efforts on social ads, influencer partnerships, SEO and email nurture campaigns.
Most platforms above also assist targeting external traffic sources like Google Shopping.
What monthly budget do I need?
Besides potential subscription fees on SaaS platforms, factor ad spend starting around $100+/month to test non-Etsy waters.
Monitor sales velocity and metrics before expanding budgets further. Sync marketing to seasonal spikes or product launches.
Which Etsy Alternative Best Fits Your Goals?
While Etsy maintains strong craft community roots after 20 years, limitations around control plus rising fees trigger motivated makers to investigate alternatives.
As outlined across four categories – ecommerce platforms, marketplaces, social selling and website builders – ample avenues now exist showcasing your small business beyond Etsy.
From DIY storefront builds packing powerful features to niche marketplaces elevating your niche, identify the model aligning growth, audience and financial goals in 2024.
We hope mapping 17 top Etsy competitors cultivates success on whatever off-Etsy path best suits your maker business moving forward!
