Comparison

Order Local vs Etsy

Order Local and Etsy solve different problems. Etsy is a marketplace built for shipping: it brings you buyers and charges 20¢ per listing, 6.5% of every sale, and 3% + 25¢ processing as of September 2026. Order Local is your own storefront for local customers — 0% commission, $0 in months under $250 in sales, pickup scheduling built in, and Market Mode for the booth.

Etsy details reflect our research as of September 2026

Side by side

Order Local vs Etsy, side by side

Order Local compared with Etsy across commission, monthly cost, processing fees, pickup scheduling, payment options, catalog limits, setup, and best-fit customer.
FeatureOrder LocalEtsy
Commission per sale0%. We take no per-order cut, and customers pay no surcharge.6.5% of the order total, including shipping and gift wrap, as of September 2026. A sale that came through Etsy's Offsite Ads costs a further 15% (12% for shops over $10,000 a year, where participation is required).
Monthly costOne flat fee based on monthly sales: $0 under $250, then $9, $19, $39, capped at $79 for $5,000+. Unlimited items, unlimited team members, every feature included.No required subscription — but 20¢ per listing, charged when you list, every four months while it stays up, and again each time a multi-quantity item sells, as of September 2026.
Who pays processingYou do — Stripe's standard 2.9% + $0.30 comes out of each payment, and the payment goes into your own Stripe account. Order Local never holds your funds.You do — Etsy Payments charges 3% + $0.25 per order for US sellers as of September 2026, on top of the transaction fee, and Etsy pays you out on its own schedule.
Local pickup schedulingThe center of the product: pickup locations with their own hours, pickup windows, cutoff times, per-item lead times, and per-day capacity limits. Vendor-run local drop-off windows with your own delivery fee are built in too.Not a feature. Etsy is built around shipping and shipping labels; sellers who offer local pickup do it through notes and messages. Check Etsy for current options.
In-person salesMarket Mode: pick the items on your phone, show a checkout QR code, and the customer pays on theirs by card (or Venmo, Cash App, or Zelle). No reader, no hardware. Booth sales share the catalog, customer list, and sales report with your preorders.None. Etsy is a shipping marketplace with no in-person side — a market sale happens on a separate reader and never touches your Etsy shop.
Payment optionsCard through your own Stripe account — or Venmo, Cash App, Zelle, and cash at pickup, paid to you directly and confirmed by you.Etsy Payments only — card, PayPal, Apple Pay, and the like, all through Etsy. No Venmo, Zelle, or cash at pickup.
Catalog limitsUnlimited items for every shop — no catalog limits at any level.No cap, but every listing costs 20¢ and renews at 20¢ every four months.
Setup timeOne sitting: add your items, add a pickup spot with its hours, connect Stripe, share the link.Quick to open a shop; longer to be found — Etsy search rewards listing volume, photos, tags, and reviews over time.
Best-fit customerA maker whose customers are local — markets, pickup, drop-off, and walk-up sales — who wants their own storefront and to keep the whole sale.A maker who ships nationwide and wants a marketplace to bring in buyers they could not reach on their own.

Scroll the table sideways to see both columns.

Etsy figures reflect its published US seller fees as of September 2026 — check Etsy's site for current terms. Where we say a figure is not sourced, we mean exactly that; we would rather leave a gap than guess.

The honest part

Where Etsy is the better choice

Etsy does something Order Local does not try to do, and for some makers it is the whole reason to be there.

You need strangers to find you

Etsy is a marketplace with its own search and millions of buyers. If you have no local following yet and your customers could be anywhere, Etsy brings traffic you would otherwise have to earn on Instagram. Order Local gives you a storefront; it does not bring buyers to it.

You ship most of what you sell

Discounted shipping labels, tracking, and buyer-side expectations are built around parcels. Order Local is built around pickup and local drop-off — it has no shipping at all.

You sell digital downloads or ship worldwide

Patterns, printables, and international orders are squarely Etsy territory. Order Local serves US-based shops selling to people who can come and get it.

The other side

Where Order Local is the better choice

If your customers already know you — from the market, the farm stand, the neighborhood — the marketplace fees are paying for reach you do not need.

Made for the booth, not the post office

Market Mode turns your phone into a register: pick the items, show a checkout QR code, and the customer pays on their own phone by card (or Venmo, Cash App, or Zelle). Every in-person sale lands in the same shop as your preorders — one catalog, one customer list, one sales report. Etsy has no in-person side at all.

Keep the whole sale

Etsy takes 6.5% of the order plus 3% + 25¢ processing and 20¢ per listing — roughly $4.25 out of a $40 order before Offsite Ads, as of September 2026. On Order Local the same $40 card sale costs Stripe's $1.46 and nothing to us, and the payment lands in your own Stripe account.

No fee until you are actually selling

Months under $250 in sales are $0 — unlimited items, no listing fees, no renewals, no credit card. Above that it is one flat monthly fee, never a percentage.

Pickup scheduling is the product

Pickup locations with their own hours and timezones, bookable windows, cutoff times, per-item lead times, and per-day capacity caps. Local drop-off windows with your own fee. Not a note in the order that says "meet me at the market."

Your storefront, your customers

Your own web address, your branding, and a customer list you own — with broadcasts, loyalty rewards, promo codes, and subscriptions for regulars. On Etsy the shopper is Etsy’s customer, and the next thing they see is a competitor’s listing.

Venmo, Cash App, Zelle, and cash as real payment options

Turn them on and customers pay you directly, with the order still tracked in your dashboard and you confirming each payment. Card orders keep running through your own Stripe account alongside them.

How to switch

Adding Order Local alongside Etsy

Most makers do not leave Etsy; they stop paying Etsy for the customers they already have. Keep shipping orders there and send local customers to your own page.

1

Add your items

Photos, prices, and options for size, color, or scent. No listing fees, no renewals, no catalog limit.

2

Set a pickup spot and hours

Your market booth, a pop-up, or a meet-up spot — the street address is optional. Add a local drop-off window if you deliver.

3

Share your link — and bring your phone to the market

Drop yourshop.getorderlocal.com in your Instagram bio and on your booth sign, connect Stripe, and use Market Mode for walk-up sales.

Pricing

Simple pricing. No commissions.

Keep 100% of your sales — no commission, no listing fees, and your customers never pay a surcharge.

Free in months under $250 in sales

One simple fee based on what your shop sells each month. Flat fees starting at $9/mo once you're selling, and never a percentage of your sales.

Monthly salesFeeTexts included
Under $250Free100
$250 – $750$9/mo250
$750 – $2,000$19/mo500
$2,000 – $5,000$39/mo1,500
$5,000+$79/mo3,000

Texts are the order updates we send your customers — confirmed, ready for pickup. Each level includes that many a month; past that they keep sending at 1.5¢ each.

  • Your own storefront — your web address, your branding, nothing to build
  • Preorders and in-person sales — pickup, drop-off, and Market Mode at the booth
  • Paid straight to you — card through your own Stripe, or Venmo, Cash App, Zelle, and cash
  • Customers who come back — order texts and emails, subscriptions, loyalty rewards, promo codes
Start free

The counter resets every month — your first $250 is always free, and the fee never goes above $79 no matter how much you sell. Billed after the month ends, never before. Your customers never pay a surcharge. No contracts, cancel anytime.

Order Local vs Etsy — common questions

Your customers are local. Your storefront should be too.

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