Etsy remains the most popular online marketplace for small business owners and entrepreneurs selling handmade, vintage, or custom items. While it is very popular, it is not the only option available. One thing you might not be happy with about the platform is its fees which can be quite high for some sellers. Whether you want to build a new platform or are looking for a simple solution, there are options with lower fees available. In this article, we will look at the best Etsy alternatives with affordable fees.

Shopify

Shopify is one of the biggest online marketplaces, and it has become massive over the past few years because of how easy it makes things for sellers. The two main Shopify attractions are its 14-day free trial and the innumerable free themes and add-ons available to make things easy for you.

If you decide to use Shopify, know that you will have to create a new audience for your products. This means you have to be ready to dive into online marketing, and the best thing is that the platform has numerous tools to help with that.

Square Online

Square Online stands out because it allows you to sell online and pay only the processing fee. Its free tier is great for those who are just getting started and comes with some interesting features to make things easier.

Square Online also appeals to businesses that have physical stores because it has a POS system that allows you to sell anywhere. Because of this, you can expand your offerings beyond handmade and vintage products to sell tickets and digital products, accept donations and sell services.

As with Shopify, you will have to build your audience on your own, update the store, and keep up with SEO.

Big Cartel

This is another platform that gives you everything you need to create your online marketplaces. Plans are free for those listing up to five products, with additional products and advanced features made available in their higher tiers.

Big Cartel gives you templates to help customise your store in addition to various tools that help simplify admin tasks. Big Cartel is such a great option because it does not charge transaction fees to ensure its artists can make more money.

Indiemade

Indiemade is a great alternative for those who want to create and use their own website instead of depending on the infrastructure built by Etsy. It offers a 30-day free trial which includes the functionality to create both a website and blog in one go.

It allows entrepreneurs who sign up for their Pro tier to connect their Etsy store to their website. You will, however, need to maintain and take care of your Etsy store if you want to keep importing products from this account.

Indiemade does not charge anything beyond the monthly subscription fee. Entrepreneurs do not even have to pay for a domain name or site security unless they want to.

If you are looking for an Etsy alternative that has low fees, you cannot go wrong with the options discussed above. Each has unique features that you should explore before settling on one.