Amazon Handmade vs Etsy: Which Is Better for Sellers?

TL;DR: Etsy has the far bigger handmade-focused audience and is much easier to start, so most sellers begin there. Amazon Handmade gives you access to Amazon's huge overall traffic and Prime buyers, but it requires an artisan application (not instant), and its shoppers arrive in a general-marketplace mindset rather than a handmade one. On fees, Etsy charges a small per-listing fee plus a transaction fee, while Amazon Handmade skips the per-listing fee but takes a higher referral cut on each sale. For most serious sellers the answer is not either/or: start on Etsy, prove your product, then add Amazon Handmade as a second channel.

If you make things by hand, or you sell print-on-demand and are trying to decide where to list, "Amazon Handmade vs Etsy" is one of the first real questions you hit. Both promise buyers who want handmade goods. Both take a cut. They are not the same kind of marketplace, though, and picking the wrong one for what you sell can waste months.

I run Trendlytic, a niche-research tool for print-on-demand and handmade sellers, so I spend my days looking at where products actually sell and why. This is the honest comparison I wish more people wrote: what each platform is, who shops there, what it costs, how hard it is to get in, and, importantly, whether print-on-demand even qualifies on Amazon Handmade (a lot of it does not).

Prices, fees, and approval rules change, so treat every figure here as a high-level guide and confirm the current numbers on each platform's own page before you rely on them.

What is Amazon Handmade?

Amazon Handmade is a curated section inside Amazon dedicated to handcrafted goods. The idea is to give makers a home on the world's largest marketplace, with items that are made, altered, or assembled by hand rather than mass-produced.

Two things make it different from a normal Amazon seller account. First, you cannot just sign up and list. You apply, and Amazon reviews you as an "artisan" before approving your shop. Second, the handmade requirements are genuinely strict. Amazon wants products that are truly made by hand, and it polices this more than most people expect.

The upside is obvious: once you are in, your products sit inside Amazon's enormous traffic, with Prime shipping trust and a checkout millions of people already use every day.

What is Etsy?

Etsy is the marketplace most people already picture when they think "handmade." It is built specifically for handmade goods, vintage items, and craft supplies, and its entire brand is about buying from independent makers.

Anyone can open an Etsy shop in an afternoon. There is no artisan application to pass. You create listings, pay a small fee per listing, and you are live. Because the whole platform is handmade-focused, the people browsing are usually already in a gift or handmade frame of mind, which matters more than most sellers realize.

The trade-off is competition. Etsy's openness means a lot of sellers in every category, so standing out is its own challenge.

Amazon Handmade vs Etsy: side by side

Here is the head-to-head at a glance. Details on each row follow below.

Fees and costs compared

Both platforms make money from your sales, but they charge in different shapes. Etsy leans on a small per-listing fee plus a transaction fee and payment processing. Amazon Handmade drops the per-listing fee but takes a higher referral percentage on each sale, and the professional-selling-plan cost is generally handled or waived for approved artisans (confirm the current arrangement on Amazon's page).

The rough takeaway: on a low-priced item, Etsy's small per-listing fee can sting if things do not sell, but its cut per sale is generally lower. On Amazon Handmade there is nothing to lose on unsold listings, but the higher referral percentage takes a bigger bite when you do sell. For the exact current Etsy numbers with a worked example, see my full breakdown of Etsy fees, and always confirm Amazon's live rates on its own seller page.

Audience and buyer intent

This is the part people underweight, and it is arguably the most important difference.

Etsy shoppers come to Etsy to buy handmade. When someone searches Etsy, they are already expecting a handmade, personalized, or gift-style product, and they are willing to pay a bit more for it. That mindset does a lot of your selling for you.

Amazon Handmade sits inside Amazon, and Amazon shoppers are usually in a general-marketplace mindset: they want the thing, fast, cheap, and Prime-shipped. Some of them seek out Handmade specifically, but many land on your product next to mass-produced alternatives and compare on price and delivery speed. Your handmade item can get lost in that context.

So Amazon Handmade has more total traffic, but Etsy's traffic is more qualified for handmade. Bigger audience is not the same as better-matched audience.

Getting approved and getting started

On Etsy you can be live today. Open an account, list a product, done. That low barrier is great for testing ideas quickly, which is exactly how I recommend most people start. If you are new to it, I wrote a step-by-step on how to sell on Etsy.

Amazon Handmade is gated. You submit an application describing how you make your products, and Amazon reviews you before approving your shop. It is not instant, it can take a while, and plenty of applicants get asked for more detail or get rejected because their process is not "handmade enough." This is deliberate: Amazon protects the Handmade label so buyers trust it.

Practically, that means Etsy is where you validate an idea, and Amazon Handmade is a channel you add once you have a real, clearly-handmade product and the patience to get approved.

Competition and getting found

On Etsy, the competition is direct and dense. Everyone selling there is also selling handmade, so you compete against other makers in your exact niche. Winning comes down to your product, your photos, and your keywords.

On Amazon Handmade, there are fewer handmade competitors, but your real competition is the rest of Amazon: the mass-produced version of your product that ships free on Prime tomorrow. Getting found means ranking in Amazon's search, which rewards sales velocity and reviews, both of which are hard when you are new.

In both cases, discoverability rides on picking the right product and the right keywords far more than on the platform itself. A well-chosen niche gets found on either marketplace. A saturated one struggles on both.

What about print on demand?

This is where a lot of POD sellers make an expensive mistake, so read this part carefully.

Amazon Handmade's "handmade" requirements are strict, and much print-on-demand does not qualify as Handmade. If a print partner runs your design onto a shirt or mug automatically, Amazon generally does not consider that handcrafted, and it can reject or remove the listing. Do not assume your POD catalog belongs in Handmade.

For POD on Amazon, the right lane is usually Amazon's separate Merch on Demand program, not Amazon Handmade. Merch on Demand is built for exactly this: you upload a design, Amazon prints and ships it, and there are no upfront costs. It is a different program with different rules. I cover it in detail in my guide to Amazon print on demand.

Etsy, by contrast, allows print-on-demand as long as you disclose your production partner in the listing. That, plus its handmade-buyer audience, is why Etsy is the more natural first home for most POD sellers. For a wider view of the options, see where to sell handmade crafts.

Quick summary for POD sellers: Etsy allows POD (with disclosure), Amazon Handmade usually does not, and Amazon's POD home is Merch on Demand.

Which one should you choose?

For most people, the honest answer is: start on Etsy, then add Amazon Handmade later if it fits.

Start on Etsy if you are new, if you sell print-on-demand, or if you want to test ideas fast without an approval gate. The handmade audience and the instant start make it the lowest-friction way to get real sales data.

Add Amazon Handmade once you have an established, clearly-handmade product and want more reach. The application is worth it when you already know what sells and you can handle the higher referral cut in exchange for Amazon's traffic.

And "why not both" is a real strategy. Many sellers list the same products on Etsy and Amazon Handmade (where eligible) to spread risk and reach two different buyer pools. Just be honest about the extra work: two catalogs, two sets of rules, two support systems.

The thing that matters more than the platform

Here is what I have learned watching thousands of shops: the marketplace matters less than whether you are selling something people actually search for.

A great product in a real, un-saturated niche sells on Etsy and on Amazon Handmade. A weak product in a crowded niche struggles on both, no matter how good your fee math is. Sellers obsess over the platform choice and skip the harder question, which is demand.

That is the exact problem I built Trendlytic to solve. It finds print-on-demand niches and keywords with real demand across Etsy, Redbubble, TeePublic, and Amazon Merch, scores each one for demand and competition, and runs a live USPTO trademark check so you do not build on a name you cannot use. It also flags rising niches before they saturate, and it can generate keyword-optimized listings with AI. It is $9/month for 100 searches, with a free trial and no card required. I mention it once because it is genuinely the step I would take before worrying about Etsy vs Amazon Handmade: pick something with demand first, then choose where to sell it.

FAQ

Is Amazon Handmade better than Etsy? Neither is universally better. Etsy is better for starting out, for POD sellers, and for reaching a handmade-focused audience. Amazon Handmade is better once you have an established handcrafted product and want access to Amazon's larger traffic. Most sellers start on Etsy and add Amazon Handmade later.

Is Amazon Handmade cheaper than Etsy? It depends on your sales pattern. Amazon Handmade has no per-listing fee, so unsold listings cost nothing, but it takes a higher referral percentage on each sale. Etsy charges a small per-listing fee plus a lower transaction cut. On low-priced, high-volume items the difference can go either way, so run your own numbers and confirm current rates on each platform.

Can you sell print on demand on Amazon Handmade? Usually not. Amazon Handmade's requirements are strict, and most automated print-on-demand does not qualify as handmade. For POD on Amazon, use the separate Merch on Demand program instead. Etsy does allow POD as long as you disclose your production partner.

Is it hard to get approved for Amazon Handmade? It is harder than Etsy, which has no approval at all. Amazon Handmade requires an artisan application describing how you make your products, and approval is not instant. Applicants whose process is not clearly handmade often get rejected or asked for more detail.

Should I sell on both Etsy and Amazon Handmade? For many sellers, yes, once eligible. Listing on both spreads risk and reaches two different buyer pools. The cost is more work: two catalogs, two rule sets, and two systems to manage. Start on one, get it working, then expand.

Which has more traffic, Etsy or Amazon Handmade? Amazon overall has far more total traffic, so Amazon Handmade can put you in front of more people. Etsy's traffic is smaller but more qualified for handmade, since its shoppers arrive specifically wanting handmade goods. More traffic is not the same as better-matched traffic.

Conclusion

Etsy and Amazon Handmade both sell handmade goods, but they suit different sellers. Etsy wins on ease, on handmade-buyer intent, and on POD flexibility, which is why it is the right first move for most people. Amazon Handmade wins on raw reach for established, genuinely handcrafted products willing to pass its application and pay a higher cut. If POD is your game, remember the real split: Etsy allows it with disclosure, and Amazon's POD home is Merch on Demand, not Handmade.

Whichever you pick, the product and the niche decide your outcome more than the logo on the marketplace.

Which one are you leaning toward right now, Etsy, Amazon Handmade, or both, and what are you planning to sell?