When Should You Move From Etsy to Shopify?
By Savora Finance · Reviewed 2026-11-08
Signs it may be time to open your own store, signs to wait, and why many sellers use both.
Signs it may be time
You have steady orders, so Etsy's per-sale fees are a noticeable part of your costs. You have repeat customers or an email list. You want control over your brand, your customer data and your checkout.
Signs to wait
If most of your sales come from Etsy search, a new store has no built-in traffic. Moving before you have another way to reach customers can cut your sales.
You do not have to choose
Many sellers keep their Etsy shop and open a Shopify store beside it. Start with a few products, send repeat customers to the new store, and watch the numbers.
A simple test
Run the fee calculator with your real monthly orders. If Shopify comes out ahead and you have a plan for traffic, a trial is a low-risk next step.
A simple scorecard
Score each statement 1 point for yes. Three or more points suggests a store is worth trying beside your shop.
- I get at least 15 to 20 orders a month, enough that Etsy's fees are a real cost (see the break-even table).
- At least a fifth of my orders come from repeat customers.
- I have an email list, an active social account or a local following I can reach for free.
- I want to control my brand, packaging, checkout or customer data.
- I sell products that suit my own store, such as sets, subscriptions or custom orders that are awkward on a marketplace.
A 90-day way to test it without risk
Days 1–30: build. Open a trial and add your five best sellers with improved photos and descriptions. Publish your policies. Place a test order.
Days 31–60: invite. Tell your existing customers and followers about the store. Check Etsy's current seller policies about how you may contact buyers and mention outside shops, and follow them. Track where each sale comes from.
Days 61–90: decide. Compare your profit per order on each channel, after fees and the time you spent. If the store is bringing sales without hurting your shop, keep investing. If not, you have lost a few weeks, not your business.
What to move and what to leave
- Move first: your best sellers, products with repeat buyers, and anything customised.
- Keep on Etsy: products that sell mainly because shoppers find them in marketplace search.
- Never copy blindly: rewrite descriptions rather than pasting the same text in both places. Duplicate text gives shoppers no reason to choose one over the other.
Common mistakes
- Closing the Etsy shop before the new store has steady sales.
- Expecting the new store to get Etsy-level traffic on day one.
- Ignoring the cost of ads when comparing fees.
- Forgetting to set up shipping, tax and policies before sharing the link.
Frequently asked questions
Will I lose my Etsy reviews?
Reviews belong to the Etsy shop and do not transfer. A store can collect its own reviews through an app or by email.
Can Claude help with the move?
It can help rewrite descriptions, draft policies, and plan the announcement to customers. It cannot see your Etsy account or verify your numbers, so do the fee check with real data. See our guide to product descriptions.
Affiliate link: we earn a commission if you sign up for a paid plan through the button below. It does not change your price.
Ready to test your idea? Open a Shopify store, and use its Claude connector to help build it.
Choose yearly and keep more of what you earn. Shopify Basic is $39 a month, or $29 a month on annual billing. That is $348 for the year instead of $468, a saving of $120, or about a quarter off. A full year on one plan also lets you settle in, try ideas and fine-tune your store without watching the billing calendar. Pick the annual option when you choose your plan, and check Shopify's current terms before you pay.
Keep reading
Check your product's profit. Use our free profit calculator before you spend money.
Open the calculatorGeneral information only, not financial advice.