How we make this list: we compare pricing pages, product documentation and public user reviews. Ratings come from G2, Capterra or Trustpilot, with the date we checked them.
Key takeaways
- Etsy is the discovery pick: huge buyer traffic and low headline fees, but the stack of listing, transaction, processing and possible ad fees reaches about 10 percent of a typical order, and far more on ad attributed sales.
- Saatchi Art and Artfinder are the gallery model: no listing fees and real collector traffic, paid for with commissions reported between 35 and 50 percent depending on platform and plan.
- Shopify costs a monthly subscription and charges no marketplace commission, so it wins once you bring your own buyers.
- INPRNT pays illustrators 50 percent of the print price and handles production; Society6 pays nearer 10 percent and handles everything.
- Price every piece backwards from what you need to receive, not forwards from what sounds attractive.
Quick comparison
| Tool | Best for | Starting price | Free plan |
|---|
 Etsy | Built in buyer traffic for prints and originals | $0.20 per listing | No |
 Saatchi Art | Original fine art and collectors | Free to list | Yes |
 Artfinder | Curated originals with plan based commission | Free on Starter | Yes |
 Shopify | Your own store with no marketplace commission | $29 per month | No |
 INPRNT | Premium prints, fully produced for you | Free to list | Yes |
 Society6 | Design led products with zero fulfilment work | Free to join | Yes |
 eBay | Auctions and a huge general buyer base | See website | No |
 Singulart | Established artists and gallery presentation | See website | No |
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#1Etsy
Best for: Built in buyer traffic for prints and originals1.4/5 on
Trustpilot (21,438 reviews, checked Oct 2026)
Visit etsy.com
Starting price$0.20 per listing
Free planNo
Etsy is where art buyers already are. For prints, small originals and digital downloads, its search traffic is worth more than any other platform's marketing. The fee stack is the price of that traffic: 20 cents per listing every four months, 6.5 percent transaction on the total the buyer pays, 3 percent plus 25 cents processing in the US.
The trap is Offsite Ads. Above a sales threshold you cannot opt out, and a 12 to 15 percent ad fee on top of the standard stack takes the platform's cut toward a quarter of the order. Price with that worst case in mind, not the best case.
What we like- The largest built in audience for handmade and art buying, so new sellers can be found without an existing following, fee maths is published and predictable, digital downloads carry no shipping work, production partners are allowed for prints and products
Watch out for- Fees stack to roughly 9.5 to 11 percent on a typical US order once listing, transaction and processing charges combine, Offsite Ads take a further 12 to 15 percent on attributed orders and are mandatory at higher sales levels, competition and copycat listings are constant, a shop setup fee may apply to new sellers
Starting priceFree to list
Free planYes
Saatchi Art is a gallery that happens to be a website. It suits originals at real prices: buyers arrive expecting to spend hundreds or thousands, and the platform handles the trust problem that kills sales on an unknown personal site.
The commission question matters. Older sources say 35 percent, several recent ones say 40 percent on original artwork. On a 1,000 dollar painting that is a 50 dollar difference, so verify the live terms page and price to the higher figure until you have.
What we like- A genuine collector audience for original paintings, sculpture and photography, no listing or monthly fees, platform coordinated shipping for originals reduces the scariest part of selling large work, global reach a personal site rarely matches
Watch out for- Commission is heavy and sources disagree: several 2026 roundups say 35 percent, others say 40 percent on originals, so confirm the current terms before pricing, curated presentation means not every style gets promoted, you package originals yourself, payouts follow the platform's schedule not yours
Starting priceFree on Starter
Free planYes
Artfinder's plans make the market's basic trade explicit: pay monthly, or pay in commission. On Starter you list free and give up half the sale. On Premium you pay monthly and keep 60 percent. Which wins depends entirely on how much you sell.
Do the arithmetic on your last twelve months of sales before choosing a plan. Artists selling one piece a quarter usually belong on the free plan even at 50 percent. Artists selling monthly should model the paid tiers.
What we like- Curated marketplace for original art with an application process that keeps quality up, plan structure lets sellers trade a monthly fee for lower commission, managed shipping options available, strong UK and international buyer base
Watch out for- Commission on the free Starter plan is reported at 50 percent, which is gallery level money for marketplace level help, paid plans reported around 14 and 40 dollars per month cut commission to about 45 and 40 percent, figures vary between sources, application and curation mean not every artist is accepted
#4Shopify
Best for: Your own store with no marketplace commission4.4/5 on
G2 (5,144 reviews, checked Oct 2026)
Visit shopify.com
Starting price$29 per month
Free planNo
Shopify is the ownership option. It is the wrong first step for an unknown artist, because an empty store with no commission still sells nothing. It is the right step for an artist with an audience, because at volume its per sale cost is the lowest in this group by a wide margin.
The common pattern is both: marketplaces for discovery, Shopify for repeat buyers. Nothing in the major platforms' terms stops you selling in several places, and most working artists do.
What we like- No marketplace commission, so a sale costs only card processing of roughly 2.9 percent plus 30 cents on the Basic plan, full control of branding, pricing and customer data, connects to print on demand and fulfilment apps if you want hands off production, your store cannot be shut down by a marketplace policy sweep
Watch out for- Zero built in traffic, so every visitor costs marketing effort or ad spend, Basic is 29 dollars per month billed annually and more month to month, apps and themes quietly add monthly costs, you handle taxes, shipping and customer service yourself
Starting priceFree to list
Free planYes
INPRNT is the print deal artists actually recommend to each other. Half the sale price, proper fine art printing, and none of the production labour. For illustrators with a following, it converts that following better than any royalty site.
The gate is the point and the problem. If you are admitted, INPRNT should probably be your print home. If you are not, Society6 below is the open door version of the same idea at a fifth of the royalty.
What we like- Artists earn 50 percent of the sale price on standard fine art prints, which is far above print on demand norms, INPRNT prints, frames, packs and ships, so there is no production work, curated admission keeps the catalogue quality high, print quality has a strong reputation among illustrators
Watch out for- Admission is by application and voting, so you may not get in, print focused, with originals and most merchandise outside the model, smaller audience than Etsy or Society6, payout schedules and thresholds apply
Starting priceFree to join
Free planYes
Society6 sells convenience. Ten percent of a 40 dollar print is 4 dollars, which is either easy money for work already made or an insult, depending on whether the upload took you ten minutes or the piece took you ten days.
Treat it as passive income from existing work, never as your main store. The artists who do well here upload large catalogues of product friendly designs and let volume do the work.
What we like- Upload once and your art sells on prints, home goods, apparel and more with no production or shipping work, no fees to start, platform handles customer service and returns, good fit for pattern and design work that suits products
Watch out for- Artist earnings are low, generally around 10 percent of the product price and less on some items, you set a markup on some products but higher prices are set by the platform, discounting is frequent and shrinks your royalty further, account and product rules have tightened and not every artist is accepted now
#7eBay
Best for: Auctions and a huge general buyer base1.2/5 on
Trustpilot (19,286 reviews, checked Oct 2026)
Visit ebay.com
Starting priceSee website
Free planNo
eBay is the overlooked option. It lacks the art world polish of Saatchi, but collectors genuinely search it, auctions create urgency that fixed listings do not, and for estate pieces, editions and named artists it can outperform curated sites.
Price the fees into the listing and photograph like a gallery. On eBay the listing is the shop window, the framing and the salesperson, and weak images are the main reason good pieces stall.
What we like- Enormous general buyer base including collectors searching for specific artists and styles, auction format can push prices up on in demand pieces, established market for prints, posters and secondary market art, seller protections and payment handling are mature
Watch out for- Final value fees reported around 13 percent in most art categories, plus payment and possible listing costs, art is one category among millions, so presentation does the heavy lifting, returns and buyer claims can be a headache on originals, fee categories and rates change often, so the field stays at See website
Starting priceSee website
Free planNo
Singulart is the high end gallery model taken furthest: a subscription plus half the sale. For an artist whose pieces sell for several thousand and who values the gallery framing and international logistics, that can still pencil out.
For most artists reading this guide, it will not. A 50 percent commission plus a monthly fee is a deal for artists with pricing power and a waiting list, and a poor one for everyone else. It closes the list as a marker of what the top of this market charges.
What we like- Curated international gallery with a collector base comfortable at higher prices, professional presentation, artist profiles and platform marketing support, logistics help for shipping originals internationally, works for artists building a gallery track record
Watch out for- Commission reported at 50 percent, on top of subscription plans reported from about 49 dollars per month, selective admission aimed at established artists, at these rates a sale needs careful pricing to leave the artist a fair share
How we chose
We compared the platforms working artists actually use in October 2026 across the three models in this market: fee stacking marketplaces, commission galleries, and royalty based print on demand, plus the own your store option. Fee figures come from platform terms and 2026 fee roundups, and where those sources disagreed, most notably on Saatchi Art and Artfinder commissions, we printed the disagreement rather than picking a number. We did not sell art through any platform for this guide, and earnings examples are arithmetic, not promises.
Price backwards. Decide what you must receive for a piece, then divide by what the platform leaves you. Keep 60 percent and a 600 dollar floor means a 1,000 dollar list price. Artists who price forwards from what sounds nice discover the platform's share at payout time.
Separate discovery from margin. Use marketplaces and their traffic to be found, and move repeat buyers toward your own store where the per sale cost is a card fee. Email addresses you collect yourself are the only audience no platform can take away.
Read the ad and discount terms, not just the commission. Etsy's Offsite Ads and Society6's discounting both change your real rate after the headline figure has done its persuading. Your true rate is the one on the payout statement.
Match the platform to the work. Originals belong where collectors browse. Prints belong where the royalty and print quality are best. Designs belong on products. One catalogue copied everywhere usually means the wrong deal somewhere.
Frequently asked questions
How much does Etsy take from an art sale?
On a typical US order, about 9.5 to 11 percent: a 20 cent listing fee, a 6.5 percent transaction fee charged on the total including shipping, and payment processing of 3 percent plus 25 cents. If the sale comes through Offsite Ads, add 12 to 15 percent on that order.
Which platform pays artists the highest share?
Of the print platforms, INPRNT at 50 percent of the print price. Your own Shopify store keeps the most overall, since there is no commission, only card processing, but it brings no buyers. Gallery platforms keep the least per sale, taking 35 to 50 percent in commission.
Should I sell originals or prints?
Both, at different places. Originals carry the margin and the reputation; prints carry the volume. Many artists sell originals through a gallery platform or their own site and prints through INPRNT or Etsy, and let each do the job it is built for.
Do I need to join just one platform?
No. Non exclusive selling is normal and expected. The exceptions are some curated galleries and programmes with exclusivity clauses, so read the terms before signing anything that limits where else you can sell the same work.
How are taxes and shipping handled?
Platforms generally collect and remit sales tax or VAT on marketplace sales in many regions, but income tax on your earnings is yours. Shipping originals is usually your job on gallery platforms, with their coordination help; print on demand platforms handle production and shipping entirely.
Sources we checked (0)
Is your product missing or out of date?
We review this list regularly. Vendors can request a listing, send updated pricing or ask about featured placement.
Shihab Mia · Founder, Rankite
Shihab has 5+ years in B2B and SaaS SEO. He writes Rankite's software buying guides from pricing pages, documentation and public user reviews. More about Shihab.