Shopify questionAnswer3 min read
Can I Sell Handmade Products on Shopify?
Yes. Shopify suits handmade sellers well once you have steady sales, and it handles made-to-order, personalized and one-off pieces. Here's how to set it up and when Etsy is still the better start.
Key takeaways
- Shopify has no rules against handmade goods, and many makers run their whole business on it.
- Basic costs $25 a month, or $19 billed yearly, with no listing fees or commission on sales through Shopify Payments.
- Each product can have up to 2,048 variants, enough for most color, size and material combinations.
- Etsy brings built-in buyers, so many makers start there and add Shopify once they have repeat customers.
- Who it is for
- Makers and crafters
- Time needed
- 5 minutes to read
- What you need
- Your product costs
Yes, you can sell handmade products on Shopify, and it's one of the best places to build a handmade brand you own. You pay a monthly plan instead of per-listing fees and commission, you control how your shop looks, and you keep every customer's email. The trade-off is traffic: unlike Etsy, Shopify doesn't bring buyers to you, so you need a plan to find them.
I build Shopify stores for makers, so I'm biased toward Shopify. Below I'm honest about when Etsy is the better place to start. Prices were checked on 7 November 2026.
Where to sell handmade products online
| Where | Main cost | Buyers come from | Better fit |
|---|---|---|---|
| Shopify | $25 a month, card fees | Your own marketing | Growing brands |
| Etsy | $0.20 a listing, 6.5% of sale | Etsy search | Testing products |
| Both | Both sets of fees | Etsy plus your list | Most established makers |
Etsy also charges US sellers 3% + $0.25 for payment processing, and 12% or 15% on sales from its Offsite Ads. My Shopify vs Etsy comparison works through the numbers.
How to set up a handmade store
- Made to order: say how long making takes on each product page, and turn off stock tracking or allow overselling for items you make after purchase.
- One-of-a-kind pieces: set stock to 1, so the item sells out automatically once bought.
- Variants: use options for color, size and material. Shopify allows up to 2,048 variants per product.
- Personalization: for names, initials or custom text, add a text field to the product form with a personalization app or a small theme edit.
- Photos and story: handmade buyers pay for the maker as much as the object. Show your hands, your workspace and your process.
My guide to writing product descriptions that sell helps with the copy, which matters more for handmade goods than for almost anything else.
Pricing handmade work
Price for materials, your time, packaging, fees and a margin, not for what feels polite. A $35 item with $10 of materials and two hours of work earns very little once fees and shipping come off. Run each product through a profit margin calculator before you list it, and raise prices before launch rather than after.
Finding your first buyers
A Shopify store has no built-in audience, so plan where the first visitors come from before launch. For makers, the usual sources are an Instagram or TikTok account that shows the making process, craft fairs and markets where you hand out cards, existing Etsy customers you invite to reorder, and local press or gift guides. Collect emails from day one with a simple sign-up offer, because a handmade brand grows on repeat buyers and gifts.
When Etsy is the better start
- You're testing whether people will buy at all.
- You sell a few pieces a month and the plan fee would eat your profit.
- You have no time for marketing yet.
Once repeat buyers appear, add a Shopify store and put a card in every parcel pointing to it.
Rules by country
Handmade goods follow the same product safety rules as factory-made ones. Candles, cosmetics, toys and children's items have specific requirements in the US, the UK, the EU and Australia, and selling food or cosmetics in the UK needs registration or a safety assessment before you sell. My guide to product safety and labelling rules covers what applies, and my answer on selling cosmetics in the UK covers that category.
What to do next
- Price your products properly before you build anything.
- Decide on Etsy, Shopify or both using the table above.
- Start a trial and set up made-to-order and personalization on your first few products.
- Get help. My store builds start from $300, with a fixed quote after a free review.
Free tools
Check your own store
Free, no sign-up. Each one runs a part of this guide for you.
Frequently asked questions
Can I sell handmade items on Shopify?
Yes. Shopify has no rules against handmade goods. You pay a monthly plan and card fees, and you control the shop, the brand and the customer list.
Is Etsy or Shopify better for handmade products?
Etsy is better for testing products, because buyers already search there. Shopify is better once you have repeat customers and want lower fees and your own brand. Many makers use both.
How do I sell made-to-order products on Shopify?
State the making time on the product page, and turn off stock tracking or allow overselling so customers can order items you haven't made yet.
Can customers personalize handmade products on Shopify?
Yes, with a personalization app or a small theme edit that adds a text field to the product form. The customer's text appears on the order.
How much does it cost to sell handmade products on Shopify?
Basic is $25 a month, or $19 billed yearly, plus card fees. There are no listing fees or commission on sales through Shopify Payments.
Where else can I sell handmade products online?
Etsy is the best-known marketplace for handmade goods. Your own Shopify store, social media shops and local markets work well alongside it.
Sources
- Shopify pricing, Shopify
- productVariantsBulkCreate (variant limit), Shopify.dev
- What are the Fees and Taxes for Selling on Etsy?, Etsy Help
- Store Migration, Shopify App Store
Related services and work
I'm a Shopify developer and CRO specialist. I have built and improved Shopify stores since 2018, completed more than 1,000 projects, and hold a 4.96 average rating across 719 client reviews.
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