Mercari vs. Poshmark: the same sale, both fee schedules
Mercari's 10% sounds cheaper than Poshmark's 20%. Whether it actually is depends on something neither headline rate mentions: who pays for the shipping label. This worked example prices one $50 item both ways.
The item
A $50 item that cost $20 and needs $1 of packaging either way. On Mercari, the seller lists with "free shipping" and buys their own $8 label — a common choice, and the current 10% fee (listings created or updated on or after January 6, 2025) applies to the item price alone since the buyer pays no shipping. On Poshmark, the sale clears the $15 commission threshold, so Poshmark keeps 20% of the sale price; the buyer pays Poshmark's own flat shipping fee separately at checkout, which funds a prepaid label and never touches what the seller receives.
| On a $50 sale | Mercari | Poshmark |
|---|---|---|
| Fee / commission | $5.00 (10% of $50) | $10.00 (20% of $50) |
| Shipping label | $8.00 (seller-bought) | $0.00 (buyer pays it separately) |
| Item cost | $20.00 | $20.00 |
| Packaging | $1.00 | $1.00 |
| Total fees + shipping | $13.00 | $10.00 |
| Net payout | $37.00 | $40.00 |
| Net profit | $16.00 | $19.00 |
| Margin | 32.0% | 38.0% |
On this free-shipping listing, Poshmark nets $3.00 more — its higher commission is still less than Mercari's fee plus the label the seller bought out of pocket.
The real lever: who pays for shipping
Change one thing about the Mercari listing — charge the buyer $8 for shipping instead of folding it into the price — and the result flips. Mercari's 10% now reaches that $8 too ($5.80 fee on $58 combined), but the seller no longer pays for the label out of their own payout:
| Same $50 item, buyer pays Mercari shipping | Mercari | Poshmark |
|---|---|---|
| Fee (10% of $58 combined) | $5.80 | $10.00 (20% of $50) |
| Shipping label | $0.00 (covered by buyer's $8 payment) | $0.00 |
| Item cost + packaging | $21.00 | $21.00 |
| Net profit | $23.20 | $19.00 |
Mercari now nets $4.20 more. Nothing about either fee schedule changed between the two tables — only who ends up paying for the label. Poshmark's per-sale cost to the seller is always just its commission, because shipping is never the seller's to pay on that platform. Mercari's per-sale cost is its 10% fee plus whatever shipping cost the seller does not pass to the buyer, so the same item can net more on either platform depending on that one listing choice.
What this comparison cannot tell you
- Your item's actual shipping cost isn't $8. A heavier or bulkier item costs more to ship on Mercari and makes Poshmark's no-seller-shipping structure look better; a light, cheap-to-ship item narrows or closes the gap. Replace $8 with your own label cost.
- Poshmark's buyer-paid shipping fee isn't modeled here. It doesn't touch seller payout either way, so it does not belong in this comparison — but it does affect what a buyer is willing to pay, which this page cannot see.
- An older Mercari listing may be on the legacy schedule (10% + 2.9% + $0.50), not the current 10%-only schedule this page uses. See the Mercari calculator's own schedule comparison for that case.
- Neither platform's audience, sell-through speed, or negotiation norms are compared here. This page prices one hypothetical sale on each platform's published fee schedule — it says nothing about which one sells a given item faster or for a higher accepted price.
Common questions
Is Mercari or Poshmark cheaper?
It depends on who pays for shipping, not just the headline rate. On the $50 worked example here, a free-shipping Mercari listing where the seller buys an $8 label nets $16 profit; the same item on Poshmark, where the buyer's flat shipping fee never touches seller payout, nets $19. But if the Mercari seller instead charges the buyer for that same $8 of shipping, Mercari's 10% fee wins instead, netting about $23.20. Mercari's lower headline rate only wins once shipping cost stops coming out of the seller's own pocket.
Why does the cheaper platform depend on who pays for shipping?
Mercari's 10% fee is charged on the item price plus any shipping the buyer pays — so a seller who charges the buyer for shipping pays a bit more fee on that shipping, but keeps the label cost out of their own pocket entirely. A seller who offers "free shipping" instead absorbs the label cost directly, which is not a Mercari fee but comes out of the same payout. Poshmark's 20%-or-$2.95 commission is the only deduction from a Poshmark seller's payout: shipping is a flat fee the buyer pays separately at checkout, funding a prepaid label that never reduces what the seller receives, regardless of the item's actual weight or shipping cost. 20% sounds larger than 10%, but it is also the seller's only per-sale cost on Poshmark, where Mercari's 10% is often only part of one.
Does this account for Mercari's legacy fee schedule?
No — this page only models Mercari's current schedule (listings created or updated on or after January 6, 2025): 10% on item price plus buyer-paid shipping, no separate processing fee. An older, unedited Mercari listing may still run the legacy 10% + 2.9% + $0.50 schedule, which changes the Mercari side of this comparison. Use the Mercari calculator's own schedule comparison to check which one a specific listing is on before comparing it to Poshmark.
Is this page affiliated with Poshmark?
No. This site is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by Poshmark. Poshmark is a trademark of its owner, named here only to describe its published seller fee schedule, using a worked example rather than a claim about either platform's current rates for your specific item.
Open the Mercari fee calculator for your own item, or see the Poshmark fee calculator for the $2.95-under-$15/20%-at-$15+ cliff on its own.