Whatnot fees 2026: what percentage does Whatnot take from sellers?
Whatnot's fee structure looks simple: one commission, one processing fee. What you actually keep depends on your spot price, how many orders a break takes, and what the buyer pays on top for shipping and tax. Here's the full picture, with a worked example for every line.
Written and fact-checked by an active Whatnot breaker on the BreakTemplate team. Updated November 1, 2026. How we check facts
The two fees on every sale
1. Commission: 8% of the item price
At the Standard tier, which covers US sellers with under $15,000 in sales per four-week period, Whatnot takes 8% of the item price for sports cards and most other categories: the winning bid or the buy-it-now price of the spot. The commission is not charged on the shipping the buyer pays or on sales tax. Higher-volume sellers pay a lower rate; the tier table below has the numbers.
2. Payment processing: about 2.9% + $0.30 per order
Every order also pays payment processing of about 2.9% plus a fixed $0.30. Unlike the commission, processing applies to the full amount the buyer pays, shipping and tax included. And because the $0.30 is charged per order, a break that sells as 32 separate orders pays it 32 times.
Worked example: one $50 sale
- Commission: 8% of $50 = $4.00
- Processing: 2.9% of $50 = $1.45, plus $0.30 = $1.75
- Total fees: $5.75, or 11.5% of the sale
- You keep: $44.25
If the buyer also paid, say, $5 in shipping and $3.50 in tax on that order, processing applies to that $8.50 as well, adding about $0.25. Small on one order, but it is why a payout never matches the clean math to the penny.
Why cheap spots keep less: the fixed $0.30
The percentage fees scale with the price; the $0.30 does not. On a $3 spot it is 10% of the sale all by itself. Here is what you keep per order at common spot prices at the 8% Standard tier, counting the item price only (shipping and tax add a little more processing on top):
| Spot price | Commission | Processing | Total fees | You keep | Share kept |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| $3 | $0.24 | $0.39 | $0.63 | $2.37 | 79.1% |
| $6 | $0.48 | $0.47 | $0.95 | $5.05 | 84.1% |
| $7 | $0.56 | $0.50 | $1.06 | $5.94 | 84.8% |
| $10 | $0.80 | $0.59 | $1.39 | $8.61 | 86.1% |
| $20 | $1.60 | $0.88 | $2.48 | $17.52 | 87.6% |
| $50 | $4.00 | $1.75 | $5.75 | $44.25 | 88.5% |
| $100 | $8.00 | $3.20 | $11.20 | $88.80 | 88.8% |
| $500 | $40.00 | $14.80 | $54.80 | $445.20 | 89.0% |
The pattern: below about $10 a spot, the fee share climbs fast. Above about $50, it flattens out near 11%. That is why the fixed fee matters so much to breakers selling 32 small spots and so little to someone selling one $500 card.
Worked example: a full 32-spot break
A random team break of one box, 32 spots at $7, every spot its own order:
- Revenue: 32 × $7 = $224.00
- Commission (8%): −$17.92
- Processing (2.9% of $224 = $6.50, plus 32 × $0.30 = $9.60): −$16.10
- Total fees: $34.02, or 15.2% of revenue
- Take-home before product cost: $189.98, just under 85 cents on the dollar
Run the same break with $40 spots on a bigger product and the fees come to $149.12 on $1,280, or 11.7%, because the same 32 fixed charges are spread over far more money. Same number of orders, very different share. If buyers in your shows often win several spots, look at a real payout to see how many $0.30 charges a break actually paid.
Lower commission as your sales grow
Since September 21, 2026, Whatnot sets your commission by tier. Your total sales across all categories in a four-week period decide your tier, and that tier's rate applies for the next four-week period, not right away. As of October 2026, the US rates for sports cards and trading card games are:
| Tier | Sales in four weeks | Commission |
|---|---|---|
| Standard | $0 to $14,999 | 8.00% |
| Tier 1 | $15,000 to $34,999 | 7.75% |
| Tier 2 | $35,000 to $49,999 | 7.50% |
| Tier 3 | $50,000 to $99,999 | 7.25% |
| Tier 4 | $100,000 to $249,999 | 7.00% |
| Tier 5 | $250,000 to $499,999 | 6.75% |
| Tier 6 | $500,000 and up | 6.50% |
Processing stays at 2.9% + $0.30 at every tier. Every worked example on this page uses the 8% Standard rate, which covers sellers under $15,000 in four weeks. If you are in a higher tier, swap your rate into the formulas below or the fee calculator. Seller Hub shows your current tier and the rate charged on every order.
Category rates and high-value sales
- Sports cards, trading card games and most other categories: 8% commission at the Standard tier.
- Coins and money: 4% at the Standard tier, stepping down to 3.50% at the top tier.
- Sales above $1,500: Whatnot charges 0% commission on the portion of a single order above $1,500 in select categories. In sports cards that covers singles only: sports breaks are excluded. Payment processing still applies to the full order.
These terms shift: the $1,500 rule is a limited-time promotion, and rates differ by country. Confirm the current rate for your category in your Whatnot seller dashboard. Sports break spots do not qualify for the $1,500 rule, so for sports breakers the tier rate is the one that matters.
Shipping: usually not your cost, with exceptions
On Whatnot the buyer normally pays shipping at checkout and you print a prepaid label from your seller tools, so postage usually stays out of your break math. Where shipping can still cost you:
- Free or discounted shipping that you choose to offer comes out of your side of the sale.
- Label changes, such as a heavier package or a faster service than the buyer paid for, can land on you.
- Supplies are always yours: penny sleeves, toploaders, team bags, mailers, tape. Budget them per break.
The shipping the buyer pays still runs through processing, so it adds a little to your fees even though it is not your revenue. Check your shipping settings in the seller dashboard for the exact rates on your account.
Refunds and cancellations
When an order is refunded or canceled, the sale comes back out of your payout. Whether any of the commission or processing on that order comes back to you depends on the situation and on Whatnot's current policy, so check the order detail in your dashboard. For planning, assume the worst case: a refund costs you the full sale, and the processing fee does not come back.
The cheapest refund is the one that never happens. Sleeve and toploader every hit, match every card to the right buyer before it goes in a mailer, and ship on time. Tracking one number per show, refunds as a share of orders, shows you a packaging or mix-up problem early.
Sales tax and your records
As the marketplace, Whatnot generally collects and remits sales tax where state law requires it, so the tax a buyer pays is never your money. It still runs through processing. For income tax, your own records matter more than any single fee: keep revenue, fees, product cost, and supplies for every show. Whatnot may send you a 1099-K, and the reporting thresholds have changed more than once in recent years, so check current IRS guidance or ask a tax professional.
How to price with fees built in
At the Standard tier, every spot keeps 89.1% of its price (100% minus the 8% commission minus 2.9% processing), less $0.30. At a higher tier, use your own rate: at 7.75% the factor is 0.8935 instead of 0.891. So for a break with a fixed cost (box plus supplies) and a set number of spots:
- Break-even spot price = (cost ÷ spots + $0.30) ÷ 0.891
- Spot price for a target margin = (cost ÷ spots + $0.30) ÷ (0.891 − margin)
Example: a $200 box plus $8 of supplies, split into 32 spots. Cost per spot is $6.50, so break-even is ($6.50 + $0.30) ÷ 0.891 = $7.63. For a 20% margin it is ($6.50 + $0.30) ÷ 0.691 = $9.84; call it $10. At $10 a spot the break brings in $320, pays $44.48 in fees, and leaves $67.52 profit, 21.1% of revenue.
These formulas skip the processing on shipping and tax, which nudges real fees up by a few cents per order. The Whatnot fee calculator does the per-sale math, and the break profit calculator runs a whole break: it applies the commission and the per-order processing fee, so cheap spots show their real cost. For complete worked breaks by product, read break math.
Common fee mistakes
- Pricing off the 8% headline. On $7 spots the real all-in rate is about 15%.
- Forgetting the $0.30 scales with orders. Splitting a box into more, cheaper spots adds fixed fees. Fewer, bigger spots (like random divisions) pay fewer of them.
- Counting shipping or tax as revenue. Neither is yours, but both add processing.
- Assuming the $1,500 rule covers break spots. Sports breaks are excluded. Check your dashboard for the rate you are actually charged.
- Expecting a lower tier rate right away. Crossing a sales threshold lowers your rate for the next four-week period, not the current one.
- Never reconciling. Compare one show's payout to your own numbers line by line, and the gaps stop being surprises.
Keep the numbers per show
Stop reconciling spreadsheets at month-end.
BreakTemplate keeps each break's revenue, the costs you log, and profit together, with CSV export when tax time comes. It does not connect to your Whatnot account, so you enter your numbers once per break. Free for one break.
Whatnot fee questions
How much does Whatnot take from a sports card sale?
As of November 2026, a US sports card seller at the Standard tier (under $15,000 in sales per four-week period) pays an 8% commission on the item price, plus payment processing of 2.9% + $0.30 per order. On a $50 sale that is $4.00 in commission and $1.75 in processing, so you keep $44.25. Confirm your rate in your seller dashboard.
Does the Whatnot commission apply to shipping?
No. The 8% commission is charged on the item price only. Payment processing does apply to the full amount the buyer pays, including shipping and tax.
Why do cheap break spots lose more to fees?
The $0.30 processing fee is fixed per order. On a $3 spot fees take about 21% of the sale, on a $7 spot about 15%, and on a $50 sale about 11.5%. A typical 32-spot break of $6 to $7 spots keeps roughly 84 cents on the dollar.
Is there no commission on Whatnot sales over $1,500?
Only in some categories. As of November 2026, Whatnot charges 0% commission on the portion of a single order above $1,500 for sports singles, trading card games, coins and a few other categories. Sports breaks are excluded, and payment processing still applies to the full order. It is a limited-time promotion, so confirm the current terms in your seller dashboard.
Does the Whatnot commission go down as you sell more?
Yes. Since September 21, 2026, your total sales across all categories in a four-week period set your tier, and that tier's rate applies for the next four-week period. For US sports cards it is 8% under $15,000, 7.75% from $15,000, 7.50% from $35,000, and steps down to 6.50% at $500,000 and up. Processing stays at 2.9% + $0.30.