Whatnot Fees vs eBay Fees
Whatnot is a livestream-auction marketplace, popular for trading cards, collectibles and electronics, that structures its fees differently from eBay's fixed-price and auction listings.
| eBay | Whatnot | |
|---|---|---|
| Main fee | 13.6% final value fee (most categories) | 8% commission (most categories) |
| Payment processing | Included in the final value fee | Separate, ~2.9% + $0.30 |
| Listing fee | None within free monthly allowance | None |
| Category exceptions | Several, see the full schedule | Electronics 5%, Coins & Money 4% |
eBay rate verified 2026-09-12 against eBay's own schedule. Whatnot's commission and processing rates are corroborated across independent sources, checked 2026-09-13.
Whatnot's 8% isn't the whole story
Whatnot's headline commission looks like a clear win against eBay's 13.6%, and on the commission line alone, it is. But Whatnot charges its payment processing fee separately, roughly 2.9% plus $0.30, on top of the 8% commission, while eBay's 13.6% already has payment processing folded in. Add Whatnot's two charges together and the gap to eBay narrows considerably.
A worked example on a $50 sale
On eBay, most categories: 13.6% of $50 (no shipping charged separately in a typical Whatnot-style live sale) is $6.80, plus a $0.40 per-order fee, for $7.20 total, a payout of $42.80. On Whatnot: 8% commission is $4.00, plus processing of 2.9% of $50 ($1.45) plus $0.30, for $5.75 total, a payout of $44.25. Whatnot comes out ahead on this example, by about a dollar and a half, not the roughly $3.60 the 8%-vs-13.6% headline numbers alone would suggest.
Different formats, different strengths
eBay is a searchable, always-on marketplace, a buyer finds your listing through search months after you post it. Whatnot is a live, scheduled auction, a sale happens in real time during a stream and depends on who's watching that specific show. Trading cards, sneakers and other categories with an active collector livestream culture tend to do disproportionately well on Whatnot regardless of the fee difference, while items with steady, ongoing search demand generally do better staying listed and searchable on eBay.
For your own exact numbers, use the eBay fee calculator or the Whatnot fee calculator, or see both side by side on the platform comparison tool. If you sell trading cards specifically, see eBay fees on trading cards.