The Honest Comparison
We're not the right platform for everyone. But if you believe merchants should own their customers, their data, and their revenue — read on.
At a Glance
The Real Cost
Every fee below is real, documented, and taken from each platform’s own fee policy. This is what sellers actually pay when the fees stack up.
On a $50.00 CAD sale, Alkemy Starter takes $5.75 (plus $4.99/mo) — Etsy takes $14.70, Shopify Basic takes $3.04 (plus $124.60/mo before you sell anything), and Amazon FBA takes $22.30 (plus $55.99/mo). Each card below spreads those monthly fees across your sales, so it shows what a sale really costs at your volume, on whichever Alkemy plan costs you least. Every figure is sourced from each platform’s published fee documentation.
Alkemy shown on whichever plan is cheapest at your price and volume: Starter (8%), Growth (5%) or Enterprise (1.5%). Its plans are billed in CAD; competitors’ fixed fees are published in USD and converted at $1 USD = $1.40 CAD (Bank of Canada, October 2026). Shopify’s app spend is matched to that plan’s features: $50 USD/mo against Starter, $150 against Growth, $300 against Enterprise.
Deep Dive
Feature-by-feature comparison across all four platforms. No spin — just facts.
| Feature | AlkemyFederated Marketplace | EtsyPlatform-Controlled Marketplace | ShopifyStandalone Store | AmazonMass Marketplace |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ownership & Data | ||||
| Merchant of record | ✓Always you | ✗Etsy is MoR | ✓Always you | ✗Amazon is MoR (FBA) |
| Customer email addresses | ✓Real emails | ✗Masked by Etsy | ✓Full access | ✗No access |
| Full data export | ✓ | ~Limited CSV | ✓ | ✗Very limited |
| Platform lock-in | None | Moderate | Low | High |
| Costs & Fees | ||||
| Monthly subscription | $4.99 – $299CAD, 14-day free trial | $0$0.20/listing fee | $39 – $399 | $39.99Professional plan |
| Transaction / referral fee | 1.5–8%Based on plan tier | 6.5%On price + shipping | 0%With Shopify Payments | 8–15%Most categories 15% |
| Payment processing | 2.9% + 30¢Stripe standard | 3% + 25¢Etsy Payments | 2.9% + 30¢Shopify Payments | IncludedIn referral fee |
| Mandatory advertising fees | ✓None ever | ✗12–15% Offsite Ads over $10K | ✓None | ~PPC effectively required |
| Listing / per-item fees | None | $0.20/listingRenews every 4mo or sale | None | $0.99/itemIndividual plan only |
| Storefront & Brand | ||||
| Custom storefront | ✓Site builder included | ~Pattern ($15/mo extra) | ✓Full customization | ✗Amazon storefront only |
| Custom domain | ✓Growth plan+ | ~Pattern only | ✓ | ✗ |
| Brand identity | Full | Limited | Full | Minimal |
| Discovery & Traffic | ||||
| Built-in marketplace | ✓ | ✓92M+ buyers | ✗DIY traffic | ✓300M+ customers |
| SEO / own traffic | ✓ | ~Etsy controls SEO | ✓Full SEO control | ✗Amazon controls rankings |
| Shipping & International | ||||
| Shipping integration | EasyPost | Etsy Labels | Shopify Shipping | FBA / Buy Shipping |
| Landed cost calculator | ✓Zonos (Growth+) | ✗ | ~Advanced plan / app | ✓FBA Global |
| Chargeback protection | ✓Chargeflow | ~Etsy Purchase Protection | ~Shopify Protect (US only) | ✓A-to-z Guarantee |
| Support & Tools | ||||
| Analytics dashboard | ✓Growth plan+ | ✓Etsy Stats | ✓Grow plan+ | ✓Brand Analytics |
| API access | ✓Enterprise plan | ~Limited / approved apps | ✓All plans | ✓SP-API |
The Difference
On Etsy and Amazon, customers belong to the platform. You never get their real email. You can’t build a relationship, a mailing list, or a brand outside the marketplace walls. On Alkemy, every customer is yours.
Stripe Connect means your money goes directly to your Stripe account. We never hold your funds, we never delay payouts, and our transaction fee is transparent — one percentage, no stacking, no surprise ad fees.
If Alkemy stopped being right for you tomorrow, you’d take your customer list, order history, product data, and storefront assets with you. Try doing that on Amazon. We earn your loyalty — we don’t trap it.
Begin the Transmutation
Claim your store on time and your first 14 days on any plan are free. Grow at your pace. Leave whenever you want — and take everything with you.