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E-Commerce · head to head

Depop vs eBay

Depop logo

Depop

E-Commerce

Fashion resale marketplace popular with younger sellers, owned by Etsy, with a per-item plus percentage fee

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
E

eBay

E-Commerce

Global marketplace where sellers list into eBay's audience under eBay's fee schedule and rules

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only Depop has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: Depop the 2024 shift away from a flat 10 percent fee increased the effective cost per sale for sellers moving high volumes of low-priced items, a group that was previously well served by the app.; eBay the final value fee applies to the total the buyer pays including postage and tax rather than to the item price, so a low value item with expensive shipping loses a much larger share of its margin than the headline percentage implies.
  • They diverge on capability: Depop covers Curated seller shops, eBay covers Auction and fixed price listings.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Depop and eBay actually diverge.

Attributes where Depop and eBay differ
AttributeDepopeBay
Starting priceFreeOn request
Pricing modelFree to list; percentage plus per-order seller fee, separate payment processing feesubscription
Free tierYesNo
PlatformsiOS, Android, WebWeb

Identical on both: user rating (Not yet rated), category (E-Commerce).

What each one covers

Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.

Only in Depop

  • Curated seller shops
  • Social discovery feed
  • Per-order seller fee
  • Depop Payments
  • Offers and bundles
  • Boost and promoted listings

Only in eBay

  • Auction and fixed price listings
  • Managed payments
  • eBay Stores
  • Promoted Listings
  • Bulk listing tools
  • International selling programmes
  • Money Back Guarantee
  • Seller performance standards

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

Depop

  • A younger seller building a curated vintage or streetwear shop with a distinct aesthetic identitynot eBay
  • A buyer who discovers items through a social-style feed rather than direct searchnot eBay
  • A seller moving higher-priced individual pieces where the current fee structure is more favourable than the old flat ratenot eBay
  • Someone who wants social features like likes and follows as part of the buying and selling experiencenot eBay

eBay

  • Selling used, refurbished or one-off stock that has no natural search demand on its own sitenot Depop
  • Parts and spares catalogues where buyers search by fitment rather than by brandnot Depop
  • Liquidating returns or excess inventory without building an audience for itnot Depop
  • Testing whether demand exists for a product line before investing in a standalone storefrontnot Depop

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

Depop

  • The 2024 shift away from a flat 10 percent fee increased the effective cost per sale for sellers moving high volumes of low-priced items, a group that was previously well served by the app.
  • Payment processing is a separate fee on top of the per-order seller fee, so the total deduction from a sale is not fully captured by the headline percentage alone.
  • Discovery leans heavily on an algorithmic social feed, so newer sellers without an existing following can find it harder to get visibility without paying for Boost promotion.
  • As an Etsy subsidiary since 2021, Depop's roadmap and fee decisions are set within a larger public company strategy rather than independently, and past fee changes reflect that broader commercial pressure.
  • Buyer protection and dispute resolution for item condition or authenticity issues rely on Depop's own policies, which are less standardised than the seller-rating-driven trust systems on some competitors.

eBay

  • The final value fee applies to the total the buyer pays including postage and tax rather than to the item price, so a low value item with expensive shipping loses a much larger share of its margin than the headline percentage implies.
  • Fees stack rather than substitute, since a Store subscription, a per order fixed fee, Promoted Listings and cross-border percentages all apply on top of the category rate, and the effective take rate is only visible after a full month of settlement reports.
  • eBay controls search placement, so as a category gets competitive the practical cost of visibility becomes the Promoted Listings rate, and that is an auction against other sellers that only goes one way.
  • You do not get the customer relationship, because eBay mediates messaging and does not supply a marketing list, so repeat business depends on eBay showing your listing again rather than on anything you own.
  • The account is the entire asset and it is governed by policies eBay enforces unilaterally, so a suspension or a category restriction ends the revenue immediately with no portable equivalent of a domain, a theme or a customer database to move elsewhere.

Pricing, plan by plan

Depop

Free
  • SellingFree
    • Percentage-based fee on sale price plus a small fixed per-order fee
    • Separate payment processing fee applies on top
    • Sellers should check current published rates, as the fee structure changed from a flat 10 percent in 2024

eBay

On request

No published plan breakdown. See the eBay review.

Which should you pick?

Choose Depop if

  • You need curated seller shops.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on iOS, Android, Web.
  • You also want social discovery feed.
Depop review

Choose eBay if

  • You need auction and fixed price listings.
  • You also want managed payments.
eBay review

Questions people ask

Is Depop or eBay better?
Neither clearly leads. Depop starts at Free and eBay at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Depop or eBay?
Depop has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for Depop and On request for eBay.
Does Depop or eBay run on more platforms?
Depop runs on iOS, Android, Web. eBay runs on Web.
Can I use Depop for free?
Yes. Depop has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. eBay starts at On request.
What is Depop best used for?
Depop is most often used for a younger seller building a curated vintage or streetwear shop with a distinct aesthetic identity, a buyer who discovers items through a social-style feed rather than direct search, a seller moving higher-priced individual pieces where the current fee structure is more favourable than the old flat rate, someone who wants social features like likes and follows as part of the buying and selling experience. Of those, a younger seller building a curated vintage or streetwear shop with a distinct aesthetic identity and a buyer who discovers items through a social-style feed rather than direct search are not what eBay is typically brought in for.
What can Depop do that eBay cannot?
Depop covers Curated seller shops, Social discovery feed, Per-order seller fee, Depop Payments. eBay covers Auction and fixed price listings, Managed payments, eBay Stores, Promoted Listings.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Depop: Is Depop seller fee still a flat 10 percent?

No, Depop moved to a percentage plus small fixed per-order fee structure in 2024, replacing the earlier flat 10 percent rate.

eBay: What does selling on eBay actually cost?

A category-dependent percentage of the total buyer payment including postage, plus a fixed fee per order, plus any Store subscription, advertising rate and international fees. Model all of them together, not the first one alone.

Depop: Who owns Depop?

Etsy, which acquired Depop in 2021 for 1.625 billion dollars.

eBay: Can I use my own payment provider?

No. Payments run through eBay and settle to your bank account on eBay's payout schedule, so you do not choose the processor and you do not control settlement timing.

Depop: Does Depop charge for payment processing separately?

Yes, Depop Payments carries its own fee in addition to the per-order seller fee.

eBay: Do I get my customers' email addresses?

Not for marketing. eBay mediates buyer contact, which is why sellers who rely on it have no list to fall back on if the channel changes.

eBay: Is eBay an alternative to having my own store?

It is a channel, not a substitute. Sellers who use it well treat it as demand they rent while building something they own in parallel.

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