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E-Commerce · head to head

Depop vs Swell Commerce

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
Swell Commerce logo

Swell Commerce

E-Commerce

Headless ecommerce for modern brands

From
$29/month
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.; Swell Commerce each plan carries an annual revenue ceiling, and exceeding it is charged as a percentage of the excess: 2 percent on Starter down to 0.4 percent on Unlimited
  • They diverge on capability: Depop covers Curated seller shops, Swell Commerce covers Headless architecture.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Depop and Swell Commerce actually diverge.

Attributes where Depop and Swell Commerce differ
AttributeDepopSwell Commerce
Starting priceFree$29/month
Pricing modelFree to list; percentage plus per-order seller fee, separate payment processing feesubscription
Free tierYesNo
PlatformsiOS, Android, WebWeb
FoundedUnknown2019

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 Swell Commerce

  • Headless architecture
  • GraphQL & REST APIs
  • Subscription commerce
  • Multi-currency support
  • Inventory management
  • Custom checkout
  • Webhook integrations
  • Developer-friendly SDK

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 Swell Commerce
  • A buyer who discovers items through a social-style feed rather than direct searchnot Swell Commerce
  • A seller moving higher-priced individual pieces where the current fee structure is more favourable than the old flat ratenot Swell Commerce
  • Someone who wants social features like likes and follows as part of the buying and selling experiencenot Swell Commerce

Swell Commerce

  • Running a headless commerce backend with APIs for a custom storefrontnot Depop
  • Selling subscription products alongside one off purchasesnot Depop
  • Operating multi currency stores from one commerce backendnot 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.

Swell Commerce

  • Each plan carries an annual revenue ceiling, and exceeding it is charged as a percentage of the excess: 2 percent on Starter down to 0.4 percent on Unlimited
  • Starter at $29 a month allows 2 admin users and includes only 100,000 API requests and 1GB of storage per month
  • Additional API requests cost $5 per 100,000 and extra storage $5 per GB
  • Role based permissions and developer support are restricted to the Unlimited plan at $2,250 a month
  • Advanced reports and priced currencies require the Standard plan or higher
  • Published prices are the billed yearly rates, so monthly billing costs more

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

Swell Commerce

$29/month
  • Starter$29/month
    • Up to $50K annual revenue
    • Basic reports
    • Up to 5 admin users
  • Basic$79/month
    • Up to $250K annual revenue
    • Most popular plan
    • Basic reports
  • Standard$299/month
    • Up to $1M annual revenue
    • Advanced reports
    • Up to 15 admin users
  • Unlimited$2250/month
    • Up to $5M annual revenue
    • Unlimited scalability and granular control
    • Unlimited admin users

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 Swell Commerce if

  • You need headless architecture.
  • You also want graphql & rest apis.
Swell Commerce review

Questions people ask

Is Depop or Swell Commerce better?
Neither clearly leads. Depop starts at Free and Swell Commerce at $29/month, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Depop or Swell Commerce?
Depop has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for Depop and $29/month for Swell Commerce.
Does Depop or Swell Commerce run on more platforms?
Depop runs on iOS, Android, Web. Swell Commerce runs on Web.
Can I use Depop for free?
Yes. Depop has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Swell Commerce starts at $29/month.
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 Swell Commerce is typically brought in for.
What can Depop do that Swell Commerce cannot?
Depop covers Curated seller shops, Social discovery feed, Per-order seller fee, Depop Payments. Swell Commerce covers Headless architecture, GraphQL & REST APIs, Subscription commerce, Multi-currency support.

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.

Swell Commerce: How much does Swell Commerce cost?

Swell offers four tiers starting at $29 per month for Starter and going up to $2,250 per month for Unlimited. Annual billing provides a 25% discount compared to monthly billing. All prices are in USD.

Source
Depop: Who owns Depop?

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

Swell Commerce: What are Swell's revenue tier overages?

Each plan includes a revenue ceiling based on 12-month trailing sales. Starter allows up to $50K with 2% overage, Basic allows $250K with 1.5% overage, Standard allows $1M with 1% overage, and Unlimited allows $5M with 0.4% overage. Custom plans are available for merchants exceeding $10M annually.

Source
Depop: Does Depop charge for payment processing separately?

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

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