Is Depop or Mercari better?

Neither clearly leads. Depop starts at Free and Mercari at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.

Which is cheaper, Depop or Mercari?

Depop starts at Free and Mercari at Free.

Does Depop or Mercari run on more platforms?

Both run on iOS, Android, Web, so platform support will not decide this one for you.

Can I use Depop for free?

Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.

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 Mercari is typically brought in for.

What can Depop do that Mercari cannot?

Depop covers Curated seller shops, Social discovery feed, Per-order seller fee, Depop Payments. Mercari covers Flat seller commission, Prepaid shipping labels, Local pickup and offers, Smart pricing and price drops.

E-Commerce · head to head

Depop vs Mercari

Depop

E-Commerce

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

From: Free
Rated: -

Full review Website

Mercari

E-Commerce

Japan-founded peer-to-peer resale marketplace with a flat seller commission

From: Free
Rated: -

Full review Website

The short version

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.; Mercari the flat 10 percent commission plus payment processing fees applies even to very low-value items, so selling something for a few dollars can leave the seller with proportionally little after fees and packaging.
They diverge on capability: Depop covers Curated seller shops, Mercari covers Flat seller commission.
Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Depop and Mercari actually diverge.

Attributes where Depop and Mercari differ
Attribute	Depop	Mercari
Pricing model	Free to list; percentage plus per-order seller fee, separate payment processing fee	Free to list; 10 percent seller commission on sale price plus payment processing fee

Identical on both: starting price (Free), free tier (Yes), platforms (iOS, Android, Web), 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 Mercari

Flat seller commission
Prepaid shipping labels
Local pickup and offers
Smart pricing and price drops
Mercari authenticity guarantee
Instant or standard payout

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

Mercari

Someone clearing out a wide mix of household items, not just clothing, in one listing appnot Depop
A casual seller who wants a flat, predictable commission rather than a tiered fee structurenot Depop
A buyer looking for secondhand electronics or general goods alongside apparelnot Depop
A seller using local pickup to avoid shipping costs on bulky itemsnot 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.

Mercari

The flat 10 percent commission plus payment processing fees applies even to very low-value items, so selling something for a few dollars can leave the seller with proportionally little after fees and packaging.
Shipping is the seller's responsibility to arrange and package correctly, and disputes over item condition or damage in transit are common friction points in buyer-seller resolution.
Instant payout carries its own fee on top of the selling and processing fees already deducted, so getting money out quickly costs more than waiting for standard transfer.
Buyer protection and authenticity verification are limited outside the specific luxury authentication programme, so counterfeit risk on unverified categories rests largely on buyer judgement of listing photos and seller ratings.
Market depth and typical sale prices vary significantly between the Japan and US versions of the app, and the two operate as largely separate marketplaces despite the shared brand.

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

Mercari

Free

SellingFree
- 10 percent selling fee on final sale price
- Separate payment processing fee, roughly 2.9 percent plus a fixed amount
- Instant payout carries an additional fee versus standard bank transfer

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 Mercari if

You need flat seller commission.
You want to start without paying.
You work on iOS, Android, Web.
You also want prepaid shipping labels.

Mercari review

Questions people ask

Is Depop or Mercari better?: Neither clearly leads. Depop starts at Free and Mercari at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Depop or Mercari?: Depop starts at Free and Mercari at Free.
Does Depop or Mercari run on more platforms?: Both run on iOS, Android, Web, so platform support will not decide this one for you.
Can I use Depop for free?: Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
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 Mercari is typically brought in for.
What can Depop do that Mercari cannot?: Depop covers Curated seller shops, Social discovery feed, Per-order seller fee, Depop Payments. Mercari covers Flat seller commission, Prepaid shipping labels, Local pickup and offers, Smart pricing and price drops.

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.

Mercari: How much does Mercari charge sellers?

A flat 10 percent selling fee on the final sale price in the US, plus a separate payment processing fee, both deducted from the seller payout.

Depop: Who owns Depop?

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

Mercari: Does the buyer pay any extra platform fee?

No separate platform fee is added at buyer checkout the way Vinted adds a buyer protection fee; the buyer pays the listed price plus shipping if not included.

Depop: Does Depop charge for payment processing separately?

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

Mercari: Is Mercari the same marketplace in Japan and the US?

No, they operate as separate marketplaces under the same brand, with different inventory, pricing and fee history.

Depop vs Mercari

Depop

Mercari

The short version

Where they differ

What each one covers

Only in Depop

Only in Mercari

What people use each for

Depop

Mercari

Where each one falls short

Depop

Mercari

Pricing, plan by plan

Depop

Mercari

Which should you pick?

Choose Depop if

Choose Mercari if

Questions people ask

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Related pages

More on Depop

More on Mercari

Keep looking

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