8% commission + 2.9% + $0.30 processing
Whatnot Fee Calculator
Whatnot fees are easy to underestimate because they come in two parts: an 8% selling commission and a separate payment-processing charge. On a typical break that adds up to ~11% of your sales before you've paid for a single box. There's also a progressive tier that drops commission to 0% above $1,500 on a single high-value order, though it excludes sports breaks. Plug your numbers in below to see exactly what Whatnot keeps and what actually lands in your pocket.
Whatnot fees
8% commission + 2.9% + $0.30 processing
Whatnot takes $54.80 (11%) in fees.
Fee rates are standard-category estimates (updated 2026). Promotions and store tiers may vary. Not tax advice.
Whatnot fees, line by line
Selling commission: 8%
Whatnot's core fee, charged on the full hammer price of every spot or item you sell, including buyer-paid shipping in most categories.
Payment processing: 2.9% + $0.30
A standard card-processing charge applied on top of the commission, on the full order amount. The flat $0.30 hits hardest on low-priced spots, where it can quietly become a meaningful share of a $5 sale.
High-value tier: 0% commission over $1,500
Whatnot's commission is progressive on a single order. You pay 8% on the first $1,500 and 0% on anything above it, but only in eligible categories like sports singles and TCGs. Sports breaks are excluded, and processing still applies to the whole amount. It's a per-order threshold, so it doesn't kick in across a break of many cheap spots.
How much does Whatnot really take?
Most breakers quote Whatnot's fee as "8%" because that's the headline commission. But the 2.9% + $0.30 processing fee stacks on top, so the effective rate on a $500 break is closer to 11%. The smaller your average spot price, the more that fixed $0.30 per-item charge inflates your real rate.
That gap between the 8% you remember and the ~11% you actually pay is exactly the kind of leak that turns a break you thought was profitable into a break-even night. The calculator above shows the blended rate for your numbers so there's no guessing.
The $1,500 rule, in plain English
Whatnot's commission is progressive, not flat, on a single order. Think of it as two tiers: the first $1,500 of an order is charged the normal 8%, and every dollar above $1,500 is charged 0% commission. So a $2,000 single card costs 8% on $1,500 ($120) and nothing on the last $500, instead of 8% on the full $2,000 ($160). The catch: payment processing (2.9% + $0.30) still applies to the entire amount, so it's a commission break, not a fee-free sale.
Two limits matter for breakers. First, the threshold is per order, not per stream, so it only helps when one buyer's single order clears $1,500, not when your whole break does across dozens of cheap spots. Second, the reduction applies only to eligible categories like sports singles, TCGs, comics, and coins, and Whatnot explicitly excludes sports breaks. Tick the "single item over $1,500" box in the calculator above to model an eligible high-value hit; leave it off for a normal break.
Fees are only half the math
Whatnot's cut is just the first deduction. Your real profit on a break is sales minus platform fees minus what you paid for the box or case minus shipping to your buyers. Skip any one of those and your "profit" is fiction.
This calculator folds all four together so the take-home number you see is the number that matters at tax time, not a gross figure that ignores your biggest cost (the product itself).
A worked example
A $1,000 Whatnot break on a case that cost $450, with $60 in shipping to buyers:
Whatnot kept $109.30, ~10.9% of sales, before product and shipping costs.
Whatnot fee FAQ
How much does Whatnot take from sellers?
Whatnot charges an 8% selling commission plus 2.9% + $0.30 in payment processing. On a typical break that works out to ~11% of your sales. Lower-priced spots pay a higher effective rate because of the fixed $0.30 per-item charge.
Does Whatnot really charge 0% commission over $1,500?
Yes, but it's a progressive tier, not a flat 0%. On a single eligible order, Whatnot charges 8% commission on the first $1,500 and 0% on the portion above it. Payment processing (2.9% + $0.30) still applies to the full amount. It only helps when one buyer's single order tops $1,500 in an eligible category like sports singles, TCGs, comics, or coins. Sports breaks are excluded, so for most break revenue you still pay the standard 8%.
Does Whatnot charge fees on giveaways or free items?
Giveaways and $0 items don't generate a selling commission, since there's no sale price to take a percentage of. But they still cost you in product and shipping, which is why tracking them matters even when Whatnot's cut is zero.
Are Whatnot fees different for sports cards?
Trading cards and sports singles fall under Whatnot's standard 8% commission used in this calculator. The one wrinkle is the high-value tier: a single sports single, TCG, comic, or coin order above $1,500 pays 0% commission on the portion over the threshold, but sports breaks are explicitly excluded from that reduction. Whatnot also periodically runs promotional or reduced-commission events, so always confirm the current rate for your category.
How can I lower my Whatnot fees?
The fee percentage itself is mostly fixed, but you can improve your margin by raising average spot prices (to dilute the flat $0.30 processing charge), taking advantage of Whatnot seller promotions and referral credits, and cutting shipping costs. The biggest lever is usually your box cost, not the fee.
Break on other platforms?
Each platform takes a different cut. Compare your real take-home:
Stop calculating one break at a time
BreakDesk runs this math automatically for every break across every platform, and keeps your numbers tax-ready all year.