You're about to list something for sale on Facebook Marketplace and a simple question stops you before you even upload a photo. Is this actually free, or is Facebook going to take a cut when it sells?
The honest answer is: it depends on how you sell it. Here's exactly when Facebook Marketplace charges you, when it doesn't, and how much that fee actually is.
The short answer
Facebook Marketplace is free if you sell locally and let the buyer pick the item up in person or pay you directly outside the app. It only charges a fee when you use Facebook's own shipping and checkout system to sell to a buyer who isn't local. That fee is 10% of what the buyer pays, with a minimum charge of $0.80 per order.
So the fee isn't tied to Marketplace itself. It's tied to one specific feature: letting Facebook handle the shipping label, the payment, and the delivery tracking for you.
Kevin Frank
When Facebook Marketplace is completely free
Most people using Marketplace never pay anything, because most people sell locally. If you're listing a couch, a bike, or a box of kids' toys for someone nearby to pick up, there's no fee at any point.
Local pickup listings cost nothing. You post the item, a buyer messages you, you agree on a price, they show up, and money changes hands however you both agree on, usually cash or a payment app. Facebook isn't involved in that transaction at all, so it has nothing to take a cut of.
Selling to someone you arrange shipping with yourself also costs nothing, as long as you're not using Facebook's built in checkout to process the payment. If you agree on a price in the chat, get paid separately, and mail the item yourself, Facebook Marketplace doesn't charge a fee for that either.
This is why so many casual sellers never notice a fee at all. They're using Marketplace the way it was originally built to be used: local, in person, no shipping involved.
When Facebook Marketplace does charge a fee
The fee only shows up when you turn on shipping through Facebook itself, sometimes called Marketplace checkout. This is the option that lets a buyer who isn't local pay you directly inside the app, and Facebook generates a prepaid shipping label for you to send the item.
That convenience comes at a cost. Facebook takes 10% of the total amount the buyer pays, including whatever they paid for shipping, with a minimum fee of $0.80 on any single order. This fee is not something extra on top of a card processing fee. It's the whole cost, all included in that one number.
A simple example
Say you sell a jacket for $40 through Facebook's shipping and checkout option, and the buyer pays $6 for shipping, for a total of $46.
Facebook takes 10% of that $46 total, which comes to $4.60. You'd receive $41.40 before you've even paid for the actual shipping label or packaging. If you'd sold that same jacket for local pickup instead, you would have kept the full $40 with nothing taken out.
Is a 10% fee high or low compared to other places?
It's worth knowing where this fits, since the number alone doesn't mean much on its own. eBay generally charges sellers around 13% on most categories. Poshmark takes 20% on sales over $15. Mercari charges around 10% as well.
So Facebook Marketplace's shipping fee sits roughly in the middle of what other resale platforms charge, and it only applies at all if you choose to ship through Facebook instead of selling locally.
Are there any other costs on Facebook Marketplace?
Listing an item is always free, no matter what you're selling or how you plan to deliver it. There's no charge just to post something.
Boosting a listing for extra visibility is optional and does cost money if you choose to use it, similar to boosting a regular Facebook post. Most sellers never use this and it has no effect on whether your listing shows up in normal search results.
There's no monthly fee, no account fee, and no fee for messaging buyers or negotiating a price, regardless of how many items you list.
How to avoid the fee entirely
If you'd rather not pay anything, stick to local pickup and arrange payment directly with the buyer, cash, a payment app, however you both prefer. This is completely free and it's how the majority of Marketplace transactions already happen.
If your item genuinely needs to ship to a buyer who isn't nearby, you can still avoid the Facebook fee by agreeing on a price in the chat and handling payment and shipping yourself, outside of Facebook's built in checkout. The tradeoff is that you lose the buyer and seller protections that come with using Facebook's official shipping option.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does Facebook Marketplace charge a fee for local sales? No. If the buyer picks up the item in person and you handle payment yourselves, Facebook does not charge any fee at all.
How much does Facebook Marketplace charge for shipped items? Facebook charges 10% of the total amount the buyer pays, including shipping, with a minimum fee of $0.80 per order, when you use Facebook's own shipping and checkout feature.
Is it free to list an item on Facebook Marketplace? Yes. Posting a listing never costs anything, whether you plan to sell locally or ship the item.
Does Facebook take a cut if I get paid through Venmo or cash instead of Facebook checkout? No. Facebook only charges its fee when the payment goes through its own shipping and checkout system. Payments arranged directly between you and the buyer aren't touched by Facebook at all.
Is Facebook Marketplace's fee higher than eBay or Poshmark? No, it's actually lower than both. Facebook's 10% shipping fee compares to around 13% on eBay and 20% on Poshmark for similar sales.
Do I have to pay anything if my item doesn't sell? No. Facebook Marketplace never charges you for a listing that doesn't result in a sale, regardless of how long it stays posted.
In short
Facebook Marketplace itself doesn't charge you anything for the basic act of listing and selling. The 10% fee only kicks in when you choose to let Facebook handle shipping and payment for a buyer who isn't local. Sell locally, and it costs you nothing at all.
