The two biggest American resale apps price their commission in opposite ways. Poshmark charges a flat $2.95 under $15 and 20% above it; Mercari charges a single 10% — but on a base that includes the shipping the buyer pays. Put the same sale through both and the difference is not a rounding error.
The two models, in one line each
Poshmark's fee depends on the price: cheap sales pay a flat amount, everything else pays a fifth. Mercari's fee depends on the whole transaction: the item price plus whatever the buyer is charged for shipping, at one tenth. Neither has a listing fee, and neither charges sellers a separate payment-processing fee in 2026 — on Poshmark the commission is everything, on Mercari the 3.6% that used to be processing moved to the buyer in 2025.
Where the fee line actually lands
- $10 item — Poshmark takes $2.95 (29.5%), Mercari takes $1.00 (10%). The flat fee is brutal at this price.
- $30 item — Poshmark $6.00 (20%), Mercari $3.00 (10%). The gap is exactly half.
- $100 item — Poshmark $20.00 (20%), Mercari $10.00 (10%), and if the buyer pays $8 shipping, Mercari's fee rises to $10.80 because shipping is inside its base.
- The two systems meet in one place only: $14.75, where 20% would also be $2.95. Below it Poshmark's flat fee is the more expensive of the two at every price.
What the fee line leaves out
Three things, and they are where the decision actually lives. First, the buyer's side: Mercari adds a 3.6% buyer-protection fee at checkout since January 2025, which Poshmark's checkout does not — a $100 listing reads as $103.60 to a Mercari buyer before shipping. Second, shipping's structure differs: Poshmark's $6.49 is a buyer-paid flat rate up to 5 lbs, so heavy bundles push postage costs back onto the seller, while on Mercari you set shipping per listing and the label is always your cost whether or not the buyer reimburses it. Third, getting paid: Mercari charges $2 per bank transfer or $3 for instant pay; Poshmark payouts carry no transfer fee.
So which one should a listing live on
On fees alone, Mercari wins nearly every price point — most decisively under $15, where Poshmark's flat fee can run close to 30%. But the fee is a cost, not a market. Poshmark's flat $6.49 shipping is one of the cheapest ways to move a coat, its closet-and-sharing culture concentrates fashion buyers, and its checkouts have no buyer-side surcharge to explain away. Run the real numbers in the Poshmark calculator and the Mercari calculator, then list where the buyers are: a 10% fee on a market where nothing sells is the most expensive option in this comparison.