eBay Promoted Listings Calculator (2026)
eBay charges your Promoted Listings General ad rate on the whole sale, shipping and sales tax included, on top of its regular fees. Enter an item to see the ad fee, your profit with and without promoting, and the highest ad rate that still leaves the profit you want.
Fees verified October 2026What the ad costs you
How eBay Promoted Listings fees work
- You pay only when it sells. With a General campaign, the ad fee is charged when the promoted item sells within 30 days of a click on your ad. A click includes any interaction, such as adding the item to a watchlist or cart.
- The rate applies to the whole sale. eBay charges the ad rate on the item's total sale amount, including shipping and taxes. On a $62.35 sale, each 1% of ad rate costs $0.62.
- You choose a rate from 2% to 100%. A fixed rate stays where you set it. A dynamic rate follows eBay's daily suggested rate, and you can cap it.
- It's on top of the regular fees. The final value fee and per-order fee are charged as usual, and the ad fee is extra. A Store lowers the final value fee in many categories but doesn't change the ad fee.
- The rate at the time of sale counts. If you change your ad rate, the fee uses the rate in effect when the item sells.
- Priority campaigns work differently. They're cost-per-click: you pay for valid clicks whether or not the item sells, so this calculator is for General campaigns only.
Worked example
Example. A $50.00 item with $8.00 shipping and 7.5% sales tax is a $62.35 sale. In most categories with no Store, eBay's fees are $8.88. With a $8.00 label and $12.00 item cost, your profit is $29.12 without promoting. At a 5% ad rate the ad fee is $3.12, leaving $26.00. Any ad rate above 46.7% would leave you with less than $0.
| Ad rate | Ad fee | Profit after the ad |
|---|---|---|
| 2% | $1.25 | $27.87 |
| 3% | $1.87 | $27.25 |
| 5% | $3.12 | $26.00 |
| 8% | $4.99 | $24.13 |
| 10% | $6.24 | $22.88 |
| 15% | $9.35 | $19.77 |
| 20% | $12.47 | $16.65 |
Same $62.35 sale at common ad rates. Profit is after eBay's fees ($8.88), the ad fee, a $8.00 label and the $12.00 you paid for the item.
Frequently asked questions
Is the eBay Promoted Listings fee charged on shipping and sales tax?
Yes. eBay's help pages define the ad rate as a percentage of the item's total sale amount, including shipping and taxes. On a $62.35 sale ($50.00 item, $8.00 shipping, 7.5% tax), a 5% ad rate costs $3.12, not the $2.90 it would be on the item and shipping alone.
How much does a 5% Promoted Listings ad rate cost?
5% of the total sale amount. On a $62.35 sale that's $3.12, and each 1% of ad rate costs $0.62.
Do I pay for Promoted Listings if the item doesn't sell?
Not with a General campaign: you pay only when the promoted item sells within 30 days of a click on your ad. Priority campaigns charge per click, whether or not the item sells.
What's the highest ad rate I can afford?
Divide the profit you'd make without the ad by the total sale amount, then round down. In the example, $29.12 of profit on a $62.35 sale means any rate above 46.7% loses money. The calculator works this out to 0.1%, and also the highest rate that still leaves the profit you want.
Does an eBay Store lower the Promoted Listings fee?
No. A Basic, Premium or Anchor Store lowers the final value fee in many categories, but the ad fee is the ad rate times the total sale amount either way.
More eBay calculators
Sources
Official fee pages, checked October 2026: