Etsy Killed the Personalization Box. Here Is What Replaced It.
By The MyShop Team · 2026-09-12 · 7 min read
The single personalization box is gone. Etsy now calls the feature Custom options: up to five fields on a listing, three field types, and guidance to keep each field to one detail. If you still write instructions like "name, font, and color in this box," you are fighting the new setup. There is also a money change most tutorials skip: optional text add-ons join the display price and take the same 6.5% transaction fee.
Key takeaway: Treat Custom options as structured fields, not one catch-all box. Split details across up to five fields, use the field type that matches the ask, and if you charge for optional text work, price it knowing the add-on is added to the display price and is subject to the same 6.5% transaction fee.
What Custom options actually are
According to Etsy Help on personalized listings, personalization is now Custom options. You can add up to five fields per listing. Etsy's guidance is that each field should focus on a single detail, so a buyer name belongs in one field, a font choice in another, and a color request in a third, rather than one paragraph of instructions.
There are three field types:
- Text box with a character limit you set between 1 and 1024 characters.
- List of options with up to 30 choices for the buyer to pick from.
- File upload for buyer files you need to produce the order.
File upload has stricter limits than the other types. You get one upload field per listing. Buyers can upload up to 10 files, each up to 100 MB, in these types: .jpg, .png, .svg, .heic, and .pdf. That is enough for logos, monograms, and print-ready art without turning every listing into a file dump.
Custom options are how you collect the details that make a made-to-order item work. They are not the same thing as variations, and this guide does not dig into variation combination limits. The job here is to replace the old single box with clear fields buyers can actually complete.
The money part (add-on + fee)
Etsy's Open API discussion on personalization add-ons is the clearest public source on who can charge what. Add-on prices are only available on optional text-input questions: required set to false, type set to text_input. That is a narrow gate. List-of-options fields and file uploads are not described as supporting add-on prices in that source, and required text fields are out too.
A migration window for that add-on behavior ran from 2026-07-20 to 2026-08-20 and is now closed. If you were waiting for a soft launch period to tidy listings, that window is over. New and edited optional text fields should follow the current rule from the start.
Watch out: Add-on pricing applies only to optional text fields. Do not assume every Custom options field type can carry a price. If the work you want to charge for is a dropdown choice or a file upload, the add-on path described for optional text does not cover it.
On the fees side, Etsy's legal fees page is blunt: an optional personalization add-on fee is added to the displayed listing price, and that total display price is subject to the same 6.5% transaction fees as the rest of the item price. The fee is not a separate line you can ignore when you set the add-on.
Worked example, not a benchmark. Assumes a $5 optional text add-on and Etsy's 6.5% transaction fee on the display price.
| Line | Amount | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Optional text add-on | $5.00 | Example engraving or embroidery charge |
| Transaction fee on that add-on | ~$0.33 | $5 × 0.065 |
| Kept from the add-on (before other costs) | ~$4.67 | $5.00 minus about $0.33 |
That math is arithmetic on the add-on itself, not a shop benchmark and not a promise about conversion. Charging five dollars for engraving still leaves most of that five dollars after the 6.5% cut. Giving the work away leaves you with none of it. Price the add-on the same way you price any other piece of the item: cover the labor, then let the fee ride on the display total.
The help-page trap
Here is the contradiction sellers hit when they google how to set this up. Etsy Help on offering personalized listings describes Custom options. A different Etsy Help article, How to Create a Listing, still describes the retired "Add Personalization" single-box flow. If you land on the create-a-listing page first, you will think the old box is still the official path.
Trust the personalized-listings Help article for how Custom options work today: field count, field types, one detail per field, and file limits. Treat leftover "Add Personalization" wording on the create-a-listing page as outdated copy, not as a second supported mode. When two official pages disagree, the page dedicated to personalized listings is the one that matches the product sellers actually see in listing edit.
One detail per field beats one paragraph of instructions the buyer has to decode.
- Open Help for personalized listings when you rebuild fields, not only the generic create-a-listing walkthrough.
- Rewrite any leftover single-box prompt into separate fields before you raise prices.
- Confirm the display price after you attach an optional text add-on so the fee math is visible to you first.
What to do this week
- Pick your top three personalized listings and open each in listing edit.
- Replace any single catch-all personalization prompt with Custom options fields, one detail per field, staying within five fields.
- Choose field types on purpose: text box for free-form words, list of options when the choices are fixed, file upload only when you truly need a buyer file.
- If you charge for engraving, embroidery, or similar typed work, put that charge on an optional text field only, and set the add-on amount with the 6.5% fee in mind.
- Save, then view the listing as a buyer and confirm the display price includes the optional add-on when that option is selected.
- Ignore create-a-listing copy that still says "Add Personalization" as a single box, and bookmark the personalized-listings Help article instead.
FAQ
How many Custom options fields can one listing have?
Up to five. Etsy Help on personalized listings sets that cap and asks sellers to keep each field focused on a single detail.
Which field types exist, and what are the file limits?
Text box (1 to 1024 characters), list of options (up to 30), and file upload. You get one upload field per listing. Buyers may upload up to 10 files, each up to 100 MB, as .jpg, .png, .svg, .heic, or .pdf.
Can every Custom options field carry an add-on price?
No. Public API guidance limits add-on prices to optional text-input questions (required false, type text_input). Do not assume lists or file uploads support the same add-on pricing.
Does the add-on avoid Etsy's 6.5% transaction fee?
No. The optional personalization add-on is added to the displayed listing price, and that total display price is subject to the same 6.5% transaction fees. On a $5 add-on, that is about $0.33 ($5 × 0.065).
Why do some Etsy Help pages still mention Add Personalization?
How to Create a Listing still describes the retired single-box "Add Personalization" flow. The personalized-listings Help article describes Custom options. Prefer the dedicated personalization article when the two conflict.
Is the add-on migration still open?
No. The migration window reported for 2026-07-20 through 2026-08-20 is closed. Build optional text add-ons under the current rules.
Related reading
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