How To Sync Inventory Between Etsy and Shopify

How To Sync Inventory Between Etsy and Shopify

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Sync Etsy & Shopify inventory automatically

Selling on multiple platforms like Etsy and Shopify expands your reach and increases sales. In fact, around 44% of online shoppers make weekly purchases from such platforms, giving your products more visibility. But managing inventory across platforms can be tricky.

If you own an online store, one of the biggest nightmares is finding that you’ve sold the same item twice. But how can that happen? Well, if an item sells out on Etsy, but Shopify still shows it in stock, the next thing you know, you’ve oversold. You will now have to cancel an order. Frustrating for both you and your customers, right?

That’s why when you sell on both Etsy and Shopify, you will have to keep your inventory updated across both platforms. But manually updating stock across platforms is time-consuming and prone to mistakes. 

An automated synced inventory system keeps stock levels accurate, so when an item sells on one platform, it updates on the other.

In this article, you’ll learn how to seamlessly sync inventory between Etsy and Shopify, preventing discrepancies and helping you manage orders efficiently.

Methods of inventory synchronization

There are three different ways to sync inventory between Etsy and Shopify: manually, through coding, or with third-party apps. Each method requires a different level of effort, accuracy, and efficiency.

Let’s take a look at each one of these approaches.

Manual updation

With manual updating, start by downloading a product listing file from Etsy, usually in CSV format. This file includes product titles, descriptions, prices, and other details. You then import this file into Shopify and manually update stock levels.

Since you’re doing everything manually, there’s a risk of mismatched inventory, accidental data loss, or mistakes in stock numbers. 

Plus, you’ll need a dedicated team to update inventory regularly. That makes this method labor-intensive and unsuitable for large inventories. Without constant monitoring, it can lead to missed updates and stock discrepancies, hurting customer experience and sales.

Coding APIs

By using Application Programming Interfaces (API) calls, you can automate the inventory synchronization process between Etsy and Shopify, so that stock levels are updated instantly on both platforms. For example, when a product sells on Shopify, the API can automatically adjust stock on Etsy, and vice versa. This method eliminates human error and provides real-time synchronization, making it an efficient and scalable solution for businesses with larger inventories.

However, API integration requires a solid understanding of programming and API protocols. Depending on the complexity of your setup, you may need to work with a developer to implement and maintain this integration, which can incur additional costs. 

This method requires ongoing monitoring to keep API connections stable and functional, especially if either platform updates or changes its API requirements.

Using third-party apps

Third-party apps offer an easy and hassle-free way to sync your inventory between Etsy and Shopify. These apps, available on in-app marketplaces like the Shopify App Store, provide a plug-and-play solution to manage your inventory across both platforms.

Most of these apps sync stock levels automatically, so you don’t have to worry about updating them manually. However, third-party apps might come with some limitations in terms of customization, or you might have to pay a subscription fee.

Best apps to sync your Etsy and Shopify stores

Here, we’ve rounded up some of the best apps to sync your Etsy and Shopify stores. These tools offer a range of features to save you time and prevent errors, so you can focus on growing your business.

1. Webgility

automate-ecommerce

Webgility simplifies e-commerce management by syncing your Shopify and Etsy stores with QuickBooks or NetSuite. This gives you complete control over inventory, pricing, and orders. The platform integrates seamlessly with QuickBooks Advanced Inventory, ensuring accurate product listings, stock levels, and category details without manual updates.

You can schedule inventory updates to match real-time sales, preventing overselling and stock discrepancies. Webgility enables two-way product listings and transfers, letting you push new items from QuickBooks to Shopify or Etsy and vice versa, without duplicate entries. It also automates shipping processes, instantly syncing tracking details and updating order statuses.

Beyond automation, Webgility provides data-driven insights to help you maximize revenue. You can track top-performing products, monitor multi-channel sales trends, and forecast revenue for better cash flow management. Customer location heat maps highlight demand patterns, helping you refine pricing, promotions, and fulfillment strategies.

By handling integrations, inventory, and analytics in one place, Webgility saves time and keeps your ecommerce operations running smoothly.

Best features

  • Real-time inventory syncing: Webgility seamlessly connects your Etsy and Shopify stores to QuickBooks Advanced Inventory, preventing overselling and keeping your inventory accurate across all platforms.
  • Automated accounting: Webgility automates key accounting processes, including real-time reconciliation, syncing sales orders into QuickBooks, managing returns and refunds, and simplified sales tax calculation and payout. This saves time and reduces errors for busy store owners.

  • Intelligent ecommerce reporting: Webgility’s AI-powered assistant provides instant insights into customer behavior, sales performance, and financial health. It automates reporting, categorizes and posts orders with one click, and delivers accurate financial reports to help improve margins and support multi-channel expansion.

  • Price and order management: Webgility keeps pricing synchronized between Shopify and Etsy, ensuring consistent pricing across all sales channels. It also tracks and manages orders from both platforms, reducing fulfillment errors and improving operational efficiency.

  • QuickBooks & NetSuite integration: Webgility integrates seamlessly with QuickBooks Advanced Inventory and NetSuite, making it the ideal solution for businesses relying on these platforms for financial management and inventory tracking

2. Cedcommerce 

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CedCommerce helps sellers scale their business across multiple channels, including Etsy and Shopify, with powerful automation tools. Its multi-connect account feature allows merchants to manage multiple Etsy and Shopify stores from a single dashboard, reducing complexity. 

The one-click bulk upload simplifies listing management, making it easy to update thousands of products at once. With automated product syncing, sellers ensure accurate inventory levels across platforms, preventing overselling. 

The platform also enhances product visibility through optimized listing templates and real-time sync to keep your listings up-to-date with relevant keywords, pricing, and descriptions. Plus, it helps you rank higher and attract more customers.

Best features

  • Product listing: Easily list products on Etsy with accurate titles, descriptions, and details
  • Price customization: Adjust your product prices to stay competitive in the marketplace
  • Inventory management: Avoid overselling by setting a minimum inventory value through the app’s threshold feature
  • Shipping configuration: Set region-specific shipping prices for your products
  • POD orders: For Print On Demand (POD) businesses, set a default inventory value to simplify tracking, even with large quantities

3. Shopify Marketplace Connect

marketplace-connect

Formerly Codisto, Shopify Marketplace Connect offers a simple way to sell across leading global marketplaces, such as Amazon, Walmart, eBay, and Etsy. This all-in-one app integrates your Shopify product catalog with multiple marketplaces, allowing you to manage and synchronize listings, orders, inventory, and track performance—all from within Shopify.

With real-time syncing, you can stay up to date on product availability and sales.  It provides built-in currency conversion, so that your prices display in the local currency of each marketplace that you connect to. 

Additionally, the app supports flexible fulfillment options, giving you more control over your integrated channel strategies, expanding your reach to more global customers.

Best features

  • Sell across top marketplaces: Easily list and sell products on popular marketplaces like Amazon, eBay, Walmart (US only), and Etsy
  • Real-time sync: Manage listings, orders, and inventory directly in Shopify, with real-time sync to keep everything up-to-date across marketplaces
  • Unlimited marketplace connections: Connect an unlimited number of marketplace accounts, allowing you to expand to as many supported platforms as needed
  • Multi-currency conversion: Sell across all marketplace regions and categories, with built-in currency conversion to streamline international transactions

4. Etsy Inventory Sync by shopUpz

etsy-inventory

Manage your inventory effortlessly with ShopUpz, a Shopify app for syncing inventory between Etsy and eBay, and Shopify. You can export and import listings, manage orders, and sync quantities in real time while using Shopify as your central order management platform.

Once a Shopify order is fulfilled, the platform updates your Etsy order with the tracking number (if available). You can also prevent overselling by syncing stock based on matching SKUs, supporting duplicate listings, and variations. Additionally, it is easy to transfer product details between Shopify and Etsy, including titles, images, descriptions, variations, tags, quantities, and prices.

Best features

  • Simple listing: Easily export and import product listings between Shopify and Etsy.
  • Order management: Manage orders in real time across multiple platforms
  • Automatic quantity sync: Prevent overselling by automatically syncing stock based on matching SKUs
  • Track Etsy orders: Update Etsy orders with tracking numbers once Shopify orders are fulfilled

Prerequisites for Shopify-Etsy integration

Before integrating your Shopify and Etsy stores, make sure you have the following requirements in place:

  • Active Shopify store: Ensure your Shopify store is live and functional with all product listings and relevant store settings in place.
  • Etsy seller account: You need an active Etsy seller account with a well-maintained product catalog ready for synchronization.
  • Shopify plan: You must be on a suitable Shopify plan that supports app integrations.
  • Third-party app for integration: Choose a reliable third-party app like Webgility to help bridge the connection between Etsy and Shopify.
  • Product listings prepared: Ensure your product listings on both platforms have complete details, including titles, descriptions, pricing, and images. This is necessary for a smooth synchronization process.
  • Payment and shipping settings: Set up payment gateways and shipping configurations correctly on both platforms to avoid conflicts during order processing.
  • API access: If you’re opting for API-based integration, make sure you have the necessary access and API keys for both Shopify and Etsy. This may involve setting up developer accounts.
  • Basic understanding of multichannel selling: Familiarize yourself with how multichannel selling works to ensure a smooth transition and effective management of inventory, orders, and listings across both platforms.

Common inventory and accounting challenges when using Etsy and Shopify

What may initially appear to be a simple task can actually be quite complex. Below are some of the key challenges you’ll likely encounter when syncing inventory, orders, and finances between Etsy and Shopify.

Inventory cost tracking

Shopify has an in-built COGS tracking feature, but Etsy doesn’t. This makes tracking the actual cost of goods sold (COGS) across both platforms difficult. 

The challenge becomes more complicated with differing pricing models. Etsy often deals with handmade, one-off items, leading to fluctuating prices, while Shopify typically handles bulk products or sets prices. This mismatch complicates syncing inventory values between the two platforms, impacting accurate profit margin and cost tracking.

Differences in platform fees leading to accounting chaos

Both Shopify and Etsy charge different fees, and these discrepancies can create a problem when it comes to accounting. Shopify transaction fees range from 2.9% + 30¢ per online credit card transaction for the Basic plan to 2.4% + 30¢ for the Advanced plan. If you’re using a payment gateway other than Shopify Payments, you will incur additional fees.

On the other hand, Etsy charges a 6.5% transaction fee on the sale price of your item (including shipping) and a 3% + $0.25 payment processing fee for US sellers. The platform also charges a $0.20 listing fee per item and has optional advertising fees that sellers can choose to apply.

When syncing orders between Shopify and Etsy, you’ll face the challenge of reconciling these differences in fees. Etsy’s fees are automatically deducted before payouts, while Shopify handles them separately. These differences make it difficult to match revenue and expenses from each platform. Sellers often need to manually track these discrepancies, making accounting far more time-consuming and error-prone.

Shipping and tax calculations

Etsy offers built-in shipping labels and real-time rates, but its shipping setup is less flexible, using shipping profiles that limit customization. Shopify, on the other hand, integrates with carriers like USPS, UPS, and DHL, offering more customizable shipping options based on weight, dimensions, and destination.

Tax calculations also differ between the two platforms. Shopify allows regional tax customization, while Etsy calculates taxes automatically based on sales and applicable rules by country or state. These differences can complicate order syncing, requiring careful verification of tax and shipping details to avoid errors and ensure compliance.

Payment reconciliation issues

Etsy automatically deducts transaction fees, listing, and advertising costs before depositing funds, resulting in a “net payout” structure. Shopify, however, does not automatically deduct fees and processes payments separately, requiring merchants to track sales and expenses independently.

This difference makes it harder to reconcile Shopify deposits with Etsy payouts and often demands a sophisticated accounting system or third-party app to match transactions accurately.

Mismatched data order

Syncing Shopify and Etsy orders often leads to discrepancies because they use different accounting methods. 

Shopify records sales as gross revenue before deductions, such as shipping fees or discounts, while Etsy reports sales as net payouts after all fees are deducted. This difference can create confusion, particularly when reconciling both platforms on a single financial statement.

This becomes even more challenging if there are errors or missing order references while syncing, adding complexity to your workflow.

Why Webgility is the best integration app for Etsy & Shopify users

Unlike simple inventory sync apps, Webgility provides a complete automation solution that seamlessly connects Shopify and Etsy while syncing orders, fees, and transaction data into QuickBooks or NetSuite.

Wedding Collectibles, for example, started as a brick-and-mortar store but grew into a multi-channel e-commerce brand, selling across their own website, Amazon, eBay, and Etsy. Initially, inventory and bookkeeping tasks, demanded two employees and 80 hours per month, delaying order fulfillment by up to three weeks.

After implementing Webgility, they achieved same-day order fulfillment, a 21x increase in monthly online orders, and a 1.8x revenue growth without adding overhead. 

Take a quick demo to automate your accounting and inventory with Webgility today.

FAQs

Can you link Shopify and Etsy inventory?

Yes, you can synchronize your Shopify and Etsy inventory using integration apps. These tools allow automatic updates, keeping your stock levels accurate across both platforms. 

How do I sync my Etsy products to Shopify?

You can sync your Etsy products to Shopify using integration tools like Webgility, which automates the process. It does this by importing product details such as titles, descriptions, images, prices, and inventory levels from Etsy to Shopify. Once connected, any updates to product listings, including stock changes and new orders, are automatically reflected across both platforms. This prevents discrepancies, reduces manual work, and ensures accurate inventory tracking, helping you manage multiple storefronts more efficiently.

Can I sell the same items on Etsy and Shopify?

Yes, selling the same products on both Etsy and Shopify is possible, but it requires careful management. Using an inventory management tool to sync stock levels ensures that you don’t accidentally oversell the same item on both platforms.

What is the best Shopify integration with Etsy?

Webgility is one of the best Shopify integrations for Etsy. It connects both platforms seamlessly, syncing orders, inventory, and transaction data automatically. It also integrates with QuickBooks or NetSuite, making accounting and financial management much easier and more efficient for multi-channel sellers.

Parag has nearly two decades of experience working with over 10,000 ecommerce sellers to optimize their business processes and grow. His experience working as a Product Lead for Amazon WebStore gives him a unique perspective on the ecommerce market and its remarkable growth. As the CEO of Webgility, Parag has deep insight into the daily operations of ecommerce businesses of all sizes. He believes that most business problems can be solved by looking closely at data and he strives to empower sellers with the data and intelligence they need to succeed. He is a respected voice in the online retail industry and sits on the development councils for both Amazon and Intuit.