The handmade category on Etsy is undoubtedly one of the most popular and opportunity-rich markets on the platform. This is only natural, as the online store attracts users interested in unique, authentic and aesthetically pleasing items.

But there are so many different sub-niches in the space that sellers often struggle to identify where to start. The best way to decide is to become familiar with the largest and most profitable handmade product types on Etsy.

In this article, we’ll analyze some of the most attractive markets in terms of size and sales potential.

Handmade furniture

Handmade furniture is one of the trendy crafts available on the platform. Buyers can browse for a variety of products, including handmade nightstands, bookshelves, coffee tables, dining tables, chairs, benches, stools, and more. The options are infinite.

But before jumping on the bandwagon blindfolded, let’s first see what this product category has to offer.

Market size

Using Sale Samurai, we performed detailed research on handmade furniture. We discovered valuable insights about the size of the category by inspecting the number of active listings and the search volume of related keywords.

Active listings

Competition-wise, there are more than 50,100 active listings offering these items. We double-checked our data by typing in “handmade furniture” in Etsy’s search box. The algorithm brought back a total of 96,032 entries, indicating that the market is well-developed and competitive.

The fact that almost a hundred thousand items are being sold on the platform suggests that there is a substantial customer demand to satisfy. But to make sure, we must establish whether users are actively searching for such products.

Search volume

The search volume of a keyword or phrase determines how many times Etsy users have used the word to perform a search. The phrase “handmade furniture” generates a monthly search volume of 26,666. In other words, more than 26,000 buyers are interested in these product types every month.

However, this is only the general keyword we’re looking for. There are many other keyword suggestions from the market that are also popular and appropriate for listing optimization. Some of them include:

• bauhaus furniture
• bitmoji furniture
• lacquered furniture
• balcony furniture

These keyword phrases can be used to narrow down your product and create a niche handmade item. Consequently, you’ll enjoy better positioning, an advantage over other sellers, and fruitful financial results.

Profitability

Another essential factor to consider is the profitability potential. Ultimately, it all comes down to how high you can price your listings without compromising the sales volume. To determine the right price, you need to be aware of the minimum, maximum, and average prices in the space.

For the handmade furniture niche, the following prices apply:

• Minimum price – $4.50
• Maximum price – $8,900.00
• Average price – $847.52

As you can see, the maximum price is very appealing, exceeding $8,000 for a single product. However, new entrants perform better by pricing products around the market average. In this case, this means asking for slightly under $850 per item. With consistent monthly sales, you can enjoy significant returns from the category.

Handmade clothing

Next up, we focused our research on handmade clothing as another big portion of the handcrafted segment on Etsy. Here, we noticed a wide variety of options, from handmade jumpers for women to handmade jackets for men. Buyers can discover a ton of custom clothing pieces, available in multiple colors, sizes, and styles.

Market size

Much like handmade furniture, the handcrafted clothing market on Etsy is also fully grown and competitive.

Active listings

The number of active listings in handmade clothing once again exceeds 50,100. However, a quick browse on Etsy reveals that there are much more apparel products than furniture items. How do we know? Because Etsy displays a total of 418,182 listings for “handmade clothing”.

This dramatic difference from the 96,032 listings we uncovered in the furniture category signals that clothing is a much, much bigger market.

Search volume

Yet, the search volume of related keywords doesn’t necessarily show such a massive variation. The phrase “handmade clothing” receives a monthly search volume of 26,195, which is very similar to that of handmade furniture.

Profitability

After inspecting the profitability of the market, we can conclude that the prices of clothing items are much lower than those of furniture.

Here’s the breakdown:

• Minimum price – $4.71
• Maximum price – $420.00
• Average price – $75.18

Although at first glance it would seem that you’d be earning less from handmade clothing, it’s worth making one important note. Furniture is a one-time purchase. It usually involves a large investment that is spent once. For example, after you buy a coffee table, chances are that you won’t need another one for years.

On the other hand, people shop for clothing all the time. This means you can build a loyal customer base, who will keep coming back to your shop, guaranteeing more sales and higher earnings.

Handmade jewelry

The handmade jewelry market on Etsy consists of rings, necklaces, earrings, bracelets, and other similar products. It provides sellers with the chance to truly customize their offering by applying different materials, colors, accents, and styles. It’s also one of the largest and most opportunity-rich Etsy niches.

Market size

Our sneak peek into the category revealed that there are more handmade jewelry listings on Etsy than any other segment discussed so far in this article.

Active listings

As Sale Samurai only shows up to 50,100 active listings for any researched word or phrase, we repeated the process from above and browsed for handmade jewelry on Etsy.

We were stunned to find nearly 3 million results (2,997,991 to be precise).

With this amount of listings available to buyers, it’s safe to conclude that the market is extremely large. Although this makes it attractive from a seller’s perspective, it also signals that the competition levels are likely to be just as extreme.

Search volume

The phrase “handmade jewelry” attracts a search volume of 26,188 every month, similarly to the previous two niches. However, if you dig down into your keyword research, you can discover alternative keywords that you can use in your listings for more exposure.

Some of the more popular ones include handmade rings, handmade earrings, and handmade necklaces.

Profitability

From an initial look into the prices of handcrafted jewelry products, we can conclude that they’re much less rewarding than furniture and similar to clothing. This theory stems from the following market prices:

• Minimum price – $0.40
• Maximum price – $795.95
• Average price – $61.03

However, it’s important to read between the lines. The handmade jewelry market can remunerate sellers with consistent sales. They’re a perfect gift idea, meaning that you can take advantage of every holiday throughout the year. In addition, you can optimize your listings for exposure to buyers looking for birthday, anniversary, and other gifts.

In simple terms, this means that you can score sales all year round from handmade jewelry and enjoy a stable profit from your Etsy side gig. Plus, it’s worth mentioning that jewelry products are usually much easier to create, can be designed using more affordable materials, and don’t require as much effort as furniture and clothing.

Handmade mugs

Mugs are another interesting product that a lot of Etsy sellers transform into handmade masterpieces. As a seller, you can create custom-made mugs for a holiday gift or for everyday use.

Although not as large as the last three markets, this Etsy segment is also an interesting niche to explore.

Market size

The scope of the handmade mug space is comparatively small. However, there are lucrative opportunities to explore with this product type.

Active listings

According to Sale Samurai there are more than 50,100 active listings that rank for the phrase “handmade mug”. A further check on Etsy netted a total of 70,532 results. This was our first indicator that the category is not as saturated as the previous options.

Although this could be considered a disadvantage for some, other sellers could jump in on the emerging potential. The fewer listings available, the less competitive the niche. For new entrants, the handmade mug market could create opportunities for quickly growing traffic to listings and satisfying existing demand.

Search volume

To determine whether there is enough customer interest, we assessed the search volume of related keywords. Sale Samurai showed us that the main phrase “handmade mug” collects a monthly search volume of 1,012. Although much less than other explored categories, there is still a significant search for mugs created by hand.

The tool also gave us interesting sub-niche ideas during our search volume research. We noticed that the following words are often used for product discovery on Etsy:

• mug ceramic handmade
• mugs for handmade
• clay mug handmade
• fun mugs handmade
• cat mugs handmade
• ski mugs handmade

By creating mugs that are centered around these themes, you can reach specific audiences and quickly boost the traffic to your listings.

Profitability

If we think logically about mugs as a product category, we can assume that they will be much less expensive than things like jewelry and furniture. But leaving your Etsy performance in the hands of chance isn’t a reliable strategy.

This is why we used Sale Samurai to confirm our theory. Here are the market prices we detected:

• Minimum price – $0.20
• Maximum price – $400.00
• Average price – $38.17

Our intuition was not misleading. The reality is that mugs are priced at lower rates than all other niches we examined. In addition, not as many shoppers are browsing for handmade mugs on the platform. These findings imply that the space isn’t as profitable as others in the handmade market.

In conclusion

As a wrap-up, we can say that all of the mentioned above handmade niches can be utilized to your advantage as a seller. However, if we had to order the categories from largest and most profitable to smallest and least profitable, we would organize them in the following way:

1. Furniture
2. Clothing
3. Jewelry
4. Mugs

This ranking is based on market size (active listings and search volume) and profitability (minimum, maximum, and average prices in the market).

However, keep in mind that there are other factors to consider when deciding on a handmade niche to enter. These insights are useful as a starting point, but further research is necessary to guarantee you’re making the best strategic move for your Etsy business.