Steam Market Fees Explained (2026): What You Actually Get

The Steam Community Market charges two fees on every sale: a 5% Steam Transaction Fee and a game fee of 10% for CS2, Dota 2 and TF2 items. Both are added on top of what you receive, so for every $11.50 a buyer pays, $10.00 reaches your Steam Wallet. That money can only be spent on Steam; it can't be withdrawn.

Fees as listed in Steam Support's Community Market FAQ, checked on 19 October 2026. Steam says both may change in the future.

The two Steam Market fees

Fee	Who sets it	Rate	Minimum
Steam Transaction Fee	Valve (Steam)	5%	$0.01
Counter-Strike 2 Fee	The game publisher	10%	$0.01
Dota 2 Fee / Team Fortress 2 Fee	The game publisher	10%	$0.01

Other games on the Market set their own fee. Steam shows the split on the listing screen, so check it before you confirm.

The Steam fee pays for fraud protection and development of Steam's economy features, according to Valve. The game fee goes to the publisher, which for CS2, Dota 2 and TF2 is Valve itself.

Worked example: selling a CS2 skin

You want $10.00 for a skin. Steam calculates both fees from that amount:

	Amount
You receive (Steam Wallet)	$10.00
Steam Transaction Fee (5%)	$0.50
Counter-Strike 2 Fee (10%)	$1.00
Buyer pays	$11.50

Seen from the price on the Market page, you keep $10.00 of $11.50, about 87%. If a skin's lowest listing is $100, matching it leaves you around $87 in Wallet funds, give or take a cent of rounding.

The minimum fees matter for cheap items. Because each fee is at least $0.01, a buyer pays at least $0.03 for any item, and the seller gets $0.01 of it.

Where the money goes: Steam Wallet only

Every Market sale is paid into your Steam Wallet. Steam's FAQ is direct about it: the funds "cannot be withdrawn or transferred to another Steam account or to a bank/3rd party account." You can spend them on games, items and gifts on Steam, nothing else.

Two more limits from the same FAQ:

• Wallet cap of $2,000. You can't list an item if your current balance plus the sale price would go over it. The limit also counts all your Steam accounts together.
• Maximum listing price of $1,800 (or the equivalent in your currency). Expensive knives and gloves can't be sold on the Market for more than that.

Since the CS2 update of 4 March 2026, items listed on the Market stay in your inventory while listed, so you can keep using a skin until it sells. You can't consume or modify it during that time.

If you haven't had the Steam Guard Mobile Authenticator for at least 7 days, Steam also holds new listings before they appear on the Market. Our trade hold and trade protection guide explains how to remove the hold.

Steam Market vs instant sell

If you want money you can spend outside Steam, the Market isn't an option at any fee. Instant-sell sites buy the item through a trade offer and pay out in real money. Their offer is usually below the Market price, but there is no 15% on top and no Wallet cap.

	Steam Community Market	SkinCashier instant sell
You get paid in	Steam Wallet funds	PayPal, Bitcoin, Ethereum or Litecoin
Can you withdraw it?	No	Yes
What it costs you	5% Steam + 10% game fee, added to the buyer's price	The gap between the offer and the Market price, plus the payout method fee (see below)
Price	You set it, then wait for a buyer	Shown in seconds, before you sell
Limits	$1,800 per listing, $2,000 Wallet cap	Per payout method (see below)
When you're paid	When a buyer buys your listing	CS2: after the 7-day trade protection ends. Rust, Dota 2, TF2: after the trade completes

SkinCashier payout fees and limits, as of October 2026 (the live table always has the current values):

Payout method	Fee	Minimum payout	Maximum payout
PayPal	2%	$1	$10,000
Bitcoin	$2	$5	$10,000
Ethereum	$0.50	$4	$5,000
Litecoin	$0.10	$0.50	$10,000

So on a $50 offer paid to PayPal, the fee is $1 and you receive $49. Paid in Litecoin, you receive $49.90.

For CS2 skins, the payout is released once Steam's 7-day trade protection on the trade has ended, because until then the trade can be reversed.

Which one should you use?

• You want to buy games or other items on Steam: the Market is fine. The fees are the price of staying inside Steam.
• You want cash, or the item is worth more than $1,800: sell outside the Market. Compare the instant-sell offer with what the Market would leave you after the 15% and decide.
• Your Market access is blocked: see the Community Market error guide. Some restrictions still let you trade, and so sell to a site.

To sell on SkinCashier you need your Steam trade URL and a public inventory. The steps are on how to sell CS2 skins, and is SkinCashier legit shows who runs the site. Wallet funds you already have? See how to cash out your Steam Wallet.