E-commerce & IT Export · Business & Trade
Online business in Pakistan compared: Daraz, Shopify, reselling, Etsy, Amazon, eBay, social selling, Fiverr and Upwork on start-up cost, fees and payouts.
AI Summary
The online businesses our guides cover differ mainly in who finds the buyer and how money reaches Pakistan. Social selling, Daraz and Fiverr cost nothing to open; Shopify costs US$25 a month and Amazon's Professional plan $39.99. Daraz takes a 2% to 20% category commission, Fiverr 20%, Upwork 0% to 15%. Etsy, eBay and Amazon pay through Payoneer in dollars. Selling goods inside Pakistan through a courier or marketplace needs FBR registration, and COD sales lose 2% income tax and 2% sales tax for filers.
An online business in Pakistan usually means one of nine routes our guides cover: selling on Daraz, your own Shopify or WooCommerce store, reselling through an app, Etsy, Amazon, eBay, Instagram or Facebook, or freelancing on Fiverr or Upwork. Three cost nothing to open: social selling, Daraz and Fiverr. The tables below compare what each costs, what it takes from a sale, and how the money reaches you, mostly from each platform’s own pages (October 2026).
Tax withheld on a Rs 10,000 COD sale (filer)
Rs 400
Rs 200 income tax (section 153(2A)) plus Rs 200 sales tax, deducted by the courier or marketplace. FBR rate card, tax year 2027.
| Route | Cost to open | What the platform takes |
|---|---|---|
| Daraz | No listing fee | Commission by category: 2% to 20% (June 2026 list) |
| Shopify store | US$1 a month for 3 months, then US$25 a month (Basic) | 2% on gateway orders (Basic); card gateway such as Safepay 2.9% + Rs 30; none on COD |
| WooCommerce website | Free software; hosting from US$25 a month; .pk domain Rs 2,100 a year | Your payment gateway’s fee only |
| Reselling app (COD) | Markaz: no sign-up fee, no minimum order | Delivery about Rs 165 plus Rs 50 COD fee per order (Markaz) |
| Instagram / Facebook | Nothing | Nothing; you pay the courier |
| Etsy | One-time set-up fee (shown at sign-up), $0.20 per listing | 6.5% transaction fee plus 6.5% + $0.30 processing |
| Amazon.com | $0.99 per item sold, or $39.99 a month | Referral fee, most often 15% |
| eBay | 250 free listings a month, then $0.35 each | 13.6% plus $0.30 or $0.40 per order in most categories; 1.55% on sales abroad |
| Fiverr | Nothing to publish a Gig; some new freelancers pay an ID-check fee (amount not published) | 20% of each order |
| Upwork | Connects at $0.15 each to apply for most jobs | 0% to 15% per contract |
Amazon needs an internationally chargeable credit card at sign-up, and Etsy needs a debit or credit card to pay its bills.
| Route | How you get paid | When the money is available |
|---|---|---|
| Daraz | Into your bank account | 7-day payment cycle (Daraz’s last published figure, April 2021) |
| Shopify or WooCommerce | Card gateway, or courier for COD | Set by your gateway or courier |
| Reselling app | The app collects COD and pays you | Not stated; delivery takes about 3 to 5 days (Markaz) |
| Instagram / Facebook | Raast or wallet transfer, or courier COD | Raast: instant. Leopards Retail COD: weekly |
| Etsy | Payoneer, in US dollars, then your bank | Every Monday to Payoneer; 2 to 5 business days to the bank |
| Amazon.com | A payment provider such as Payoneer; Pakistan isn’t a direct payout country | Not covered in our research |
| eBay | Payoneer, in US dollars | 2 business days after payment is confirmed |
| Fiverr | Payoneer (bank transfer $1 to $3) | 14-day clearing, then 1 to 3 business days |
| Upwork | Direct to Local Bank in rupees, $0.99 | Fixed-price: 5 days after approval; hourly: 10 days after the week; bank within 4 business days |
PayPal and Stripe don’t serve Pakistan, so none of these routes uses them. Each payout route is covered in freelancer payment methods in Pakistan.
It depends on what you sell and to whom.
More guides: E-commerce & IT Export, best courier service in Pakistan, Raast.
Selling on Instagram or Facebook, opening a Daraz shop and publishing a Fiverr Gig cost nothing to open, and reseller apps such as Markaz charge no sign-up fee. On Daraz you still need stock, and you need an NTN before a courier or Daraz will serve you.
If you sell goods inside Pakistan through a courier or an online marketplace, yes: since July 2025 they may not serve sellers who aren't registered with FBR. Freelancers verify their identity with Fiverr or Upwork, and PSEB registration cuts the tax a bank deducts from export receipts to 0.25%.
Daraz pays into your bank account, Upwork's Direct to Local Bank sends rupees for $0.99 a withdrawal, and Raast transfers from customers are free and instant. Etsy, eBay, Amazon and Fiverr pay through Payoneer or another payment provider first.
No. Pakistan isn't on Meta's list of countries for Shops on Facebook and Instagram, or on TikTok's list of TikTok Shop markets. Sellers take orders by DM or WhatsApp instead.
Photo by Bench Accounting on Unsplash
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E-commerce & IT Export
Best courier service in Pakistan for COD sellers: Pakistan Post's Rs 110 COD fee, Leopards' weekly payouts, PostEx, M&P, TCS and Trax, and the 4% tax.
E-commerce & IT Export
To start an ecommerce business in Pakistan you need an NTN and usually sales tax registration. Banks and couriers deduct 1% or 2% income tax and 2% sales tax.
E-commerce & IT Export
How to sell on Daraz: no listing fee, but a category commission on every order. FBR then withholds 1% on online-paid orders and 2% on cash on delivery.
