The short version
- Preloved: Free tier with no listing or selling fees; paid memberships optional
- WishThrift: No listing fee, no selling commission, and no buyer-side fee
- Bottom line: WishThrift charges nothing on any sale
- Rates verified: 26 Jul 2026, direct from Preloved’s own fee page
Fee comparison
| Platform | What it costs to sell |
|---|---|
| Preloved | Free tier with no listing or selling fees; paid memberships optional |
| WishThrift | No listing fee, no selling commission, and no buyer-side fee |
In full, as verified on 26 Jul 2026: No listing or selling fees on the free tier. Full membership £6/year, Premium £15/year for priority placement, Business £20/month plus VAT.
Who actually pays
Neither takes a cut of the sale and neither charges the buyer. Preloved’s money comes from optional memberships bought by sellers who want priority placement or business features. WishThrift has nothing equivalent to sell.
What you keep on a sale
There is no gap to show here, and it would be dishonest to invent one. A standard listing is free on both platforms and neither takes a commission, so on a sale of any size you keep the full amount you agree with the buyer either way. The comparison below is therefore about reach and model, not price.
Where money does enter the picture is around the edges of that free listing, and that is worth reading carefully: Preloved charges no listing or selling fees on its free tier. Memberships are optional: Full membership £6 a year, Premium £15 a year for priority placement, and Business £20 a month plus VAT.
Where Preloved is genuinely better
A comparison that finds nothing good to say about the other side is not worth reading. These are real advantages, and for some sellers they will settle the question:
- A long-established, notably civil UK community. Preloved has been running since 1998 and its buyers are used to arranging collection and dealing politely with private sellers.
- Very strong in specific niches, particularly horses and equestrian equipment, pets and rural items, where its audience is genuinely hard to match.
- Cheap memberships that are actually cheap. £6 a year is a low bar if priority placement helps you.
- Free tier with no hidden per-sale cost, which is a fairer model than most.
Where WishThrift is better
- No membership tier above you. Priority placement cannot be bought, so a free listing is never outranked by a paid one.
- Four live markets rather than a UK focus, which widens the pool for anything that posts easily.
- A more modern, photo-led browsing experience, with condition and price filters across 25 categories.
- No annual renewal to think about at any tier, because there is no tier.
Who each one suits
Preloved. Preloved suits UK sellers in its established niches — equestrian, pets, rural and hobby items — where its long-standing audience is exactly the right one.
WishThrift. WishThrift suits sellers in general categories who would rather not pay for placement, and anyone whose buyers are not confined to the UK.
WishThrift is also the newer and considerably smaller of the two, and that is worth saying plainly: a larger audience finds buyers faster. Because listing here costs nothing, the question is rarely which one to choose — it is whether there is any reason not to use both.
Moving your listings across
Preloved listings are usually well written and detailed, and they carry across as they are. Since both free tiers cost nothing, run them together rather than choosing. If you have been paying for Premium placement, it is worth testing whether the same item sells here without it before renewing.
Want to try it without paying anything? Listing on WishThrift is free, there is no commission, and you keep the full amount you agree with the buyer — see how selling works or create a free account.
Frequently asked questions
Is Preloved free to use?
The free tier charges no listing or selling fees. Memberships are optional: £6 a year for Full, £15 a year for Premium priority placement, and £20 a month plus VAT for Business. WishThrift charges nothing and has no membership tiers at all.
Is WishThrift cheaper than Preloved?
On a straight sale they are the same — both free, with no commission. The difference is that Preloved sells priority placement and WishThrift does not, so on WishThrift no listing can be pushed above yours by someone who paid.
Do I need to pay to get my listing seen?
Not on WishThrift. There is no promoted tier, no bump, and no membership, so every listing competes on the same terms. The things that actually affect visibility are a clear title, good photographs and an honest condition grade.
Sources and method. Preloved’s rates were verified on 26 Jul 2026 via preloved.co.uk/account/upgrade (official). WishThrift’s own position — no listing fee, no commission, no buyer fee — is checked against the live site. Fees change, sometimes without notice: this page is reviewed quarterly and the figures above should be confirmed against Preloved’s own fee page before you rely on them for a large sale.
More comparisons: all marketplace fee comparisons · work out what your item is worth · read about condition grades.