Help Understanding Transaction Fees - $25 *Per* Transaction? That Can't Be Right.

This is more related to Ethereum rather than mining directly, so I'm asking here. I'm switching from mining with NiceHash (which pays out in BTC, even if you're mining Ethereum) to mining directly with ETH pools, but I feel like I'm missing some information on ETH transaction fees.

In NiceHash, I can transfer my entire BTC balance right now for 23 cents. In my Ethereum wallet, a single transaction costs nearly 25 dollars. Is that... right? Ethereum transactions cost 100 times more than on Bitcoin?

Assuming those numbers are right, are transaction/network fees constant? Or do they change ie lower transaction fees at certain times of day or certain days of the month? I'd just like to know if there's any cheaper way to transfer Ethereum, or if it's just $25 a pop, every time.

Finally, again assuming those transaction fees are correct, doesn't this pretty much preclude the possibility of using Ethereum for any transaction under $50? If you tried to buy a $10 item with ETH, you'd end up paying almost $40, and the recipient of those funds would net -$15 assuming they transferred that to an exchange, or anywhere else for that matter.

This seems to me like using wire transfers for every single transaction into and out of your bank account - paying $25 every time any money gets transferred. That just seems... incorrect. Surely I'm missing something here?