The three fees on every Amazon sale
Every sale on Amazon carries a referral fee, a selling plan fee and, if Amazon ships for you, a fulfilment fee. The referral fee is a percentage of the total sale price, shipping included, with a per-item minimum. The plan fee depends on whether you pay per item or monthly.
The table runs one US sale three ways. The item sells for $25.00 in the "Everything Else" category. When you ship it yourself the buyer also pays $4.99 for shipping, and the FBA columns use a 16 oz large standard unit with no shipping charged.
| You ship (FBM) | FBA, non-peak | FBA, holiday peak | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Buyer pays | $29.99 | $25.00 | $25.00 |
| Referral fee | $4.50 | $3.75 | $3.75 |
| Plan fee (Individual) | $0.99 | $0.99 | $0.99 |
| FBA fulfilment fee | n/a | $4.60 | $4.89 |
| Fuel and logistics surcharge | n/a | $0.16 | $0.17 |
| Total fees | $5.49 | $9.50 | $9.80 |
| Your costs (item, plus label if you ship) | $10.50 | $6.00 | $6.00 |
| You keep | $14.00 | $9.50 | $9.20 |
Computed by the Amazon calculator. Costs are $6.00 for the item, plus a $4.50 label when you ship. Storage and inbound fees are not in this table.
The referral fee
Most categories charge 15% of the total sale price. That is the item plus any shipping the buyer pays, and Amazon charges it whichever is greater, the percentage or the $0.30 minimum.
Some categories change rate with the price. Clothing is the one to watch: its rate is a whole-sale step, not a band, so a sale over $20 pays 17% of the entire amount. On our sale that is $5.10.
| Category | Rate | Referral fee | Closing fee |
|---|---|---|---|
| Everything Else | 15% | $4.50 | none |
| Consumer Electronics | 8% | $2.40 | none |
| Clothing and Accessories | 5% up to $15, 10% up to $20, 17% above | $5.10 | none |
| Jewelry | 20% up to $250, 5% above | $6.00 | none |
| Baby Products | 8% up to $10, 15% above | $4.50 | none |
| Media - Books, DVD, Music, Software, Video | 15% | $4.50 | $1.80 |
Rates read from Amazon's pricing page. Marginal rates apply to the part of the price in each band. The clothing categories use whole-sale steps: 5% up to $15, 10% up to $20, 17% above.
Media categories add a closing fee of $1.80 per item sold on top of the referral fee. UK has no closing fee in its published schedule.
Individual or Professional plan
The Individual plan charges $0.99 for each item sold. The Professional plan charges $39.99 a month and nothing per item. In the UK the prices are £0.75 per item and £25.00 a month, excluding VAT.
Professional wins once you sell enough to spread the month. The table shares the monthly fee over your sales, which is an estimate, because you pay the month once whatever you sell.
| Sales a month | Individual | Professional, shared | Cheaper |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $0.99 | $39.99 | Individual |
| 10 | $0.99 | $4.00 | Individual |
| 25 | $0.99 | $1.60 | Individual |
| 100 | $0.99 | $0.40 | Professional |
| 500 | $0.99 | $0.08 | Professional |
The break-even is 41 sales a month in the US and 34 in the UK. Other plan benefits are not priced here.
FBA fees: peak, non-peak and the surcharge
FBA fees depend on the size tier, the weight of one packed unit and, for low prices, the item price. Amazon publishes two US schedules, non-peak and holiday peak. Peak runs 15 Oct to 14 Jan, and the non-peak schedule resumes after it unless Amazon announces a change.
| Unit | Non-peak | Holiday peak | Peak adds | Peak plus 3.5% surcharge |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Small standard, up to 8 oz | $3.54 | $3.74 | $0.20 | $3.87 |
| Small standard, up to 16 oz | $3.96 | $4.18 | $0.22 | $4.33 |
| Large standard, up to 16 oz | $4.60 | $4.89 | $0.29 | $5.06 |
| Large standard, up to 2 lb | $5.82 | $6.15 | $0.33 | $6.37 |
| Large standard, up to 5 lb | $7.61 | $8.15 | $0.54 | $8.44 |
Standard-size items only, from the $10.00 to $50.00 price band. Peak figures use the schedule from 15 Oct 2026.
Since 17 Apr 2026 Amazon also adds a fuel and logistics surcharge of 3.5% of the FBA fee in the US. The published tables do not include it, so the calculator adds it as its own line. On our unit that is $0.17 at peak.
Price matters as well. Items under $10.00 get a lower Low-Price FBA rate automatically, and items over $50.00 pay more.
| Item price | Non-peak | Holiday peak |
|---|---|---|
| $9 | $3.78 | $4.07 |
| $25 | $4.60 | $4.89 |
| $60 | $4.86 | $5.15 |
Selling on Amazon UK
The UK works the same way with its own rates, and every figure is quoted excluding VAT. A £25.00 item with £4.99 shipping pays £4.50 referral on the Individual plan, and an FBA small parcel up to 400 g costs £3.00 to fulfil off-peak.
| You ship (FBM) | FBA, standard | FBA, festive peak | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Buyer pays | £29.99 | £25.00 | £25.00 |
| Referral fee | £4.50 | £3.75 | £3.75 |
| Plan fee (Individual) | £0.75 | £0.75 | £0.75 |
| FBA fulfilment fee | n/a | £3.00 | £3.11 |
| Total fees | £5.25 | £7.50 | £7.61 |
| You keep | £14.24 | £11.50 | £11.39 |
Festive peak runs 15 Oct to 14 Jan. Items at or under £20 get Low-Price FBA, so the same parcel costs £2.70 to fulfil when the item is £18.00.
What the fee tables leave out
- Storage. The US charges $0.78 per cubic foot a month from January to September and $2.40 from October to December. The UK charges £0.76 and £1.51.
- Inbound placement. Between $0.14 and $1.90 per unit in the US when you split shipments yourself, and nothing with Amazon-optimized splits.
- Low inventory level. $0.32 to $1.11 per unit for standard-size items in the US when days of supply are under 28.
- Returns, refunds, removals, advertising and sales tax or VAT. None of these is a fee in the table above.