Amazon Seller Fees and Other Costs in 2026
Having a product that sells is a useful start. The harder question is what you keep after paying to sell it, deliver it, and deal with the orders that come back.
This guide covers Amazon’s US store, Amazon.com, with amounts in US dollars. Work through sale-related fees, your selling plan, shipping, FBA, and the other costs to build a product budget.
Rates and policies were checked on October 16, 2026. Use the linked Amazon schedules for the product, fulfillment method, and shipment date you are planning.
The main Amazon seller fees
Amazon separates its standard selling charges into selling-plan fees and referral fees. Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA) is an optional service with its own costs. You can also fulfill orders yourself. See Amazon’s current US pricing and optional services.
For planning, give each cost its own line:
Selling: the plan charge, referral fee, and any applicable closing fee.
Fulfillment: FBA charges or the cost of storing, packing, and shipping orders yourself.
Inventory: purchase cost, preparation, inbound transport, and storage.
Everything around the order: refunds, advertising you choose to run, software, and your own operating expenses.
This is a budgeting checklist, not a claim that every seller pays every line. Keep one cost in one place; counting FBA fulfillment twice can spoil a perfectly good spreadsheet.
Amazon sale-related fees
Start with the charges attached to a sale. The product’s fee category matters, and it may differ from the category shoppers see on the product page.
Referral fees
A referral fee is based on the total sales price, including shipping and gift-wrapping charges. There is no single rate for every product. For example, the US schedule lists Home and Kitchen at 15% and Consumer Electronics at 8%; other categories have different rates or price bands. Check the category fee table for your actual product.
Minimum referral fee
Where a minimum applies, pay the greater of the calculated referral fee and that minimum, rather than adding them together. Home and Kitchen, for example, has a $0.30 minimum. Some categories have no minimum.
A $30 Home and Kitchen sale with no shipping or gift-wrap charge therefore has a $4.50 referral fee: $30 × 15%. That is only the referral fee, so keep going before deciding whether the sale works for you.
Closing fees
The US closing fee is $1.80 per unit sold in Books, DVD, Music, Software & Computer/Video Games, Video Game Consoles, and Video Game Accessories. It is additional to other applicable charges. Amazon also calls this the variable closing fee; it is separate from the Individual plan’s per-item selling fee. See the closing-fee schedule.
Fees from refunds
A refund does not necessarily reverse all your costs. For a full refund of a non-media product, Amazon retains a refund administration fee equal to the lesser of $5 or 20% of the referral fee. The cap applies to each unique line item, including multiple quantities of the same item in that line.
Books, music, video, and DVD refunds have different rules, and partial refunds need a separate calculation. The Individual plan’s per-item fee is not credited back. Use Amazon’s refund administration policy rather than applying the non-media rule to every refund.
In your own budget, also allow for return shipping, handling, and stock you cannot resell when those costs fall to you. Treat the refund and the physical return as separate events to reconcile.
Seller account fees
Amazon offers Individual and Professional selling plans. Both still have applicable selling fees; the plan choice does not replace the referral fee. Amazon’s selling FAQ gives the current US plan charges.
Individual selling plan
The Individual plan charges $0.99 for each unit sold, with no monthly subscription charge. It is a per-sale fee, not a charge just for creating a listing.
Amazon suggests considering this plan if you expect fewer than 40 sales a month. That is a plan-selection guideline, not a limit of 40 permitted sales. Compare the charges at your expected volume before choosing.
Professional selling plan
The Professional plan costs $39.99 a month, plus applicable selling fees, and does not have the Individual plan’s $0.99 per-item fee. Bulk operations and other tools can also matter to your choice. Both plans can use FBA, subject to product and program requirements. Review the plan comparison before relying on a particular feature.
Shipping fees and credits
If you fulfill orders yourself, budget for the carrier, packaging, storage, and handling. Amazon describes this option as Fulfilled by Merchant. The shipping amount collected from a buyer is not proof that your actual delivery costs are covered.
Shipping credit for Individual sellers
For Individual sellers, Amazon sets shipping charges and credits the amount charged to the buyer for a seller-fulfilled order. You must still ship the order if that credit is below your actual shipping cost. Use the applicable table in shipping settings for Individual sellers.
Check the credit against a real packed shipment and carrier quote. Use the credit for the applicable product and shipping service.
Amazon FBA fees
With Fulfillment by Amazon, Amazon stores inventory and handles picking, packing, delivery, customer service, and returns. Fulfillment charges and monthly storage are separate cost lines. Storage is based on the daily average volume occupied in cubic feet. Amazon’s FBA overview explains the services and cost types.
For a fulfillment estimate, use the right price band, product type, size tier, and shipping weight in the 2026 US FBA rate schedule. Apparel and dangerous goods have separate tables. Check that the rate card matches the period when the order will ship.
As of this update, peak rates are already in effect: the holiday window runs from October 15, 2026 through January 14, 2027. The 3.5% fuel and logistics-related surcharge, effective for US FBA since April 17, 2026, also applies to peak fulfillment fees. It is applied to the fulfillment fee, not as 3.5% of the product’s selling price. See Amazon’s holiday fee announcement.
There can also be charges for inbound placement, aged inventory, returns processing, and removing or disposing of stock, depending on the service and its conditions. Handling returns does not mean every return-related charge is included in the standard fulfillment fee.
Other Amazon seller costs
The smaller cost lines deserve a look too. Some only matter for particular products or very large catalogs.
Preparation and labeling: Amazon stopped offering US FBA prep and item-labeling services from January 1, 2026, with a transition exception for shipments created before that date. Arrange the required work yourself or with your supplier or service provider, and budget for it. Check the FBA Prep Service notice.
High-volume listings: the first 1.5 million active SKUs per marketplace are exempt. Above that threshold, the US fee is $0.001 per eligible SKU per month, based on the highest active-SKU count from the 5th through the 31st of the month. See Amazon’s high-volume listing fee.
Optional programs: advertising and other services you select belong in the budget too. Consult Amazon’s optional-cost guide before enrolling.
Costs outside Amazon needs a place too. Add supplier invoices, freight, import charges where applicable, inspection, third-party storage, staff time, and software from your actual quotes and records. These are your business inputs, so an Amazon fee estimate will not supply them all for you.
Know your costs before setting your price
Start with a few representative products. Record the planned selling price and shipping revenue, then subtract the applicable Amazon charges, product cost, and your other costs. Keep a separate allowance for returns and a share of monthly overhead. Label the result according to what you included; a contribution before overhead is not your final business profit.
Amazon’s fee-estimation guide explains how to compare FBA with your own fulfillment in the Revenue Calculator and obtain a Fee Preview report. Enter your actual product and cost assumptions. Save the date and fee period beside the estimate, then reconcile it with what Amazon actually charges after orders ship.
For a spreadsheet workflow, our FBA Fee Preview guide covers working with fee estimates in Google Sheets. Keep supplier and operating costs beside those estimates, rather than mistaking the preview for a complete profit statement.
Its a small check, but repeat it when your price, packaging, fulfillment method, or fee period changes. That gives you a clearer basis for a selling decision without assuming that a sale guarantees a profit.
Adapted from an article originally published on Bindwise by Annika Helendi; reviewed and updated for Hopted by the Hopted editorial team.