What Percentage Does Amazon Take From Sellers? (2026 Fee Breakdown)

Amazon takes between 8% and 15% of each sale in most categories — this is the referral fee, charged on the total sales price including shipping. Most everyday categories pay exactly 15%. If Amazon also ships your product through Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA), a per-unit fulfillment fee comes on top, and the all-in cut for a typical FBA seller lands between 25% and 40% of the sale price.

That's the short answer. The exact percentage depends on three things: your product category, your selling plan, and who ships the order — you (FBM) or Amazon (FBA). Here's how each piece works.

Amazon referral fees by category (2026)

The referral fee is Amazon's commission for the sale. It's a percentage of the total sales price — item price plus any shipping and gift-wrap charges the buyer pays — with a $0.30 minimum per item in most categories.

Two details sellers often miss:

• Some categories use price brackets, others use marginal tiers. Beauty at $10.01 pays 15% on the whole price, not just the part above $10 — so a $10.50 listing can net less than a $9.99 one. Electronics Accessories works the other way: 15% applies only to the first $100.
• Media has a closing fee. Books, DVDs, music, software and video games pay a flat $1.80 closing fee per item on top of the 15% referral fee.

The other fees that come out of your payout

The referral fee is only the commission. Your actual net proceeds — what Amazon deposits after a sale — also reflect:

• Selling plan. The Professional plan is $39.99/month; the Individual plan is free but adds $0.99 per item sold. Above ~40 sales a month, Professional is cheaper.
• FBA fulfillment fees. If Amazon picks, packs and ships the order, you pay a per-unit fee based on the item's size tier and shipping weight — from around $3.50 for a small, light item to well over $10 for bulky products.
• Monthly inventory storage fees. Charged per cubic foot for stock sitting in Amazon's fulfillment centers, with higher rates in Q4 and surcharges for aged inventory.
• Refund administration fee. When you refund a buyer, Amazon returns the referral fee minus 20% (capped at $5).

If you fulfill orders yourself (FBM — Fulfilled by Merchant), you skip the FBA and storage fees but carry your own shipping and handling costs instead.

Worked example: a $25 Home & Kitchen product

Say you sell a kitchen gadget for $25 with free shipping, using FBA:

• Referral fee (15%): $3.75
• FBA fulfillment fee (large standard-size, ~1 lb): about $6.50
• Amazon's total cut: roughly $10.25 — about 41% of the sale price

If your landed product cost is $6, you're left with roughly $8.75 before storage fees and advertising. That's why the referral-fee percentage alone understates what Amazon really takes: for low-priced FBA items, the flat fulfillment fee is often the bigger number. Percentages only tell you so much — run your exact price, cost and dimensions through our free Amazon fee calculator to see your real profit, margin and break-even price.

FBA vs FBM: how fulfillment changes the percentage

The referral percentage is identical either way — the difference is who bears fulfillment cost:

• FBA trades a predictable per-unit fee for Prime eligibility and better conversion. On items under ~$15, fulfillment can exceed the referral fee, pushing Amazon's total share past 50%.
• FBM keeps Amazon's cut close to the bare referral fee (15% + your plan fee), but you pay carriers directly and handle returns yourself.

The right answer is product-specific: heavy-but-cheap items often favor FBM, small high-margin items usually favor FBA. The calculator compares both side by side.

Does the percentage differ by country?

The structure is the same worldwide — referral fee by category plus optional FBA — but rates, brackets and currencies differ. Amazon.ca, for example, uses a CAD $0.40 minimum referral fee and different clothing brackets. If you sell outside the US, use the matching tool: Amazon Canada fee calculator, Amazon UK fee calculator or Amazon Australia fee calculator.

How to keep more of each sale

1. Check your category assignment. Miscategorized products can pay 15% instead of 8%. You can see the applied fee in Seller Central's revenue calculator or your transaction details.
2. Mind bracket thresholds. In bracket categories (Clothing, Beauty, Grocery), pricing just below a threshold can beat pricing just above it.
3. Shrink your size tier. FBA fees jump between size tiers — trimming packaging from 18.1" to 18" can move an item from small-bulky back to large standard-size.
4. Watch low-price items. Under ~$10, minimum referral fees and flat fulfillment fees eat margin fastest; bundling multipacks raises the price the percentage is spread over.