Amazon Seller Fees Explained (2026): US & India Breakdown

Amazon seller fees come in a few layers. In the US, you pay a selling plan fee (the Professional plan is $39.99 per month, or the Individual plan charges $0.99 per item sold), a referral fee on every sale (a category-based percentage, commonly 8% to 15%, with a $0.30 minimum in most categories), and, if you use Fulfilment by Amazon, FBA fulfilment and storage fees based on size, weight and price. In India, there is no monthly subscription, but you pay a referral fee (often 0% for items under ₹1,000 since March 2026), a closing fee by price band, shipping or weight handling fees for Easy Ship or FBA, FBA storage, and 18% GST on all of those fees.

This guide breaks down each fee for Amazon.com and Amazon.in, shows one worked example for each marketplace, and explains how to estimate your own numbers before you list. Amazon changes fees regularly, often once or twice a year, so treat every figure here as a snapshot checked in October 2026. Always confirm current rates on Amazon's own pricing pages and in Seller Central before you price a product.

If you are still deciding whether to sell at all, start with our guide on how to sell on Amazon, then come back here to model the costs.

Amazon seller fees at a glance

The rest of this article explains each row.

US Amazon seller fees (Amazon.com)

Selling plans: Individual vs Professional

Amazon.com offers two selling plans. According to Amazon's pricing page (sell.amazon.com/pricing, checked October 2026):

The break-even point is simple arithmetic: 40 sales × $0.99 = $39.60, so once you sell roughly 40 units a month the Professional plan costs about the same. More importantly, the Professional plan unlocks features most serious sellers need, including Sponsored Products ads, bulk listing tools and access to brand tools such as A+ Content once you are brand-registered.

Referral fees

The referral fee is Amazon's commission on each sale. Amazon describes it as a percentage of the total price or a minimum amount, whichever is greater. The total price includes the item price plus any shipping or gift-wrap charges the buyer pays.

Rates vary by category. A few examples from Amazon's US pricing page, checked October 2026:

Most mainstream categories sit between 8% and 15%, while a few specialist categories are higher. Some categories use tiered rates based on price, as clothing does above. Before you choose a product, look up its exact category rate, because a 7 percentage point difference on a $30 item is more than $2 of margin per unit.

Closing fees for media

Media products (books, DVDs, music, software and video) pay a referral fee plus a closing fee of $1.80 per item, according to Amazon's pricing page. Non-media products do not pay this closing fee in the US. If you sell used books or other low-priced media, the closing fee is often the single biggest fee relative to price, so factor it in early.

FBA fulfilment fees

If you use Fulfilment by Amazon, Amazon stores your inventory, picks and packs each order, ships it to the customer, and handles customer service and returns. In return you pay a fulfilment fee per unit sold.

Amazon says FBA fulfilment fees "are based on the product's price, weight, and dimensions." The structure works like this:

• Size tier. Amazon sorts each product into a tier, such as small standard, large standard, large bulky and extra-large, using the packaged dimensions and weight.
• Shipping weight. Within each tier, the fee rises in weight steps. For larger items Amazon uses the greater of the unit weight and the dimensional weight.
• Price band. Since 2024 Amazon has used different fee tables for low-priced items and for items in higher price bands, so the same box can cost a different amount to fulfil depending on its price.

We have deliberately not reproduced the full rate card here. It has dozens of rows, it changes most years, and the only reliable source is Amazon's current FBA fee page in Seller Central or the Revenue Calculator. What we can confirm about 2026:

• Amazon announced its 2026 US fee update on 15 October 2025, effective 15 January 2026. Amazon said FBA fees would rise by an average of $0.08 per unit sold and that there would be no new FBA fee types in 2026.
• Separately, Amazon introduced a 3.5% fuel and logistics surcharge on US and Canada FBA fulfilment fees from 17 April 2026, which it described as temporary. Amazon put the average at about $0.17 per US FBA unit. Check Seller Central to see whether it is still in force when you read this.

Storage fees and surcharges

FBA storage fees are charged monthly, based on the average daily volume (in cubic feet) your inventory occupies. Key points:

• Seasonality. Rates for October to December are significantly higher than January to September, typically around three times higher for standard-size items in recent years. Holding a lot of slow stock through Q4 is expensive.
• Aged inventory surcharge. Amazon charges an additional monthly surcharge for items stored in a fulfilment centre for more than 181 days, rising the longer stock sits.
• Low inventory and capacity. Amazon has also charged fees for running inventory too low relative to sales, and storage costs can increase if you exceed your restock or capacity limits. Check the current rules in Seller Central under FBA capacity.

The exact per-cubic-foot figures change, so read them from Amazon's current rate card rather than third-party lists, which often disagree.

Inbound placement service fee

When you send inventory to FBA, Amazon charges an inbound placement service fee for standard and large bulky products. Amazon says the fee covers distributing inventory to fulfilment centres close to customers. In practice, the fee depends on how many locations you agree to ship to: choosing fewer destinations (a minimal split) costs more per unit, while splitting a shipment across more locations reduces or removes the fee but raises your own freight costs. Compare both options each time you create a shipment.

Returns processing fee

Amazon charges a returns processing fee on some orders where Amazon provides the customer with free return shipping. Amazon's rules tie this to categories and return-rate thresholds, so products with return rates above their category threshold are the ones most likely to pay it. Clear sizing, accurate images and honest descriptions are the best defence.

Advertising

Advertising is technically optional, but most sellers treat it as a core cost. Sponsored Products, Sponsored Brands and Sponsored Display are charged mostly per click. There is no fixed rate. Your cost depends on keyword competition and your own bids. When you model a product, include an advertising cost per unit, especially during launch.

Optional services and other fees

Amazon lists several optional or situational costs, including:

• Removal and disposal of FBA inventory (a per-item charge)
• FBA Prep and labelling services, if Amazon preps or labels your units
• High-volume listing fee for very large catalogues with many inactive listings
• Refund administration fee when you refund an order
• Amazon Warehousing and Distribution (AWD), an optional upstream storage service with its own pricing
• Multi-Channel Fulfilment, if you use FBA inventory to fulfil orders from other sales channels

Check the Fee Preview report in Seller Central monthly for anything unexpected.

India Amazon seller fees (Amazon.in)

Amazon.in uses a different fee model. You do not pay a monthly plan fee. Instead, each order carries a set of per-order fees that depend on the category, price, weight and fulfilment channel: Easy Ship (Amazon picks up from you and delivers), FBA (Amazon stores and ships from its fulfilment centres), Seller Flex (Amazon operates from your warehouse) or Self Ship (you ship with your own courier).

If you have not registered yet, our Amazon India seller setup guide covers GST, documents and account setup.

No monthly subscription

Amazon.in's fees page lists referral, closing, weight handling and programme-based fees. It does not list a monthly subscription. That makes India cheaper to start on than the US, but it does not mean selling is free. On a low-priced item, the fixed fees per order can still take a large share of the price.

Referral fees by category and price band

The India referral fee is a percentage of the item price:

Referral fee = item price × referral fee percentage

Rates depend on both category and price band. Examples shown on Amazon's India fees page (sell.amazon.in/fees-and-pricing, checked October 2026):

Amazon's page gives the worked example of a baby apparel item at ₹1,450 paying 7%, which is ₹101.50.

Zero referral fee on lower-priced items

Amazon India has been expanding a zero-referral-fee programme for low-priced products:

• April 2025: Amazon removed referral fees on products priced under ₹300 in many categories.
• March 2026: Amazon announced on 2 March 2026 that referral fees would be zero on more than 12.5 crore products priced under ₹1,000, across more than 1,800 categories, effective 16 March 2026. Amazon also said Easy Ship fees for products under ₹300 would drop by more than 20%.

Two cautions. First, not every category or product qualifies, so check your exact category in Seller Central. Second, zero referral does not mean zero fees. Closing fees, weight handling, storage and GST still apply. Amazon's headline claim is that sellers could save up to 70% on total selling fees, but that is an upper figure, not a typical saving.

Closing fees by price band

Amazon.in charges a closing fee on each order. It is a fixed amount set by the item price band, the category group and the fulfilment channel. It is charged on the total amount the buyer pays, including any shipping or gift-wrap charges.

Examples Amazon shows on its fees page:

Important: Amazon announced a closing fee increase effective 7 September 2026, adding ₹1 to the existing closing fee for products priced up to ₹500 and ₹3 for products above ₹500, across FBA, Easy Ship and Seller Flex. Amazon attributed it to higher fuel and logistics costs. Some example figures on Amazon's page may predate that change, so treat the table as an illustration of the structure and confirm your exact fee in Seller Central.

Shipping and weight handling fees

For Easy Ship and FBA orders, Amazon charges a weight handling fee (essentially a shipping fee). It depends on:

• Chargeable weight, which is the higher of actual weight and volumetric weight. Amazon calculates volumetric weight as length × breadth × height in cm, divided by 5,000.
• Distance: local, regional or national delivery.
• Weight slabs: a base fee for the first 500 g, then an amount for each additional 500 g or kg.

Amazon's own examples include an 800 g regional Easy Ship order charged ₹68 (₹51 for the first 500 g plus ₹17 for the next 500 g), and a 700 g book shipped by FBA from Delhi to Chandigarh charged ₹54. For Self Ship, Amazon charges no shipping fee because you pay your own courier.

To compare channels side by side, read our Amazon India FBA vs Easy Ship comparison.

FBA fees in India

If you use FBA in India, expect, in addition to referral, closing and weight handling fees:

• Pick and pack fee per unit, with a higher fee for heavy and bulky items
• Storage fee, which Amazon's fees page lists at ₹50 per cubic foot per month
• Removal or disposal fees if you pull stock out
• Optional services such as labelling

FBA offers in India are Prime-eligible, which often helps conversion, so a higher fee can still produce more profit if it lifts sales.

GST on Amazon fees

Amazon's India fees page states: "We will apply 18% (eighteen percent) GST to all fees displayed above." So if your referral, closing and weight handling fees add up to ₹100, you actually pay ₹118. If you are GST-registered, you can generally claim this as input tax credit, which reduces the real cost. Speak to your chartered accountant about how it applies to your business.

Also remember that Amazon, as an e-commerce operator, collects TCS under GST and deducts TDS under Section 194-O of the Income Tax Act from your payouts. These are not fees, as they can usually be credited against your tax liability, but they affect cash flow. Rates have changed in recent years, so confirm the current ones with your accountant.

Worked example: US product (illustrative numbers)

All numbers below are illustrative assumptions, not Amazon's current rates. Use them to understand the method, then replace them with your own figures from the Revenue Calculator.

Product: a kitchen gadget in Home and Kitchen, sold via FBA at $25.00.

Amazon fees in this example (referral, FBA, storage and plan) total $7.95, or about 32% of the sale price. Advertising adds another 12%. This is why sellers who only look at the referral fee are often surprised by their real margins.

Worked example: India product (illustrative numbers)

Again, these are illustrative assumptions. Fees depend on your category, weight, channel and route.

Product: a ₹799 home décor item shipped with Easy Ship, in a category that qualifies for zero referral fee under ₹1,000. The item weighs 600 g packed and attracts 18% GST on the sale (illustrative).

Two lessons from this example. First, zero referral fee helps a lot at this price point, but closing and weight handling fees still add up to roughly 12% of the price before GST. Second, at very low prices such as ₹199, the same fixed fees would take a much bigger share, which is why cheap, heavy products are hard to make profitable on any marketplace.

How to estimate your own Amazon fees

Amazon's official calculators

• US: Revenue Calculator. Amazon links to it from its pricing page (sellercentral.amazon.com/revcalpublic). Search for an existing ASIN or enter your own product details, then compare FBA against your own fulfilment. Amazon also offers a product fee estimate page at sell.amazon.com/pricing/estimate.
• India: Revenue Calculator. Amazon.in links to an ASIN-level Revenue Calculator from its fees page (sellercentral.amazon.in/fba/profitabilitycalculator). Enter the ASIN or a similar product, choose your fulfilment channel and check the breakdown.
• Seller Central reports. Once you are selling, the Fee Preview report and payment reports show what Amazon actually charges per SKU. Check them regularly, because a wrong dimension measurement can push a product into a more expensive size tier.

Amazon notes that calculator results are estimates, so treat them as a starting point.

A free profit calculator

Amazon's calculators focus on Amazon fees. To see true profit, you also need product cost, freight, packaging, advertising and GST in one place. Our free Amazon profit calculator, part of the free tools at zonfy, lets you enter all of these and see your margin and break-even price per unit for both the US and India.

Tips to reduce your Amazon seller fees

• Shrink your packaging. A smaller or lighter box can move a product into a cheaper FBA size tier or a lower weight slab. Even half a centimetre can matter at a tier boundary.
• Price around thresholds. Referral and closing fees change at price breaks. In India, a product at ₹999 may pay no referral fee while the same product at ₹1,049 pays the full rate. In the US, some categories such as clothing have tiered referral rates.
• Choose the channel per product, not per account. FBA often wins for small, fast-moving items. Easy Ship, Self Ship or FBM can be cheaper for bulky or slow items. See our FBA vs FBM comparison for how each affects the Buy Box.
• Keep inventory lean before Q4. Peak storage rates and aged inventory surcharges punish overstocking. Send what you expect to sell in the next 60 to 90 days.
• Plan inbound shipments. Compare the inbound placement fee for minimal versus split shipments every time.
• Cut returns. Clear size charts, accurate images, and listings that set the right expectations reduce returns and return processing fees.
• Measure and audit. Check the dimensions and weight Amazon has on file. If they are wrong, raise a case. Review your fee reports monthly.
• Watch your ad spend per unit. Advertising is often the largest cost after product cost. Track it per SKU, not only as an account total.

Final word

Amazon seller fees are manageable once you see them as a stack: plan, referral, closing, fulfilment, storage, taxes on fees and advertising. Model every layer per product before you buy inventory, and revisit your numbers whenever Amazon announces a change.