Amazon FBA fees in 2026: what you pay and how to estimate it
Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA) can put your products in front of Prime shoppers with two-day delivery, but it stacks several fees on every unit. Sellers who only look at the referral fee are often shocked by their first settlement report. This guide explains each FBA cost category for US sellers in 2026, what changed this year, and how to estimate your per-unit profit before you send inventory in.
Sources: Amazon's Selling on Amazon pricing page, its FBA fees page, and the 2026 US Referral and FBA fee update, checked October 2026. Exact fees depend on category, size tier, weight, and price — always confirm with Amazon's Revenue Calculator for your specific ASIN.
1. Selling plan
Amazon offers two plans in the US:
- Individual: $0.99 per item sold, no monthly fee. Makes sense under about 40 sales a month.
- Professional: $39.99 per month, no per-item fee. Required for most advertising and many tools.
The break-even is roughly 40 units a month ($39.99 ÷ $0.99). Above that, Professional is cheaper.
2. Referral fee: usually 15%
Amazon charges a referral fee on every sale, calculated as a percentage of the total sales price (item price plus any shipping or gift-wrap charges). For most categories it is 15%, with a per-item minimum (commonly $0.30). Some categories use tiered or lower rates — certain electronics, for example, are lower, while some categories charge different percentages above or below a price threshold. Amazon's 2026 update did not change US referral fee rates overall, but check the category table on the pricing page for your products.
3. FBA fulfillment fee: per unit, by size and weight
This is the fee for Amazon to pick, pack, ship, and handle customer service and returns for each unit. It depends on the product's size tier (small standard, large standard, large bulky, extra-large) and its shipping weight, and since 2024 it also varies by price band (below $10, $10–$50, above $50).
Effective January 15, 2026, Amazon increased US FBA fulfillment fees by an average of about $0.08 per unit. According to Amazon's announcement and industry coverage, the changes by tier were roughly:
| Size tier | Under $10 | $10–$50 | Over $50 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Small standard | +$0.12 | +$0.25 | +$0.51 |
| Large standard | no change | +$0.05 | +$0.31 |
Amazon also revised extra-large tiers and introduced a packaging fee for certain bulky items not enrolled in Ships in Product Packaging. In addition, Amazon applies a holiday peak fulfillment fee each year from mid-October to mid-January, so Q4 per-unit fees run higher than the rest of the year.
Because the fee is tied to dimensions, a few millimeters of packaging can bump a product into a more expensive tier. Measure your packaged unit carefully.
4. Storage fees
- Monthly storage fee: charged per cubic foot of space your inventory occupies, higher in October–December than January–September.
- Aged inventory surcharge: added for units that have sat in fulfillment centers for a long time (starting at 181 days). Slow movers get expensive.
- Storage utilization surcharge: may apply if your inventory is high relative to your sales velocity.
5. Inbound and other fees
- Inbound placement service fee: charged per unit depending on how many fulfillment centers you ship to. Choosing Amazon-optimized splits (sending to more locations) usually lowers it; one-location shipping costs more.
- Low-inventory-level fee: applies when your stock is persistently low relative to demand for standard-size items.
- Returns processing fee: applies to some categories with high return rates.
- Removal and disposal fees to get unsold inventory back or destroyed.
- Advertising: Sponsored Products is cost per click and often 10–20% of sales for new products.
Worked example: a $24.99 kitchen gadget
Assume a small item in a 15% referral category, large standard size, shipping weight around 12 oz. Use Amazon's Revenue Calculator for exact fees; the numbers below are illustrative.
| Line | Amount |
|---|---|
| Sale price | $24.99 |
| Referral fee (15%) | −$3.75 |
| FBA fulfillment fee (illustrative) | −$4.50 |
| Monthly storage (allocated per unit) | −$0.15 |
| Inbound placement + freight to Amazon | −$0.60 |
| Landed product cost (COGS) | −$6.00 |
| Profit before ads | $9.99 (40%) |
| PPC (say $3.00 per unit) | −$3.00 |
| Profit after ads | $6.99 (28%) |
Amazon's fees alone (referral + fulfillment + storage + inbound) take about $9.00 — roughly 36% of the sale price. That is typical for lower-priced FBA items, and it is why many experienced sellers avoid FBA products priced under about $15.
How to estimate FBA fees before you buy inventory
- Measure and weigh the product in its final packaging.
- Find the size tier and enter the dimensions, weight, and price into Amazon's Revenue Calculator.
- Add your landed cost per unit (see calculating COGS), inbound freight, and a storage allowance based on how many months of stock you will hold.
- Add an ad cost per unit — be conservative for a new listing.
- Stress-test: what happens in Q4 with peak fees, or if returns run 5%?
Selling on Etsy or Shopify as well? See Etsy fees explained and Shopify profit margin to compare channels side by side.
More seller guides
- Etsy fees explained: what Etsy actually takes from each sale
- How to calculate your Shopify profit margin (and what a good one looks like)
- Quarterly estimated taxes for online sellers: a plain-English guide
- How to calculate COGS (cost of goods sold) for your online store
SellerSheetKit is not affiliated with Etsy, Shopify, or Amazon. Fee figures are summarized from official sources on the date above and can change; verify against your seller account. Educational content only — not tax, legal, or accounting advice.