Selling on Amazon looks simple from the outside: list a product, make a sale, keep the money. In practice, Amazon layers several charges on top of each sale, and a seller who only tracks the sale price is often surprised by how little actually lands in the bank. This Amazon seller fee calculator adds up every major cost on a monthly basis — referral fees, the Professional selling-plan subscription, FBA fulfillment, storage, per-unit closing fees, and your own product cost — so you can see your true net profit and net margin before you scale a product or raise your ad spend.
Adjust any field and every figure recalculates instantly. Run it on your best-selling item, then slide the average sale price and units sold around to see where a listing stays profitable and where it tips into a loss.
How to Use
- Enter Units Sold per Month — the average number of units you move each month on this listing.
- Set your Average Sale Price — the price a buyer actually pays, before tax.
- Confirm the Referral Fee percentage. Amazon takes a category cut, most commonly 15% of the sale price, though some categories (accessories, groceries, certain electronics) run lower.
- Enter your Professional Selling Plan cost. The Professional plan is a flat $39.99 per month across the whole account; if you are on the pay-per-item Individual plan instead, set this to $0 and remember the Individual plan also adds roughly $1.00 per unit.
- Fill in the FBA Fulfillment Fee per unit. This is Amazon's pick, pack, and shipping charge, usually $3–$5 for a small standard-size item and higher for bulky or heavy products.
- Add the Per-Unit Closing Fee if it applies. Fixed closing fees mainly hit media categories (books, music, video, DVD) at around $1.80 per item; most other categories have no closing fee, so leave this at $0 if it does not apply to you.
- Estimate your Monthly Storage Fee — what you pay on average for inventory sitting in Amazon's warehouses.
- Enter your Product Cost (COGS) per unit: the landed cost of making or buying the item plus packaging and freight into Amazon.
The result card breaks the month into gross revenue, each Amazon fee line, total fees, product cost, and finally your monthly net profit and net margin.
How Amazon's Fees Stack Up
Amazon's selling fees fall into a few buckets, and each one works differently:
- Referral fee — a percentage of the sale price, charged on every sold unit. It is deducted from the proceeds rather than billed separately, which is why it is easy to overlook when you only look at the deposit.
- Selling plan — either a flat $39.99/month Professional subscription or a roughly $1.00 per-item Individual fee. The Professional plan makes sense once you sell more than about 40 units a month.
- FBA fulfillment fee — a per-unit charge for storing, picking, packing, and shipping the order, plus customer service and returns handling. It scales with the item's size and weight.
- Storage fee — charged monthly per cubic foot your inventory occupies, and it jumps sharply during the October–December peak season.
- Closing fee — a small fixed per-item fee in certain categories.
Because the referral fee and fulfillment charge grow with every unit while the Professional plan and storage are mostly fixed, your margin improves as you sell more. That is why scaling the right product — and cutting the wrong one — matters so much.
Examples
Example 1 — A healthy mid-volume listing. You sell 100 units a month at an average price of $29.99 on the 15% referral tier, pay $39.99 for the Professional plan, a $4.50 FBA fee, a $1.80 closing fee, $50 in monthly storage, and your product cost is $8.00. Gross revenue is $2,999.00. The referral fee is $449.85, fulfillment adds $450.00, and closing adds $180.00. Total Amazon fees come to $1,169.84, product cost is $800.00, leaving a net profit of $1,029.16 — a 34.32% net margin. That is a comfortable, fundable listing.
Example 2 — A thin-margin heavy item. You try a bulky product moving 150 units a month at $20.00, but the FBA fulfillment fee is $7.50. Gross revenue is $3,000.00; the referral fee is $450.00, fulfillment climbs to $1,125.00, closing is $270.00, storage $80, and the plan $39.99. Total Amazon fees reach $1,964.99, and with product cost at $12.00 per unit ($1,800 total) you actually lose $764.99 per month, a negative 25.50% margin. The calculator flags the red number so you can reprice, switch fulfillment, or walk away.
Example 3 — Zero sales still costs money. Even with 0 units sold, the fixed charges do not disappear. The $39.99 Professional plan and $50 storage fee still bill you, for a monthly burn of $89.99 before you sell a single unit. That is why sellers watch storage costs: dead stock quietly erodes an otherwise profitable account.
FAQ
How much does Amazon take per sale?
For most categories Amazon takes a 15% referral fee on the sale price, plus the FBA fulfillment fee (typically $3–$5 per unit) if you use FBA. On a $29.99 order that is about $4.50 in referral fees plus your fulfillment charge, on top of any per-item closing fee and storage. Add the $39.99 monthly Professional subscription and your product cost to find what is left.
Is the $39.99 Professional plan worth it?
The Professional plan costs a flat $39.99 per month and removes the roughly $1.00 per-item Individual fee. As a rule of thumb, once you sell more than about 40 units in a month, the Professional plan is cheaper. If you are testing only a handful of products, the Individual plan avoids the monthly subscription until you are ready to scale.
What is the difference between FBA and FBM fees?
With FBA, Amazon picks, packs, ships, and handles customer service, and charges a per-unit fulfillment fee plus monthly storage. With Merchant Fulfilled (FBM), you handle shipping yourself and pay the referral fee but not Amazon's fulfillment fee — though you then absorb postage, packing materials, and support time. This calculator models the FBA path; set the FBA fulfillment and storage fields to near zero to approximate FBM.
What is a good net margin for Amazon sellers?
Aim for a net margin of at least 20–30% after all referral fees, fulfillment, storage, and product cost. Margins below 15% leave almost no buffer for returns, PPC advertising, or seasonal storage hikes. Use this calculator to confirm a listing clears that bar before you commit inventory.
Does the referral fee apply to shipping the customer pays?
Usually yes. Amazon calculates the referral fee on the total amount the buyer pays, which includes the product price plus any shipping and gift-wrap charges you collect — unless your category has an exception. Check your specific category in Seller Central, then enter your true average order total to avoid understating the fee.
Why is my net profit negative even when sales look good?
Amazon's fixed fees (the $39.99 plan and storage) and per-unit fulfillment charges do not shrink just because your price is low. A cheap, heavy item can sell briskly and still lose money once the 15% referral fee, a $4–$7 fulfillment charge, and your product cost exceed the sale price. Plug in a higher price or a lighter product to find the break-even point.
Disclaimer
This Amazon seller fee calculator is provided by Smekys for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial, tax, accounting, or legal advice. Fee rates, referral percentages, plan costs, and FBA charges change over time and vary by category, product size, season, and sales channel; the defaults shown are typical estimates, not a quote. Always verify your exact current fees in Amazon Seller Central and consult a qualified professional before making pricing, sourcing, or inventory decisions.