Short answer: on a typical sale, Amazon FBA takes roughly 25% to 40% of your item price. That total is three separate charges stacked together: a referral fee (15% for most categories), an FBA fulfillment fee ($2.43 to $7.55+ for standard-size items in 2026), and a small monthly storage fee. Cheap, light items feel the bite most.
Here is a quick 2026 example. Sell a $29.99 water bottle and Amazon keeps about $9.62 of it — $4.50 referral fee, $5.04 fulfillment fee, $0.08 storage. You pocket $20.37 before your own product costs. Below, we break down every fee line by line and price out three real products so you can see your exact numbers.
Skip the math
Plug your price, weight and cost into our free Amazon FBA Calculator. It shows your exact fees and true profit per unit in about 10 seconds.
Open the Amazon FBA Calculator →The 3 fees Amazon takes from every FBA sale
When a unit sells, Amazon does not take one cut. It takes three. Each is calculated differently, which is why so many sellers underestimate their total.
1. Referral fee (the commission)
This is Amazon’s commission for the sale. It is a percentage of the total sales price — item price plus any shipping and gift wrap the buyer paid. For most categories the rate is 15%, with a $0.30 per-item minimum. Not every category is 15%, though. Some common 2026 rates:
| Category | 2026 referral fee |
|---|---|
| Most categories (Home & Kitchen, Toys, Sports, Pet, Office…) | 15% |
| Baby Products / Beauty, Health & Personal Care | 8% if price ≤ $10, else 15% |
| Clothing & Accessories | 5% ≤ $15 · 10% $15–$20 · 17% > $20 |
| Computers / Consumer Electronics | 8% |
| Electronics Accessories | 15% up to $100, 8% above |
| Grocery & Gourmet | 8% if price ≤ $15, else 15% |
| Jewelry | 20% up to $250, 5% above |
| Amazon Device Accessories | 45% |
Source: Amazon’s official Selling on Amazon fee schedule.
2. FBA fulfillment fee (pick, pack, ship)
This is the per-unit fee for Amazon to store, pick, pack and ship your order, plus customer service and returns handling. It depends on your item’s size tier, shipping weight, and — since 2025 — its price band (under $10, $10–$50, over $50).
Here are the 2026 non-peak rates (January 15 – October 14, 2026) for the tiers most sellers use, excluding apparel:
| Size tier · shipping weight | <$10 | $10–$50 | >$50 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Small standard · 4 oz | $2.49 | $3.42 | $3.68 |
| Small standard · 8 oz | $2.66 | $3.54 | $3.80 |
| Small standard · 16 oz | $2.95 | $3.96 | $4.22 |
| Large standard · 8 oz | $3.13 | $3.95 | $4.21 |
| Large standard · 1 lb | $3.78 | $4.60 | $4.86 |
| Large standard · 2 lb | $5.00 | $5.82 | $6.08 |
| Large standard · 3 lb | $5.85 | $6.67 | $6.93 |
| Large standard · 3–20 lb | $6.15–$7.23 + $0.08 per 4 oz above 3 lb | ||
| Small bulky · 0–50 lb | $6.78–$7.55 + $0.38/lb above the first lb | ||
Two important footnotes. First, starting April 17, 2026, Amazon adds a 3.5% fuel and logistics surcharge on top of these fulfillment fees. Second, holiday peak rates (October 15, 2026 – January 14, 2027) run roughly $0.19 to $0.82 higher per unit on standard sizes. Full rate card: 2026 US FBA fulfillment fee changes.
Also note how shipping weight works: for Large standard and bulky tiers, Amazon bills the greater of unit weight or dimensional weight (length × width × height ÷ 139). A light but bulky pillow can get charged like a 4 lb item.
3. Monthly storage fee
You pay rent for shelf space, charged monthly per cubic foot. The 2026 base rates for standard-size items are $0.78 per cubic foot (Jan–Sep) and $2.40 per cubic foot (Oct–Dec). Oversize items pay $0.56 and $1.40. A phone case (0.05 cu ft) costs about $0.04 a month to store — trivial. A 2 cu ft kitchen appliance in November costs $4.80. Not trivial.
What Amazon takes: 3 real products priced out
Percentages are abstract. Here is the money. All three examples use 2026 non-peak rates and assume inventory turns fast enough to avoid the low-inventory-level fee.
Example 1: $9.49 phone case (small standard, 3 oz)
| Sale price | $9.49 |
| Referral fee — Electronics Accessories, 15% | −$1.42 |
| FBA fulfillment — Small standard 2+ to 4 oz, <$10 band | −$2.49 |
| Storage (0.05 cu ft, Jan–Sep) | −$0.04 |
| Amazon’s total take | $3.95 (41.6% of the sale) |
| You receive | $5.54 |
Subtract a $2.10 unit cost and $0.30 inbound freight, and the case nets $3.14 profit. Low-price items live and die on fulfillment fees — notice the $2.49 fulfillment fee is bigger than the referral fee. The upside: items under $10 get discounted Low-Price FBA rates, about $0.86 cheaper per unit than the $10+ band.
Example 2: $29.99 insulated water bottle (large standard, 1.1 lb)
| Sale price | $29.99 |
| Referral fee — Home & Kitchen, 15% | −$4.50 |
| FBA fulfillment — Large standard 1+ to 1.25 lb, $10–$50 band | −$5.04 |
| Storage (0.10 cu ft, Jan–Sep) | −$0.08 |
| Amazon’s total take | $9.62 (32.1% of the sale) |
| You receive | $20.37 |
With a $6.00 unit cost and $0.80 freight, profit lands at $13.57 per bottle — a 45% margin. This is the sweet spot: mid-price, under 2 lb, small enough to avoid dimensional-weight games.
Example 3: $79.99 desk lamp (large standard, 4.5 lb)
| Sale price | $79.99 |
| Referral fee — Home & Kitchen, 15% | −$12.00 |
| FBA fulfillment — 3–20 lb band, >$50: $7.23 + (6 × $0.08) | −$7.71 |
| Storage (0.25 cu ft, Jan–Sep) | −$0.20 |
| Amazon’s total take | $19.91 (24.9% of the sale) |
| You receive | $60.08 |
The pattern is clear: the higher your price, the smaller Amazon’s percentage cut — because the fulfillment fee is mostly fixed by weight, not price. FBA takes 41.6% of a $9.49 sale but only 24.9% of a $79.99 sale.
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Calculate my FBA profit →The other fees that nibble your margin
Beyond the big three, these can apply in 2026:
- Low-inventory-level fee — if both your 30-day and 90-day historical days of supply drop below 28 days, Amazon adds $0.32 to $1.11 per unit on standard sizes (up to $2.09 on large bulky). Keep 4+ weeks of stock and you never see it.
- Inbound placement service fee — shipping everything to one fulfillment center instead of splitting across Amazon’s network costs roughly $0.21–$0.40+ per standard unit (more for bulky). Amazon-optimized splits are free.
- Aged inventory surcharge — stock sitting 181+ days incurs extra monthly charges on top of storage.
- Monthly subscription — $39.99 for a Professional plan (Individual plans skip this but pay $0.99 per sale instead).
- Return processing fees — categories with high return rates can be charged per returned unit.
We cover every one of these, with current rates, in our Amazon FBA Fees 2026 complete guide.
So what percentage does FBA take, really?
Add it up and here is the honest range for standard-size products in 2026:
- Under $10: Amazon takes ~40–45% of the sale. Viable only with very cheap landed costs.
- $15–$50: Amazon takes ~28–34%. The healthiest zone for most private-label sellers.
- Over $50: Amazon takes ~22–27%, but expect higher return and service expectations.
Your move: know your exact take before you source inventory, not after. Ten seconds in a calculator beats a painful surprise on your first payout statement. And once you have your per-unit profit, the natural next question is whether those margins hold up at scale — we ran that math in Is Amazon FBA Still Profitable in 2026?
Frequently asked questions
How much does Amazon FBA take from a $100 sale?
On a $100 item in a 15% category, Amazon typically takes $15 referral fee plus a fulfillment fee based on size and weight ($3.58–$4.22 for small standard, around $6–$8 for a 2–3 lb large standard item) plus a few cents of storage. Expect roughly $21–$24 total, or 21–24%.
Is the Amazon referral fee charged on shipping?
Yes. The referral fee applies to the total sales price — item price plus any shipping and gift-wrap charges the buyer pays. You cannot avoid it by charging separate shipping.
What is the FBA fulfillment fee for a 1 lb item in 2026?
For a large standard item at 12+ to 16 oz (1 lb) in non-peak 2026: $3.78 if priced under $10, $4.60 if priced $10–$50, and $4.86 if priced over $50. Small standard items under 16 oz pay less. Add 3.5% from April 17, 2026 for the fuel surcharge.
Did Amazon FBA fees go up in 2026?
Modestly. On January 15, 2026, fulfillment fees rose about $0.05–$0.31 per unit depending on price band and size. A separate 3.5% fuel and logistics surcharge applies from April 17, 2026. Some bulky tiers actually got cheaper — small bulky dropped from $9.61 to $7.55 in the $10–$50 band.
How do I avoid the low-inventory-level fee?
Keep your historical days of supply at or above 28 days. The fee only triggers when both your 30-day and 90-day supply metrics fall below 28 days. Products selling fewer than 20 units a week, grocery items, and new sellers in their first 365 days are exempt.
Know your take before you sell
Price, weight, category, cost — four inputs, one clear profit number. Free, no signup.
Try the free Amazon FBA Calculator →Sources: Amazon Selling Fee Schedule · 2026 US FBA Fulfillment Fee Changes · Low-Inventory-Level Fee · Monthly Inventory Storage Fees. Rates verified for 2026; always confirm your own numbers in Seller Central.