Most categories charge 15 percent of the total sale price (item price plus any shipping you charge). Some categories are lower, such as parts of consumer electronics around 8 percent, and some are higher, such as apparel and jewelry at 17 percent or more. There is also a per-item minimum, commonly around 0.30 dollars, so very cheap items pay the minimum instead of the percentage.
Is the referral fee charged on FBA and FBM sales?
Yes. The referral fee is Amazon's commission for selling on the marketplace, so it applies to every sale whether you fulfill through FBA or fulfill it yourself (FBM). FBA adds the fulfillment fee on top; the referral fee is the same either way.
Andrew Erickson is the founder of Inventory Hero. He has spent years working with Amazon FBA sellers on demand forecasting, restock planning, and the cash flow side of running a private-label brand. Inventory Hero exists because every spreadsheet-based inventory system he tried eventually broke — usually right before Q4.
Check Amazon's category-specific referral fee schedule in Seller Central, because rates and any reduced-rate price breaks vary by category and can change. The per-ASIN fee preview in Manage Inventory also shows the estimated referral fee for each listing, which is the fastest way to confirm yours.
Read article
The Amazon referral fee is the commission Amazon charges on every sale, calculated as a percentage of the total sale price (item price plus any shipping), and it applies whether you fulfill through FBA or yourself. The short version: most categories are 15 percent, the range runs from about 8 percent to 17 percent or more depending on category, and there is a per-item minimum of around 0.30 dollars. Below is how the fee works, how categories vary, and why it is a number to confirm before you source.
The referral fee is a percentage of the total sale price, which is the item price plus any shipping you charge the buyer.1 In most categories that percentage is 15 percent. On a 25 dollar sale at 15 percent, the referral fee is 3.75 dollars, taken off the top before your fulfillment fee, product cost, or anything else.
It applies on every sale, FBA or FBM, because it is Amazon's commission for the marketplace and the traffic, not for fulfillment. FBA layers the fulfillment fee on top; the referral fee is identical whether you fulfill the order or Amazon does.
Fifteen percent is the headline, but the rate is set by category. Common 2026 rates:1
Category (examples)
Typical referral rate
Most categories (home, kitchen, toys, sports, books)
15%
Clothing and accessories
17%
Jewelry
20%, with a lower rate on the amount above a price threshold
Consumer electronics, cell phone devices
8%
Beauty, health, grocery
Tiered: a lower rate under a price threshold, 15% above
These are common rates, not a complete list, and several categories use price-tiered structures, so confirm your exact category against Amazon's current schedule rather than assuming. A tiered rate means the percentage changes at a price break: a category might charge one rate on the first portion of the price and a lower rate on the amount above a threshold, which mostly matters for higher-priced items.
The per-ASIN fee preview in Seller Central's Manage Inventory shows the estimated referral fee for each listing, which is the quickest check, though it can lag for newly listed or recently recategorized ASINs, so verify against the official schedule too. One more gotcha: some media categories (books, music, video, video games) also add a fixed per-item closing fee on top of the referral fee, so check Seller Central if you sell there.
Most categories carry a per-item minimum referral fee, commonly around 0.30 dollars.1 For a very low-priced item, the minimum can exceed the percentage: a 1.50 dollar item at 15 percent would be 0.23 dollars, but the 0.30 minimum applies instead. This is one reason ultra-cheap single units are hard to make work on Amazon; the fixed fees do not shrink with the price.
You cannot avoid the referral fee, but you can decide which categories and price points you compete in knowing the rate. A few practical implications:
Confirm the rate before you source. A product you assumed was 15 percent that turns out to be a 17 percent apparel item loses two points of margin on every unit. The swing is real: at a 40 dollar price, the referral fee is about 3.20 dollars in an 8 percent electronics category versus 6.80 in a 17 percent apparel category, a 3.60 difference on every single unit.
Mind the total sale price. The fee is on item price plus shipping, so charging shipping on an FBM listing does not escape the commission, it just moves where the dollars sit.
Model it with the other fees. The referral fee plus the fulfillment fee is the bulk of what Amazon takes. Run both in the FBA fee calculator and check the bottom line in the FBA profit calculator.
The Amazon referral fee is a commission on the total sale price, 15 percent in most categories but ranging from about 8 to 17 percent or more, with a per-item minimum around 0.30 dollars, charged on FBA and FBM alike. You cannot avoid it, so confirm your category's exact rate before you commit to a product and model it alongside the fulfillment fee to know your true margin.