eBay vs Amazon FBA Fees (2026): Which Costs Less Per Sale?

The head-to-head numbers

First the full worked example, then the table. A $25 item, small standard-size (2 oz or less), standard 15% referral category, non-peak US rates, no shipping charged:

• eBay: 13.6% of $25 = $3.40, plus the $0.30 per-order fee = $3.70.
• Amazon FBA: 15% referral = $3.75, plus FBA fulfillment $3.32 with the 3.5% fuel surcharge ($0.12) = $3.44, for $7.19 total.

Same $25 sale, and Amazon takes nearly twice as much. Here's how that holds across price points:

Amazon math: 15% referral + FBA fulfillment for a small standard-size item (2 oz or less) — $3.32 in the $10–$50 price band, $3.58 over $50 — plus the 3.5% fuel and logistics surcharge on the fulfillment fee. Assumes non-peak rates (holiday peak, Oct 15 2026–Jan 14 2027, adds ~$0.32/unit), no storage, inbound, or returns fees, and excludes the $39.99/month Professional plan. eBay math: 13.6% + $0.30 per-order fee (no store, most categories).

How eBay fees actually work

eBay's structure is one big percentage, one small flat fee, and a generous free-listing allowance — and you handle fulfillment yourself.

• Final value fee — 13.6% of the total sale, up to $7,500; then 2.35%. “Total sale” means item price plus the shipping you charge plus the sales tax eBay collects. Most categories share this rate; a few differ, and store subscriptions lower most categories to 12.7%.
• Per-order fee — $0.30 on orders of $10 or less, $0.40 above. Small, but on a $15 item it's 2% all by itself.
• Insertion fees — 250 free per month, then $0.35 each. No monthly subscription is required to sell.
• Fulfillment — yours. eBay charges nothing for warehousing or shipping because there is none: you store, pack, and ship, and you keep whatever that costs (or costs you in time).

On a $25 sale with no store: 13.6% of $25 ($3.40) + $0.30 = $3.70, a 14.8% effective rate. The eBay fee calculator handles category rates, store tiers, and promoted listings for your exact situation.

How Amazon FBA fees actually work

Amazon's stack has more layers than eBay's, and every layer is itemized below. Using 2026 US rates:

• Referral fee — 15% in most categories ($0.30 minimum), frozen for 2026. But it varies widely: 8% for electronics and computers, tiered 5%/10%/17% for clothing by price, 20% for jewelry. Your category can halve — or nearly double — this line.
• FBA fulfillment fee — by size tier, weight, and price band (price bands added January 2026). Our example item — small standard-size, 2 oz or less, priced $10–$50 — pays $3.32. Items under $10 get a low-price discount; items over $50 pay a premium.
• Fuel and logistics surcharge — 3.5% on the fulfillment fee since April 2026. About $0.12 on our example — small per unit, meaningful at volume.
• Selling plan — $39.99/month Professional, or $0.99 per item on the Individual plan (cheaper under ~40 units a month). Required for Buy Box eligibility at any serious volume.
• Storage — $0.78 per cubic foot per month January–September, ~$2.40 October–December, plus surcharges on inventory sitting over 181 days. Storage punishes slow sellers and rewards velocity.
• Inbound placement — $0.21–$1.58 per unit to get your inventory into Amazon's fulfillment centers.
• Holiday peak — October 15, 2026 to January 14, 2027 adds roughly $0.32 per unit to fulfillment. FBA's most expensive season is also its most lucrative — plan Q4 inventory with eyes open.

Add the worked example up: $3.75 referral + $3.44 fulfillment = $7.19 on a $25 sale, a 28.8% effective rate before storage, inbound, or ads. That is the number FBA has to earn back through the Prime badge, the Buy Box, and the logistics it takes off your plate. The Amazon FBA calculator runs your exact size tier and category through all of it.

When eBay wins

On pure fees, eBay wins this comparison at every price point in the table — and the gap is structural, not situational:

• The fee gap is always there. eBay's ~14% effective rate versus FBA's ~22–38% (depending on price) means eBay keeps $3.35–4.81 more in your pocket per sale across the $15–$100 range. No threshold or category trick closes it for a small standard-size item.
• No monthly fee required. You can sell on eBay with zero subscription. Amazon's $39.99/month Professional plan is effectively mandatory once you want Buy Box eligibility and advertising.
• Used, refurbished, and one-of-a-kind items. eBay's audience shops with intent for exactly this inventory, and Amazon's catalog model fights you on it.
• Auctions. Still the best price-discovery tool for unique items — Amazon has no equivalent.
• Heavy and bulky products. FBA fulfillment climbs brutally with weight: a 2–3 lb standard-size item pays about $6.62 before the surcharge, and oversize starts near $9.73. If your product is heavy, the fee gap isn't $3.50 — it's $6 or more.
• You fulfill cheaply. If your shipping operation is already efficient, you're paying Amazon $3.44 a unit for a job you do for less.

When Amazon FBA wins

FBA loses every row of the fee table — and still wins the business decision for thousands of sellers, because fees aren't profit:

• The Prime badge and the Buy Box. These are Amazon's two biggest conversion levers, and FBA is the price of admission to both. The honest question isn't "are FBA fees higher" (they are) but "does Prime-plus-Buy-Box earn me ~$3.50 more per unit than eBay would" — through higher conversion, a higher sustainable price, or both. Test it in your category; don't assume it.
• Hands-off logistics. No warehouse, no packing, no post office runs, no customer-service inbox full of "where is my order." Returns are handled by Amazon. For a one-person operation, the hours FBA buys back are the business.
• Scale without hiring. FBA absorbs Q4 volume spikes that would drown a self-fulfilled operation. The ~$0.32/unit peak surcharge is the price of elasticity.
• Categories where FBM can't compete. In many categories, merchant-fulfilled offers barely win the Buy Box. If the Buy Box is where the sales are, FBA isn't optional — it's the cost of playing.
• The subscription fades at volume. $39.99 a month is $0.40 a unit at 100 units and $0.04 at 1,000. High-volume sellers barely feel it.

Beyond the fees: what the table doesn't show

Fees decide your cost per sale; these decide your profit per month.

• The conversion question is the whole game. The only math that matters: does Amazon's (price × conversion rate) beat eBay's by more than the ~$3.50 fee gap? If Prime lifts your conversion enough — or lets you hold a higher price — FBA wins despite losing the fee table. If it doesn't, you're donating margin to Amazon.
• Returns are labor. FBA processes returns for you; on eBay, every return is your evening — receiving, inspecting, relisting, refunding. High-return categories (apparel, electronics) make this line item bigger than the fee gap.
• Storage rewards velocity. FBA's monthly storage fees punish slow-moving inventory, especially in Q4 at ~$2.40 per cubic foot. Fast sellers barely notice storage; slow sellers pay rent on every unit. Know your sell-through before you ship pallets.
• Check your category first. At 8% referral, an electronics seller pays $2.00 on a $25 item instead of $3.75 — the fee gap nearly halves. Category assignment moves the math more than any other single factor.
• Peak season cuts both ways. October 15 to January 14 adds ~$0.32 a unit to FBA costs — and it's also when Amazon's traffic roughly doubles. Budget the surcharge, don't fear it.

The verdict framework

Stop asking “which is cheaper?” and ask these three questions instead:

• 1. Can conversion cover the gap? If the Prime badge and Buy Box earn you ~$3.50+ more per unit than eBay would — via conversion, price, or volume — FBA wins. If your product sells the same either way, eBay keeps the money.
• 2. How big and heavy is your item? Small and light → the fee gap is at its smallest and FBA's logistics are cheapest. Heavy or bulky → the gap widens fast, and eBay (or fulfilling yourself) pulls away.
• 3. Who does the work? Five hundred orders a month packed by hand has a cost that never appears in a fee table: your time, your space, your errors. Price your own labor honestly before calling FBA expensive.

The common endgame is both: Amazon FBA for new, Prime-eligible products where the badge drives volume, and eBay for used, refurbished, or unique inventory where its audience and auction format win. Run the eBay and FBA calculators on your actual product — the fee table gets you oriented, but your dimensions and category make the decision.

Rates checked October 2026 against eBay's published fee structure and Amazon's 2026 US fee schedule (referral fees frozen for 2026; fulfillment rates effective January 15, 2026; 3.5% fuel surcharge effective April 17, 2026; peak rates October 15, 2026–January 14, 2027). US rates, no shipping charged, no ad fees. This is a pricing aid, not tax or accounting advice. Not affiliated with eBay Inc. or Amazon.com, Inc.

eBay vs Amazon FBA Fees questions, answered