Quick answer
On a $30 home-goods item that you ship yourself, Etsy takes the least ($3.30, about 11%) unless the sale came from an Offsite Ad. Amazon (Professional), Walmart and eBay all take about $4.20–$4.50 (14–15%). Letting Amazon or Walmart fulfill the order roughly doubles the fee to about $9.30–$9.60, but that includes picking, packing and postage. Amazon added a 3.5% surcharge to FBA fees in April 2026, and its holiday peak fees run Oct 15, 2026 to Jan 14, 2027. All figures were checked on each marketplace's own fee pages on Oct 7, 2026. The fifteen products linked here have independent editorial overviews; none has been tested hands-on, and none is ranked.
Worked example
Fees on the same $30 item
Assumptions: a $30 home-goods item weighing 1 lb, with free shipping to the buyer, so the fee base is $30. Categories used: Amazon Home & Kitchen, Walmart Home, eBay Home & Garden. Sales tax and your own postage are excluded. Monthly plan or Store fees are listed separately.
| Channel and mode | How it's calculated | Fees | Share of $30 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Amazon, Professional plan, you ship | 15% referral × $30 | $4.50 (+ $39.99/mo plan) | 15.0% |
| Amazon, Individual plan, you ship | $4.50 + $0.99 per item | $5.49 | 18.3% |
| Amazon FBA, through Oct 14 | $4.50 + $4.60 FBA fee × 1.035 surcharge | ≈ $9.26 | 30.9% |
| Amazon FBA, Oct 15 – Jan 14 (peak) | $4.50 + $4.89 × 1.035 | ≈ $9.56 | 31.9% |
| Walmart, you ship | 15% referral × $30 | $4.50 | 15.0% |
| Walmart Fulfillment Services | $4.50 + $4.95 (1 lb + 0.25 lb, rounded up to 2 lb) | $9.45 | 31.5% |
| eBay, no Store | 13.6% × $30 + $0.40 per order | $4.48 | 14.9% |
| eBay, Basic Store | 12.7% × $30 + $0.40 | $4.21 (+ Store fee) | 14.0% |
| Etsy, no Offsite Ad | $0.20 listing + 6.5% + 3% + $0.25 | $3.30 | 11.0% |
| Etsy, sale from an Offsite Ad | $3.30 + 15% (or 12%) of $30 | $7.80 (or $6.90) | 26.0% (23.0%) |
Editorial calculation from first-party fee pages, Oct 7, 2026. The FBA rows assume Amazon's large standard size tier (most home goods); a small standard item would pay a $3.96 FBA fee instead. Amazon doesn't document how it rounds the 3.5% surcharge, so those totals are approximate. FBA and Walmart Fulfillment Services fees include pick, pack and postage; the "you ship" rows don't, so add your own shipping cost before comparing.
Tax changes the base on some channels. eBay's final value fee and Etsy's processing fee are charged on the total including sales tax; Amazon's and Walmart's referral fees and Etsy's transaction fee are not. At 7% tax, eBay's fee on this item rises to about $4.77 and Etsy's to about $3.36.
This quarter
Amazon's 2026 fee changes
- Fuel and logistics surcharge: since Apr 17, 2026, Amazon adds 3.5% to FBA fulfillment fees (and to Multi-Channel Fulfillment from May 2). Amazon's published FBA rate tables don't include it.
- Holiday peak fees: Oct 15, 2026 to Jan 14, 2027. The fee applies when a unit ships, so an order placed before Oct 15 that ships after it pays the peak rate.
- FBA rates: up by $0.08 per unit on average from Jan 15, 2026. Amazon's 2026 summary lists no referral-fee changes.
Choose where to sell
The four marketplaces at a glance
| Marketplace | Plan or subscription | Selling fee | Fulfillment and extras |
|---|---|---|---|
| Amazon | Individual $0.99 per item, or Professional $39.99/month | Referral fee by category (Home & Kitchen 15%; apparel 5–17% by price), minimum $0.30 | FBA fees by size and price band, plus a 3.5% fuel and logistics surcharge since Apr 17, 2026 |
| Walmart | No setup or monthly fee | Referral fee by category (Home 15%; apparel 5–15% by price) | WFS from $3.45 (up to 1 lb billed weight); storage $0.75/cu ft per month Jan–Sep |
| eBay | Optional Store from $4.95/month (yearly) to $2,999.95 | Final value fee 13.6% for most categories without a Store, plus $0.30–$0.40 per order | You ship; 250 free listings a month, then $0.35 each |
| Etsy | None required (Etsy Plus $10/month optional) | 6.5% transaction fee + 3% + $0.25 processing; $0.20 per listing | Offsite Ads 15% or 12% of attributed orders, capped at $100 |
Tools
Seller software by job (not ranked)
These tools price in different ways: flat subscriptions, a percentage of ad spend, or a percentage of money recovered. Compare them at your own volume rather than by entry price.
| Job | Tool | Pricing model | Published entry point |
|---|---|---|---|
| Advertising | Teikametrics | Flat fee to $10K ad spend, then custom + 3% of spend above $10K | Essentials $149/mo yearly ($179 monthly) |
| Advertising | Quartile | Quote, with a dedicated strategist | Not published |
| Advertising | BidX | Platform fee + a percentage of ad spend | Self Service €495/mo; Essential offer $195/mo |
| Repricing | Aura | Subscription tiered by sales | $47/mo ($37 billed yearly) |
| Ads + repricing | Feedvisor | Contact sales | Not published |
| Analytics | DataHawk | Custom annual plans | Not published |
| Reimbursements | GETIDA | Share of recovered funds | From 20% of recoveries; no monthly fee |
| Several jobs | Carbon6 | Per tool | e.g. reimbursements 25% of recoveries; PPC 2.9% of ad spend |
| Multichannel orders | Goflow | Free tier, then subscription | Core free (500 orders/mo); paid from $499/mo |
| Product research | Helium 10 | Subscription by plan | Platinum $129/mo ($99 billed yearly) |
| Product research | Jungle Scout | Subscription by plan | Starter $49/mo ($29 billed yearly) |
For Amazon advertising specifically, compare Teikametrics vs Quartile.
Amazon research
Product-research tools compared
Product-research suites estimate demand, find keywords and help build listings. Neither Helium 10 nor Jungle Scout offers a free trial; both offer a 7-day refund on a first purchase. Jungle Scout's help center says it supports Amazon only, while Helium 10's Chrome extension also works on Walmart. Sales estimates are each vendor's own models, not measured figures.
| Plan | Billed monthly | Billed yearly | Jobs covered |
|---|---|---|---|
| Helium 10 Platinum | $129/mo | $99/mo ($1,188/yr) | Product + keyword research (100 searches/mo), listing analysis, profit tracking; no ads tool |
| Helium 10 Diamond | $359/mo | $279/mo ($3,348/yr) | Adds AI Listing Builder, rank tracking, ads automation (+2% of managed spend), inventory |
| Jungle Scout Starter | $49/mo | $29/mo ($348/yr) | Capped product + keyword research; no listing builder or rank tracker |
| Jungle Scout Growth Accelerator | $79/mo | $49/mo ($588/yr) | Full research, Listing Builder, rank tracking, review automation, ad analytics |
| SmartScout Basic | $49/mo | $29/mo | Product-level data, keyword research, sales estimator |
| SmartScout Essentials | $119/mo | $99/mo | Adds brand- and keyword-level data, unlimited keyword research and tracking |
| Viral Launch | Not published | Not published | viral-launch.com now redirects to Intellifox, a separate listing and ads tool |
Prices from each vendor's pricing page, checked Oct 7, 2026. Read the Helium 10 and Jungle Scout overviews for what each plan leaves out.
Framework
How to compare marketplaces and seller tools
Fee base
Check what each fee is charged on: item only, item plus shipping, or the full total including sales tax (eBay and Etsy processing include tax).
Fulfillment model
Compare FBA or WFS fees against your own pick, pack and postage cost, not against seller-fulfilled marketplace fees.
Size and weight tiers
Amazon and Walmart bill by size tier and the greater of actual or dimensional weight; Walmart adds 0.25 lb and rounds up.
Seasonal fees
Amazon's holiday peak fees and Walmart's Q4 storage surcharge change Q4 margins.
Ads dependence
Budget for marketplace ads; on Etsy, Offsite Ads can take 12–15% of an attributed order.
Software pricing model
Flat subscriptions, a percentage of ad spend and a percentage of recovered funds don't compare directly; model each at your volume.
Account health
eBay adds 6–7% to final value fees for below-standard sellers; every marketplace can suspend listings.
Customer ownership
Marketplaces own the customer relationship; decide how much of your revenue you want there versus your own store.
Decision support
Frequently asked questions
How much does Amazon take from a $100 sale?
In Home & Kitchen, a 15% referral fee: $15, plus $0.99 per item on the Individual plan. If Amazon fulfills it, add the FBA fee for the item's size and weight plus the 3.5% surcharge.
How much does Etsy take from a $100 sale?
$9.95 without Offsite Ads: $0.20 listing, $6.50 transaction fee and $3.25 processing (3% + $0.25), before tax. If the sale came from an Offsite Ad, add 15% (or 12% for larger shops), capped at $100.
Which marketplace has the lowest fees?
On our $30 example, Etsy is lowest without Offsite Ads (about 11%), and eBay, Walmart and Amazon Professional are close to each other at 14–15%. Category rates differ, so check your own category.
Is Walmart cheaper than Amazon to sell on?
Walmart has no monthly fee, while Amazon Professional costs $39.99/month. Referral rates are often the same (15% in home goods), though Walmart charges 15% on apparel over $20 where Amazon charges 17%.
When do Amazon's 2026 holiday fees start?
Oct 15, 2026, running to Jan 14, 2027, and the 3.5% fuel and logistics surcharge applies on top.
Have you tested these marketplaces and tools?
Not yet. All fifteen pages are independent editorial overviews based on first-party fee and pricing pages; hands-on testing is pending.
Documentation