Amazon vs eBay Fees

eBay usually costs a little less for the same item. On a $30 item with $5 postage and 7% sales tax, Amazon takes $6.24 (its referral fee and $0.99 on the Individual plan) and eBay $5.49: $0.75 more for you on eBay. In the UK a private seller pays eBay nothing, while Amazon takes £5.03 of a £25 item.

Fees checked 7 October 2026 on Amazon’s and eBay’s own pages. See the sources.

eBay leaves you $0.75 more

on this sale, after fees and your costs: Amazon $12.26, eBay $13.01.

Amazon

You receive $28.76

Fees: $6.24
Profit: $12.26
Margin: 35.0%

Referral fee (15%, at least $0.30)on price and postage	$5.25
Individual plan fee per item	$0.99
Total fees	$6.24

Nothing added to your buyer’s price.

eBay

You receive $29.51

Fees: $5.49
Profit: $13.01
Margin: 37.2%

Final value fee (13.6% / 2.35% by slice)on price, postage and sales tax	$5.09
Per-order feeorder over $10	$0.40
Total fees	$5.49

Nothing added to your buyer’s price.

Not in these totals

Amazon: Fulfilment by Amazon (FBA) and storage fees
eBay: The Below Standard surcharge (only if eBay rates your service Below Standard)
eBay: An eBay Store subscription: pick one in the calculator to see its monthly price and its rates
eBay: Optional listing upgrades

Remember my choices on this device (where you sell, seller type, tax rate and how you are paid; never a price; untick to delete)

Amazon and eBay fees at common prices

United States: each platform’s standard options
Item price	You keep on Amazon	You keep on eBay	Keeps more
$10.00	$7.51 fees $2.49	$8.34 fees $1.66	eBay, +$0.83
$25.00	$20.26 fees $4.74	$21.20 fees $3.80	eBay, +$0.94
$50.00	$41.51 fees $8.49	$42.80 fees $7.20	eBay, +$1.29
$100.00	$84.01 fees $15.99	$86.00 fees $14.00	eBay, +$1.99
$250.00	$211.51 fees $38.49	$215.60 fees $34.40	eBay, +$4.09
$500.00	$424.01 fees $75.99	$431.60 fees $68.40	eBay, +$7.59

United Kingdom: each platform’s standard options
Item price	You keep on Amazon	You keep on eBay	Keeps more
£5.00	£3.50 fees £1.50	£5.00 fees £0.00; buyer adds £0.45	eBay, +£1.50
£10.00	£7.75 fees £2.25	£10.00 fees £0.00; buyer adds £0.80	eBay, +£2.25
£20.00	£16.25 fees £3.75	£20.00 fees £0.00; buyer adds £1.50	eBay, +£3.75
£50.00	£41.75 fees £8.25	£50.00 fees £0.00; buyer adds £2.70	eBay, +£8.25
£100.00	£84.25 fees £15.75	£100.00 fees £0.00; buyer adds £4.70	eBay, +£15.75
£300.00	£254.25 fees £45.75	£300.00 fees £0.00; buyer adds £12.70	eBay, +£45.75
£500.00	£424.25 fees £75.75	£500.00 fees £0.00; buyer adds £16.70	eBay, +£75.75

The item price only: no postage, no sales tax, a private seller (Amazon’s Individual plan), worked out with the fees checked on 7 October 2026. Postage and tax change the fees on some platforms: put yours in the calculator above.

What differs between Amazon and eBay

United States
Fee	Amazon	eBay
Main fees	Referral fee by category (15% in most, at least $0.30), plus $0.99 an item on the Individual plan or $39.99 a month on Professional; $1.80 more on books, music and films	13.6% final value fee in most categories (2.35% on any part of a sale over $7,500; some categories have their own rate), plus $0.30 per order of $10 or less and $0.40 above
Charged on	Referral fee: item price and postage (and gift wrap), not sales tax	The whole order: item price, the postage the buyer pays you, and sales tax
Payment processing	None charged on its own	None charged on its own
Listing an item	No fee in our records	250 free listings a month, then $0.35 each
Added to the buyer’s price	No Amazon fee added	No eBay fee added
Getting paid	No fee in our records	No fee in our records
Sources	Amazon US: Selling plans and fees, checked 7 Oct 2026	eBay US help: Selling fees, checked 7 Oct 2026 ; eBay US help: Promoted Listings general strategy, checked 7 Oct 2026 ; eBay US help: Store selling fees, checked 8 Oct 2026

United Kingdom
Fee	Amazon	eBay
Main fees	Referral fee by category (15% in most), plus £0.75 a unit on the Individual plan or £25 a month on Professional, both before VAT	Private sellers: no final value fee on most items. Business sellers: a rate by category, £0.30 or £0.40 per order, and a 0.35% regulatory operating fee
Charged on	Referral fee: everything the buyer pays, postage included	Business sellers: item price and postage
Payment processing	None charged on its own	None charged on its own
Listing an item	No fee in our records	300 free listings a month for a private seller, then £0.35 each
Added to the buyer’s price	No Amazon fee added	On a private seller’s item, a Buyer Protection fee: £0.10 plus 7% of the first £20, 4% up to £300 and 2% up to £4,000
Getting paid	No fee in our records	No fee in our records
Sources	Amazon UK: Selling plans and fees, checked 7 Oct 2026	eBay UK help: Selling fees (private sellers), checked 7 Oct 2026 ; eBay UK help: Buyer Protection fee, checked 8 Oct 2026 ; eBay UK help: Business selling fees, checked 7 Oct 2026

Each platform’s full fee list, with every source, is on its own calculator page below. Every change we record is on the fee changes page.

How Amazon and eBay charge

Amazon charges a referral fee by category, 15% in most, on the item price and the postage but not the sales tax. On top comes the selling plan: $0.99 for each item sold on the Individual plan, or $39.99 a month on Professional. eBay charges 13.6% in most categories on the whole order, sales tax included, plus $0.40 per order. Both figures here are for items you ship yourself; Amazon’s fulfilment fees are not included.

Individual or Professional plan?

The Professional plan drops the $0.99 per item, so on the $30 sale above Amazon’s fee falls to $5.25, just under eBay’s $5.49. But it costs $39.99 a month whether you sell or not, and it only pays for itself from about 41 items a month. Below that, the Individual plan is cheaper, and eBay cheaper still for most goods.

Categories swing the answer

Amazon’s rates differ a lot by category, and so do eBay’s. Consumer electronics pay Amazon only 8%, so a $200 gadget costs $16.99 there against $27.60 on eBay. Clothing works the other way: Amazon takes 17% above $20, so a $40 shirt costs $7.79 on Amazon and $5.84 on eBay. Books, music and films pay Amazon a $1.80 closing fee on top, so a $12 book costs $4.59 on Amazon and $2.24 on eBay even at eBay’s higher 15.3% book rate.

Amazon and eBay for UK sellers

A UK private seller pays eBay no final value fee; the buyer pays a Buyer Protection fee (£1.70 on a £25 item). Amazon UK charges its referral fee (15% in most categories) and £0.75 a unit on the Individual plan, £5.03 on that item. For a business the two are close: £4.28 on Amazon with the Professional plan (£25 a month before VAT) against £4.18 on eBay.