Amazon Referral Fees by Category: The Complete 2026 Table

By Gulfam Haidar, Founder, GrowEventure. Last updated September 2026.

Amazon Referral Fees By Category: quick summary

In short, this guide covers amazon referral fees by category in plain terms. Below you will find the key points on amazon referral fees by category, a breakdown you can act on today, and clear answers to the most common questions about amazon referral fees by category.

Amazon referral fees typically run 8% to 15% of the item price, though the full range spans 5% to 45% depending on the category, per Amazon’s fee schedule. Most categories sit at 15%. Amazon also charges a minimum referral fee, often around $0.30 per item, which matters most on low-price products. Referral fees apply to both FBA and FBM sellers. Always verify your exact category rate in Seller Central, since rates and tiers change.

This page is a clean reference. Find your category, read the percentage, note whether it is tiered, and check the minimum fee. Then use it to price and forecast.

How Amazon referral fees work

The referral fee is Amazon’s commission for selling on the marketplace. It is a percentage of the total sale price, which usually means the item price plus any shipping and gift-wrap charges you set. Amazon takes it on every order.

Two facts trip up new sellers. First, the referral fee applies whether you use FBA or FBM. It is not a fulfillment charge; it is a marketplace charge. Second, it is charged on the sale price, not on your profit. A high referral category eats the same slice whether your margin is fat or thin. This is why the referral fee deserves attention early, at the product-research stage, rather than as an afterthought once stock is on the way. A category that looks fine at 8% can quietly cost you far more in a 20%-plus category on the same product.

Because the fee scales with price, it is one of the two big costs on every sale, alongside the FBA fulfillment fee for FBA sellers. To see both stacked together, run your product through the Amazon FBA calculator.

One more point sellers overlook: the referral fee usually applies to the full amount a buyer pays, including any shipping charge you add on FBM orders. So padding a low item price with a high shipping charge does not dodge the fee. Amazon calculates the referral on the total. Plan your all-in price accordingly rather than trying to hide value in shipping.

The full referral fee table by category (2026)

The table below lists common categories with their typical referral fee percentage, whether the rate is tiered by price, and the minimum fee note. These figures reflect Amazon’s published 2026 fee schedule. Verify your category in Seller Central before pricing.

Amazon Referral Fees by Category (2026, verify in Seller Central)

Category	Referral fee %	Tiered?	Minimum fee
Electronics	8%	No	About $0.30
Computers	8%	No	About $0.30
Home & Kitchen	15%	No	About $0.30
Clothing & Accessories	17% (tiered by price)	Yes	About $0.30
Beauty, Health & Personal Care	8% under a price threshold, 15% above	Yes	About $0.30
Grocery & Gourmet	8% under a threshold, 15% above	Yes	About $0.30
Toys & Games	15%	No	About $0.30
Sports & Outdoors	15%	No	About $0.30
Books & Media	15%	No	Plus media closing fee
Jewelry	20% up to a threshold, then 5% above	Yes	About $0.30
Watches	16% up to a threshold, then 3% above	Yes	About $0.30
Amazon Device Accessories	45%	No	About $0.30
Furniture	15% (lower band above a price threshold)	Yes	About $0.30
Pet Supplies	15%	No	About $0.30
Tools & Home Improvement	15%	No	About $0.30
Office Products	15%	No	About $0.30
Baby Products	8% under a threshold, 15% above	Yes	About $0.30

Categories with tiered rates

Some categories do not use one flat percentage. They change the rate above or below a price threshold. This is common in higher-ticket categories.

Clothing and accessories, for example, apply a lower percentage on the portion of the price under a threshold and a higher percentage above it, or the reverse, depending on Amazon’s current schedule. Jewelry often charges a high rate up to a set price, then a much lower rate on the amount above. Watches work similarly.

The takeaway is to read the tier, not just the headline percentage. On a high-price item in a tiered category, your blended rate can differ a lot from the top-line number. When in doubt, check the exact split in Seller Central.

Here is a concrete jewelry example using the pattern in the table. Suppose the schedule charges 20% on the first $250 of the price and 5% on anything above. On a $400 piece, you pay 20% of $250, which is $50, plus 5% of the remaining $150, which is $7.50. Your total referral fee is $57.50, or about 14.4% of the sale, not the 20% headline. The higher the price climbs above the threshold, the lower your blended rate falls. For high-ticket sellers, that structure changes which products are worth listing and at what price. Missing it can make you either overprice out of caution or underprice out of fear.

The minimum referral fee

Amazon sets a minimum referral fee per item, often around $0.30 per Amazon’s schedule. If the percentage-based fee on a cheap item comes out below the minimum, Amazon charges the minimum instead.

This bites low-price products hardest. On a $2.00 item in a 15% category, 15% is only $0.30, so the minimum and the percentage roughly match. But on a $1.00 item, 15% is $0.15, and Amazon still charges the minimum. That floor can wipe out the margin on very cheap goods, which is one reason ultra-low-price products are hard to run profitably.

Media closing fees

Books, music, video, DVDs, and software carry an extra charge called the closing fee, on top of the referral fee. It is a flat per-item amount that Amazon applies to media products.

If you sell in these categories, add the closing fee to your cost model. Forgetting it is a common reason media sellers overestimate profit. The referral fee alone does not capture the full Amazon cut on media.

The closing fee is a flat dollar amount per unit, so like the FBA fulfillment fee it bites hardest on low-price media. On a $5 used book, a fixed closing fee plus the 15% referral fee can leave very little behind, which is why thin-margin media selling depends on volume and tight sourcing. Price your media with both fees in the model from the start.

How referral fees change your margin

Two quick examples show the impact.

On a $20 item in a 15% category, the referral fee is $3.00. That is 15% of revenue gone before you touch fulfillment or product cost. If your total costs already run high, that $3.00 can be the difference between a healthy margin and a thin one.

On a $200 item in the same category, the referral fee is $30.00. The percentage is identical, but the dollar amount is large. This is why high-ticket sellers watch category selection closely. A tiered category that drops the rate above a threshold can save real money on expensive items.

The rule: model the referral fee in dollars, not just percent, for your actual price point.

There is a pricing lesson buried in these numbers. Because the referral fee is a percentage, every price increase hands Amazon a bigger slice in dollars, but you keep the rest. Raising a $20 item to $22 gives Amazon an extra $0.30 in referral fee and you an extra $1.70 before other costs. So a price rise still helps your margin, just not by the full amount. When you plan a price change, subtract the referral percentage from the increase to see your true gain. This keeps expectations honest and stops sellers from assuming a price bump lands entirely in their pocket.

Referral fee plus FBA fee: the real cost

For FBA sellers, the referral fee is only half the story. The FBA fulfillment fee stacks on top. Amazon’s 2026 fee update raised fulfillment fees and added a fuel and inflation surcharge of about 3.5% from 17 April 2026. So your total Amazon cost per unit is the referral fee plus the FBA fee plus any surcharges.

To see the combined bite, run your product through the Amazon FBA calculator, which adds both fees into one profit number. For what changed this year, see our Amazon FBA fee changes 2026 guide.

(Title: “Amazon Referral Fees at a Glance by Category.”)

How to keep more of each sale

You cannot negotiate the referral fee, but you can plan around it.

• Price with the fee in mind. Build the referral percentage into your target price from the start, not after.
• Choose the category carefully. Some products can list in more than one valid category. Pick the one with the lower rate when the fit is honest.
• Use bundles on cheap items. Bundling low-price units into a set raises the price above the minimum-fee trap and improves margin.
• Watch tiered thresholds on high-ticket goods. A small price change can push part of the sale into a lower-rate band.

There is also a category-choice lesson for product research. Two similar products can sit in different categories with different referral rates. A kitchen gadget listed in Home and Kitchen pays 15%, while a related electronic accessory might pay only 8%. Before you commit to a product, check which category it honestly belongs in and what that rate does to your margin. The difference between an 8% and a 15% category on a $30 product is about $2.10 per unit, which can decide whether the product clears your margin bar. Choosing the right honest category is one of the few referral-fee levers fully in your control.

For target margins after all fees, see our good profit margin on Amazon FBA benchmarks, and the full cost picture in Amazon seller fees. If you want a team to manage pricing and fees for you, our Amazon account management service does exactly that.

Frequently asked questions

What is Amazon’s referral fee?

It is Amazon’s commission on each sale, charged as a percentage of the total sale price. Most categories charge 15%, with a full range of 5% to 45% depending on the category.

Which category has the lowest referral fee?

Electronics and computers are among the lowest at around 8%, per Amazon’s fee schedule. Some categories also use tiers that drop the rate on the portion of a high price above a threshold.

Is the referral fee the same for FBA and FBM?

Yes. The referral fee applies to both fulfillment methods. It is a marketplace charge, not a fulfillment charge.

What is the minimum referral fee?

Amazon charges a minimum per item, often around $0.30. If the percentage fee falls below that, Amazon charges the minimum instead. It affects very low-price items most.

How is the referral fee calculated?

Multiply the total sale price by your category’s percentage. If the result is below the minimum fee, you pay the minimum. Media items add a separate closing fee.

Do referral fees include tax?

The referral fee is calculated on the item price and your shipping and gift-wrap charges. Confirm the exact base for your account in Seller Central, since treatment can vary.

Sources: Amazon Seller Central referral fee schedule (primary source for every row); Amazon selling fees help page; Amazon 2026 fee announcements.

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