Every fee both marketplaces charge a US seller, side by side — then the same product run through both so you can see what actually lands in your pocket.
On a $29.99 item with $8.00 of product cost and $5.00 of shipping, Shopify leaves you about $3.33 more per unit than Amazon — $15.82 against $12.49. That is before advertising, and it can reverse at a different price point or in a different category, which is exactly why the calculator below takes your numbers.
Dataset 2026.10 · worked with the same engine as every Farolane calculator · example uses the general category; ranges reflect published commission bands.
| Category | Amazon | Shopify |
|---|---|---|
| Apparel & Accessories | 5% to $15, then 10% to $20, then 17% | 0% |
| Footwear | 15% | 0% |
| Consumer Electronics | 8% | 0% |
| Electronics Accessories | 15% to $100, then 8% on the rest | 0% |
| Computers | 8% | 0% |
| Beauty, Health & Personal Care | 8% to $10, then 15% | 0% |
| Baby Products | 8% to $10, then 15% | 0% |
| Home & Kitchen | 15% | 0% |
| Furniture | 15% to $200, then 10% on the rest | 0% |
| Jewelry | 20% to $250, then 5% on the rest | 0% |
| Watches | 16% to $1,500, then 3% on the rest | 0% |
| Toys & Games | 15% | 0% |
| Grocery & Gourmet | 8% to $15, then 15% | 0% |
| Pet Supplies | 15% | 0% |
| Sports & Outdoors | 15% | 0% |
| Office Products | 15% | 0% |
| Automotive & Powersports | 12% | 0% |
| Tools & Home Improvement | 15% | 0% |
| Bags, Luggage & Backpacks | 15% | 0% |
| Media (Books, DVD, Music, Software) | 15% | 0% |
| Other / General | 15% | 0% |
| Amazon | Shopify | |
|---|---|---|
| Commission charged on | Item price + shipping you charge | Item price + shipping you charge |
| Payment processing | No separate fee — bundled into the commission | 2.9% + $0.30 |
| Per-order / closing fee | None | None |
| Fixed monthly cost | $39.99/mo — Professional plan | $39.00/mo — Basic plan |
| Rates verified | Yes — 2026-10-15 | Yes — 2026-10-15 |
Sources: Amazon fee schedule · Shopify fee schedule
Both figures come from the same calculation: order revenue minus commission on whichever base the platform actually uses, minus per-order and payment fees, minus the consumption tax sitting inside your price where that applies, minus your product cost and shipping. No midpoints are invented — where a marketplace publishes a band, you see the band.
Referral fee on item price plus delivery and gift wrap. Two tier shapes are both in use: flat bands (apparel, beauty, baby, grocery) and marginal "portion of" tiers (jewelry, watches, furniture, electronics accessories). Media carries a $1.80 per-item closing fee that is category-specific and is NOT modelled. Dangerous goods use a separate FBA rate card, also not modelled. Re-sourced from Shopify’s own pricing page. No marketplace commission. Basic is $39/mo on monthly billing ($29/mo billed annually) and Shopify Payments is 2.9% + $0.30 on online card transactions. Grow is $105/mo at 2.7%, Advanced $399/mo at 2.5%. You bring your own traffic, so ad CAC dominates here. Sales tax: you register and remit where you have nexus, and the buyer pays it.
On a $29.99 product costing $8.00 with $5.00 shipping, Shopify nets about $15.82 per unit versus $12.49 on Amazon — a gap of roughly $3.33. That ordering can flip with a different price or category, so run your own numbers before committing.
Amazon charges 15% in the general category and Shopify charges 0%. Both vary by category — the full table on this page lists every one.
US marketplaces collect and remit sales tax as facilitators, so it never touches your margin. The comparison above is after all seller-side fees.
Yes, and most established sellers do — the point of comparing is knowing which one deserves your ad budget and your best pricing. The Goal Planner can split a monthly profit target across both channels at once.