How much does it cost to sell on Amazon UK?
By Monjur HossainFounder & Amazon Strategy Lead
·
Published
·
Last reviewed
·7 min read
Selling on Amazon.co.uk costs a monthly subscription for a Professional account, a referral fee on every sale of typically 8% to 15% of the total price, and — if you use FBA — a fulfilment fee per unit plus storage. On a £24.99 product, total Amazon fees commonly land between £6 and £8.
What are all the costs, in one list?
| Cost | When it applies | Typical scale |
|---|---|---|
| Selling plan | Monthly, Professional account | £25 a month excluding VAT, or £0.75 per item sold on the Individual plan |
| Referral fee | Every sale | Commonly 8–15% of the total price, by category |
| FBA fulfilment fee | Per unit shipped by Amazon | By size and weight band |
| Monthly storage | Per cubic metre held in FBA | Higher October to December |
| Aged inventory surcharge | Stock held beyond the threshold | Rises with age |
| Returns processing | Some categories | Per returned unit |
| Advertising | Optional, but competitive in most categories | Cost per click, set by auction |
| VAT | On most sales | See Amazon UK VAT for sellers |
Amazon publishes the two selling-plan figures on its own UK pricing page: £25 a month excluding VAT for the Professional plan, or £0.75 excluding VAT per item sold on the Individual plan, in both cases before referral and fulfilment fees. Fulfilment and storage rates are set by size and weight band and change more often, so take those from the fee schedule in your own account rather than from any article, this one included.
What does that look like on a real product?
A worked example on a standard-rated product at £24.99, standard size, sold via FBA:
| Line | Amount |
|---|---|
| Selling price (inc VAT) | £24.99 |
| Less VAT at the standard rate | −£4.16 |
| Net revenue | £20.83 |
| Referral fee at 15% of gross | −£3.75 |
| FBA fulfilment (standard size) | −£2.95 |
| Cost of goods | −£6.20 |
| Inbound shipping and duty | −£1.10 |
| Contribution per unit | £6.83 |
That is roughly a 33% contribution margin, which sets a break-even ACoS of about 33%. Run your own numbers in the profit calculator — the figures above are illustrative and your referral and FBA rates will differ by category and size band.
How does the referral fee actually work?
The referral fee is a percentage of the total price, which includes the item price, any delivery charge and gift wrap. Critically, Amazon calculates it on the VAT-inclusive figure, so you pay a fee on money you are holding for HMRC rather than keeping.
Rates vary by category — most sit between 8% and 15%, with some higher. Check your specific category on the Seller Central fee schedule rather than assuming, because a five-point difference changes the whole margin picture.
Is FBA worth the fee?
Usually, and the reason is Prime eligibility rather than the logistics. FBA units are Prime-eligible by default, which affects both conversion rate and Buy Box competitiveness.
FBA is the wrong choice for slow-moving stock, very large or heavy items, and products with high return rates where the returns processing cost compounds. There is a fuller comparison in our services page.
Individual or Professional — which plan is cheaper?
The crossover is arithmetic: at £25 a month against £0.75 per item, the Professional plan is cheaper once you sell about 34 units a month. Below that the Individual plan costs less on paper — but the comparison is misleading, because the two plans do not give you the same account.
| Individual | Professional | |
|---|---|---|
| Cost | £0.75 per item sold, excl VAT | £25 a month, excl VAT |
| Referral fee | Still charged | Still charged |
| Advertising | Not available | Available |
| Brand Registry, A+ Content | Not available | Available |
| Bulk listing and reports | Limited | Available |
The rows that matter are the last three. Without a Professional plan there is no advertising, no Brand Registry and therefore no A+ Content, so a brand testing the marketplace on the Individual plan is testing it without the tools that make it work. That is a fair way to validate demand for a handful of units; it is not a fair test of whether Amazon is viable for your brand.
The honest version of the decision: use the Individual plan to check that anyone buys the product at all, then move to Professional before you draw any conclusion about the channel. Once you are advertising, the £25 is a rounding error next to the referral and fulfilment fees — and it is the advertising, not the subscription, that decides whether the account works. What is a good ACoS covers how to set that budget from your own margin.
What costs do sellers forget?
- Returns. A 10% return rate on a £24.99 product is a real reduction in contribution, and it does not appear on any fee schedule.
- Aged inventory. Stock that does not move accrues surcharges that can exceed its value.
- Q4 storage. Storage rates rise materially October to December, exactly when you hold the most stock.
- Advertising as a floor, not an option. In competitive categories, zero advertising means near-zero visibility for a new product.
- Removal or disposal fees when you pull stock back out.
Returns deserve a line of their own, because they are the only item here that is both large and partly within your control. A return usually costs you the fulfilment fee, the return processing where it applies, and often the unit itself if it comes back unsellable. Where returns cluster on one ASIN, the cause is nearly always a listing that promised something the product does not deliver — a size, a material, a capacity — which makes it a listing accuracy problem rather than a logistics one. Reading the return reasons alongside the one and two-star reviews will usually name the culprit in an afternoon.
Put the whole picture through the profit calculator before setting a price, and remember that the fee you pay Amazon is calculated on the VAT-inclusive figure while your margin is not — the mechanics are in Amazon UK VAT for sellers. If you want someone to check the arithmetic against your live account, the free audit covers fees and margin as well as listings.
Questions people also ask
How much does it cost to sell on Amazon UK?
A Professional selling plan costs a fixed monthly fee, plus a referral fee on every sale of typically 8% to 15% of the total price. FBA adds a fulfilment fee per unit and monthly storage. On a £24.99 product, total Amazon fees commonly land between £6 and £8.
Is the Amazon referral fee charged on the price including VAT?
Yes. Amazon calculates the referral fee on the total price including VAT and any delivery charge, which means you pay a fee on money you are holding for HMRC rather than keeping. Always calculate margin on the VAT-exclusive price.
Do I need a Professional selling account?
If you sell more than a handful of items a month, yes — the per-item fee on the Individual plan overtakes the monthly subscription quickly. The Professional plan is also required for advertising, Brand Registry and A+ Content.
At how many sales does the Professional plan become cheaper?
At around 34 units a month, comparing £25 a month excluding VAT against £0.75 excluding VAT per item sold. The arithmetic understates the case, though: advertising, Brand Registry and A+ Content are only available on the Professional plan, so a brand on the Individual plan is testing Amazon without the tools that make it work.
Is FBA cheaper than fulfilling myself?
Not usually on cost alone, but FBA units are Prime-eligible, which affects conversion and Buy Box competitiveness. FBA is generally the wrong choice for slow-moving stock, very large items, and products with high return rates.
How much do returns cost an Amazon seller?
More than the fee schedule shows. A return typically costs you the fulfilment fee, return processing where the category applies it, and often the unit itself if it comes back unsellable. Where returns cluster on one ASIN the cause is usually a listing that overstates a size, material or capacity — which makes it a listing accuracy problem rather than a logistics one.
Written by Monjur Hossain, Founder & Amazon Strategy Lead at MotionTrust Digital, from the agency’s day-to-day work on client Amazon accounts and checked against the primary documentation listed under Sources below. Primary sources for this guide: Amazon Seller Central UK, Amazon and GOV.UK.
Every figure attributed to Amazon or to another named organisation links to that organisation’s own page, with the month it was accessed. Anything drawn from our own client accounts is labelled as ours rather than presented as an industry figure, and where no primary source publishes a number this guide says so instead of estimating one. Last reviewed .
- Amazon Seller Central UK — Selling on Amazon fee schedule, accessed August 2026.
- Amazon — Amazon UK selling plan pricing, accessed 22 August 2026.
- Amazon Seller Central UK — FBA fulfilment fees, accessed August 2026.
- GOV.UK — VAT rates, accessed August 2026.
Monjur Hossain
Founder & Amazon Strategy Lead, MotionTrust Digital
Monjur incorporated MotionTrust Digital in September 2022 and leads Amazon strategy across the client base. Eight years in e-commerce and marketplace marketing, now on Amazon only — keyword strategy, listing architecture and advertising structure for growing brands.
MonjurAgencyTry the free tools
Seven Amazon tools that run in your browser — profit and ACoS calculator, PPC auditor, listing checker and more. No account, nothing uploaded.
Try the free toolsLast reviewed . We update articles in place rather than republishing at a new URL, so the link you have keeps working.
Fees are half the picture. Get the other half weekly
Advertising and conversion decide the rest of your margin. One email a week with our newest articles on PPC, listings and SEO for UK sellers. Email us to join.