Marketplace Fees Compared: Amazon, eBay, and Google Shopping

Every marketplace takes a cut. The question is never whether you'll pay fees — it's whether the fee structure matches how you actually sell. Here's what Amazon, eBay, and Google Shopping actually cost in 2026, side by side, so you can stop guessing at your real margin.

Amazon: Pay to Play, Even Before You Sell

Amazon's baseline cost is a referral fee of around 15% on most categories — taken off the top of every sale regardless of how it shipped. On top of that, most serious sellers run the Professional plan at $39.99 a month, which unlocks bulk listing tools and access to categories gated behind approval. If you use FBA, add fulfillment fees per unit and monthly storage fees on top of all of that. A $30 item can realistically lose $12-15 to fees and fulfillment before you've accounted for what you paid to source it.

eBay: Cheaper Entry, Slimmer Margin Cushion

eBay's final value fees run 12.7% to 15.3% depending on category, with no required monthly subscription and 250 free listings a month before insertion fees apply. That's a lower bar to start selling, and no fixed monthly cost eating into slow months. The tradeoff is that eBay doesn't hand you built-in traffic the way Amazon's Buy Box does — you're paying less per sale, but you're also working harder to generate the sale in the first place, often through better photos, titles, and pricing rather than platform placement.

Google Shopping: Free Comparison, Costly Ads

Google Shopping itself doesn't charge a marketplace fee — it's not a marketplace, it's a shopping search engine. But running paid Shopping ads means competing in a live auction for clicks, and CPCs have been climbing since Amazon exited Google Shopping ads and Performance Max in 2026, leaving fewer deep-pocketed bidders and the same demand. If you're using it purely for free price research rather than paid placement, it costs nothing but time.

The Bigger Picture: Six Platforms, Six Fee Structures

2026 fee comparisons increasingly span six platforms — Amazon, eBay, Walmart, Shopify, TikTok Shop, and Etsy — and none of them charge the same way. Walmart Marketplace fees track close to Amazon's referral model. Shopify charges a flat subscription with no per-sale marketplace cut, but you own 100% of the traffic problem yourself. TikTok Shop leans on lower fees to win sellers but demands content and video for visibility. Etsy charges listing fees plus a transaction percentage, closer to eBay's model but skewed toward handmade and vintage categories.

Doing the Math Before You List

The right move isn't picking one "cheapest" platform — it's running your actual price point through each fee structure before you commit an item. A $200 handbag absorbs Amazon's stacked fees far more comfortably than a $12 thrifted tee does. Low-price, high-volume items tend to do better on lower-friction platforms like eBay or Shopify, while higher-ticket, catalog-friendly goods can justify Amazon's cut.

Fees aren't the enemy — surprise fees are. Know your real take-home percentage on each platform before you list, not after the payout lands.