How to use the Amazon FBA Profit
- Enter your sale price and the referral fee percentage for your category.
- Enter the FBA fulfilment fee for the product's size and weight tier.
- Add landed cost per unit, including inbound freight and duty.
- Read profit per unit and margin, then subtract an allowance for advertising and returns.
How the calculation works
Amazon charges a referral fee as a percentage of the sale price — commonly around 15% in most categories — plus a fulfilment fee based on the product's size tier and weight rather than its price. Storage is billed monthly by cubic volume, with a higher rate in the fourth quarter and long-term surcharges on aged inventory. Because fulfilment and storage scale with size, bulky low-priced items are the hardest to make work.
The costs sellers most often omit are advertising and returns. If you spend on sponsored placements, divide total spend by units sold to get a real cost per unit; if the category has a 6% return rate, a returned unit costs both the fulfilment fee and often the disposal or repackaging. A product showing 18% margin before those lines can be near break-even after them.
Profit = price − (price × referral %) − FBA fee − landed cost − storage − ad cost per unit − returns allowanceSource: Amazon Selling on Amazon fee schedule structure (referral, fulfilment and storage components). VERIFY current category percentages and size-tier fees in Seller Central.
Worked example
A kitchen gadget sells for 29.99, referral 15%, FBA fee 5.14, landed cost 7.20, ads 2.10 per unit, 5% returns.
- Referral = 29.99 × 0.15 = 4.50.
- Costs before returns = 4.50 + 5.14 + 7.20 + 2.10 = 18.94.
- Returns allowance = 5% of 29.99 ≈ 1.50.
- Profit = 29.99 − 18.94 − 1.50 = 9.55.
About 9.55 per unit, a 31.8% margin — healthy, but only 6.51 if advertising doubles and returns run at 10%.
Frequently asked questions
What margin should I target on FBA?+
Many sellers aim for 25 to 35% net after all fees and advertising, because that leaves room for fee changes, ad cost inflation and price competition. Below 15% a single fee revision can erase the profit.
Are the referral percentages the same in every category?+
No. They vary by category and some have minimum per-item fees. Confirm the current percentage for your specific category rather than assuming a flat 15%.
How much should I budget for advertising?+
New listings often need 15 to 30% of revenue to gain visibility, falling as organic rank improves. Include it as a per-unit cost from the start, since a launch funded outside the margin calculation hides the true economics.
Does FBA storage cost enough to matter?+
For bulky or slow-moving stock, yes. Monthly cubic-foot rates rise in the final quarter and long-term surcharges apply to aged inventory, so a product with six months of cover can lose most of its margin to storage.
Last reviewed August 31, 2026. We review this page whenever the underlying formula, tax year, published rate or standard changes.