For a typical $60 product in a 15% category, Amazon and Walmart end up close on margin once fulfillment is included, about $16.78 and $17.05 profit per unit in our example, while TikTok Shop’s lower commission leaves more per unit before you pay for your own fulfillment. The bigger risk on any of the three is not the fee table. It is overselling because inventory is not syncing correctly between Shopify and the marketplace, which costs you orders, ratings and sometimes the account.
This guide sets out the 2026 fees for each channel, works one product through all three with the arithmetic shown, and explains who each channel tends to fit. Fees change often, so check each marketplace’s own pages for your category before you commit.
Amazon fees in 2026
From Amazon’s seller pricing page:
- Professional selling plan: $39.99 a month.
- Referral fee: 15% for most categories, including sports and home.
- Apparel: 5% for items priced at $15 or less, 10% from $15 to $20, and 17% above $20.
- Beauty: 8% for items priced at $10 or less, 15% above $10.
- Minimum referral fee: $0.30 per item.
Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA) is charged per unit by size and weight. For a large-standard item of about 1 pound, the 2026 non-peak fee is about $5.04, based on a third-party rate table. Since April 17, 2026, Amazon has added a 3.5% fuel and logistics surcharge on fulfillment fees, which brings that item to about $5.04 × 1.035 ≈ $5.22. Holiday peak fees are higher and apply from October 15, 2026 to January 14, 2027, so if you are reading this during that window, your current FBA costs are above the figure used here.
Walmart Marketplace fees in 2026
From Walmart’s referral fee page:
- Monthly fee: none.
- Referral fee: 15% for most categories.
- Apparel: tiered at 5%, 10% and 15% by price.
- Beauty: 8% at lower prices, 15% above.
Walmart reportedly cut referral fees in 14 categories on June 22, 2026. We have not verified the new rates, so check Walmart’s current page for your category rather than relying on the standard figures above.
Walmart Fulfillment Services (WFS) charges about $4.95 for a 1-pound item, because WFS bills that item at the 2-pound shipping weight tier.
TikTok Shop fees in 2026
TikTok Shop’s published US referral fee is 6%, in place since April 1, 2024. Sellers and trade press report that the rate rose to 8% in August 2026. TikTok has not confirmed that change publicly as of this writing, so we show both. If you are planning a TikTok Shop launch, check the rate in your own seller agreement and plan on 8% to be safe.
TikTok’s commission is only part of the cost. Most brands that sell well on TikTok Shop also pay creator affiliate commissions, and those can matter more than the platform fee. Treat them as part of your marketing cost.
| Fee | Amazon | Walmart | TikTok Shop |
|---|---|---|---|
| Monthly fee | $39.99 (Professional) | None | Check your seller agreement |
| Referral, most categories | 15% | 15% | 6% published, 8% reported from August 2026 |
| Apparel | 5% / 10% / 17% | 5% / 10% / 15% | Same as above |
| Beauty | 8% to $10, 15% above | 8% / 15% | Same as above |
| Fulfillment, ~1 lb item | FBA about $5.04 + 3.5% surcharge (non-peak) | WFS about $4.95 | Your own fulfillment |
Worked example: one $60 product on all three channels
Assumptions:
- Selling price: $60, in a 15% referral category such as home or sports.
- Landed cost (product, freight and duty to your warehouse): $20.
- Advertising: 10% of price, or $6.00 per unit.
- Returns: we allow 5% of price, or $3.00 per unit, to cover refunds and returned stock you cannot resell.
- Fulfillment: FBA on Amazon, WFS on Walmart, and your own fulfillment on TikTok Shop.
- Amazon’s $39.99 monthly fee is left out of the per-unit numbers. At 500 units a month it adds about $0.08 a unit ($39.99 ÷ 500).
| Per unit | Amazon | Walmart | TikTok Shop (6%) | TikTok Shop (8%) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Price | $60.00 | $60.00 | $60.00 | $60.00 |
| Landed cost | −$20.00 | −$20.00 | −$20.00 | −$20.00 |
| Referral fee | −$9.00 (15%) | −$9.00 (15%) | −$3.60 (6%) | −$4.80 (8%) |
| Fulfillment | −$5.22 (FBA with surcharge) | −$4.95 (WFS) | Not included | Not included |
| Advertising (10%) | −$6.00 | −$6.00 | −$6.00 | −$6.00 |
| Returns allowance (5%) | −$3.00 | −$3.00 | −$3.00 | −$3.00 |
| Profit per unit | $16.78 | $17.05 | $27.40 before fulfillment | $26.20 before fulfillment |
The arithmetic:
- Amazon: $60.00 − $20.00 − $9.00 − $5.22 − $6.00 − $3.00 = $16.78, about 28% of price.
- Walmart: $60.00 − $20.00 − $9.00 − $4.95 − $6.00 − $3.00 = $17.05, about 28% of price.
- TikTok Shop at 6%: $60.00 − $20.00 − $3.60 − $6.00 − $3.00 = $27.40 before fulfillment.
- TikTok Shop at 8%: $60.00 − $20.00 − $4.80 − $6.00 − $3.00 = $26.20 before fulfillment.
TikTok looks much better here, but the comparison is not complete until you subtract your own pick, pack and shipping cost and any creator commissions. If your own fulfillment happened to cost the same $4.95 as WFS, TikTok would land at $22.45 at 6% or $21.25 at 8%. Use your real 3PL or warehouse cost.
Category changes the picture. The same $60 item in apparel pays 17% on Amazon ($10.20) instead of 15%, which drops Amazon’s profit to $15.58. On Walmart, apparel above the top price tier is 15%, so Walmart’s example stays at $17.05. Beauty at $60 is 15% on both, the same as the example.
The bigger risk is overselling, not fees
Fee differences of a dollar or two per unit matter, but they are rarely what hurts a brand on marketplaces. Overselling does. When inventory does not sync reliably between Shopify and each marketplace, you sell units you do not have. On Amazon and Walmart that means cancellations, late shipments and damage to the account metrics both platforms watch closely. Repeat it and the account can be restricted, which costs far more than any fee table.
Overselling usually comes from a few specific problems:
- Sync delays. A connector that updates stock every so often instead of right away will oversell during a spike, such as a viral TikTok video or a Prime Day deal.
- Bundles and kits. A bundle of three products sold as one listing has to reduce the stock of each component when it sells. Many connectors treat the bundle as its own item with its own stock count, so the components oversell elsewhere.
- Split inventory. Units sent to FBA or WFS are not available for Shopify orders, and the reverse. If your system does not track which units sit where, both sides show stock that is really committed elsewhere.
- No safety buffer. Showing the marketplace every last unit leaves no room for sync timing. Holding back a small buffer on fast movers is cheap insurance.
This is the work our marketplace sync service covers: getting stock, bundles and orders flowing correctly between Shopify and each channel. Projects start from $12,000, with monitoring from $500 a month.
Who each channel fits
Amazon
Best for products people already search for by name or category, with good review potential and steady demand. FBA makes Prime-eligible fast shipping simple, but you give up control of the customer relationship, and Amazon’s fees and surcharges change regularly. Brands with strong search demand and the operations to keep FBA stocked do well here.
Walmart Marketplace
A good second marketplace for brands already working on Amazon, especially in household, home and everyday categories. No monthly fee lowers the cost of testing, and competition is often lighter in many categories. Approval and listing requirements are stricter than many brands expect, so plan for setup time.
TikTok Shop
Best for products that demonstrate well on video and can ride creator content: beauty, gadgets, apparel, novelty and impulse buys. The commission is lower, but demand is spiky and driven by creators, so inventory planning and sync matter even more. Brands without a content and creator plan tend to struggle regardless of the fee.
To run your own numbers by category, price and fulfillment method, use the marketplace calculator. For a written opinion on which channel to start with, send a short note and get an answer within one business day.
Frequently asked questions
Which marketplace has the lowest fees in 2026?
On commission alone, TikTok Shop, at a published 6% or the reported 8% from August 2026, compared with 15% for most categories on Amazon and Walmart. But TikTok sellers usually pay their own fulfillment and creator commissions, so compare full per-unit profit, not just the referral rate.
Is Walmart cheaper than Amazon for sellers?
In our $60 example, Walmart left $17.05 per unit and Amazon $16.78, mostly because WFS was slightly cheaper than FBA with the 2026 surcharge, and Walmart has no monthly fee. The result depends on your category, and Walmart’s reported June 2026 fee cuts may change it, so check your category’s current rate.
What is Amazon’s 3.5% fuel and logistics surcharge?
Since April 17, 2026, Amazon adds 3.5% to FBA fulfillment fees. For a 1-pound large-standard item at about $5.04, that adds about $0.18, bringing the fee to about $5.22 outside the holiday peak period.
Did TikTok Shop raise its commission to 8%?
Sellers and trade press report a move from 6% to 8% in August 2026, but TikTok has not confirmed it publicly as of this writing. TikTok’s published rate is 6%, in place since April 1, 2024. Check your own seller agreement and plan conservatively.
How do I stop overselling across Shopify and marketplaces?
Use a sync that updates stock in near real time, make bundles reduce the stock of each component, track which units are held at FBA or WFS, and keep a small safety buffer on fast-moving products. Test the setup before a big promotion, not during one.
Scott founded Broke Hold. He works hands-on across ecommerce operations, automation, cloud infrastructure, and integrations, works as the fractional CTO for Shopify brands, and builds and runs Broke Hold's own software, including VPS Snaps and DingPack. He served in the U.S. Navy Reserve.