Amazon vs Shopify: 15% forever, or $39 a month and your own traffic
Every sale on Amazon costs about 15% plus fulfilment. Every sale on Shopify costs 2.9% plus $39 a month. The subscription is not the expensive part — the expensive part is that Shopify does not bring anyone to your store.
What each one actually charges
Amazon's referral fee is 15% for general merchandise, plus FBA fulfilment of $4.40 for a large-standard unit up to a pound and a 3.5% fuel surcharge on that fulfilment fee. Shopify charges no commission at all: on the Basic plan you pay $39 a month and 2.9% + 30¢ per transaction through Shopify Payments.
The catch in the comparison is fulfilment. Amazon's $4.55 is doing work that Shopify's fee does not — picking, packing, shipping and returns. To compare honestly, put your own postage cost into the shipping field, which is what the calculator does by default.
| Platform | Fees | Fee rate | Net per sale | vs best |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shopify | $1.61 | 3.6% | $19.40 | — |
| Amazon FBA | $11.30 | 25.1% | $15.70 | -$3.70 |
Worked at a $45.00 sale, $18.00 unit cost and $6.00 of shipping you pay, general merchandise. Change any of those and the order can flip — that is what the calculator above is for.
Break-even is about ten orders a month — and that is the easy part
On a $45 item with $6 of postage, Amazon costs $11.30 a sale and Shopify costs $7.61 ($1.60 processing plus $6 postage). The difference is $3.70. Divide the $39 subscription by that and you get 10.5 orders a month to break even on fees.
Ten orders a month is not a business, which is why the break-even calculation flatters Shopify. The real cost is acquisition: on Amazon, the buyer is already on the site and the referral fee is partly a traffic fee. On Shopify you buy that traffic, and the cheapest paid social traffic converts at 1–2%, so ten orders a month means roughly 700–1,000 visitors, which at typical costs is $300–$800 — ten to twenty times the subscription.
Why established sellers run both
Amazon is a demand channel with a fee attached; Shopify is a margin channel that needs demand fed into it. The pattern that works is Amazon for discovery and first orders, then a card or insert in the box pointing at the store, where the same customer pays about 12 points less in commission on the second purchase.
There is a structural reason this matters more than the fee table suggests: on Amazon you cannot email your customers, and the buy box can move to another seller overnight. The subscription buys the one thing Amazon will never give you — the customer relationship — and that is what the $39 is really for.
Amazon vs Shopify — FAQ
Is Shopify cheaper than Amazon?
Per sale, yes: about 2.9% + 30¢ against 15% plus fulfilment. On a $45 item with $6 postage, Amazon costs $11.30 and Shopify $7.61. But Shopify also charges $39 a month, so you need about 10 orders a month to break even on fees alone — and you have to bring every one of those customers yourself.
How many orders do I need to justify Shopify?
About 10 a month to cover the subscription from the fee difference on a $45 item. That is the arithmetic break-even, not the practical one: once you count what paid traffic costs to generate those orders, most sellers need 100+ orders a month before the store stands on its own.
Does Shopify charge a commission?
No, Shopify does not take a percentage of sales. It charges a monthly subscription ($39 on Basic, $105 on Grow, $399 on Advanced) plus card processing at 2.9% + 30¢ on Basic. If you use a third-party payment gateway instead of Shopify Payments, Shopify adds 2% on Basic, 1% on Grow and 0.5% on Advanced.
Can I sell on Amazon and Shopify at the same time?
Yes, and most established sellers do. Amazon provides demand and fulfilment; Shopify provides margin and the customer list. The usual structure is to launch on Amazon, then include a card in each parcel pointing at the store, so repeat purchases happen where the fee is 12 points lower.
Does Amazon FBA replace my own shipping?
It replaces pick, pack and delivery, and it handles customer service and returns for FBA orders. You still pay inbound freight to Amazon's warehouse, monthly storage, and a removal fee if you take stock back. Storage is the cost that surprises sellers at Q4, when rates roughly double.
Sources & last checked. Rates reflect Amazon's 2026 US FBA schedule (15% referral for general merchandise, $4.40 fulfilment for a large-standard unit up to 1 lb, 3.5% fuel surcharge, $39.99 monthly professional account) and Shopify's 2026 US pricing (Basic $39/month, 2.9% + 30¢ online card rate, 2% surcharge for third-party gateways on Basic). Last reviewed October 2026.
Shopify Fee Calculator →
Subscription, processing and break-even volume.
Amazon FBA Calculator →
Referral, size-tier fulfilment, fuel surcharge and storage.