Amazon vs Shopify on a $30 sale: about $9.14 in fees when Amazon ships it at holiday peak rates, $1.17 on Shopify Basic plus your own postage. Amazon's fees cover shipping and a place in its store, and its rules keep every buyer message inside Amazon. Amazon fits a product shoppers search for. Shopify fits a brand they return to.
Amazon can put your product in front of shoppers who are already searching, and its rules then bar you from emailing any of them. Or you could open a store of your own and find every shopper yourself. On November 6, 2026, we read Amazon's and Shopify's fee pages and policies and worked out one $30 sale on each.
Should you sell on Amazon or Shopify?
Pick Amazon if you need shoppers who already search, and Shopify if you want a customer list you can export.
Amazon lists your product in its store, beside other sellers' products. Shopify runs a store of your own, on your own domain.
| If you | Look at | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Sell a product shoppers already search for on Amazon | Amazon | Amazon says millions of customers search its store every day, and that FBA, its service that ships from Amazon's warehouses, lets you offer free two-day Prime delivery |
| Make your own product and want repeat customers | Shopify | You can export your customer list, while Amazon sends every buyer message through its own system |
| Sell a few items and want no monthly fee | Amazon | The Individual plan has no subscription and charges $0.99 per item sold |
| Sell clothing priced over $20 | Either, with the fee in mind | Amazon's cut of each sale, its referral fee, is 17% there, against 15% in many categories |
| Want Prime delivery on your own store | Shopify with Amazon's app | The Amazon MCF and Buy with Prime app ships Shopify orders from your Amazon stock, with Prime delivery in the US |
| Want both | Both | Shopify's Marketplace Connect app links your Amazon listings to your Shopify products and syncs orders and inventory |
Read on Amazon's and Shopify's own pages, November 6, 2026.
Considering Etsy as well? Etsy vs Shopify fees works out a $40 sale there.
What does it cost to sell on Amazon vs Shopify?
Amazon takes a referral fee on each sale plus $39.99 a month or $0.99 an item. Shopify Basic takes 2.9% + 30¢ on each online card sale plus $29 a month paid yearly.
| Plan | Monthly fee | On each sale |
|---|---|---|
| Amazon Individual | None | $0.99, plus the referral fee |
| Amazon Professional | $39.99 | The referral fee |
| Shopify Basic | $29 paid yearly, $39 paid monthly | 2.9% + 30¢ per online card sale |
US prices from Amazon's pricing page and Shopify's pricing page (archived November 5, 2026), read November 6, 2026.
Amazon's cut of each sale is the referral fee. Amazon's pricing page sets it by category, as a share of the total price with any shipping or gift wrap you charge included, and most categories have a $0.30 minimum.
| Category | Referral fee |
|---|---|
| Home and Kitchen | 15% |
| Clothing and Accessories | 5% up to $15, 10% up to $20, 17% above $20 |
| Beauty, Health and Personal Care | 8% up to $10, 15% above |
| Jewelry | 20% of the portion up to $250, 5% above |
| Consumer Electronics | 8% |
| Everything else | 15% |
Selected US referral fees from Amazon's pricing page, read November 6, 2026.
Shopify charges no listing fee. Take cards through another payment provider, and Basic adds 2% to each sale. Amazon charges extra for ads, storage at its warehouses and returns processing when it provides the shopper free return shipping.
Shopify's higher plans sit on its pricing page, and our Shopify review covers what they add.
What does a $30 sale cost on Amazon and on Shopify?
A $30 sale shipped by Amazon costs about $9.14 in fees at holiday peak rates, and the same sale on Shopify Basic costs $1.17 before postage.
| On a $30 order | Amazon, shipped by Amazon | Amazon, shipped by you | Shopify Basic |
|---|---|---|---|
| Referral fee, 15% | $4.50 | $4.50 | None |
| Card fee, 2.9% + 30¢ | None | None | $1.17 |
| Amazon's fulfillment fee | About $4.64 | None | None |
| Postage and packing | In the fulfillment fee | You pay | You pay |
| Fees in total | About $9.14, or 30% | $4.50, or 15% | $1.17, or 3.9% |
| Fee returned on a refund | $3.60 of the $4.50 | $3.60 of the $4.50 | None |
A made-up $30 boxed item in Amazon's Home and Kitchen category, 8 to 12 ounces and large standard size, with no shipping charged to the shopper, worked out from both fee pages, read November 6, 2026. It leaves out storage, ads, returns processing and the monthly plan.
Amazon's fulfillment fee covers picking, packing, shipping and customer service. Add your own postage and packing to Shopify's $1.17, and once they pass $7.97 the total is more than Amazon's $9.14. On Amazon's Individual plan, add $0.99 to both Amazon columns.
The fulfillment fee is Amazon's holiday peak rate of $4.48 for an item this size, in force from October 15, 2026 to January 14, 2027. Amazon adds the 3.5% fuel and logistics surcharge it has charged since April 17, 2026. On January 15, 2027, Amazon changes the rates again.
Refund the order and Amazon returns the referral fee minus the lesser of $5 or 20% of it, as its fee schedule explains. Shopify doesn't return the card fee. No column counts what it costs to bring in the shopper: Amazon sells ads for that, and on Shopify it is your own marketing.
Who keeps the customer and the product page on Amazon and on Shopify?
Amazon sends every message to a buyer through its own system, and Shopify gives you a customer list you can export.
Amazon's communication policy bars contact with buyers by email, phone, mail or social media. It also bars marketing messages and coupons, and it says a breach may end your selling privileges. Even a thank-you message is on its list of messages you can't send. The shopper who loved your product can review it, and you can't send them a message about a new color.
On Shopify, open Customers and press "Export". In the window that opens, choose "All customers" and press "Export customers" to get a spreadsheet file with each customer's name, address, email, phone number and marketing consent. Shopify's Help Center says up to 50 customers download at once and a longer list arrives by email.
The product page is not fully yours on Amazon either. It shows one seller's offer at the top, with the Buy buttons, and Amazon calls that the Featured Offer. Brand tools such as a digital store need Amazon's Brand Registry. On Shopify, the product page and the domain are your own.
Can you sell on Amazon and Shopify at the same time?
Yes, and Shopify's Marketplace Connect app links your Amazon listings to your Shopify products and syncs orders and inventory.
Shopify Marketplace Connect is free to install, with the first 50 synced orders a month free and 1% on each one after that, capped at $99 a month. It needs a Shopify online store and an Amazon seller account, and Amazon's fees still apply to those sales.
To ship Shopify orders from the stock you keep at Amazon, Amazon's own Amazon MCF and Buy with Prime app fills them, with Prime delivery in the US. Amazon's peak rates and surcharge apply to those orders too.
Selling in two places means keeping one stock count right. If a sale on one channel reaches the other a little late, your last unit sells twice. List one product on both first and watch its stock for a week.
How hard is it to move from Amazon to Shopify?
Shopify's free Store Migration app imports your Amazon products, but not your customers, orders or reviews.
Products arrive as drafts, with stock at your default location. Each Shopify product can have 3 options, so an Amazon listing with more kinds of variation needs a second look. Shopify's Help Center lists what moves, and our guide to migrating to Shopify covers the steps and how to keep your Google rankings.
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Is Amazon or Shopify better for a small business?
It depends on what you sell. Amazon fits a product shoppers already search for, a handful of items with no monthly fee, or Prime delivery from its warehouses. Shopify fits a brand you want shoppers to return to, because you keep a customer list and your own product pages. Many stores use both.
Is it cheaper to sell on Amazon or Shopify?
On a $30 order the fee is lower on Shopify Basic: $1.17, against $4.50 for Amazon's referral fee alone in a 15% category. Amazon's fees also cover a marketplace where shoppers search and, when Amazon ships the order, the shipping. Shopify's plan costs $29 a month paid yearly, against $39.99 for Amazon's Professional plan, and doesn't find shoppers for you.
Can you sell on Amazon and Shopify at the same time?
Yes. Shopify's Marketplace Connect app links your Amazon listings to your Shopify products and syncs orders and inventory. It is free to install, with 50 synced orders a month free and 1% on each one after that, capped at $99 a month. Amazon's own fees still apply to Amazon sales.
Can you dropship on Amazon and on Shopify?
Yes on both, with a rule on Amazon. Amazon allows dropshipping only when you are the seller of record, so your name must be the only one on the packing slip, invoice and box, and you handle the returns. On Shopify, the supplier ships to your customer while the order and the customer service stay with you.
Can I email my Amazon customers or move them to Shopify?
No. Amazon's policy sends every buyer message through its own messaging and bars email, phone, mail and social media. Shopify's Help Center says you can't import Amazon customers into Shopify to market to them. A shopper who buys on your Shopify store joins a list you can export.
Your own store needs its own sales. See what yours is missing.
Sledge does not work on Amazon or connect Amazon to your store. It is a Shopify app that adds search, filters and offers to your own store. Start free for 14 days, then pay from $29.99 a month, with no cut of your sales. Growth Intelligence turns on when you pick a paid plan and totals the fixes it lists in one dollar figure labeled "Est. potential".
