In 2026, Amazon's referral fee is 15% of the total sale price in most categories, including Pet Supplies, Home & Kitchen, Toys and Sports. The main exceptions are Consumer Electronics at 8% (accessories pay more), Automotive at 12%, Clothing & Accessories at 17% on a $25 item, Jewelry at 20% (5% on the part above $250), and Grocery and Baby Products, which drop to 8% when the item sells for $15 or less (Grocery) or $10 or less (Baby). On a $25 pet product, Amazon's referral fee is $3.75 per sale.
I sell pet products, so 15% is the number I plan around. Below is every category my calculator uses, the rate it applies, and the math at three price points.
Amazon referral fee percentage by category (2026)
| Category | Referral fee | On a $25 sale |
|---|---|---|
| Pet Supplies | 15% | $3.75 |
| Home & Kitchen | 15% | $3.75 |
| Health & Personal Care | 15% at $25; cheaper items may be lower | $3.75 |
| Sports & Outdoors | 15% | $3.75 |
| Toys & Games | 15% | $3.75 |
| Beauty & Personal Care | 15% at $25; cheaper items may be lower | $3.75 |
| Clothing & Accessories | 17% at $25; cheaper items may be lower | $4.25 |
| Shoes & Handbags | 15% | $3.75 |
| Consumer Electronics | 8% electronics accessories pay a higher rate; check Seller Central | $2.00 |
| Automotive | 12% | $3.00 |
| Tools & Home Improvement | 15% | $3.75 |
| Office Products | 15% | $3.75 |
| Books | 15% | $3.75 |
| Grocery & Gourmet Food | 8% at $15 or less, else 15% threshold | $3.75 |
| Baby Products | 8% at $10 or less, else 15% threshold | $3.75 |
| Jewelry | 20% on the first $250, 5% on the rest split | $5.00 |
| Watches | 16% on the first $1,500, 3% on the rest split | $4.00 |
| Furniture | 15% on the first $200, 10% on the rest split | $3.75 |
| Musical Instruments | 15% | $3.75 |
| Everything else | 15% | $3.75 |
Check your exact rate in Seller Central. Amazon's full schedule is longer than the 20 rows above, and some sub-categories carry their own rate. My calculator uses one rate at every price in Clothing, Beauty and Health, where Amazon may charge less on low-priced items, and it applies no per-item minimum fee (see the FAQ).
Threshold vs split: how tiered referral fees work
In my calculator, five categories have price tiers that work in two different ways.
- Threshold (Grocery, Baby Products): the whole price falls into one bracket. A grocery item at $15.00 pays 8% on all of it; at $15.01 it pays 15% on all of it.
- Split (Jewelry, Watches, Furniture): like income tax brackets, each part of the price gets its own rate, so crossing the line never raises the fee on the part below it.
Worked examples: the same item at $15, $25 and $50
One item priced three ways in Pet Supplies (flat 15%) and Grocery (threshold at $15):
| Sale price | Pet Supplies | Grocery |
|---|---|---|
| $15.00 | $15.00 × 15% = $2.25 | $15.00 × 8% = $1.20 |
| $25.00 | $25.00 × 15% = $3.75 | $25.00 × 15% = $3.75 |
| $50.00 | $50.00 × 15% = $7.50 | $50.00 × 15% = $7.50 |
The grocery $15 cliff, step by step
- At $15.00 the fee is $15.00 × 8% = $1.20, so you keep $13.80 before any other cost.
- Raise the price one cent to $15.01 and the whole price moves to 15%: $15.01 × 15% ≈ $2.25. You now keep $12.76, which is $1.04 less for charging more.
- To keep $13.80 again at 15%, the price has to reach $13.80 ÷ 0.85 ≈ $16.235, so $16.24. Prices between $15.01 and that point keep less than $15.00 does.
Baby Products have the same cliff at $10: $10.00 pays $0.80 and $10.01 pays $1.50. In either category, price at the threshold or clearly above it, never just over it.
A split tier, step by step: $300 jewelry
- First $250 × 20% = $50.00
- Remaining $50 × 5% = $2.50
- Referral fee = $52.50, an effective 17.5%, not the $60.00 that 20% of the whole price would be.
Referral fee is charged on the total sale price
Amazon charges the referral fee on the total sales price the buyer pays: item price plus any shipping or gift-wrap charges, not sales tax. With FBA that is usually just your item price. It is not charged on profit: a $25 pet product pays $3.75 whether you make $10 on it or lose money, so the fee hurts most on thin margins. Running a discount? Read how discounts and coupons cut FBA profit first.
How much does Amazon take per sale? Referral fee is only part of it
On a cheap item the FBA fulfillment fee usually takes more than the referral fee. Take a pet product in an 8 × 6 × 2 inch box weighing 12 oz, sold at $25 in early October 2026:
- Referral fee: $25.00 × 15% = $3.75
- FBA fulfillment fee: $4.20 (Large Standard, 12 oz, $10 to $50 price band) + $0.15 fuel and logistics surcharge (3.5%) = $4.35
- Amazon's cut: $3.75 + $4.35 = $8.10, or 32.4% of the price. You keep $16.90 before product cost, inbound shipping, storage, returns and ads.
At $15 the same item loses $6.60 (44.0%) to those two fees; at $50, $11.85 (23.7%). The fulfillment fee stays the same within a price band ($10 to $50 here), so cheap items give up a much bigger share. From Oct 15, 2026 to Jan 14, 2027 the holiday peak fee is $4.64 for this item, taking the $25 total to $8.39 (33.6%). More in my guides on the FBA fulfillment fee for a 1 lb item and FBA storage fees in Q4 2026.
FAQ
What is the Amazon referral fee for pet supplies in 2026?
15% of the total sale price, with no price tiers. That is $2.25 on a $15 item, $3.75 on a $25 item and $7.50 on a $50 item.
Is there a minimum Amazon referral fee?
Amazon's fee schedule has long set a per-item minimum referral fee of $0.30 in most categories. At 15% that only matters on items under $2.00, so it rarely touches an FBA product. My calculator applies no minimum, so confirm your category's current figure in Seller Central.
How much does Amazon take per sale?
At least the referral fee (15% in most categories) plus the FBA fulfillment fee. For a 12 oz pet product in an 8 x 6 x 2 inch box at $25, that is $3.75 plus $4.35, or $8.10 (32.4% of the price), before storage, returns and ads.
What is the difference between threshold and split referral fees?
With a threshold (Grocery, Baby Products) the whole price gets one rate, so crossing $15 or $10 moves the entire sale to 15%. With a split (Jewelry, Watches, Furniture) each part of the price gets its own rate, like tax brackets, so $300 jewelry pays $52.50 instead of $60.00.
Fee data: the rates and examples here match my calculator's 2026 fee data. I checked its FBA fulfillment, storage and returns fees against Seller Central on Sep 26, 2026; the referral rates come from its category table. Amazon changes fees, so always confirm your category's current rate in Seller Central before you set a price.
Related guides
- FBA fulfillment fee for a 1 lb item (2026)
- Amazon FBA storage fees in Q4 2026
- How Section 301 tariffs change FBA profit
- How discounts and coupons cut FBA profit
- Why I built a free FBA profit calculator
Check the referral fee on your own product
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