Selling on Amazon and selling on your own Shopify store are different businesses with different economics. Amazon charges a share of every sale for access to its buyers; Shopify charges a subscription and leaves the buyers to you.
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The short answer
Use Amazon for reach, especially for products people already search for by name or type. Use Shopify to build a brand whose customers belong to you. Serious sellers of branded products usually end up on both.
| Shopify | Amazon | |
|---|---|---|
| Monthly fee | From $29/mo, billed yearly | $39.99/mo Professional, or $0.99 per item sold on Individual |
| Fee on each sale | The card rate: 2.9% + 30¢ on Basic | A referral fee of 5% to 45% depending on category, usually with a $0.30 minimum |
| Media (books, music, video) | Same as any product | An extra $1.80 closing fee per item |
| Fulfilment | Yours, or through apps and partners | Your own, or Fulfilment by Amazon at separate fees |
| Where buyers come from | You bring them | Amazon's marketplace brings them |
| Who owns the customer | You | Amazon |
Amazon figures from Amazon's selling fees page (sell.amazon.com), checked 24 September 2026. Shopify figures from its published US pricing, checked 24 September 2026.
What a $40 sale costs
On Amazon, the referral fee depends on category and ranges from 5% to 45%. At a 15% rate, a $40 sale pays $6.00 — before fulfilment. On Shopify Basic, the card fee is $1.46. The difference is what Amazon charges for putting your product in front of people who are already shopping; on Shopify, that job — and its cost — is yours.
Who owns the customer
On Amazon, the buyer is Amazon’s customer: you get an order to fulfil, not a relationship to build on. On Shopify, every customer is on your list, can be emailed, and can come back without paying anyone a referral fee. That is the long-term case for your own store, and it compounds.
Questions we get asked
Is it better to sell on Amazon or Shopify?
Amazon for volume from existing demand; Shopify for margin and a brand you own. Many brands use Amazon to be found and Shopify to be remembered.
Which Amazon plan do I need?
Amazon’s Individual plan charges $0.99 per item sold; Professional is $39.99 a month. Past about forty sales a month, Professional is the cheaper of the two.
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