Total platform fees as % of revenue, across major platforms.
Inputs
Total platform fees
Total fees / month—
% of revenue
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Net revenue (after fees)
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Per-order fee
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Fee breakdown
Fee Type
Amount
% of Revenue
About this calculator
Platform fee comparison is one of the most miscalculated decisions in ecommerce. Founders compare headline numbers ("Amazon takes 15%") without including all the layers — referral fees, FBA storage, FBA fulfillment, advertising, returns. The real all-in cost of selling on Amazon FBA is typically 30-40% of revenue once everything is counted.
This calculator computes total platform fees by stacking all the relevant components: subscription, transaction, payment processing, referral, fulfillment, and storage where applicable. The result is the true platform tax — how much of every revenue dollar goes to the platform before you see contribution margin.
The strategic comparison: at $1M annual revenue, Shopify standalone takes ~4% in all-in fees (subscription + payments). Amazon FBA takes ~30% (referral + FBA + storage). Etsy takes ~10% (listing + transaction + payment). The platform tax matters massively at scale — a 26-point fee difference between Shopify and FBA on $1M revenue is $260K of contribution margin.
Pair with the Amazon FBA Calculator and TikTok Shop Calculator (deeper platform-specific math) and the Contribution Margin calculator (verify post-fee economics still work). Most successful operators run multi-platform with each platform doing what it does best — Shopify for owned audience, Amazon for discovery, TikTok Shop for impulse — rather than picking one.
Frequently asked questions
What's included in "platform fees"?
Platform subscription (Shopify Plus, Etsy listing fees, etc.), transaction fees, payment processing, FBA fees (if applicable), referral fees (Amazon, TikTok Shop), and any add-on app/integration fees. Marketing/ads spent ON the platform are separate.
Which platform has the lowest fees?
Shopify standalone is cheapest as a percentage when you have your own traffic — about 3.5-4% all-in (subscription + Shopify Payments). Marketplaces (Amazon, Etsy, TikTok Shop) take 15-25% but bring built-in audience.
Are marketplace fees worth it?
For new SKUs and unknown brands: usually yes, the audience is the value. For established brands with their own traffic: marketplaces often cannibalize direct sales. The math: every $1 of marketplace revenue costs ~$0.20 in fees vs $0.04 on direct site.
Do app fees add up?
Yes — Shopify app fees are the silent budget killer. The average serious DTC store runs $300-1,000/mo on apps (Klaviyo, reviews, subscriptions, page builders). At $1M revenue that's 0.4-1.2% of revenue — small per-app, meaningful in aggregate.
How do fees compare at scale?
Shopify scales sub-linearly (Plus at $2K/mo on $1M+ is just 0.2% of revenue). Marketplaces scale linearly (Amazon 15% referral on $1M is $150K). At scale, owning the customer (Shopify) beats renting the customer (marketplaces) on pure economics — but marketplace audiences are often impossible to replicate.