Amazon FBA vs Walmart WFS: Fees, Pros, Cons and Which to Choose

Amazon and Walmart both offer to store your inventory, ship every order and handle returns for you. On paper the two programs look almost identical. In practice they differ in who can join, how fees are calculated, what prep you must do before shipping and how much demand each channel can actually send you.

This guide compares Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA) and Walmart Fulfillment Services (WFS) side by side using each company's published 2026 rate cards, works through a real fee example, and lists the advantages and disadvantages of each so you can decide where to start and when to run both.

FBA vs WFS at a Glance

Fees are from the official rate cards listed in the sources at the end of this page. Both companies change them regularly, so check the current version before you price a product.

Fees Compared

Referral fees: almost the same

Both marketplaces charge a percentage of the total sales price by category, and the schedules are very close. Home and kitchen, toys, sports and most "everything else" items are 15% on both. Consumer electronics is 8% on both. Apparel is tiered the same way at the low end (5% up to $15, 10% from $15 to $20) and then 15% on Walmart against 17% on Amazon. Amazon also applies a $0.30 minimum per item in most categories. For most products the referral fee is not what decides the choice.

Fulfillment fees: this is where they differ

Amazon's FBA fee is set by size tier and shipping weight, in small steps of a few ounces. For 2026 Amazon added price-based rates: products under $10 get lower "Low-Price FBA" fees. Since 17 April 2026 a 3.5% fuel and logistics surcharge applies on top of the fulfillment fee in the US, which Amazon put at about 17 cents per unit on average.

WFS uses fewer, wider steps: $3.45 for 1 lb or less, $4.95 for 2 lb, $5.45 for 3 lb, then $5.75 plus $0.40 per pound from 4 to 20 lb. It adds $0.50 for apparel, $0.50 for hazardous materials and $1 for items priced under $10. The biggest difference is how weight is measured. For items under 1 lb, Walmart uses the unit weight plus 0.25 lb for packaging and ignores dimensional weight. Amazon always uses the greater of unit weight and dimensional weight, so a light but bulky item can jump into a much higher Amazon bracket.

A worked example

Take a kitchen gadget priced at $24.99, weighing 12 oz, in a 9 × 6 × 3 inch box (0.094 cubic feet). Its dimensional weight is 162 ÷ 139 = 1.17 lb.

On this item WFS costs about $1.71 less per unit, roughly 7% of the sale price. The gap shrinks or reverses for heavier items and for products under $10, where Amazon's Low-Price FBA rates apply and Walmart adds $1. Amazon's inbound placement fee, which depends on how you split shipments, is not included above. Run your own products through both calculators before you decide.

Storage and Slow-moving Stock

Outside the holidays the storage rates are nearly the same: $0.78 per cubic foot per month on Amazon and $0.75 on Walmart. The difference is the fourth quarter. From October to December Amazon charges $2.40 per cubic foot for standard-size items. Walmart keeps the $0.75 rate for units stored up to 30 days and adds $1.50 only for units that have been sitting longer. For sellers who send holiday stock in October and sell it through, Walmart's peak rate is considerably lower.

Both programs punish old stock. Amazon adds an aged inventory surcharge for items stored more than 181 days. Walmart, from 30 June 2026, charges $2.25 per cubic foot for inventory stored 366 to 450 days and $7.50 beyond 450 days. In both cases the real fix is the same: send smaller, more frequent shipments and keep reserve stock in a 3PL.

Getting In: Who Can Sell

Amazon is open: anyone with the required documents can register, choose a plan and start listing, including sellers based outside the US through Global Selling. Some categories and brands need approval.

Walmart Marketplace is selective. Walmart's own registration guide asks for a business tax ID (a Social Security number is not accepted), documents that verify the business name and address, a history of marketplace or eCommerce success, products with GS1-registered GTIN/UPC codes, and fulfillment through WFS or another US B2C warehouse with returns capability. Sellers incorporated outside the US provide additional documents, and new sellers go through a payment hold while they build sales history. Plan for this before you count on Walmart revenue.

Prep and Inbound Requirements

Since 1 January 2026 Amazon no longer offers prep or item labeling for FBA shipments in the US. Every unit must arrive already labeled with its FNSKU (or an eligible manufacturer barcode), poly-bagged or bubble-wrapped where required, and packed to Amazon's carton rules. Non-compliant shipments can be refused or charged extra.

WFS still offers prep. When you create a shipping plan you can request poly bagging at $0.60 per unit and labeling at $0.45 per unit. If items arrive without the required labels or bags and you did not request prep, Walmart fixes them and charges $0.65 per unit for labels and $0.80 per unit for poly bags. Walmart's prep service does not bundle multi-packs: sets must be bundled and marked "Sold as set" before they ship. Receiving usually takes about 2 business days, and up to 10 business days for items that need unplanned prep or arrive during the October–December peak.

Reach and Visibility

Amazon remains the largest US marketplace, and the Prime badge on FBA offers is a strong buying signal for many shoppers — the main reason sellers accept FBA's higher cost. Walmart is smaller but growing fast: in its second quarter of fiscal 2027 (ended 31 July 2026) Walmart reported global eCommerce sales up 23%, and on the earnings call management said US marketplace sales grew more than 50%, with nearly half of marketplace volume now moving through Walmart's fulfillment services. Walmart also reports that sellers using WFS see about 50% GMV growth on average for items carrying the "Fulfilled by Walmart" and 2-day delivery tags — Walmart's own figure, but a useful signal of how much the platform favors fast, Walmart-fulfilled offers.

Competition per listing is usually lighter on Walmart, which helps new brands get seen. The trade-off is lower search volume, so a product that sells 300 units a month on Amazon may sell a fraction of that on Walmart.

Advantages and Disadvantages

Amazon FBA

• Advantage: the largest customer base and the Prime badge, which usually lifts conversion.
• Advantage: open registration and Global Selling make it the easiest place to start, including from outside the US.
• Advantage: mature tools for ads, brand protection and reporting.
• Disadvantage: higher fulfillment fees, a 3.5% surcharge and dimensional weight on every item.
• Disadvantage: expensive fourth-quarter storage ($2.40 per cu ft) and an aged inventory surcharge after 181 days.
• Disadvantage: no prep service any more; every unit must arrive ready.

Walmart WFS

• Advantage: no monthly fee and lower per-unit fees for many small, light items.
• Advantage: much cheaper peak-season storage for stock that sells within 30 days.
• Advantage: optional prep and labeling at the fulfillment center.
• Advantage: less crowded listings and a fast-growing marketplace.
• Disadvantage: approval required, with business history and GS1 barcodes.
• Disadvantage: lower demand per listing than Amazon.
• Disadvantage: a $1 add-on for items under $10 and return processing fees on seller-at-fault returns ($4.70 for 1 lb or less).

Which One Should You Choose?

Running Both From One Inventory

The most common setup for growing brands is to keep bulk inventory in a US 3PL and send smaller, frequent replenishments to both Amazon and Walmart. That avoids long-term storage charges on both platforms, lets you shift stock to whichever channel is selling, and gives you a fallback for orders when one platform's inbound is slow.

The two programs label and pack differently, so prep has to be done per channel: FNSKU labels and Amazon carton rules for FBA, scannable item labels and WFS packing rules for Walmart. A 3PL can also fulfill Walmart orders directly — Walmart accepts a US B2C warehouse with returns capability as an alternative to WFS.

QuickShipment does exactly this from Claymont, Delaware, a state with no sales tax: FBA prep from $0.69 to $2.00 per unit with FNSKU labeling included, poly bagging at $0.75, Walmart-ready prep and fulfillment, and storage you can draw from for both channels. Ground parcels from Delaware typically reach most of the US in 2–3 business days. See our guide to WFS vs a 3PL for the Walmart-only decision.

Frequently Asked Questions