- Referral rates run from 3% (Saudi grocery) to 16% (jewelry). Phones and electronics pay 5–7%, fashion and books 15%.
- The fee is charged on the full price the buyer pays, including VAT and shipping, with a minimum of SAR or AED 1.
- Beauty, health, baby and grocery switch rate at a price line, and the higher rate applies to the whole price. Jewelry, watches, furniture and electronics accessories only charge the higher rate on the first slice.
- Saudi-based sellers get 30% off referral fees for 60 days until 31 December 2026. New FBA products pay just 5% on their first 100 units on both stores.
Every time you sell on Amazon.sa or Amazon.ae, Amazon keeps a referral fee. It's a percentage of the sale, and your category sets the rate.
For most products, that's 10–15%. Phones and electronics pay much less, and jewelry pays the most.
The good news? There's no monthly fee or closing fee on top, and this year brings real discounts for new sellers.
Below you'll find every category rate for both stores, how the price bands work, and examples in SAR and AED.
How do Amazon referral fees work?
The referral fee is Amazon's commission on each sale. You don't pay it upfront. Amazon takes it from the sale before your payout.
Three rules decide what you pay:
- It's a share of the total price. That means the item price including VAT, plus any shipping or gift wrap you charge the buyer.
- There's a minimum. Each item pays at least SAR 1 or AED 1. Grocery has no minimum, and neither does pet on Amazon.ae.
- Your category sets the rate. Amazon assigns it from the product type, not from your choice.
For example, say you sell a SAR 99 toy and charge SAR 12 for shipping. Amazon charges its toy rate on the full SAR 111. That's SAR 15.54 instead of SAR 13.86.
Price bands vs tiered rates
Some categories don't use one flat rate. They use one of two systems, and they behave very differently:
- Price bands (whole price). Beauty, health, baby, grocery, pet (Amazon.ae) and personal care appliances. At or below the line, the low rate applies to the whole price. Price it even slightly above, and the high rate applies to the whole price.
- Tiered rates (slice by slice). Jewelry, watches, furniture and electronics accessories. The high rate only covers the first part of the price, and the rest pays the lower rate.
So a SAR 3,000 necklace doesn't pay 16% on everything. The top rate covers the first SAR 1,000, and a cheaper 5% covers the rest.
Amazon also adds VAT on top of the fee itself. The full picture, with FBA and storage, is in our Amazon Middle East seller fees guide.
What do you really pay? Examples by product
Headline rates hide a lot. Here's the effective rate on typical products at real Gulf prices:
The tiered categories land well below their headline rate. A luxury watch ends up paying about 11% overall instead of 15%.
Flat categories are simple, so the abaya pays exactly its category rate. Here's what each product pays in money, plus a few UAE prices:
| Product | Store | Price | How the rate applies | Referral fee |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Smartphone | Amazon.sa | SAR 1,499 | 5.5% flat | SAR 82.45 |
| Smartphone | Amazon.ae | AED 1,499 | 5% flat | AED 74.95 |
| Power bank | Amazon.sa | SAR 120 | 15% (under 250) | SAR 18.00 |
| Laptop docking station | Amazon.sa | SAR 400 | 15% on 250, 8% on 150 | SAR 49.50 |
| Lipstick | Amazon.sa | SAR 45 | 8.5% (SAR 50 or less) | SAR 3.83 |
| Face serum | Amazon.sa | SAR 79 | 11% (above SAR 50) | SAR 8.69 |
| Face cream | Amazon.ae | AED 50 | 8% (AED 50 or less) | AED 4.00 |
| Face cream | Amazon.ae | AED 54 | 15% (above AED 50) | AED 8.10 |
| Abaya | Amazon.sa | SAR 299 | 15% flat | SAR 44.85 |
| Oud perfume, self-ship | Amazon.ae | AED 350 | 15% flat | AED 52.50 |
| Oud perfume, FBA | Amazon.ae | AED 350 | 13% with FBA | AED 45.50 |
| Gold necklace | Amazon.sa | SAR 3,000 | 16% on 1,000, 5% on 2,000 | SAR 260.00 |
| Watch | Amazon.sa | SAR 8,000 | 15% on 5,000, 5% on 3,000 | SAR 900.00 |
| Sofa | Amazon.sa | SAR 2,000 | 15% on 750, 10% on 1,250 | SAR 237.50 |
| Toy set | Amazon.sa | SAR 99 | 14% flat | SAR 13.86 |
| Coffee pods | Amazon.sa | SAR 20 | 3% (SAR 25 or less) | SAR 0.60 |
| Hair clip | Amazon.sa | SAR 5 | 8.5%, but the minimum applies | SAR 1.00 |
Amazon.sa and Amazon.ae referral fees by category
Here's every category on both stores. "Up to" means a tiered rate, and "or less" means a price band.
Electronics and appliances
| Category | Amazon.sa | Amazon.ae |
|---|---|---|
| Mobiles and tablets | 5.5% | 5% |
| Consumer electronics | 5.5% | 7% |
| Home entertainment (TVs) | 6.5% | 5% |
| PC and laptops | 6% | 6% |
| Video game consoles | 6% | 6% |
| Major appliances | 6% | 6% |
| Camera | 8% | 8% |
| Headphones | 10% | Not listed separately |
| Electronics accessories | 15% up to 250, 8% above | 15% up to 250, 8% above |
| Wireless accessories | 15% up to 250, 8% above | Not listed separately |
| Small appliances | 12% | 13% |
| Personal care appliances | 8% at 50 or less, 13% above | 8% at 50 or less, 15% above |
Electronics are the cheapest corner of Amazon. Phones, laptops, TVs and consoles all pay single-digit rates.
Accessories are the exception. Cables, cases and power banks pay 15% on the first 250 of the price.
Beauty, health, baby and grocery
| Category | Amazon.sa | Amazon.ae |
|---|---|---|
| Beauty | 8.5% at SAR 50 or less, 11% above | 8% at AED 50 or less, 15% above |
| Health and personal care | 8.5% at SAR 50 or less, 11% above | 8% at AED 50 or less, 15% above |
| Baby | 8% at SAR 50 or less, 15% above | 8% at AED 50 or less, 15% above |
| Grocery | 3% at SAR 25 or less, 9% above | 5% at AED 50 or less, 11% above |
| Pet | 15% | 8% at AED 50 or less, 15% above |
These all use price bands, so the rate depends on where your price lands.
Watch the line at 50. On Amazon.ae, a cream at AED 50 leaves you AED 46.00 after the fee.
At AED 54, the fee jumps to AED 8.10. You keep only AED 45.90.
The higher rate eats more than the extra price brings in. You only come out ahead from about AED 55.
Fashion, perfume, jewelry and watches
| Category | Amazon.sa | Amazon.ae |
|---|---|---|
| Apparel | 15% | 15% |
| Shoes | 15% | 15% |
| Luggage | 15% | 15% |
| Perfumes | 15% | 15%, or 13% with FBA |
| Jewelry | 16% up to 1,000, 5% above | 16% up to 1,000, 5% above |
| Watches | 15% up to 5,000, 5% above | 15% up to 5,000, 5% above |
Fashion is a flat 15% on both stores. Perfume is too, unless you sell on Amazon.ae through FBA (Fulfilment by Amazon), which cuts the rate.
Jewelry and watches look expensive on paper. Because the top rate only covers the first slice, high-value pieces pay far less overall.
Home, furniture, toys and sports
| Category | Amazon.sa | Amazon.ae |
|---|---|---|
| Home | 14% | 15% |
| Kitchen | 14% | 15% |
| Furniture | 15% up to 750, 10% above | 15% up to 750, 10% above |
| Tools and home improvement | 14% | 15% |
| Outdoors | 14% | 15% |
| Toys | 14% | 14% |
| Sports | 13% | 14% |
| Automotive | 12% | 12% |
Home goods cost a point more in the UAE. Big furniture gets a break, because only the first 750 of the price pays the top rate.
Media, office and everything else
| Category | Amazon.sa | Amazon.ae |
|---|---|---|
| Books | 15% | 15% |
| Music | 15% | 10% |
| Video and DVD | 13% | 10% |
| Video games | 14% | 15% |
| Musical instruments | 15% | 15% |
| Office products | 15% | 14% |
| Business, industrial and scientific | Not listed separately | 11% |
| Software | Not listed separately | 10% |
| Gift cards | 10% | 5% |
| All other categories | 10% | 10% |
Anything without its own line falls under "all other" at 10%. Music, video and gift cards cost less on Amazon.ae.
2026 discounts that cut your referral fee
Amazon wants new Gulf sellers this year, and two offers go straight at the referral fee:
- 30% off referral fees (Amazon.sa). For your first 60 days, on up to SAR 150,000 of sales. It's for sellers based in and shipping from Saudi Arabia, who list within 20 days of opening the account. The offer runs until 31 December 2026.
- New-to-Prime (both stores). New FBA products pay a 5% referral fee on their first 100 units. Oversize products get 50 units, and the offer lasts 120 days per product. It covers new parent products listed since 7 October 2025.
Here's what that does to the toy set from earlier:
| Offer on a SAR 99 toy set | Referral fee | Saving per sale |
|---|---|---|
| Standard rate (14%) | SAR 13.86 | – |
| 30% Saudi launch discount | SAR 9.70 | SAR 4.16 |
| New-to-Prime (5%) | SAR 4.95 | SAR 8.91 |
New-to-Prime saves SAR 891 across those first 100 toys. The Saudi discount is worth up to SAR 6,300 on a full SAR 150,000 of toy sales.
New Seller Incentives generally can't be stacked, so check which one applies to each listing in Seller Central. The full rules are in our Amazon new-seller incentives guide.
How to pay less in referral fees
You can't pick your rate, but you can control the price it hits. A few habits help:
- Price under the band line. In beauty, health and baby, SAR or AED 50 beats a price just above it.
- Bundle cheap items. A SAR 5 hair clip still pays the SAR 1 minimum, a fifth of its price. A multi-pack pays the normal rate.
- Think twice about buyer shipping. Shipping you charge is part of the fee base, so free delivery with a slightly higher price costs you nothing extra.
- Launch new products through FBA. That's where the New-to-Prime rate lives.
Want to see the fee on your own product, with FBA and VAT? Pick your store and category:
Marketplace fee calculator
Amazon.sa, Amazon.ae and noon: see what you keep from every sale
Minimum referral fee: SAR 1.00 per item.
The price the shopper pays.
Landed cost: product, freight, duty.
Your numbers
Payout per unit
SAR 89.18What the marketplace transfers to you
Profit per unit
SAR 37.55Margin: 36.0% of price excl. VAT
- Referral fee(14.0% of price)
- SAR 16.80
- FBA fulfillment fee
- SAR 10.00
- VAT on fees (15.0%)(reclaimable)
- SAR 4.02
- Total marketplace fees
- SAR 30.82
- Net VAT you remit
- SAR 11.63
- Product cost
- SAR 40.00
Where the price goes
- Referral14.0%
- Fulfillment8.3%
- VAT on fees3.3%
- Net VAT9.7%
- Product cost33.3%
- Profit31.3%
Excludes storage, ads, returns and promotions. Estimates based on published Amazon (Aug 2025) and noon (Sep 2026) rate cards, as of 26 October 2026. Confirm with the marketplace before pricing.
Notes for UAE sellers
Amazon.ae's rates are mostly the same as Saudi Arabia's, with a few gaps that matter:
- Beauty and health cost more above AED 50. The rate jumps to 15%, against 11% in Saudi Arabia.
- Consumer electronics pay 7%, against 5.5% on Amazon.sa. Phones are slightly cheaper.
- Perfume drops to 13% with FBA. It's a strong reason to use FBA for fragrance.
- No Saudi launch discount. It's for Saudi-based sellers only, but New-to-Prime works on both stores.
Our Amazon UAE guide covers registration and the Dubai seller programmes.
Notes for Chinese sellers
Chinese brands get a different referral deal through Amazon Global Selling China:
- Prepaid referral voucher. It's worth USD 50,000. That equals 5% of your first USD 1 million in branded sales.
- Same rates otherwise. Category rates are the ones in the tables above, in SAR and AED.
- The 30% Saudi offer doesn't apply, because it's limited to sellers based in Saudi Arabia.
See Amazon Middle East for Chinese sellers for registration and shipping.
Notes for fashion sellers comparing noon
If you sell clothing, Amazon is the cheaper marketplace by a wide margin. Apparel pays 15% on Amazon and 27% on noon in both countries.
That gap is about SAR 36 on a SAR 299 abaya. The noon seller fees guide has noon's full rate card, and our noon vs Amazon comparison shows where each one wins.
All our guides to selling on Amazon in the Gulf sit in the Amazon Middle East hub.
Frequently asked questions
Grocery items priced at SAR 25 or less pay 3%, the lowest rate on Amazon.sa. Mobiles, tablets and consumer electronics are next at 5.5%. Grocery also has no SAR 1 minimum.
Sources & further reading
- Amazon.sa selling fees and referral rates — Amazon.sa
- Amazon.ae selling fees and referral rates — Amazon.ae
- Selling on Amazon fee schedule (Amazon.ae) — Amazon Seller Central
- New Sellers Fee Reduction terms and conditions (2026) — Amazon.sa
- 2026 Middle East benefits for Chinese sellers — Amazon Global Selling China
This guide is for general information only and is not legal, tax or financial advice. Rules and fees change — always confirm with the official source or a licensed advisor.
Maya is MiddleEastEcom's lead guide and editor. She researches GCC marketplaces, payments and regulations and turns them into practical playbooks for sellers.
Meet Maya
