Merch by Amazon Royalty Calculator

The formula is straightforward: royalty = retail price × 0.85 − production cost. Amazon keeps a 15% referral fee on every sale (the same rate it charges all sellers), and also deducts its per-unit production and fulfillment cost, which varies by product. Everything left over is your royalty. This is why a $19.99 t-shirt produces a $7.44 royalty — $19.99 × 0.85 = $16.99, minus the $9.55 production cost = $7.44. The calculator applies this formula exactly using the verified production costs from Amazon's published royalty table.

Because the production cost is fixed — Amazon charges the same per-unit cost regardless of what price you list at. So as the retail price rises, the production cost becomes a smaller fraction of revenue. On a $14 t-shirt, the $9.55 production cost is 68% of the price. On a $28 t-shirt, it's only 34%. The 15% Amazon referral fee is proportional, so it doesn't create this effect — the production cost is the lever. This is why the royalty % jumps significantly between your minimum viable price and a mid-range price.

The break-even price is the lowest retail price at which your royalty is $0 or above — below it, Amazon's production cost exceeds what the 85% revenue share produces and your royalty turns negative (Amazon would owe you money, which doesn't happen; listings priced that low would simply be rejected). The break-even price is production_cost ÷ 0.85. For a standard t-shirt with a $9.55 production cost, that's $9.55 ÷ 0.85 ≈ $11.24. Amazon's actual minimum listing price ($13.49 for tees) sits comfortably above this floor to ensure you always earn something.

No — the production costs in this calculator are the standard costs Amazon publishes in its royalty table (merch.amazon.com/resource/201858580) and they are the same across all MBA tiers. Your tier (T10, T25, T100, etc.) affects how many designs you can have listed simultaneously, but not the per-unit cost structure or royalty formula. The calculator uses these standard costs, verified July 2026.

A few possible reasons: (1) Amazon occasionally updates production costs — the calculator uses figures verified July 2026, so check the published royalty table if your dashboard consistently disagrees. (2) MBA shows royalties in your Amazon marketplace currency; if you're on Amazon.co.uk or Amazon.de, the production costs are different from the US figures used here. This calculator covers the US marketplace only. (3) Amazon sometimes shows a rounded royalty in the design tool versus a more precise figure when the product actually sells — both should be close to this calculator's output if you're on the US marketplace.

Use the POD Platform Margin Comparison tool for a direct side-by-side. The short answer: MBA's royalty model is convenient (no storefronts, no fulfillment) but inflexible — you cannot choose your own price on some product types (Amazon may set the retail price), and the royalty formula means you earn less per unit at lower price points than a Printify/Etsy combination. At higher prices (e.g., a $40 hoodie), MBA competes well because its production cost advantage over Printful offsets the 15% referral. The comparison tool shows exact numbers for t-shirts, hoodies, mugs, and posters.

Yes — MBA royalties are considered self-employment (SE) income in the US, just like Etsy or any other platform where you're running a business. Amazon issues a 1099-MISC (or 1099-NEC) when royalties exceed $600 in a calendar year. You'll owe self-employment tax (15.3% on 92.35% of net profit) plus federal income tax on top of that. Use the Etsy Seller Quarterly Tax Estimator as a starting point — the SE tax math is identical for MBA royalty income.