Marketplace Fee Calculator

Who should use Marketplace Fee Calculator

• Sellers comparing the same SKU across two marketplaces before allocating inventory
• Brands deciding between marketplace fulfilment and self-ship
• Finance teams reconciling payout statements against expected settlement

How to use it, step by step

1. Enter the customer-facing selling price.
2. Enter the referral commission percentage for the exact category from the fee schedule.
3. Enter the closing fee for the relevant price band.
4. Enter the shipping or fulfilment fee for the item's weight slab and delivery zone.
5. Compare the resulting settlement amount against your landed cost.

How marketplace settlement is built up

The marketplace deducts its fees from the order value and remits the balance. GST at 18% is charged on the fee components, not on the whole order, and that GST is usually available to you as input credit if you are registered.

Total fees = Referral commission + Closing fee + Shipping fee
GST on fees = Total fees x 18%
Settlement = Selling price - Total fees - GST on fees

Worked example: Rs 1,499 apparel order

• Referral commission at 18%: Rs 269.82
• Closing fee (Rs 1,000-2,000 band): Rs 40
• Shipping, 0.5 kg local zone: Rs 66
• Total fees: Rs 375.82
• GST on fees at 18%: Rs 67.65
• Settlement to you: 1,499 - 375.82 - 67.65 = Rs 1,055.53

The channel cost is Rs 443 on a Rs 1,499 order — about 29.6%. Any pricing model that assumes a flat 18% commission will overstate profit by roughly Rs 174 per unit.

Common mistakes to avoid

• Assuming the referral rate applies to every SKU — rates differ sharply by category and price band.
• Ignoring weight slabs: a 480 g item and a 520 g item can fall into different shipping tiers.
• Forgetting that fee GST is recoverable as input credit if you are GST-registered.
• Comparing marketplaces on commission alone while ignoring closing and fulfilment fees.

How to read the result

Compare settlement against landed cost, not against selling price. If settlement minus landed cost is thinner than your target contribution, either move the SKU to a lighter package, change the price band to cross into a cheaper closing fee, or self-ship where your negotiated courier rate beats the marketplace's.

Frequently asked questions