What is the Amazon inbound placement fee?
The inbound placement service fee is a per-unit charge Amazon adds when you send FBA inventory to fewer warehouses than it recommends. When you create a shipment, Amazon offers different ways to split it. Sending everything to one warehouse is easier and often cheaper on freight, but Amazon then has to move the stock around its network itself, so it charges you for it. This Amazon inbound placement fee calculator works out that fee for a whole shipment — one product or many — using the 2026 US rate card.
The three split choices
- Amazon-optimized split — no fee. Amazon picks the destinations, spread across several warehouses. To qualify, each product must have at least 5 identical boxes or pallets (same quantity and item mix in each).
- Partial split — reduced fee. Two or three warehouses. Offered only for bulky items.
- Minimal split — full fee. One warehouse (or as few as possible). The fee depends on the size tier, the shipping weight and the inbound region.
Standard-size and bulky items are planned separately. In Send to Amazon, standard-size and bulky products go into different placement groups, and you pick a split for each one. A mixed shipment can send its standard-size items through a free optimized split while its bulky items use a cheaper partial split.
2026 inbound placement fee rate card (US)
For shipping plans created on or after January 15, 2026. Each fee is a range: where your shipment lands in that range depends on the inbound region (West, Central or East), and the West is the most expensive. Amazon-optimized splits have no fee in every tier.
| Size tier | Shipping weight | Minimal split (per unit) | Partial split (per unit) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Small standard | 8 oz or less | $0.14–$0.32 | Not offered |
| Small standard | Over 8 to 16 oz | $0.16–$0.32 | Not offered |
| Large standard | 12 oz or less | $0.20–$0.40 | Not offered |
| Large standard | Over 12 oz to 1.5 lb | $0.24–$0.50 | Not offered |
| Large standard | Over 1.5 to 3 lb | $0.34–$0.60 | Not offered |
| Large standard | Over 3 to 5 lb | $0.38–$0.76 | Not offered |
| Large standard | Over 5 to 7 lb | $0.40–$0.98 | Not offered |
| Large standard | Over 7 to 10 lb | $0.42–$1.20 | Not offered |
| Large standard | Over 10 to 15 lb | $0.44–$1.50 | Not offered |
| Large standard | Over 15 to 20 lb | $0.55–$1.90 | Not offered |
| Small bulky | 5 lb or less | $1.10–$1.60 | $0.55–$1.10 |
| Small bulky | Over 5 to 12 lb | $1.75–$2.40 | $0.65–$1.75 |
| Small bulky | Over 12 to 28 lb | $2.74–$3.50 | $0.81–$2.19 |
| Small bulky | Over 28 to 42 lb | $3.95–$4.95 | $1.05–$2.83 |
| Small bulky | Over 42 to 50 lb | $4.80–$5.95 | $1.23–$3.32 |
| Large bulky | 5 lb or less | $1.30–$1.80 | $0.55–$1.25 |
| Large bulky | Over 5 to 12 lb | $2.10–$2.90 | $0.65–$1.80 |
| Large bulky | Over 12 to 28 lb | $3.40–$4.10 | $0.81–$2.30 |
| Large bulky | Over 28 to 42 lb | $4.70–$5.60 | $1.05–$2.95 |
| Large bulky | Over 42 to 50 lb | $5.50–$6.50 | $1.23–$3.50 |
| Extra-large | Any | No fee | No fee |
Shipping weight is the unit weight for small standard items and the greater of unit weight and dimensional weight (length × width × height ÷ 139) for large standard and bulky items; bulky items use at least 2 inches for width and height. Source: Amazon Seller Central help “FBA inbound placement service fee”, as published by Goat Consulting and PrepVia (checked October 2026).
How the fee is calculated
Placement fee = per-unit rate × units Amazon receives. The rate comes from the size tier, the shipping-weight band, the split you choose and the inbound region. Amazon charges it 45 days after the shipment is received, based on the quantity actually received — so a short shipment is billed on what arrived, and the charge often lands in a later month than the shipment.
Example: 240 coffee mugs
A mug packed at 6 × 5 × 5 in and 1.1 lb is large standard, in the 12 oz–1.5 lb band. A minimal split costs $0.24 to $0.50 per unit, so 240 mugs cost $57.60 to $120.00 in placement fees, depending on the region. Packed 40 to a box in 6 identical boxes, the shipment also qualifies for the Amazon-optimized split at $0. The split is worth it if sending boxes to several warehouses adds less freight than the fee you save.
An 80-unit shipment of yoga mats (25 × 6 × 6 in, 2.5 lb) is small bulky with a dimensional weight of about 6.5 lb. A minimal split costs $1.75–$2.40 a unit ($140–$192 in total), while a partial split costs $0.65–$1.75 ($52–$140).
How to lower or avoid the placement fee
- Ship at least 5 identical boxes per product so the free Amazon-optimized split is available, and keep the same quantity in every box.
- Compare freight, not just fees. Get quotes for one warehouse and for the split; enter both in the calculator to see the real total.
- Use Amazon Warehousing and Distribution (AWD) for small items. Inventory that reaches FBA through AWD doesn’t pay the inbound placement fee (AWD charges its own storage and processing fees). Since July 31, 2026, AWD only accepts units under 18 × 14 × 8 in and under 20 lb, so bulky items can’t use this route.
- New products: ASINs in Amazon’s FBA New Selection program may get a placement fee credit — check the terms in Seller Central.
- Watch the weight bands. A smaller box can drop a product into a lower size tier or weight band, which lowers both the placement fee and the FBA fulfillment fee.
- Bulky items: a partial split to two or three warehouses can cut the fee by more than half compared with a minimal split.
To see how the placement fee changes your profit compared with shipping orders yourself, use the FBA vs FBM calculator. For the per-order fee, see the Amazon FBA fee calculator, and print box and unit labels with the FNSKU label generator.