Choosing the right type of Amazon seller account is one of the first — and most important — decisions you’ll make when starting your Amazon business. Amazon offers two account options: the Individual selling plan and the Professional selling plan. Each has different tools, pricing structures, and capabilities.
If you’re unsure which one is right for your goals, this article breaks down exactly what’s included in each plan, how the costs compare, and why most sellers eventually upgrade to Professional. It also looks at important referral fees and explains how the choice of plan can impact your long-term growth.
What is the Amazon Individual Selling Plan?
The Individual selling plan is designed for people who want to sell on Amazon casually or in low volumes. It’s a pay-as-you-go model, ideal for those who aren’t ready to commit to a monthly subscription.
Instead of paying a flat monthly fee, you’ll pay $0.99 for each item sold. This doesn’t include other Amazon fees, such as referral fees, shipping costs, or FBA charges if you’re using Amazon fulfilment.
Included with the Individual plan:
- List products one at a time manually
- Use the Amazon Seller App and revenue calculator
- Access to Seller University training and help pages
- Manage orders individually
- Set static prices for your listings
- Limited access to reporting and business tools
This plan does not include:
- Access to Amazon Ads
- Eligibility for the Buy Box
- Bulk listing or inventory management
- Advanced reports and sales analytics
- Selling in restricted categories
- Promotions, coupons, or Lightning Deals
- Use of APIs or third-party selling tools
- Brand building tools (like A+ Content or Brand Registry)
The Individual plan is best suited to:
- Sellers listing fewer than 40 items per month
- People selling second-hand or one-off items
- Hobbyists or new sellers still testing product-market fit
What is the Amazon Professional Selling Plan?
The Professional selling plan is designed for those looking to build a scalable Amazon business. Instead of a per-item fee, sellers pay a flat monthly fee of $39.99, regardless of how many items they sell.
This plan includes the full suite of Amazon tools, access to optional programs, and eligibility for major features like advertising and the Buy Box — both of which are crucial for serious growth.
Included with the Professional plan:
- Unlimited product listings without per-item fees
- List products in bulk and manage inventory at scale
- Access to Amazon’s advertising tools (Sponsored Products, Brands, Display Ads)
- Eligibility to appear in the Buy Box
- Use dynamic pricing tools
- Create promotions, coupons, and deals
- Access advanced reports to analyse performance
- Apply to sell in restricted categories
- Add multiple users to your seller account
- Integrate with third-party tools and Amazon’s SP-API
- Participate in programs like FBA, Global Selling, Amazon Renewed, and Local Selling
- Use B2B tools to sell to business customers
- Set your own shipping rates for non-media items
The Professional plan is ideal for:
- Private label, wholesale, and arbitrage sellers
- Brands wanting to enrol in Amazon Brand Registry
- Anyone planning to sell 40+ units per month
- Sellers using FBA or third-party integrations
- Businesses scaling through data and advertising
Why upgrading to Professional is the smarter move for most sellers
If you're selling more than 40 items a month, the math is simple: the Individual plan would cost more than the $39.99 monthly fee you’d pay under the Professional plan. But it’s not just about saving on fees — it's about unlocking the tools needed to scale.
Here’s why most sellers upgrade early:
- Buy Box eligibility: Over 80% of Amazon sales happen through the Buy Box. Individual sellers are not eligible to win it.
- Advertising: You can’t run Sponsored Products or display ads without a Professional account.
- Bulk management: Managing large inventories without spreadsheet or API tools is time-consuming and error-prone.
- Reporting: You miss out on sales analytics and business reports that help identify top-performing products and optimise your pricing.
- Brand Registry access: Only Professional sellers can enrol in Amazon Brand Registry — a key requirement for building and protecting a brand on Amazon.
- Promotions and deals: Without a Professional plan, you can’t create Lightning Deals, coupons, or other visibility-boosting campaigns.
Even sellers with moderate sales volume often upgrade quickly to save time, boost visibility, and access the platform’s most powerful selling tools.
Selling fees beyond the plan: what else to expect
Regardless of the plan you choose, you’ll also pay referral fees on each sale. These vary by product category and typically range between 8% and 15%, though some categories like jewellery or Amazon device accessories can be higher.
Amazon also charges:
- FBA fees if you use Fulfilment by Amazon
- Closing fees for media products
- Refund administration fees if you issue a return
- High-volume listing fees if you exceed 1.5 million SKUs
- Optional program fees like Amazon Ads or Transparency
While these apply to both account types, Professional sellers have more tools to analyse and control these costs.
Who should stay on Individual?
There are a few cases where sticking with the Individual plan may make sense:
- You’re experimenting with Amazon for the first time and want to test the interface
- You’re selling one-off items occasionally (e.g. books, electronics, used items)
- You aren’t planning to invest in growth, advertising, or brand building
However, if your goal is to turn Amazon into a revenue stream or business, the Professional account is the foundation for growth.
Conclusion
Amazon’s Individual and Professional plans are built for different kinds of sellers. While the Individual plan is great for occasional sales or early testing, it’s limited by both cost per sale and lack of access to essential growth tools.
The Professional plan is purpose-built for scale. For $39.99/month, it opens the door to ads, data, automation, advanced fulfilment, bulk uploads, and serious brand-building features — the kind of infrastructure every growing Amazon business needs.
As your order volume increases, upgrading becomes not just smart — but necessary.
Final takeaway
If you're serious about selling on Amazon, the Professional selling plan gives you the flexibility, tools, and long-term potential to grow faster and more efficiently. For most sellers, it’s not a cost — it’s a gateway to scalability.
