Amazon Individual Seller vs. Professional: Which Plan Is Right for You?

One of the first decisions you'll make when selling on Amazon is choosing between the Individual and Professional selling plans. It sounds simple, but picking the wrong plan can cost you money, limit your growth, and lock you out of tools you didn't know you needed.

At Lab 916, we manage over $250 million in Amazon revenue for established brands, and we've helped sellers at every stage navigate this decision. Here's everything you need to know to make the right choice — including the details most guides leave out.

The Core Difference: Per-Item Fee vs. Monthly Subscription

The fundamental distinction between Amazon's two selling plans comes down to how you pay:

Individual selling plan: No monthly subscription fee. Instead, you pay $0.99 per item sold, plus applicable referral fees and other standard selling fees.

Professional selling plan: A flat $39.99 monthly subscription fee regardless of how many items you sell, plus the same referral fees and standard selling fees (but no per-item fee).

The basic math is straightforward. If you sell more than 40 items per month, the Professional plan saves you money. At 40 items, the Individual plan costs $39.60 in per-item fees — essentially the same as the Professional subscription. At 100 items per month, the Individual plan would cost $99 in per-item fees alone, while the Professional plan stays at $39.99.

But cost isn't the only factor — and for most serious sellers, it's not even the most important one.

What You Get With Each Plan

Individual Seller Plan Features

The Individual plan gives you the basics needed to list and sell products on Amazon. You can create product listings one at a time in Amazon's standard (ungated) categories — each requiring proper product identifiers like UPC codes — fulfill orders through either Fulfillment by Merchant (FBM) or Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA), set fixed prices on your listings, access basic seller support, and use Amazon's order management tools.

What you cannot do on the Individual plan is where things get limiting. You cannot run Amazon PPC advertising (Sponsored Products, Sponsored Brands, or Sponsored Display). You are not eligible for the Buy Box. You cannot create listings in bulk using inventory files or spreadsheets. You have no access to advanced inventory management tools. You cannot sell in restricted (gated) categories. You cannot use third-party seller tools and APIs. You have no ability to set your own shipping rates for non-media products. You cannot create promotions, coupons, or deals. You have no access to A+ Content or Brand Stores. And you cannot grant account access to additional users.

Professional Seller Plan Features

The Professional plan includes everything in the Individual plan, plus the full suite of Amazon selling tools. This includes Buy Box eligibility, Amazon advertising access (Sponsored Products, Sponsored Brands, Sponsored Display), bulk listing creation through inventory files, advanced inventory management tools including replenishment recommendations, the ability to sell in all categories including restricted ones (with approval), API integration for third-party tools, custom shipping rates, promotions, coupons, and Lightning Deals, A+ Content and Amazon Brand Stores (with Brand Registry), multi-user account access, detailed business reports and analytics, automated pricing tools, and eligibility for programs like Amazon Renewed, Global Selling, and Local Selling.

The Features That Actually Matter Most

While most guides give you a checklist of differences, a few of these distinctions have outsized impact on your ability to succeed on Amazon.

Buy Box Eligibility

This is the single biggest reason to choose the Professional plan. The Buy Box is the "Add to Cart" button on a product listing — and roughly 80% of Amazon sales go through it. Individual sellers are not eligible for the Buy Box, period. Even if you're the only seller on a listing, customers will see an extra step to purchase your product rather than a direct "Add to Cart" button. For any seller who is serious about increasing sales on Amazon, this alone justifies the $39.99 monthly fee.

Amazon Advertising Access

You cannot run any form of Amazon PPC on an Individual plan. In today's Amazon marketplace, organic visibility alone is rarely enough to drive consistent sales. Sponsored Products campaigns are how most sellers generate initial momentum, defend their rankings, and scale revenue. Without advertising access, you're competing with one hand tied behind your back.

Third-Party Tool Integration

Most serious Amazon seller tools — inventory management software, repricing tools, analytics platforms, and listing optimization services — require API access that only the Professional plan provides. If you plan to use any third-party tools to run your business more efficiently, you'll need the Professional plan.

Restricted Category Access

Amazon gates certain product categories, meaning you need approval (and a Professional plan) to sell in them. These restricted categories include Automotive Parts and Accessories, Beauty and Personal Care, Clothing, Shoes and Jewelry, Collectible Coins, Fine Art, Grocery and Gourmet Food, Industrial and Scientific, Jewelry, Music and DVD, Professional Services, Sports Collectibles, Toys and Games (seasonal restrictions), Video, DVD and Blu-ray, and Watches.

If your products fall into any of these categories, the Individual plan simply isn't an option.

Amazon Individual Seller Fees vs. Professional: Full Breakdown

Both plans share certain fees beyond the base cost. Here's the complete picture:

Referral fees apply to both plans. Amazon charges a percentage of the total sale price (including shipping and gift wrap charges) that varies by category, typically ranging from 6% to 45%, with most categories at 15%.

Closing fees apply to both plans for media items (books, music, DVDs, video games). This is a flat $1.80 per item.

FBA fees apply to both plans if you use Fulfillment by Amazon. These include fulfillment fees (pick, pack, and ship), monthly storage fees, and potential long-term storage fees for inventory sitting longer than 181 days.

The only fee difference between the plans is the base cost: $0.99 per item sold (Individual) vs. $39.99 per month (Professional). All other fees are identical.

Professional sellers may also incur high-volume listing fees if they list more than 100,000 active SKUs, though this only applies to very large catalogs.

When to Choose the Individual Plan

The Individual plan makes sense in a narrow set of circumstances:

You're testing the waters. If you want to understand how Amazon works before committing to a monthly fee, the Individual plan lets you experiment with minimal financial risk. You can list a few products, learn Seller Central, and get a feel for the process.

You're selling fewer than 40 items per month with no plans to scale. If you're liquidating personal items, selling a small number of handmade goods, or running a very small side operation, the per-item fee structure may work better for your cash flow.

You don't need advertising or the Buy Box. If you're selling unique, one-of-a-kind items where you're the only seller on the listing and organic traffic is sufficient, the limitations of the Individual plan may not matter as much.

You're not ready to invest in your Amazon business yet. If the $39.99 monthly fee feels like a stretch, the Individual plan at least gets you started. But understand that you're significantly limiting your growth potential.

When to Choose the Professional Plan

For the vast majority of sellers who are building a real business on Amazon, the Professional plan is the clear choice. Specifically, you should choose Professional if you plan to sell more than 40 items per month, you want to run Amazon advertising campaigns, you need Buy Box eligibility to compete effectively, you sell or plan to sell in restricted categories, you want to use third-party seller tools and software, you plan to build a brand on Amazon with A+ Content and a Brand Store, you need to manage inventory efficiently at scale, or you want to create promotions, coupons, or deals to drive sales.

In our experience managing brands on Amazon, we almost always recommend starting with the Professional plan unless you genuinely have no intention of scaling. The tools and features you gain access to aren't just nice-to-haves — they're essential for competing in today's marketplace.

How to Switch Between Plans

The good news is that you're not locked into your choice. Amazon allows you to switch between Individual and Professional plans at any time through Seller Central.

To switch plans: Open Seller Central and select the gear icon in the top-right corner. Choose Account Info from the dropdown. Navigate to Manage Your Services, then select Selling On Amazon. Choose either the Professional or Individual option and click Apply Changes.

Switching from Individual to Professional takes effect immediately. You'll see additional tools and features appear in your account right away, though some billing features may take up to two days to fully activate.

Switching from Professional to Individual may require you to first disenroll from Amazon services that require a Professional plan (such as Brand Registry, Amazon Advertising, or specific selling programs). Check your enrolled services before making the switch.

A Note for Established Brands

If you're an established brand exploring Amazon as a sales channel — which is the majority of the brands we work with at Lab 916 — the Individual plan is almost never the right choice. You'll need Amazon advertising to launch effectively, Buy Box eligibility to capture sales, A+ Content and Brand Stores to represent your brand properly, and professional-grade reporting to measure and optimize performance.

The $39.99 monthly fee is a rounding error compared to the revenue you'll leave on the table without these capabilities.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I use FBA with an Individual seller account? Yes. Both Individual and Professional sellers can use Fulfillment by Amazon. However, managing FBA inventory efficiently is much easier with the Professional plan's advanced inventory tools.

Can I switch from Individual to Professional at any time? Yes. You can upgrade or downgrade your plan at any time through Seller Central. Upgrading to Professional takes effect immediately.

Is the Amazon Professional seller plan worth it? For anyone selling more than 40 items per month or wanting access to advertising, the Buy Box, and advanced tools — yes. The $39.99 monthly fee pays for itself quickly through increased sales from advertising and Buy Box placement alone.

What is the $0.99 per item fee on the Individual plan? It's a flat fee charged on every item you sell in addition to Amazon's standard referral fees. This replaces the $39.99 monthly subscription of the Professional plan.

Do Individual sellers have access to Amazon Brand Registry? Brand Registry enrollment is available to both plan types, but many of its most powerful features (A+ Content, Brand Stores, Sponsored Brands advertising) require a Professional selling plan to fully utilize.

What categories require a Professional seller account? Restricted categories including Automotive, Beauty, Clothing, Jewelry, Grocery, Fine Art, Collectibles, and several others require a Professional plan plus additional Amazon approval to sell in.

Lab 916 is a full-service Amazon agency that helps established brands launch and scale on Amazon. Whether you're setting up your first seller account or optimizing an existing operation, contact our team for a free strategy consultation.