All three of India’s big marketplaces now charge zero commission on at least part of their catalogue. Meesho charges none at all. Flipkart charges none below ₹1,000 or on fashion. Amazon charges a 0% referral fee up to ₹1,000 in more than 1,800 categories. Yet one product can earn very different profit on each.
The difference sits in the other fees, in returns, and in when you get paid. This guide sets out what each charges in 2026, then runs one product through all three. Every fee comes from the official seller pages, checked by PrimeScale on 14 September 2026.
Seller fees at a glance
Each marketplace charges differently, so line up the charges first.
| Charge | Amazon.in | Flipkart | Meesho |
|---|---|---|---|
| Commission | Referral fee by category and price. 0% up to ₹1,000 in more than 1,800 categories | 0% below ₹1,000 and on all fashion. Otherwise the category rate in Seller Hub | 0% in every category |
| Per-order fee | Closing fee by price band and channel | Fixed fee from your rate card, adjusted by seller tier | None |
| Shipping | Weight handling fee, unless you ship yourself | Shipping fee from your rate card | Shipping charge per order, plus 18% GST |
| Collection fee | Not charged | Per order, from your rate card | None on prepaid or cash on delivery |
| Returns | No single published return fee | A fee kept on a returned order, from your rate card | Return shipping fee by weight. None on RTO |
| Where to find exact amounts | Amazon’s public fees page | Only in Seller Hub | Only in the Supplier Panel |
That last row matters. Some Flipkart and Meesho amounts only appear once you have a seller account, so any comparison needs your own rate card.
Amazon.in seller fees in 2026
Amazon.in charges up to five fees on a sale: a referral fee, a closing fee, a weight handling fee, and for FBA a pick and pack fee and storage. It adds 18% GST to each one.
Referral fee
A percentage of the selling price, set by category and price band. Since 16 March 2026, more than 1,800 categories pay 0% up to ₹1,000; some stop at ₹300 or ₹500. Above the band, the rate applies to the entire price.
Closing fee
A fixed amount per order, by price band and fulfilment channel, effective 7 September 2026. On that date closing fees rose by ₹1 for products up to ₹500 and by ₹3 above ₹500. Amounts exclude GST.
| Item price | FBA | Easy Ship | Self Ship | Seller Flex |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Up to ₹300 | ₹27* | ₹2 | ₹20 | ₹7 |
| ₹301 to ₹500 | ₹23* | ₹23 | ₹26 | ₹13 |
| ₹501 to ₹1,000 | ₹30 | ₹48 | ₹51 | ₹38 |
| Above ₹1,000 | ₹55* | ₹79 | ₹101 | ₹69 |
* FBA standard rate. Some categories pay a different FBA closing fee in these bands.
Weight handling, pick and pack, and storage
The weight handling fee is charged on the higher of actual and volumetric weight, where volumetric weight in kg is length × breadth × height in cm ÷ 5,000. At the Standard STEP level the first 500 g costs ₹39 on FBA regional and ₹65 on FBA national. Self Ship has none, because you pay your own courier. FBA adds pick and pack from ₹17 and storage at ₹50 per cubic foot per month.
Flipkart seller fees in 2026
A Flipkart order can carry four fees: a commission fee, a fixed fee (also called the closing fee), a collection fee and a shipping fee. Flipkart shows the exact amounts only in the rate card inside Seller Hub. 18% GST applies to every fee.
Zero commission rules
| Product | Commission | In effect since |
|---|---|---|
| Fashion, at any price | 0% | 8 July 2026 |
| Any category, priced below ₹1,000 | 0% | November 2025 |
| Other categories, ₹1,000 and above | Category rate in Seller Hub | Same for FBF and NFBF |
Zero commission covers the commission fee only. The fixed, collection and shipping fees still apply. Once a non-fashion product reaches ₹1,000, commission is charged on the whole price.
Fixed fee by seller tier
| Seller tier | Fixed fee |
|---|---|
| Platinum | Base rate minus ₹15 to ₹30 |
| Gold | Base rate |
| Silver | Base rate |
| Bronze | Base rate plus ₹10 |
The shipping fee is worked out on the higher of actual and volumetric weight.
Meesho seller fees in 2026
Meesho charges 0% commission in every category, with no registration fee, no collection fee on prepaid or cash on delivery orders, and no penalty for supplier or auto cancellations. What you pay is:
- A shipping charge on each order, with 18% GST on top.
- A return shipping fee, set by weight, when a customer returns a delivered order.
- No return shipping fee on RTO orders, which are never delivered and come back to you.
Meesho does not publish these amounts. They depend on the product and appear in the Supplier Panel. Sellers without a GSTIN can sell only within their own state, and can’t claim back the 18% GST on Meesho’s charges, so shipping and returns cost them more.
GST, TCS and TDS on all three
These work the same way on all three.
| Tax | Rate | Is it a cost? |
|---|---|---|
| GST on fees or charges | 18% | No, if you are GST-registered. You claim it back as input tax credit |
| GST TCS | 0.5% of net taxable value | No. You claim it against your GST liability |
| Income tax TDS, section 194-O | 0.1% of net taxable value | No. You claim it in your income tax return |
None of these is a final cost for a registered seller, but all three reduce the cash that reaches your bank. For the ₹649 bottle in the worked example below, this is what each marketplace pays out for one delivered order:
| One delivered order | Amazon | Flipkart | Meesho |
|---|---|---|---|
| Selling price | ₹649.00 | ₹649.00 | ₹649.00 |
| Fees or charges, with GST | −₹132.16 | −₹106.20 | −₹80.24 |
| TCS | −₹2.75 | −₹2.75 | −₹2.75 |
| TDS | −₹0.55 | −₹0.55 | −₹0.55 |
| Payout | ₹513.54 | ₹539.50 | ₹565.46 |
Product GST slabs since 22 September 2025 are 0%, 5%, 18% and 40%. Apparel is 5% up to ₹2,500 per piece before GST and 18% above.
Why you should compare per 100 orders shipped
Profit per order leaves out the orders that come back. A return costs you a fee, the packaging and sometimes the product, and a Meesho RTO costs the packaging. The orders that do get delivered pay for all of it.
Return and RTO rates are different on each marketplace, so the fair test is simple: ship the same 100 orders on each one, and count what you keep. That is how PrimeScale’s Amazon vs Flipkart vs Meesho comparison works.
Worked example: a ₹649 steel water bottle
A stainless steel water bottle priced at ₹649 on all three marketplaces, with an example GST rate of 18%. It costs ₹220 to make, packaging and other costs are ₹20 per order shipped, and it packs to 400 g in a 27 × 8 × 8 cm box. 15% of returned units can’t be sold again.
- Amazon: FBA, Standard STEP, national. 5% returns at an estimated ₹80 each, ads at 8%.
- Flipkart: non-fashion, Silver tier, fees of ₹20 fixed, ₹10 collection and ₹60 shipping. 10% returns at ₹60 each, ads at 5%.
- Meesho: GST-registered, ₹68 shipping and ₹90 return shipping. 15% returns, 8% RTO, ads at 3%.
The Flipkart and Meesho amounts, the return rates and the Amazon return cost are examples, not published rates. Replace them with yours in the tool.
| Per delivered order | Amazon | Flipkart | Meesho |
|---|---|---|---|
| Selling price | ₹649.00 | ₹649.00 | ₹649.00 |
| GST collected | −₹99.00 | −₹99.00 | −₹99.00 |
| Marketplace fees | −₹112.00 | −₹90.00 | −₹68.00 |
| Product cost | −₹220.00 | −₹220.00 | −₹220.00 |
| Packaging and other | −₹20.00 | −₹20.00 | −₹20.00 |
| Returns (and RTO on Meesho) | −₹7.00 | −₹12.56 | −₹33.36 |
| Ads | −₹51.92 | −₹32.45 | −₹19.47 |
| Profit per delivered order | ₹139.08 | ₹174.99 | ₹189.17 |
| Orders delivered out of 100 | 95 | 90 | 77 |
| Profit on 100 orders shipped | ₹13,213 | ₹15,750 | ₹14,566 |
The returns line spreads return fees, lost stock and packaging on orders that came back across the orders that were delivered. GST on fees is claimable for a registered seller, so it is not counted as a cost. Rows are rounded, so they can differ from the profit by a few paise.
Flipkart keeps the most here, ₹1,184 more than Meesho on 100 orders shipped. Change one input, such as the Meesho return rate, and the order can change. The answer depends on your numbers, not on the lowest commission.
The ₹1,000 price cliffs on Amazon and Flipkart
Amazon and Flipkart both charge a percentage on the whole price once you cross their line. Amazon’s 0% band covers prices up to ₹1,000. Flipkart’s covers prices below ₹1,000, so ₹999 is the highest price with no commission. Here is the same bottle at three prices, with every other input unchanged:
| Profit on 100 orders shipped | At ₹999 | At ₹1,000 | At ₹1,049 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Amazon | ₹38,731 | ₹38,804 | ₹28,042 |
| Flipkart | ₹40,869 | ₹31,941 | ₹35,017 |
| Meesho | ₹36,596 | ₹36,659 | ₹39,744 |
On Amazon, moving from ₹1,000 to ₹1,049 adds a 12% referral fee of ₹125.88 and lifts the FBA closing fee from ₹30.00 to ₹55.00. On Flipkart, ₹1,000 already pays the example 10% commission, ₹100.00 per order, while ₹999 pays none. Meesho has no commission, so a higher price simply earns more.
When each marketplace pays you
Profit on paper is not cash in the bank. The three pay on different clocks.
| Marketplace | When you are paid |
|---|---|
| Amazon | Deposited every 7 days. An order is eligible for payment 7 days after delivery. |
| Flipkart | Released after dispatch, as fast as 3 days, depending on your seller tier. |
| Meesho | 7-day payment cycle from delivery, including cash on delivery orders. |
Flipkart’s clock starts at dispatch; Amazon’s and Meesho’s start at delivery. If you pay suppliers upfront, a faster cycle can matter as much as a few rupees of margin.
Which marketplace keeps more of each sale?
No marketplace wins for every product. The fee rules point to where each one tends to work:
- Meesho suits low-price products with low returns. With no commission, returns and RTO decide whether it comes out ahead.
- Flipkart suits products priced below ₹1,000 and all fashion, which pay only the fixed, collection and shipping fees.
- Amazon suits compact, light products in the 0% band, because the weight handling fee follows the higher of actual and volumetric weight.
To test your own product, take your Seller Hub rate card, your Meesho Supplier Panel charges and your return rates, and run them through the comparison tool. For one marketplace in detail, use the Amazon fee calculator, the Flipkart commission calculator or the Meesho profit calculator.
Sources
The rules and fees in this guide come from these official pages. Practical advice is PrimeScale’s own. Marketplaces change their rules, so the seller dashboard remains the record of what applies to your account.
Frequently asked questions
Which marketplace charges the lowest fees in India in 2026?
There is no single answer. Meesho charges no commission but charges for shipping and returns. Flipkart charges no commission below ₹1,000 or on fashion. Amazon charges a 0% referral fee up to ₹1,000 in more than 1,800 categories, plus a closing fee. Which one keeps more depends on your price, weight and return rate.
Does Amazon charge a referral fee on products under ₹1,000?
Not in more than 1,800 categories. Since 16 March 2026, eligible products priced up to ₹1,000 pay 0%, and some categories stop at ₹300 or ₹500. Above the band, the category rate applies to the whole price. The closing fee applies at every price.
Is Flipkart zero commission for all products?
No. Flipkart charges 0% commission on every product priced below ₹1,000, and on the whole Fashion category at any price since 8 July 2026. Other products priced at ₹1,000 or more pay the category rate shown in Seller Hub. The fixed, collection and shipping fees apply either way.
What does Meesho charge sellers if commission is 0%?
A shipping charge on every order, with 18% GST on top, and a return shipping fee set by weight when a customer returns a product. Meesho charges no return shipping fee on RTO orders, no collection fee and no cancellation penalty.
Which marketplace pays sellers fastest?
Flipkart releases payment after dispatch, as fast as 3 days, depending on your seller tier. Amazon deposits every 7 days, and an order is eligible 7 days after delivery. Meesho pays on a 7-day cycle from delivery, including cash on delivery orders.
Is GST on marketplace fees a cost?
Not for a GST-registered seller, who claims the 18% GST back as input tax credit. It still reduces the cash you receive. A Meesho seller without a GSTIN cannot claim it back, so for them it is a cost.
What are TCS and TDS on marketplace payouts?
All three collect 0.5% GST TCS and deduct 0.1% income tax TDS under section 194-O on the net taxable value. You claim TCS against your GST liability and TDS in your income tax return.
Why compare profit per 100 orders shipped?
Because return and RTO rates differ by marketplace. Profit per delivered order leaves out the orders that come back, and those cost you fees, packaging and sometimes stock. Counting the same 100 orders shipped on each marketplace puts those costs in.