Selling on Amazon vs Walmart in 2026: Which Is Better?

For years the answer to "where should I sell?" was Amazon, full stop. In 2026 Walmart Marketplace is a serious alternative, and for many sellers it's the better one. It has less competition, no monthly fee and a third-party marketplace that's growing quickly, which makes it the natural second channel, and sometimes the first.

This guide compares Amazon and Walmart on what decides your profit: fees, competition, fulfillment and audience.

The short answer

Amazon has far more traffic and a more mature ecosystem, but the competition is fierce and the fees keep rising and stacking up. Walmart has less traffic, much less seller competition, no monthly subscription, and demand data that fewer sellers know how to read, which rewards the ones who research well.

Most serious sellers end up on both. If you're starting out or expanding with limited time, though, the differences below show where your effort pays off fastest.

Fees

What it costs before you sell anything

• Amazon: the Professional plan costs $39.99/month (or $0.99 per item on the Individual plan), and you pay it before you sell a single unit.
• Walmart: no monthly subscription, no listing fees and no setup fees. You pay only when you sell.

For a new or small seller that's a real difference. On Walmart you can list and test without a fixed monthly cost.

Referral fees

Both platforms take a category-based referral fee on each sale, and they're broadly similar:

• Amazon: roughly 8% to 45% depending on category, with most categories at 15% and a $0.30 minimum per item.
• Walmart: roughly 6% to 20% depending on category, with most categories at 15%.

On common categories you'll pay 15% either way. The difference is at the edges: some Amazon niches go much higher, while Walmart tops out around 20% (Jewelry). (Full Walmart breakdown in our 2026 Walmart seller fees guide.)

Fulfillment fees

• Amazon FBA: fulfillment starts around $3.30 for small standard items and rises with size and weight. Since April 2026 there's a 3.5% fuel surcharge on fulfillment fees. Storage is $0.75/cu ft from January to September and $2.40/cu ft in Q4. FBA also charges inbound placement and low-inventory fees that many sellers forget about.
• Walmart WFS: fulfillment starts around $3.45 per unit by weight tier, with storage near $0.75/cu ft from January to September (higher in Q4). Walmart's 2026 new-seller incentives also include sizable WFS discounts.

Base fulfillment fees are close. Amazon has more extra charges on top (surcharges, placement, low-inventory fees), so your all-in cost per unit is harder to predict there. The full fulfillment comparison is in FBA vs WFS.

Competition

This is where the two platforms differ most. Amazon's third-party marketplace is saturated. Popular listings have lots of sellers fighting over the Buy Box, and margins shrink fast. Walmart has far fewer third-party sellers relative to its traffic, so a listing that would be a price war on Amazon often has two or three sellers on Walmart.

With less competition, the Buy Box is easier to win, prices fall more slowly and newer sellers have room to get started.

Part of the reason there are fewer sellers is that Walmart's marketplace is smaller overall. You're fighting fewer people for a smaller pie.

Traffic and audience

Amazon is the bigger marketplace by total volume, and Prime keeps conversion high. Walmart's online traffic is large and growing fast, and its customers lean toward value and mix in-store and online shopping. In most categories Amazon will move more units today, but because Walmart has less competition, you can end up with a bigger share of the units it does sell.

Data and tools

On Amazon everyone uses the same tools (Keepa, Jungle Scout, SellerAmp) and sees the same numbers, so good data no longer sets you apart.

Walmart publishes no Best Sellers Rank, its sales data is harder to read and its tooling is younger. That sounds like a drawback, but for sellers who research well it's an opportunity, because most of their competitors are guessing. (WallScout was built for exactly this; see how to estimate Walmart sales.)

Which should you choose?

My take: Amazon gives you reach, Walmart gives you margin and room to grow. If you have to pick one to start in 2026, Walmart's lower barrier and lighter competition make it the faster place to get traction, especially if you're good at product research. If you already sell on Amazon, adding Walmart is an easy decision (see how to expand from Amazon to Walmart).

WallScout gives you Walmart sales estimates, price history and real-fee profit on the product page, which is the research you need to take advantage of Walmart's lower competition. Start a free trial →

Frequently asked questions

Is it worth selling on Walmart in 2026? For many sellers, yes. Walmart has no monthly subscription, far fewer third-party sellers than Amazon relative to its traffic, and fewer sellers using good demand data, so careful product research pays off. It's especially worth it as a second channel for existing Amazon sellers.

Are Walmart fees cheaper than Amazon? Often. Walmart has no $39.99/month subscription, its referral fees top out around 20% (Amazon goes much higher in some categories), and its fulfillment fees have fewer surcharges. On most common categories the 15% referral fee is the same, so most of the savings come from the monthly fee and the missing add-on charges.

Can you sell on both Amazon and Walmart? Yes, and many sellers do. Listing the same catalog on both diversifies your revenue and gets you onto Walmart's less competitive marketplace without giving up Amazon's volume.

Which has less competition, Amazon or Walmart? Walmart. It has far fewer third-party sellers relative to its traffic, so there are fewer sellers per listing and the Buy Box is easier to win, although its total marketplace volume is smaller than Amazon's.

Lower competition only helps if you buy the right products. Try WallScout free for 7 days.