Q4 unit cost worksheet: what one unit costs to fulfil from October 15, tier by tier, 2025 versus 2026

Key takeaways

• Three numbers make a 2026 Q4 unit fulfillment cost: the January 2026 base fee for the size tier, the holiday peak uplift for that tier (average $0.32, range roughly $0.19 to $2.81), and the 3.5% surcharge on the sum. Last peak had two of the three.
• On a light small-standard unit the 2026-over-2025 difference is about 15 cents; on a large oversize unit it is over a dollar. The headline 'peak fee unchanged' is true of the middle number only.
• Repricing decisions that cross $10 or $50 change the base fee and therefore both other numbers. Run the worksheet at the price you will actually sell at in November.
• The worksheet uses illustrative base fees. Replace them with the figures from your Fee Preview report, which has had peak rates loaded since July.

The holiday peak fee guide covers the window, the programs and the deadlines. This page does one thing. It runs the arithmetic per unit, so “peak fee unchanged” never gets mistaken for “unit cost unchanged.”

01The formula

2025 peak unit cost = base fee (2025)  + peak uplift (tier)
2026 peak unit cost = [base fee (2026) + peak uplift (tier)] × 1.035
difference          = base fee change + 3.5% of (2026 base + uplift)

Amazon confirmed on July 7, 2026 that the per-tier uplift is unchanged from last peak and that the 3.5% fuel and logistics surcharge applies on top of peak fees. The base fee rose on January 15, 2026 by an average of $0.08.

02The worksheet

Six representative units. Base fees are illustrative round numbers for the tier; uplifts follow the range Amazon publishes per tier. Replace all three inputs with yours.

Unit	2025 base	Uplift	2025 peak cost	2026 base	Uplift	× 1.035	2026 peak cost	Δ per unit
Small standard, 4 oz	$3.15	$0.19	$3.34	$3.22	$0.19	1.035	$3.53	+$0.19
Small standard, 12 oz	$3.60	$0.24	$3.84	$3.68	$0.24	1.035	$4.06	+$0.22
Large standard, 1 lb	$4.30	$0.32	$4.62	$4.38	$0.32	1.035	$4.86	+$0.24
Large standard, 3 lb	$6.10	$0.40	$6.50	$6.20	$0.40	1.035	$6.83	+$0.33
Large bulky, 10 lb	$12.00	$0.95	$12.95	$12.30	$0.95	1.035	$13.71	+$0.76
Large oversize, 40 lb	$30.00	$2.81	$32.81	$30.60	$2.81	1.035	$34.58	+$1.77

Two things the table shows that the announcement does not. The surcharge is the larger of the two additions on every tier above 1 lb. And the absolute gap grows with size: the seller who needs this worksheet most is the one shipping bulky.

03Add the price-band check

The 2026 base fee depends on the selling price band: under $10, $10 to $50, over $50. A November promotion that takes a $52 item to $49 moves it down a band and lowers all three numbers; a price rise from $9.99 to $10.49 takes it out of Low-Price FBA rates and raises them. Run the worksheet at the price you will sell at during the window, not the list price.

04Then add what is not in the fee

Line	Where it comes from
Peak storage, 1 Oct – 31 Dec	$2.40 per cubic foot standard, $1.40 oversize — storage guide
Deal and coupon fees	Per-event and per-redemption — deals guide
Advertising	Q4 CPCs — PPC benchmarks
Cash timing	DD+7 payouts through the window — payout reserve guide

05Where to get your inputs

Seller Central > Reports > Fulfillment > Payments > Fee Preview — export, filter to your Q4 SKUs; the fulfillment fee column already reflects 2026 base rates and, in the peak columns, the uplift.

Seller Central > Growth > Profit Analytics — per-product unit economics with fee lines separated, useful for checking the surcharge line against your worksheet.

Run it on your own figures. The margin and break-even calculator takes the 2026 peak cost from your worksheet and returns net margin and the maximum ACOS the product can carry in Q4. Nothing is stored and nothing leaves your browser.

Copy the table, paste your own base fees from Fee Preview, and look at the right-hand column. Which SKU moved the most? That one gets repriced first.

Frequently asked

Is the 2026 peak fee higher than 2025?

The per-tier uplift is unchanged, averaging $0.32 per unit. The unit cost is higher because the base fee rose in January 2026 and the 3.5% surcharge applies on top of the peak fee. The difference runs from about 15 cents on light units to over a dollar on large oversize.

Is the surcharge applied before or after the peak uplift?

On the sum. Amazon states the 3.5% applies on top of holiday peak fulfillment fees, so the calculation is (base fee + peak uplift) × 1.035.

Where do I get the exact uplift for my tier?

The Fee Preview report has carried peak rates since July 2026, and the Revenue Calculator shows peak versus non-peak per ASIN. Amazon publishes per-tier example uplifts on the holiday peak fulfillment fee help page.

Does the worksheet apply to MCF orders?

Yes. The peak uplift and the surcharge both apply to Multi-Channel Fulfillment; use the MCF rate card for the base fee.

Sources

1. Holiday 2026: same fees, same eligibility, earlier deadlines (same per-unit uplift as last year, average $0.32; 3.5% surcharge on top; peak rates in Revenue Calculator and Fee Preview), Amazon Seller Central, Seller Forums announcement, July 7, 2026 Primary source accessed 2026-09-04
2. Fuel and logistics-related surcharge: FBA, MCF, and BWP in US and CA (3.5% of fulfillment fees), Amazon Seller Central, Seller Forums announcement, April 2, 2026 Primary source accessed 2026-09-04
3. Update to U.S. Referral and Fulfillment by Amazon fees for 2026 (base fee +$0.08 average from January 15, 2026), Amazon Selling Partner Services Primary source accessed 2026-09-04
4. Amazon's 2026 holiday fees: the real stack behind $0.32 (per-tier example uplifts $0.19 to $2.81 from the Seller Central help page), Eightx Secondary accessed 2026-09-04