FBA prep fees: 2026 pricing and calculator.
Third-party FBA prep services in 2026 charge between $0.65 and $15.00 per unit, by tier. Budget covers FNSKU plus polybag at $0.65 to $2.50. Mid adds bundling and inspection at $2.50 to $5.00. Premium adds hazmat, FDA-registered facilities, and fast SLAs at $5.00 to $15.00. Add-ons, storage, returns, and onboarding stack on top.
Below: the fee taxonomy with per-tier ranges, real published pricing from 3 verified directory centers, and an interactive calculator that estimates your monthly cost across all 3 tiers.
For the aggregate numbers, see the FBA Prep Pricing Index 2026: across the 44 verified US centers publishing per-unit rates (43 distinct rate cards; one duplicated card counted once), the median entry rate is $1.30/unit (middle 50%: $0.99 to $1.66), with every figure traced to a dated rate card.
Estimate your monthly cost.
Enter your volume, add-ons, bundle pattern, storage, and returns rate. We return a monthly cost estimate across the 3 tiers, grounded in published pricing from MyPrepCenter, WestFBA, and Fast Prep FBA plus a 2026 market scan. Always confirm a written quote for your specific SKU mix.
$1,136
$2,115
$4,243
| Per-unit prep | $2,025 |
| Storage (50 cubic ft @ $1.00/cuft) | $50.00 |
| Returns (20 units @ $2.00/unit) | $40.00 |
| Monthly total | $2,115 |
The 5 categories every prep center bills.
Centers bundle these line items differently. The categories themselves are stable: receiving, per-unit prep, storage, returns, and onboarding. Compare quotes line by line, not by headline number.
| Category | What it covers | Budget | Mid | Premium | Watch for |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Receiving | Charged when your inbound shipment arrives. Per pallet, per carton, or per unit (varies by center). | $5 to $15 / pallet | $10 to $25 / pallet OR $0.10 to $0.30 / carton | $15 to $35 / pallet (faster receipt SLA) | Centers that bill per-unit on receipt double up with prep-fee per-unit billing. Confirm structure before booking. |
| Per-unit prep | FNSKU label, polybag, bubble wrap, expiration scan, or other required Amazon-prep step. | $0.65 to $2.50 per unit (FNSKU + polybag basic) | $2.50 to $5.00 per unit (adds bundling, inspection, expiration scan) | $5.00 to $15.00 per unit (adds hazmat, FDA, photography, fast SLA) | Bundle pricing that obscures which steps are included. FNSKU is often free above 50 units; polybag rarely is. |
| Storage | Holding inventory before it ships to Amazon FCs or to a customer. | $0.50 to $0.75 / cubic ft / month | $0.75 to $1.25 / cubic ft / month | $1.00 to $1.50 / cubic ft / month | Long-term storage surcharge after 90 days. Pallet vs cubic-foot billing. Centers that include 14 to 30 days free (rare but real) win on storage-heavy SKUs. |
| Returns processing | Handling FBA removal orders and customer-returned units. | $1.00 to $2.00 / unit | $1.50 to $2.50 / unit | $2.00 to $3.50 / unit (with relabel and re-FBA) | Whether the center relabels for re-FBA or only disposes. Per-shipment minimums on removal orders. |
| Onboarding / setup | One-time fee to create an account, integrate inventory feeds, or set up a recurring shipment. | $99 to $250 (sometimes reimbursed at volume) | $0 to $500 (often waived for committed monthly minimums) | $250 to $2,000 for API integration; sometimes free with annual commit | Hidden in the fine print. Confirm whether reimbursed after a volume milestone. |
Real published rates from 3 verified centers.
Pulled directly from each center's public pricing page on 2026-05-14. We do not average across sources or carry forward stale numbers without re-checking.
- $0.85 (Gold, 2,500-4,999 units/mo) to $1.10 (Bronze, <500 units/mo)
- Polybag $0.15, shoes $0.50, oversize $1.00, fragile $1.50. Bundles 2-6 units: $1.35 to $2.50.
- $99 one-time (Bronze and Silver). Reimbursed after 2,500 units (Gold).
- 14 days inventory storage included on all tiers.
- $0.75 pick & pack (receiving, visual inspection, box+label).
- Polybag $0.25, bubble wrap $0.50 per 12in, large box $6, palletizing $20. Bundles: 2-pack $0.95, 3-pack $1.05. Forwarding $3/box.
- None disclosed publicly.
- Pallet storage $30 per month. Container unload $200 (20ft) or $450 (40ft).
Fast Prep FBA
- $0.70 to $1.00 (flat-rate including FNSKU, polybag, kitting).
- Flat-rate model rolls add-ons into the per-unit price.
- None disclosed publicly.
- Standard prep workflow forwards inventory; no separate storage tier marketed.
Why this pricing is verifiable.
Every per-center pricing note above carries a retrieval date. If a center publishes $0.85 per unit, the profile page tells you when we last read that number directly off the center's own pricing page. We do not average across sources and do not carry forward stale numbers without re-checking.
For context: the largest prep-center directory we audited publishes $0 in pricing data across roughly 540 profile pages. The contrast is the point. Pricing is the friction buyers actually care about, and obscuring it is a tell.
Amazon's in-house FBA Prep service ended for shipments after January 1, 2026 (Supply Chain Dive), so every fee on this page applies to third-party centers only.
Common FBA prep fee questions.
How much does FBA prep cost in 2026?
What's the typical per-unit prep fee for FNSKU plus polybag?
Are there onboarding or setup fees?
How are bundles or multipacks charged?
How are long-term storage and returns billed?
What hidden fees should I look for in a prep-center contract?
Why do some prep centers refuse to publish pricing?
Does Amazon still offer its own FBA prep service?
Stop estimating. Get a real quote.
Our matching service connects you with 2 to 3 verified prep centers in your tier within 24 hours. You tell us your volume, products, and channels; we route you to centers whose published pricing fits your model.