The price only means something next to what it buys. Here is how the common options compare on scope and on how the fee is built. Dollar ranges come from public 2026 agency pricing guides, cited below.
| Option | What you get | How pricing works | Typical monthly cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Freelancer | One person, usually one skill such as PPC or listings. You direct the work and cover the gaps when they are busy or away. | Hourly rate or a small fixed monthly fee. | Quote based. Depends on hours and skill, so there is no reliable public range. |
| Offshore team | A team of specialists abroad. Lower cost per hour; strategy depth and time zone overlap vary a lot by provider. | Flat monthly retainer. | $1,500 to $2,500 a month [1] |
| Typical mid-size agency | An account manager plus PPC and listing specialists. Creative and Brand Store work are often billed extra. | Retainer, often plus a percent of ad spend (commonly 10 to 20%) [2] | $3,000 to $7,500 a month [2] |
| Full-service agency | Advertising, listings, creative, Brand Store, reporting and account health. Often DSP and more marketplaces. | Retainer plus a percent of ad spend or sales (commonly 3 to 10% of revenue), or a hybrid [2] | $7,500 to $15,000 a month; enterprise $15,000 to $25,000+ [2] |
| Marknology | Full-service Amazon management from one team that also runs Walmart, TikTok Shop and Shopify, with our own Kansas City warehouse for fulfillment. | Flat retainer plus 3% of revenue above your baseline, only in profitable months. Never a percent of ad spend. | $1,500 strategy only, $3,000 management, $4,500 with content, plus 3% of growth. See the rate card |
Sources, checked September 25, 2026. [1] SalesDuo, Amazon Agency Pricing 2026: Costs and What to Expect, published September 17, 2026. [2] SupplyKick, Amazon Agency Pricing: What Do Amazon Agencies Actually Cost in 2026?, updated September 14, 2026. These are other agencies' published ranges, not a promise of what any one agency charges. Marknology's prices are our own published rates.
A brand with 5 parent ASINs needs far less ongoing management than a brand with 200 SKUs across 12 variations each. Agencies that charge by catalog complexity tend to be more honest about the actual work involved.
US-only management is a baseline. Adding Canada, Mexico, UK, Germany, Japan, or Australia each adds meaningful scope. Each one adds its own catalog, advertising and compliance work, so ask how every added marketplace is priced before you sign.
PPC management is the core. But listing content, A+ Content, brand store management, SEO, photography direction, influencer coordination, and compliance monitoring are distinct services. An agency that quotes a low retainer and then bills for each additional service separately will cost more in practice than an agency that bundles everything.
Many agencies charge a percentage of ad spend in addition to or instead of a flat retainer. SupplyKick's 2026 guide puts this at 10 to 20 percent of monthly ad spend, usually with a minimum retainer. The math scales fast: at $50,000 a month in ad spend, a 12 percent fee adds $6,000 a month on top of any base retainer.
A brand launching its first product needs a different scope than a brand at $5 million in annual revenue optimizing its profitability. Agencies that specialize in launch phases may charge differently than those focused on growth or profitability optimization.
Every fee model pays the agency for something. Know what it is before you sign. Percent ranges are from SupplyKick's 2026 pricing guide cited above.
A fixed fee for a defined scope.
Rewards: Predictable budgeting and a team that is paid to do the work, not to push spend.
Hides: Scope creep in either direction. A low retainer can mean thin hours, and extras like creative or new marketplaces may be billed on top.
A share of total Amazon revenue, sometimes 3 to 10%.
Rewards: Top-line growth. The agency earns more as the account grows.
Hides: It pays on sales you would have made anyway, and it rewards revenue whether or not it is profitable. Ask how returns, discounts and existing sales are treated.
A share of what you spend on Amazon Ads, commonly 10 to 20%.
Rewards: Spending more. Simple to calculate and common with PPC-only shops.
Hides: The agency's fee rises when spend rises, even if the extra spend loses money. It rarely covers listings, creative or operations.
A fee tied to results, usually revenue above an agreed baseline.
Rewards: Measurable growth above where you started.
Hides: Everything depends on the baseline and the definition of growth. Without a written baseline and a profit test, you can pay for seasonality or price increases.
A base retainer plus one of the variable models above.
Rewards: Steady work from the retainer and shared upside from the variable part.
Hides: Two meters running at once. Add both parts together at your expected sales and spend to see the real monthly cost.
Our own model is a hybrid: a flat retainer plus 3% of revenue above a written baseline (your trailing three months), charged only in months the channel is profitable after our fee. We chose it because it avoids the two things we like least above: paying on ad spend and paying on sales you already had.
The pricing structure itself is often less important than the signals around how an agency presents its pricing. Watch for these:
The scope in the proposal is what you are buying. This is what a full-service retainer usually covers across the market, and what is commonly billed on top. Every agency draws the line in a different place, so ask for it in writing. To see how the pieces fit together when one team runs them, read what a full-service Amazon agency covers.
| Usually included | Often billed extra |
|---|---|
| Advertising management across Sponsored Products, Sponsored Brands and Sponsored Display | Amazon DSP (demand-side platform) management |
| Listing copy, backend search terms and ongoing listing tests | Product photography, lifestyle shoots and video |
| A+ Content and Brand Store updates using existing assets | New A+ Content and Brand Store design from scratch |
| Account health monitoring and Seller Support cases | Account reinstatement after a suspension |
| Inventory and restock planning | Warehousing, prep and fulfillment, which is a 3PL (third-party logistics) service |
| Weekly or monthly reporting and a strategy call | Extra marketplaces or channels |
| Promotions and deal planning | Customer service and review responses at volume |
Marknology starts with a 90-day minimum, because Amazon changes take a full cycle to show in the numbers. After that it is month-to-month. If we are not driving results, you can leave. That is the accountability structure that makes sense for a performance business.
Our fee is a flat monthly retainer sized to the work, published in full below, plus 3% of the growth we create. It is never a percentage of ad spend. We believe percentage-of-spend models misalign incentives: an agency earning more when you spend more on ads does not have the same interest in profitability that you do.
What is always included in a Marknology engagement: a dedicated account strategist who manages your account, not a junior account coordinator supervised by someone who never looks at your data. Full transparency on what we are doing and why. A reporting system that connects your Amazon data to the metrics that matter for your business, not just impressions and clicks.
We work with growth-stage brands and established brands that have plateaued. We are not a fit for brands at the very beginning of their Amazon journey who need only basic account setup. If that is where you are, we will tell you, and we will tell you who is a better fit.
Our team has managed more than $2 billion in revenue across more than 300 brands on 11 marketplaces. The work is detailed, the methodology is proven, and the results are documented in our case studies.
Most agencies make you sit through a discovery call to learn the price. Ours is here. A flat monthly retainer sized to the work, plus a small share of the growth we create, and nothing else. 90-day minimum, then month-to-month with 30 days notice either direction.
| Baseline Amazon revenue | $50,000 / month |
| Management + Content | $4,500 |
| A month at $70,000, profitable | 3% of $20,000 = $600 |
| Total that month | $5,100, or 7.3% of sales |
In a month with no growth above the baseline, the fee is the retainer alone.
Prices are for brands selling on Amazon US and are current as of September 2026. Every engagement starts with an account review so the plan fits the account. If we are not the right fit, we will say so and point you to who is.
Compare the yearly cost of building an in-house Amazon team with the yearly cost of an agency. Enter your own salaries and the hours each role would spend on Amazon; salary is prorated on a 40-hour week.
Every number below is an example default, not a market rate. Replace them with your own. This compares cost only. It does not predict sales or results for either option.
How it works: in-house cost is each salary times hours divided by 40, plus your benefits and overhead percentage, plus tools and any hiring cost. Agency cost is the monthly fee and any variable fee times 12, plus tools, plus your team's time spent managing the agency. Ad spend and Amazon's own fees are the same either way, so they are left out. Things this does not capture: coverage when someone quits or goes on leave, how long it takes to hire, and how much specialist depth one person can hold.
The calculator above compares cost. This table is about fit. Treat it as a rule of thumb, not a law: a funded launch or a regulated catalog can justify more help earlier.
| Your situation | Usually the best fit | Why |
|---|---|---|
| New on Amazon, a few simple products, a founder with time | DIY, plus one-time projects | An ongoing fee would be too large a share of sales, and what you learn now helps you judge help later |
| Growing, with one clear gap such as advertising or listings | Freelancer or advertising-only help | Specialist skill without a full-service commitment |
| Established on Amazon with no dedicated Amazon team | Full-service agency | A full set of skills for less than hiring each role, plus pattern recognition from many brands |
| A retail or wholesale brand launching on Amazon for the first time | Agency, at least for the launch | Mistakes in catalog setup, pricing and reviews are expensive to undo |
| Selling on Amazon plus Walmart Marketplace, TikTok Shop or your own site | An agency that runs the channels together, or a hybrid | Inventory, pricing and ads need one plan across channels |
| Large brand, hundreds of products, several marketplaces | Hybrid: an in-house lead plus an agency | Daily internal coordination plus specialist depth |
| Very large catalog with a full internal ecommerce department | In-house team, with specialist partners as needed | Scale justifies dedicated staff and tools |
The in-house lead owns inventory forecasts and purchase orders, supplier and retail relationships, internal approvals, and budget priorities.
The agency owns advertising strategy and daily optimization, listing content and creative, catalog issues and Seller Support cases, and reporting and testing.
Many brands start with an agency and bring pieces in-house as they grow; others go the other way after an in-house experiment stalls. Either works if the roles are written down, including what the agency can change without your approval.
Public 2026 pricing guides put most Amazon agency retainers between about $1,500 and $15,000 a month, with enterprise programs at $15,000 to $25,000 or more. Many agencies add a percent of ad spend, commonly 10 to 20%, or a share of sales. Marknology's published rate is $3,000 a month for management or $4,500 with content, plus 3% of growth above your baseline.
It depends on what the fee replaces. Compare the agency's all-in yearly cost with what it would cost to hire and manage the same skills in-house, using the calculator on this page, and with the profit the channel makes today. An agency earns its fee when it covers skills you cannot hire affordably and your profit after the fee grows. For very small accounts the math is tighter, and a strategy-only arrangement or a freelancer can make more sense.
It depends on how many roles you need covered. One in-house generalist can cost less than a full-service agency, but one person rarely covers advertising, creative, catalog and operations well. Once you need two or more specialists, salaries, benefits and tools often add up to more than an agency retainer. Run your own numbers in the calculator on this page.
SupplyKick's 2026 pricing guide puts percent-of-ad-spend fees at 10 to 20%, usually with a minimum retainer. The model is simple, but it pays the agency more when you spend more, whether or not the extra spend is profitable. Marknology does not charge a percent of ad spend.
The core of what a full-service Amazon agency manages: pay-per-click advertising (Sponsored Products, Sponsored Brands, Sponsored Display, and DSP), search engine optimization for Amazon's A9/A10 algorithm, product listing content (titles, bullets, descriptions, and backend keywords), A+ Content and brand store management, inventory performance monitoring, competitive analysis, and strategic planning for promotions, pricing, and new product launches. Some agencies also manage creative production, international expansion, and wholesale or retail media programs.
Ask to speak with a strategist who will actually work on your account, not only the salesperson. Ask for case studies from brands in your category and at your revenue stage. Ask them to explain why a specific metric in your account is trending the way it is right now. Ask what happens if results do not improve. The answers tell you more than any pitch deck.
Advertising changes show impact in 2 to 4 weeks. Listing optimization changes take 4 to 8 weeks to reflect in ranking and conversion data. Significant organic rank improvements from content and SEO work typically show over 60 to 90 days. Brands that change agencies every 30 days because they do not see immediate transformation are not giving the methodology time to work.
Some do. A setup or onboarding fee usually pays for the first 30 to 60 days of audit, catalog cleanup and campaign rebuild. It is fair when it comes with a written list of deliverables and not fair when it does not. Ask for that list before you sign.
No. Ad spend is paid to Amazon and sits on top of any agency fee, so add the two together to see your real monthly marketing cost. Ask whether the agency marks up ad spend; it should not. Marknology's fee never includes or marks up ad spend.
In a hybrid model the brand keeps one strong Amazon lead in-house and uses an agency for specialist work. The in-house lead owns inventory, purchase orders, supplier relationships and budget priorities, while the agency runs advertising, listings and creative, catalog cases and reporting. It works when the split and approval rules are written down.
We start with a 90-day minimum, because Amazon changes take a full cycle to show in the numbers. After that it is month-to-month. We believe clients should stay because the results earn it, not because a contract prevents them from leaving.
Amazon management is $3,000 a month. Management with content included is $4,500 a month. Strategy only, where we direct and your team executes, is $1,500 a month. On top of the retainer we charge 3% of Amazon revenue above your starting baseline, and only in months where the channel is profitable after our fee. Everything starts with a 90-day minimum, then runs month-to-month with 30 days notice.
Your baseline is your trailing three months of Amazon revenue before we start. In any month we grow above it, we charge 3% of the amount above the baseline, billed the following month. If the channel is not profitable that month after Amazon fees, ad spend, and our retainer, the performance fee is zero. A brand with a $50,000 baseline that does $70,000 pays $600 that month.
Advertising spend, Amazon's own fees, and software subscriptions, which pass through at cost. Photography and video production are quoted per project. Fulfillment through our warehouse is billed per unit. Additional marketplaces beyond your home marketplace are $1,000 a month each.
Schedule a strategy call. We will review your account, identify the highest-leverage opportunities, and give you an honest assessment of what we can do and what it would take to do it.
Schedule a Strategy CallYou can also review our approach and the results we have delivered at Why Marknology or compare us against other agencies in our Amazon agency comparison guide.