Summary
“Amazon and Walmart Marketplace both offer huge built-in traffic, but they differ sharply on fees, approval requirements, and advertising options. This guide compares both platforms on the factors that matter most to a new brand deciding where to sell first.”
If you’re launching a new brand online, the first big decision isn’t your product photos or your pricing it’s where you sell. Amazon and Walmart Marketplace are the two biggest options for US sellers, and both promise access to millions of shoppers. But they are not interchangeable.
Amazon gives you scale and a mature seller ecosystem, but it also means higher competition and thinner margins in many categories. Walmart Marketplace offers lower competition and a fast-growing customer base, but its approval process is stricter and its ad ecosystem is younger.
Amazon Marketplace at a Glance
Reach and Traffic
Amazon remains the largest online marketplace in the US, with a customer base built over two decades. Shoppers on Amazon are used to searching directly on the platform rather than starting with Google, which means strong organic visibility inside Amazon search can drive consistent sales without heavy ad spend once your listing is optimized.
Fee Structure
Amazon charges a referral fee per sale, which typically ranges from 8% to 15% depending on category. Sellers using Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA) also pay fulfillment fees based on product size and weight, plus monthly storage fees. There’s also a standard $39.99/month professional selling plan for most sellers.
Approval and Account Setup
Amazon’s seller registration is open to most sellers, though certain categories (like grocery, jewelry, or supplements) require additional approval, documentation, or invoicing history. This makes Amazon relatively easy to enter, but harder to differentiate in once you’re inside.
Brand Tools on Amazon
New brands that register for Amazon Brand Registry gain access to enhanced content (A+ Content), brand analytics, and stronger protection against listing hijacking. This is worth setting up early, since it also unlocks Sponsored Brands ads and Amazon Storefronts, both of which help a new brand look more established to shoppers comparing similar products.
Walmart Marketplace at a Glance
Reach and Traffic
Walmart Marketplace is smaller than Amazon in total shopper volume, but it’s growing quickly. Walmart’s core customer base skews toward value-focused, everyday shoppers, and the platform has been investing heavily in its online experience, including Walmart+ membership perks that mirror Amazon Prime.
Fee Structure
Walmart’s referral fees are generally competitive with Amazon’s, often in the 6% to 15% range depending on category. Sellers using Walmart Fulfillment Services (WFS) pay fulfillment and storage fees similar in structure to Amazon’s FBA, though pricing details vary by product type and should be checked against Walmart’s current seller documentation.
Approval and Account Setup
This is where Walmart differs most from Amazon. Walmart Marketplace uses an application-based approval process. New sellers need to submit business details, and Walmart evaluates factors like product catalog quality, business history, and fulfillment capability before granting access. This creates a higher barrier to entry, but it also means less competition once you’re approved, since not every seller who wants in gets in.
Brand Tools on Walmart
Sellers who maintain strong performance metrics can earn the Walmart Pro Seller badge, which signals reliability to shoppers and can improve visibility in search results. Walmart also offers Brand Shop pages, similar in concept to Amazon Storefronts, letting brands present a curated catalog page instead of relying solely on individual product listings.
Amazon vs Walmart Marketplace Sellers Side-by-Side Comparison
| Factor | Amazon | Walmart Marketplace |
|---|---|---|
| Shopper base | Larger, global reach | Smaller but growing, mostly US |
| Seller approval | Mostly open, category gating for some | Application-based, more selective |
| Referral fees | ~8–15%, category-dependent | ~6–15%, category-dependent |
| Fulfillment | Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA) | Walmart Fulfillment Services (WFS) |
| Advertising platform | Amazon Ads (Sponsored Products, Brands) | Walmart Connect |
| Competition level | High, saturated in most categories | Lower in many categories |
| Brand tools | Amazon Brand Registry, Storefronts | Walmart Pro Seller badge, Brand Shop |
| Monthly seller fee | $39.99 (Professional plan) | No standard monthly fee at time of writing |
Fee ranges and program terms change periodically. Confirm current numbers on each platform’s official seller documentation before making a decision.
Advertising Options: Walmart Connect vs Amazon Ads
Advertising is often the deciding factor for new brands, since organic visibility alone rarely drives enough early sales.
Amazon Ads is a mature, highly competitive system. Sponsored Products and Sponsored Brands campaigns can work well, but cost-per-click has risen steadily as more sellers compete for the same keywords. New brands often need a real ad budget just to get initial traction, which is a core part of any amazon vs walmart marketplace sellers decision.
Walmart Connect, Walmart’s advertising platform, is newer and less saturated. This generally means lower cost-per-click and more affordable testing for new brands. It’s also tightly integrated with Walmart’s in-store and online data, giving sellers audience targeting based on real purchase behavior. A solid walmart advertising strategy right now can take advantage of this lower competition before more sellers catch on and costs rise.
For brands building out a broader walmart marketplace strategy, pairing early product listings with a focused Walmart Connect campaign is usually more cost-efficient than trying to compete on Amazon Ads from day one with a limited budget.
Which Platform Fits Your Brand?
There’s no universal right answer — the better platform depends on your brand’s stage and category.
If you have a limited ad budget: Walmart Marketplace is often the more forgiving starting point, since ad costs are typically lower and competition is thinner in many categories.
If your product is highly differentiated or niche: Amazon’s larger search volume can help a well-optimized niche listing get discovered faster, even amid heavy competition.
If you’re an established brand with existing fulfillment infrastructure: Running both platforms simultaneously often makes sense, since Amazon and Walmart Marketplace largely reach different segments of shoppers rather than cannibalizing the same audience.
If you’re still validating demand for your product: It’s worth confirming real market interest before committing resources to either platform’s approval process and fulfillment setup. A quick product validation check can save you from investing in inventory and ads for a product that doesn’t have proven pull.
Walmart Ecommerce Growth Trends to Watch
Walmart’s ecommerce business has been one of the fastest-growing parts of its overall business in recent years, driven by investments in fulfillment speed, Walmart+ membership, and marketplace expansion. Search interest around Walmart ecommerce growth and Walmart vs Amazon sellers has been climbing as more brands look for alternatives to Amazon’s rising fees and ad costs.
This doesn’t mean Walmart will overtake Amazon in scale anytime soon. But for new brands, “less saturated and growing” is often a better combination than “largest but most competitive.” Getting established on Walmart Marketplace now, while competition is lower, can position a brand well as the platform continues to expand.
Common Mistakes New Sellers Make on Either Platform
Before you launch, it helps to know where most new sellers stumble, regardless of which marketplace they pick:
- Underestimating fulfillment costs. Both FBA and WFS fees can eat into margins quickly if your product’s size, weight, or storage duration wasn’t factored into pricing from the start.
- Launching without a clear pricing strategy. Referral fees, ad spend, and fulfillment costs all need to be accounted for before setting a retail price, not after.
- Ignoring listing quality. On both platforms, incomplete titles, weak images, or missing bullet points hurt conversion rate and organic ranking, regardless of ad spend.
- Spreading the budget too thin. New sellers sometimes try to run full campaigns on both Amazon Ads and Walmart Connect at once with a limited budget, which usually yields weak results on both rather than strong results on one.
- Skipping performance tracking. Both platforms provide seller dashboards with conversion and traffic data. Reviewing this weekly in the first few months catches problems early, before they compound.
Multichannel Selling: Running Both Platforms Together
Many established brands eventually list on both Amazon and Walmart Marketplace, since the two platforms tend to attract different types of shoppers rather than competing for the same customer. A multichannel selling strategy also reduces dependency on a single platform’s policy changes, fee increases, or algorithm shifts.
That said, running both from day one isn’t usually the right move for a brand new seller with limited resources. It’s generally more effective to prove your product and pricing model on one platform first, then expand once you have real sales data, reviews, and a repeatable advertising process to carry over.
Quick Decision Checklist
Use this as a fast gut-check before choosing where to launch:
- Is your ad budget under $1,000/month for the first few months? Lean toward Walmart Marketplace.
- Does your product already have strong demand and reviews elsewhere? Amazon’s search volume can accelerate visibility.
- Can you meet Walmart’s application requirements (business history, catalog quality) right now? If not, Amazon’s more open registration process may help you sell faster.
- Do you have fulfillment infrastructure or inventory ready for both FBA and WFS? If yes, consider testing both in parallel.
- Is your category highly saturated on Amazon (apparel, supplements, phone accessories)? Walmart Marketplace may offer an easier path to visibility.
Final Verdict: Amazon, Walmart, or Both?
For most new brands, the honest answer is that Amazon and Walmart Marketplace solve different problems. Amazon offers scale and search volume at the cost of higher competition and advertising spend. Walmart Marketplace offers a lower-competition entry point with a stricter approval process, but real upside if you get in early.
If you only have the resources to launch on one platform first, base the decision on your budget and product category using the comparison above. If you already have a proven product and are ready to scale, running both marketplaces in parallel is increasingly the norm rather than the exception among growing brands.
Whichever platform you choose, treat your launch as a test, track your fees, ad spend, and conversion rate closely in the first 60–90 days, and be ready to adjust your Walmart Marketplace strategy or Amazon approach based on real performance data rather than assumptions.
