eBay lets anyone list an item today and takes about 13.6% plus $0.40 when it sells. Walmart Marketplace charges no subscription and 15% in most categories, but only lets in registered US businesses with barcoded products.
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Quick verdict:
- Choose eBay if you sell as an individual, sell used, vintage, collectible or one-of-a-kind items, or want auctions. You can list today with no business paperwork.
- Choose Walmart Marketplace if you run a registered US business with GS1 barcodes and new, repeatable products, especially cheap apparel, consumer electronics or computers, where Walmart’s rates are lower.
- Choose both if you already sell new branded products on eBay as a business. The fees are close in most categories, and Walmart adds a different buyer audience with no monthly bill.
Table of Contents
- Why This Comparison Matters
- Walmart Marketplace Overview
- eBay Overview
- Head-to-Head: Pricing and Fees
- Head-to-Head: Fees on Sample Orders
- Head-to-Head: Features and Fulfillment
- Head-to-Head: Ease of Use and Approval
- Buyer Audience and What Sells
- Who Should Choose Walmart Marketplace?
- Who Should Choose eBay?
- Adding Walmart to an eBay Business
- Key Takeaways
- Frequently Asked Questions
- The Bottom Line
Why This Comparison Matters
Many eBay sellers reach a point where they want a second big US marketplace. Amazon is the obvious choice, but Walmart Marketplace has no monthly subscription, which makes it tempting. The catch is that the two sites want very different sellers.
This guide compares Walmart Marketplace and eBay on the numbers that decide the question. You will see the per-sale fees in the categories small sellers use most, what each site charges before you sell anything, who gets approved, and how fulfillment works. Every fee figure comes from the two companies’ own US seller pages, checked in November 2026.
Here’s how the two compare.
Walmart Marketplace Overview
Walmart Marketplace is the third-party seller program on Walmart.com. Approved sellers list products alongside Walmart’s own inventory and pay a referral fee only when an item sells.
Strengths:
- No subscription. Walmart’s seller site says “there are no setup, monthly, or hidden fees for any sellers.” You pay a percentage referral fee on each completed sale.
- Lower rates in a few big categories. Walmart charges 8% on consumer electronics, 6% on personal computers and 5% on apparel items with a total price of $15 or less, according to its referral fee table.
- A large parent brand. Walmart says about 280 million customers and members visit its stores and eCommerce sites each week. That figure covers more than 10,900 stores and eCommerce sites in 19 countries, not only Walmart.com.
Weaknesses:
- Gated entry. Walmart’s onboarding guide asks for a business tax ID or business license number and says a Social Security number is not accepted. It also lists a “history of Marketplace or eCommerce success” as a requirement.
- Barcodes required. Products need GTIN/UPC numbers that use a GS1 Company Prefix, so cheap resold barcodes and unbranded one-offs are a poor fit.
- New, catalog-style listings. Walmart works best for repeatable products you can stock. It has no auction format.
Pricing summary: $0 per month, with referral fees from 5% to 20% by category and price (15% in most categories). See Walmart’s referral fee page for the full table.
eBay Overview
eBay is an open marketplace where anyone with an account can sell new or used items in fixed-price or auction format. Sellers pay a final value fee when an item sells, plus insertion fees once they pass their free listing allowance.
Strengths:
- Open signup. Individuals can sell without a business tax ID, GS1 barcodes or an application review.
- Used, vintage and collectibles. eBay is built for one-of-a-kind items, auctions and secondhand goods, which Walmart’s catalog model doesn’t handle well.
- Processing included. eBay’s fee page says final value fees include payment processing, so “you don’t have to worry about third-party payment processing fees.”
Weaknesses:
- A per-order fee on top of the percentage. eBay adds $0.30 to orders of $10 or less and $0.40 to orders over $10. That hurts cheap items.
- Listing limits. Sellers get 250 zero insertion fee listings a month. After that, each listing costs $0.35 unless you pay for an eBay Store.
- Performance surcharges. A Below Standard account pays an extra 6% in final value fees the following month, rising to 7% after four or more months in a row.
Pricing summary: $0 per month to start, with a 13.6% final value fee in most categories up to $7,500 per item, plus the per-order fee. Store plans start at $4.95 per month billed yearly. See eBay’s selling fees page.
Head-to-Head: Pricing and Fees
The table below sets the two fee schedules side by side for US sellers. Both marketplaces charge the percentage on the total sale, including shipping the buyer pays. eBay’s base also includes sales tax.
| Fee Type | Walmart Marketplace | eBay |
|---|---|---|
| Monthly plan | $0 | $0 (Store plans optional, from $4.95/mo yearly) |
| Setup fee | $0 | $0 |
| Listing fee | $0 | First 250 listings/mo free, then $0.35 each |
| Default sale fee | 15% referral fee (“Everything Else”) | 13.6% final value fee (“most categories”) |
| Per-order fee | None listed | $0.30 (orders $10 or less) or $0.40 (over $10) |
| Payment processing | No separate fee listed | Included in final value fee |
| Apparel | 5% up to $15, 10% from $15 to $20, 15% over $20 | Category-specific; check eBay’s table |
| Consumer electronics | 8% | Category-specific; check eBay’s table |
| Personal computers | 6% | Category-specific; check eBay’s table |
| Jewelry | 20% up to $250, 5% on the portion above | 15% at $5,000 or less, 9% over $5,000 |
| Watches | 15% up to $1,500, 3% on the portion above | 15% up to $1,000, 6.5% from $1,000 to $7,500, 3% above |
| Books, music, video | 15% | 15.3% up to $7,500 |
| Automotive | 12% | Category-specific; check eBay’s table |
| Performance surcharge | None listed | +6% (Below Standard), +7% after 4+ months |
Sources: Walmart Marketplace referral fees and eBay selling fees, checked November 2026. eBay’s fee page states that all fees are in US dollars.
Disclaimer: Fees change. Always verify current rates on each marketplace’s official pages before you price products. This comparison is general information, not financial or tax advice.
The headline gap is small. In most categories, eBay’s 13.6% plus $0.40 and Walmart’s flat 15% land within 30 cents of each other on a typical $25 to $50 order. The bigger differences show up at the extremes: very cheap items, specific categories, and high-ticket jewelry and watches.
eBay Store plans
An eBay Store is optional. It adds listing allowances, which matter once you list more than 250 items a month.
| eBay Store | Monthly billing | Yearly billing (per month) | Free fixed-price listings/mo (all categories) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Starter | $7.95 | $4.95 | 250 (auction or fixed price) |
| Basic | $27.95 | $21.95 | 1,000 |
| Premium | $74.95 | $59.95 | 10,000 |
| Anchor | $349.95 | $299.95 | 25,000 |
Source: eBay’s Store subscriptions and fees page, checked November 2026.
Walmart has no equivalent fee. A Walmart seller with 5,000 listings pays the same $0 a month as one with 50.
Head-to-Head: Fees on Sample Orders
These examples apply each marketplace’s published rates to a single order. The order total includes buyer-paid shipping. They leave out sales tax (which eBay also charges on), fulfillment, advertising and your own shipping costs.
| Order (total incl. shipping) | Walmart fee | eBay fee | Cheaper |
|---|---|---|---|
| $8 home item | $1.20 (15%) | $1.39 (13.6% + $0.30) | Walmart |
| $25 home item | $3.75 (15%) | $3.80 (13.6% + $0.40) | Walmart, by 5 cents |
| $50 home item | $7.50 (15%) | $7.20 (13.6% + $0.40) | eBay |
| $100 home item | $15.00 (15%) | $14.00 (13.6% + $0.40) | eBay |
| $12 T-shirt | $0.60 (5%) | $2.03 if 13.6% + $0.40 applies | Walmart |
| $100 jewelry piece | $20.00 (20%) | $15.40 (15% + $0.40) | eBay |
| $400 jewelry piece | $57.50 (20% of $250 + 5% of $150) | $60.40 (15% + $0.40) | Walmart |
| $2,000 watch | $240.00 (15% of $1,500 + 3% of $500) | $215.40 (15% of $1,000 + 6.5% of $1,000 + $0.40) | eBay |
On a standard-rate item, Walmart’s flat 15% and eBay’s 13.6% plus $0.40 cost the same at about $28.57. Below that price Walmart is cheaper, mostly because of eBay’s per-order fee. Above it, eBay is cheaper by 1.4% of the extra order value.
Jewelry flips twice. Walmart’s 20% rate on the first $250 makes it more expensive for cheaper pieces, but its 5% rate on the portion above $250 overtakes eBay’s flat 15% at roughly $370. For watches, eBay’s lower 6.5% rate kicks in at $1,000, while Walmart’s 3% rate waits until $1,500.
Here’s the deal: the per-order fee matters most if you sell low-priced items in volume. A seller moving 1,000 orders a month at $10 or less pays $300 a month in eBay per-order fees alone, a charge Walmart’s fee table doesn’t include.
A monthly example
Take a seller with 400 active fixed-price listings and 100 orders a month, each a $40 home item.
- Walmart Marketplace: 100 × $6.00 = $600 in referral fees. Monthly fee: $0. Total: $600.
- eBay with no Store: 100 × ($5.44 + $0.40) = $584 in final value fees, plus 150 listings over the free 250 × $0.35 = $52.50. Total: $636.50.
- eBay with a Basic Store (yearly billing): $584 + $21.95 = $605.95, because Basic covers 1,000 fixed-price listings.
At this volume the two are within $6 a month once the eBay seller picks the right Store plan. Insertion fees on relisted auctions and fixed-price renewals can push eBay higher for sellers who churn listings often.
Head-to-Head: Features and Fulfillment
The two marketplaces suit different inventory, and their tools reflect that.
| Feature | Walmart Marketplace | eBay |
|---|---|---|
| Listing formats | Fixed price catalog listings | Fixed price and auction |
| Used and vintage goods | Limited; catalog built around new products | Core strength |
| Product identifiers | GS1 GTIN/UPC required | Not required for many used or one-off items |
| Marketplace fulfillment | Walmart Fulfillment Services (WFS) | Sellers ship their own orders or use a third-party fulfillment service |
| Shipping promise | WFS “picks, packs and ships orders in two days or less” | Set by the seller’s handling time and service |
| Returns | WFS returns at Walmart’s 4,600+ US stores | Seller-managed returns through eBay |
| International buyers | Built around Walmart.com in the US | eBay International Shipping or a 1.65% international fee when you don’t use it |
| Ads | Walmart Connect sponsored products | Promoted Listings |
WFS is Walmart’s biggest feature advantage. You send inventory to Walmart, and it handles picking, packing, shipping and returns. Walmart says WFS has no setup or monthly fees and claims its rates run 15% below other marketplace fulfillment providers, based on its own data for July 2024 to June 2025. Fulfillment and storage are charged per unit, so use Walmart’s WFS page and cost estimator with your product dimensions.
eBay’s advantage is format flexibility. An auction lets the market set the price on a rare item, and buyers search eBay for used and discontinued goods that Walmart’s catalog doesn’t carry.
Head-to-Head: Ease of Use and Approval
eBay gets you selling faster. You open an account, add payout details and list. Most sellers can post their first item the same day.
Walmart Marketplace starts with an application. Walmart’s onboarding guide lists what you need:
- A copy of a personal ID.
- A business tax ID or business license number (SSN not accepted).
- Your business entity classification.
- Documents that verify your business name and address.
- A history of marketplace or eCommerce success.
- GTIN/UPC barcodes using a GS1 Company Prefix.
- A US warehouse that handles returns and meets Walmart’s performance standards, or WFS.
Walmart’s guide doesn’t publish a review time. Plan on waiting for approval before you can list, and expect Walmart to ask for extra documents such as an IRS EIN letter.
For a brand-new seller, eBay is the only realistic option of the two. Walmart’s “history of eCommerce success” requirement means many sellers build a track record on eBay or another marketplace before applying.
After approval, Walmart’s Seller Center handles listings in bulk through spreadsheets, integrations or item setup by matching existing catalog entries. eBay’s listing flow is quicker for single items, and its Seller Hub covers listings, orders and performance in one place.
Buyer Audience and What Sells
eBay reported 147 million active buyers for the quarter ended September 30, 2026, in its October 28, 2026 earnings release filed with the SEC. That count includes Depop, which eBay bought from Etsy on July 30, 2026. Excluding Depop and Tise, eBay’s own table puts active buyers at 136 million. eBay buyers often search for specific used, collectible or hard-to-find items, and they are used to auctions and offers.
Walmart says about 280 million customers and members visit its stores and websites each week, across stores and eCommerce sites in 19 countries. That number measures visits to all of Walmart, not just Walmart.com marketplace shoppers, so the two counts measure different things.
The buyer intent differs too. Walmart.com shoppers tend to buy everyday new goods, often next to Walmart’s own low-priced inventory. If your products compete on price with items Walmart already stocks, expect a tough fight for the buy box.
Match the product to the buyer. New, branded, repeatable products fit Walmart. Used, vintage, collectible and one-of-a-kind items fit eBay.
Who Should Choose Walmart Marketplace?
- Registered US businesses with GS1 barcodes that sell new products and can pass Walmart’s application.
- Low-priced apparel sellers. Walmart’s 5% rate on apparel at $15 or less is far below eBay’s standard fee on cheap orders.
- Electronics and computer sellers who benefit from Walmart’s 8% and 6% rates.
- Sellers who want outsourced fulfillment through WFS, with in-store returns.
- High-volume catalogs that would need a paid eBay Store just to cover listing allowances.
Who Should Choose eBay?
- Individuals and side sellers without a business tax ID or GS1 barcodes.
- Resellers of used, vintage and collectible items, including trading cards, coins and parts.
- Sellers who want auctions to price rare items.
- Sellers of mid- and high-priced standard items above about $29, where 13.6% plus $0.40 beats 15%.
- New sellers building a track record before applying to Walmart.
If you are weighing eBay against other resale options, see our Mercari vs eBay and Poshmark vs eBay comparisons.
Adding Walmart to an eBay Business
Most sellers don’t move from eBay to Walmart. They add Walmart as a second channel for their new, barcoded products. Here’s a practical order of steps.
- Split your catalog. Separate new, repeatable products with GS1 barcodes from used and one-off items. Only the first group belongs on Walmart.
- Check your barcodes. Confirm your UPCs come from your own GS1 Company Prefix. Walmart lists this as a requirement.
- Gather business documents. Have your business tax ID, entity type, and proof of business name and address ready before you apply.
- Price each product by category. Look up the Walmart referral rate for each item. Apparel, electronics and computers may let you price lower on Walmart, while cheap jewelry may need a higher price.
- Decide on fulfillment. Ship from your own US warehouse or send stock to WFS. If you choose WFS, run the cost estimator first.
- Sync inventory. Use a multichannel tool or your own spreadsheet process so an item that sells on eBay comes off Walmart, and the reverse.
- Start small. List your best sellers first, watch your Walmart performance metrics, then expand.
A realistic timeline is a few weeks from application to first Walmart sale, depending on how quickly Walmart reviews your documents and how long catalog setup takes.
Key Takeaways
On a standard-rate item, Walmart’s 15% and eBay’s 13.6% + $0.40 cost the same at about $28.57. Cheaper orders favor Walmart; pricier orders favor eBay.
- Neither marketplace charges a required monthly fee. eBay’s Store plans are optional and mainly buy listing allowances.
- Walmart requires a business tax ID, GS1 barcodes and an eCommerce track record. eBay requires none of these.
- Walmart’s apparel, electronics and computer rates undercut eBay’s standard fee.
- eBay’s jewelry and watch tiers beat Walmart’s on cheaper jewelry and on watches above $1,000, while Walmart wins on jewelry above about $370.
- WFS gives Walmart sellers outsourced fulfillment and in-store returns. eBay sellers ship their own orders or hire a third-party fulfillment service.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Walmart Marketplace cheaper than eBay?
It depends on price and category. On standard-rate items, Walmart’s 15% is cheaper below about $28.57 per order and eBay’s 13.6% plus $0.40 is cheaper above it. Walmart is clearly cheaper on low-priced apparel, electronics and computers.
Does Walmart Marketplace charge a monthly fee?
No. Walmart’s seller site says there are no setup, monthly or hidden fees for any sellers. You pay a referral fee only when an item sells.
Does eBay charge a monthly fee?
Not unless you choose an eBay Store. Store plans start at $4.95 per month billed yearly and add more free listings. Without a Store you get 250 zero insertion fee listings a month.
Can individuals sell on Walmart Marketplace?
Not without a registered business. Walmart asks for a business tax ID or business license number and says a Social Security number is not accepted. eBay lets individuals sell with a personal account.
Do I need UPC barcodes to sell on Walmart?
Yes. Walmart’s seller requirements say products must have GTIN/UPC numbers that use a GS1 Company Prefix. Barcodes bought from unofficial resellers may not qualify.
Which marketplace is better for used items?
eBay. Its listing system, auction format and buyer base are built around used, vintage and collectible goods. Walmart’s marketplace is set up for new, catalog-style products.
What is eBay’s per-order fee?
eBay adds $0.30 to orders of $10.00 or less and $0.40 to orders over $10.00. It is charged on top of the percentage final value fee.
Does Walmart have a fulfillment service like Amazon FBA?
Yes. Walmart Fulfillment Services (WFS) stores, picks, packs and ships your orders, and Walmart says it ships orders in two days or less. Fulfillment and storage fees are charged per unit. For a closer look at how Walmart compares with Amazon, read our Walmart Marketplace vs Amazon guide.
Can I sell the same products on Walmart and eBay at the same time?
Yes. Many sellers list new products on both. Use inventory sync so an item that sells on one marketplace is removed from the other, which avoids overselling and protects your performance scores.
Are there hidden fees on either marketplace?
Neither has a hidden fee, but both have costs outside the headline rate. eBay adds per-order fees, insertion fees past your free allowance, a 1.65% international fee when you don’t use eBay International Shipping, and surcharges for poor performance. On Walmart, WFS fulfillment, storage and advertising are separate.
Which is better for beginners?
eBay. You can sign up and list the same day with no business paperwork. Walmart’s requirements, including an eCommerce track record, make it a better second step.
How does eBay compare with Amazon on fees?
Amazon charges a $39.99 monthly fee on its Professional plan, and its referral rates differ by category. Our Amazon vs eBay comparison covers that pairing in detail.
The Bottom Line
If you are new, sell as an individual, or deal in used, vintage or collectible items, choose eBay. You can list today, keep your listings in auction or fixed-price format, and pay 13.6% plus $0.40 in most categories.
If you run a registered US business with GS1 barcodes and new products, Walmart Marketplace is worth the application. It charges no monthly fee, undercuts eBay on cheap apparel, electronics and computers, and offers WFS fulfillment with in-store returns. For many established sellers of new goods, the answer is both: eBay for reach and flexibility, Walmart as a second channel.
Compare your own numbers before you decide. Start with Walmart’s referral fee table and eBay’s selling fees page, then plug in your product’s price and category.
Compare more marketplaces on the CartCompare blog
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About This Research
Chloe Cruz has spent four years writing about eCommerce. LinkedIn
This comparison is based on Walmart Marketplace’s US referral fee table, seller requirements and fulfillment pages, eBay’s US selling fees and Store subscription pages, and eBay’s third-quarter 2026 earnings release, all checked in November 2026. The fee examples apply those published rates to sample order totals and leave out sales tax, fulfillment, advertising and shipping costs, which vary by product.
Content reviewed and updated: 2026-11-06
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