Amazon Agency Cost: The Real Pricing Breakdown

Nobody in this industry wants to talk about pricing. Agencies hide it behind "request a quote" forms. Sellers have no baseline for what's reasonable. This is the most transparent pricing guide I can write — because the Agency-Burned Skeptic deserves straight answers, not a sales funnel.

I run an agency. I have skin in the game here. But I also think radical transparency is the best sales tool that exists. If you understand exactly what you're paying for and why, you'll make a better decision — whether that's hiring us or someone else.

Common Amazon Agency Pricing Models

There are four main pricing structures in the market. Each has trade-offs.

1. Flat Monthly Fee

How it works: You pay a fixed amount each month regardless of your revenue or ad spend. Typical range: $2,000 - $8,000/month Pros:

• Predictable budgeting

• Your costs don't increase as your revenue grows

• Simple to understand

Cons:

• The agency's incentive isn't directly tied to your growth

• Can feel expensive if you have a slow month

• Some agencies use this to lock in revenue without delivering proportional value

2. Percentage of Revenue

How it works: The agency takes a percentage of your total Amazon revenue (or sometimes just the revenue they influence). Typical range: 3% - 10% of gross revenue Pros:

• Aligned incentives — they only make more when you make more

• Scales naturally with your business

Cons:

• Gets very expensive at scale. At $500K/month, a 5% fee is $25K/month

• Some agencies take credit for organic revenue they didn't influence

• Can incentivize revenue over profitability (pushing sales at negative margin to inflate the fee)

3. Percentage of Ad Spend

How it works: The agency charges a percentage of your total advertising spend as their management fee. Typical range: 10% - 20% of ad spend Pros:

• Directly tied to the scope of work (more ad spend = more management complexity)

• Easy to calculate

Cons:

• Creates a perverse incentive to increase your ad spend whether or not it's profitable

• Doesn't account for listing optimization, catalog strategy, or other non-PPC work

• If they're only managing PPC, this can be reasonable. If they claim full-service, it's incomplete

4. Hybrid Model

How it works: A lower flat fee plus a smaller percentage of revenue or ad spend. Sometimes includes performance bonuses tied to specific KPIs. Typical range: $1,500 - $4,000 base + 2% - 5% of revenue (or 5% - 10% of ad spend) Pros:

• Balances predictability with aligned incentives

• Performance bonuses can reward real results

• Most fair structure for both sides

Cons:

• More complex to evaluate

• Bonus structures can be gamed if KPIs aren't defined carefully

What You Get at Each Price Tier

Here's what the market looks like at different investment levels:

$1,000 - $2,500/month (Entry Level)

• Usually a solo operator or small team

• PPC management only, or limited listing optimization

• Monthly reporting (often templated)

• Limited strategic guidance

• Best for: Sellers doing $20K-$75K/month who need basic PPC help

$2,500 - $5,000/month (Mid-Market)

• Dedicated account manager

• PPC + listing optimization

• Bi-weekly or weekly calls

• Some A+ content support

• Competitive analysis

• Best for: Sellers doing $75K-$250K/month who want meaningful growth

$5,000 - $10,000/month (Professional)

• Senior strategist on account

• Full-service management (PPC, listings, inventory guidance, brand protection)

• Weekly strategy calls

• Custom reporting dashboards

• A+ content, Brand Story, storefront management

• Best for: Sellers doing $250K-$750K/month with serious growth goals

$10,000 - $15,000+/month (Enterprise)

• C-level strategic involvement

• Multi-marketplace management

• DSP management

• Custom AI/automation tools

• Dedicated team (strategist + specialist + analyst)

• Best for: Sellers doing $750K+/month or multi-brand portfolios

Hidden Costs to Watch For

This is where agencies make their real money. Watch for these:

Onboarding fees. Some agencies charge $2,000 - $5,000 upfront for account audits and setup. This can be reasonable if the audit is genuinely thorough. It's a red flag if it's just a cash grab before they've proven anything. Creative fees. A+ content, lifestyle photography, infographics, and video are often billed separately. Ask upfront what's included. A "full-service" agency that bills $1,500 per A+ module on top of their monthly fee isn't really full-service. Tool costs passed through. Some agencies pass through costs for Helium 10, Jungle Scout, or other software. You're already paying them a management fee — their tooling should be their problem, not yours. Contract termination fees. Early termination penalties of 2-3 months are common. Push for month-to-month after an initial 3-month commitment. If they won't agree, ask why they need a contract to keep you. Ad spend minimums. Some agencies require minimum ad spend levels ($10K+ /month) to make their percentage-based fee worthwhile. Make sure this aligns with what your business can actually support profitably.

How to Calculate ROI on Agency Spend

Here's a simple framework:

Step 1: Establish your baseline. What's your current monthly revenue, ad spend, ACoS, and TACoS? Document these before the engagement starts. Step 2: Define incremental value. After 3-6 months, calculate:

• Incremental revenue (current revenue minus baseline)

• Ad spend savings (if ACoS improved)

• Time saved (what's your hourly value? Multiply by hours reclaimed)

Step 3: Calculate return.

• Total incremental value / Total agency cost = ROI multiple

• If this number is below 3x after 6 months, something is wrong

Example:

• Baseline: $150K/month revenue, 30% ACoS, $45K ad spend

• After 6 months: $220K/month revenue, 20% ACoS, $44K ad spend

• Incremental monthly revenue: $70K

• Monthly ad savings: $1K (from efficiency gains)

• Agency cost: $6K/month

• Monthly ROI: ($70K + $1K) / $6K = 11.8x return

Even if you attribute only half the growth to the agency, that's still a 6x return.

What GigaBrands Charges (And Why)

I'm not going to publish our exact pricing here because it varies by account size and scope. But I'll tell you our principles:

• We use a hybrid model. Base fee plus performance component. We want our incentives aligned with yours.

• No long-term lock-in. We earn your business every month.

• No hidden fees. Creative, tools, reporting — it's all included.

• We require $50K+/month in revenue. Below that threshold, the economics don't work for a managed service. We'd rather be honest about that than take your money and underdeliver.

Our investment in AI and automation means we can deliver enterprise-level analysis at mid-market prices. That's not a sales pitch — it's the structural advantage of building technology into operations from day one.

If you want specific numbers for your situation, the fastest path is a 30-minute call where we can actually look at your account and give you a real quote.

Book a free strategy call: https://calendly.com/d/crft-5qs-x9w

Hunter Harris is the founder of GigaBrands, an AI-assisted Amazon growth agency managing 50+ brands with over $205M in total Amazon sales.