A simple, practical guide to decide where your product will make more profit.

If you want scale and global reach, Amazon marketplace is usually the path. If you want better margins faster and less cutthroat competition, Walmart Marketplace is often the smarter first move.

From my experience working with sellers, I’ve noticed that many brands assume Amazon is always the best place to start, but when we actually calculate their margins and ad budgets, Walmart often ends up giving them faster profitability with much less pressure.

At a Glance: Main Differences

What Sellers Care About?

Fees & profit

Sellers want to know how much they keep after fees. Walmart usually charges lower referral fees and doesn’t force a monthly subscription, while Amazon has multiple fees (referral + FBA (Fulfillment by Amazon) + storage + subscription). That affects your profit from day one.

In many fee breakdowns I’ve done for sellers, I’ve seen that even a $100–$200 difference per order can completely change profitability. Some sellers were losing money on Amazon but became profitable the moment they switched the same SKU to Walmart because WFS (Walmart Fulfillment Services) fees were lower.

Competition & visibility

Amazon has many sellers fighting for the same keywords. That means you may need to spend on ads to rank. Walmart has fewer sellers in many categories, so you can get visibility faster without burning your ad budget. I’ve seen even strong Amazon sellers struggle to get impressions because competition is so high, while the same products on Walmart gained visibility much faster with almost zero ad spend.

How the Marketplaces Show Products?

Amazon’s search system

Amazon’s search is built to sell — it looks at keywords, how well your product converts, recent sales, price, fulfillment method (FBA helps), reviews, and stock. If your product doesn’t sell, it won’t rank. That’s why ads are often needed to kickstart sales. Learn more about how Amazon’s ranking works here.

Walmart’s ranking

Walmart focuses on price, product availability, fast shipping, and seller performance. Because there are fewer sellers, good listings with right price + WFS can move up quickly.

Buy Box basics

Buy Box = where shoppers click Add to cart. Amazon’s Buy Box is fiercely competitive and depends on price, fulfillment, and seller health. Walmart’s Buy Box is easier to capture because fewer sellers compete on each SKU (Stock Keeping Unit).

Fulfillment: FBA vs WFS

• FBA (Fulfillment by Amazon): Great reach and customer trust. More fees and more rules (storage/surcharges).

• WFS (Walmart Fulfillment Services): Cheaper per unit in many cases, good 2-day delivery benefits, and fewer extra fees.

If your product is low margin, WFS often keeps profits healthier. If you want international scale and won’t mind costs, FBA helps you scale faster.

Advertising

Amazon Ads give big reach through formats like Sponsored Products and DSP (Demand-Side Platform), but CPCs (Cost Per Click) is higher because many sellers bid on the same keywords. You must watch your ACoS (Advertising Cost of Sales) and profit margins closely.

Walmart Connect has lower CPCs and can give higher ROI (Return on Investment) early on, especially for sellers who don’t have a huge ad budget.

Listing & conversion basics sellers must do

• Title with main keywords and benefit.

• 5 product bullets that answer “Why buy?”

• 5–7 high-quality images + 1 short demo video.

• Backend search terms (Amazon) and complete attribute fields (Walmart).

• Stay competitive with pricing, but safeguard your margins. Any automated pricing should have a firm minimum limit so your price never goes too low.

• Get early reviews the right way — request them through Amazon’s or Walmart’s official tools only. Never incentivize or influence reviews. Follow each platform’s review guidelines to avoid penalties.

Risks every seller must know

• Account suspensions and listing suppression (both platforms).

• Return abuse and refunds.

• Inventory limits (FBA) if you don’t manage IPI/stock.

• Strict onboarding or documentation requests (Walmart).

Quick seller scenarios

• Low-margin fast-moving goods (e.g., household consumables) → Start with Walmart for better margins.

• Niche products with high perceived value → Amazon can reach more relevant buyers.

• Small budget for ads → Walmart gives better ROI early.

• Brand that plans global expansion → Amazon has more options to scale.

Final Thoughts

• If you want margins and lower ad spend, start selling on Walmart Marketplace first.

• If you need volume, international reach, and more brand-building tools, plan to sell on Amazon as well.

• The safest approach: start where your product fits better (category + margin) and expand to the other marketplace once you have a proven SKU and process.

• Focus first on listing quality, stock planning, and clear unit economics — these beat hacks and quick tricks.

• Track these weekly: sessions, conversion rate, Buy Box %, ad spend (ACoS), margin per order.