The OTTO base fee is the fixed monthly amount every OTTO Market partner pays: EUR 99.90 net per month, regardless of how many products you list or sell. On top of that come commissions per item sold and booked services such as advertising.
From when is the base fee charged?
According to OTTO, the base fee is charged for the first time for the month that begins after the technical enablement for marketplace activity. So it applies as soon as you are technically able to sell products on otto.de, no matter whether or how many products have been uploaded yet. If you are technically activated in March, you pay the first base fee for April.
How is it billed and how does it end?
OTTO invoices the base fee plus VAT. OTTO Payments offsets it against your sales balance; if the balance is not sufficient, it is collected by direct debit. The contract can be terminated with one month's notice to the end of the month. As long as it runs, the base fee is charged, even in months without sales.
Base fee, commission and shipping
- Base fee: EUR 99.90 net per month, fixed
- Commission: 7 to 22% depending on the product group, tiered by price in many groups; the 2.7% payment fee is included, see OTTO commission
- Shipping: 16% commission on the customer-paid shipping share
Where does the base fee belong in the calculation?
Commission and shipping are tied to a sale; the base fee is not. That gives you two levels:
- Contribution margin per item: without the base fee. No single item causes it, so it cannot be sensibly attributed to any item.
- Contribution margin or result of the period: with the base fee, pro rata. For a full calendar month that is EUR 99.90, for a shorter period the share by days.
Example of the pro-rata amount: September has 30 days. For 1 to 10 September that is EUR 99.90 × 10 ÷ 30 = EUR 33.30.
Worked example: a month with few and with many sales
The women's jacket from the article on OTTO fees yields EUR 26.71 contribution margin per unit, before returns and advertising. The quantities are assumptions; it is also assumed that the jacket is your only OTTO item.
| Full calendar month | 5 sales | 200 sales |
|---|---|---|
| Contribution margin of the items (quantity × EUR 26.71) | EUR 133.55 | EUR 5,342.00 |
| – Base fee | −EUR 99.90 | −EUR 99.90 |
| Contribution margin of the month after base fee | EUR 33.65 | EUR 5,242.10 |
The contribution margin per item is the same in both columns. What changes is the share the base fee takes out of the month: with 5 sales roughly three quarters (EUR 99.90 ÷ EUR 133.55 = 74.8%), with 200 sales 1.9% (EUR 99.90 ÷ EUR 5,342.00 = 1.87%). Returns, advertising and your other fixed costs such as warehousing, staff and software have not yet been deducted in this example.
Base fee in the result of the period
The profitkonsole for OTTO accounts for the base fee to the day in the contribution margin and the result of the selected period. In the tables per item and brand the contribution margin is shown without the base fee; in the difference to the total, the base fee is shown as a separate line.
Looking for the complete OTTO fee overview? OTTO Marketplace Fees 2026: Commissions, Base Fee & Real Costs →
Contribution margin per item
Analyse OTTO sales, commissions and returns. Add your purchase prices and your own shipping costs to see the contribution margin.