For OTTO sellers, the commission is the largest variable cost block in the marketplace business: it is charged on the gross selling price and, depending on the product group, ranges from 7% to 22%. Since October 2024 OTTO has calculated the commission in tiers in many categories, so the effective rate falls as the selling price rises.
How high is the OTTO commission?
The OTTO commission ranges from 7% to 22% of the gross selling price, depending on the product group.
Which rate applies depends solely on the product group an item is assigned to, not on the seller. PC components and electronics sit at the lower end (7%), fashion and jewellery at the upper end (up to 22%). OTTO publishes the full overview of all product groups with their currently applicable commission rates at otto.market/en/howitworks/assortment-overview.html, including a CSV download for further processing.
How are the commission rates set?
OTTO applies the same commission rates to all marketplace sellers; there are no individually negotiated terms.
The rates are defined centrally by OTTO and apply uniformly to every partner. In OTTO Partner Connect (OPC), sellers see the rates currently applicable per product and product group; the seller cannot change the rates themselves. OTTO adjusts the rates occasionally, and affected sellers are informed via OPC. In the "household electronics" product group, for example, the commission was raised in the past from 8% to 15%, a sign that product group assignments should be reviewed regularly.
What is the tiered commission?
With a tiered commission, OTTO applies different commission rates to individual price tiers of the same product, rather than one flat rate to the total price.
Since 1 October 2024 the tiered model has applied in many product groups: the gross selling price is split into tiers, and a separate rate is applied to each tier. As a result, the average commission rate falls as the selling price rises; OTTO's aim is to make higher basket values more attractive. Details and a worked example are in the glossary entry Tiered commission (OTTO).
Marketplace commission vs. payment fee: what is the difference?
The marketplace commission is charged by OTTO GmbH & Co KG, the payment fee by OTTO Payments GmbH; both shares are already included in the published commission rates.
Anyone who looks closely at OTTO's documentation comes across two terms that are easily confused:
- Commission rate (e.g. 19%): The published rate that is deducted from the seller. Already includes the payment fee.
- Payment fee (2.7%): Paid by the seller, in accounting terms, to OTTO Payments GmbH (for payment processing). Deducted from the commission rate before the marketplace commission is determined.
- Marketplace commission: The remaining share that goes to OTTO GmbH & Co KG, i.e. commission rate minus payment fee.
For the seller, the split is in practice only visible in the CSV invoice, in which OTTO has shown twelve separate columns for the commission ranges and average rates since October 2024 (fields such as ProvisionGesamtInEUR, Ø-ProvisionInProzent, Provisionsbasiswert1InEUR). For the profitability calculation, the distinction matters if the seller wants to differentiate between the two OTTO companies in their accounts.
How is the commission settled?
The commission is settled weekly and offset against the payouts via OTTO Payments GmbH.
OTTO invoices the commission retrospectively for the products sold in a calendar week, plus VAT. The invoice documents (PDF voucher + CSV file) are sent by email and are also available in OPC. Unlike the OTTO base fee, the commission is not a fixed-cost item but a function of realised revenue, so it naturally fluctuates with order volume.
What happens with cancellations or returns?
For cancellations or returns, OTTO refunds the associated commission automatically, without any separate action by the seller.
Because OTTO bases the commission on the actual invoice amount (not the list price or the original order value), a full return reverses the entire commission. For partial returns, OTTO refunds the commission share of the returned line item. In the weekly settlement this appears as a negative correction item or as a reduced commission amount on the original order. Profit-tracking tools such as profitkonsole process these corrections automatically via the effective-amount model.
Worked example: EUR 2,000 furniture item with tiered commission
Suppose a product from a product group with tiers of 19/18/17% is sold for EUR 2,000. The calculation looks like this:
| Tier | Share of price | Commission rate | Amount |
|---|---|---|---|
| up to EUR 150 | EUR 150 | 19% | EUR 28.50 |
| EUR 150–500 | EUR 350 | 18% | EUR 63.00 |
| above EUR 500 | EUR 1,500 | 17% | EUR 255.00 |
| Total commission | EUR 2,000 | avg. 17.33% | EUR 346.50 |
Of this, EUR 54 is attributable, in accounting terms, to the payment fee (2.7% of EUR 2,000, settled by OTTO Payments GmbH) and EUR 292.50 to the marketplace commission (avg. 14.63%, charged by OTTO GmbH & Co KG). Instead of a flat calculation of "selling price × 17.33%", the commission is therefore split across two companies and several price tiers, with real consequences for accounting and profit tracking.
Calculate the OTTO commission automatically per SKU
profitkonsole for OTTO handles the product group assignment including tiered commissions automatically and calculates the exact commission per order, including return refunds.
Looking for the full fee overview? OTTO marketplace fees 2026: commissions 7–22% + worked example →
Contribution margin per item
Analyse OTTO sales, commissions and returns. Add your purchase prices and your own shipping costs to see the contribution margin.