The Selling Partner API (SP-API) is Amazon's REST-based API for sellers, vendors, and the developers who build tools for them. It replaced the older Marketplace Web Service (MWS) and covers orders, listings, inventory, fulfillment, reports, finances, and vendor purchase orders. If you sell on Amazon and want order and inventory data to move between Amazon and your ERP without someone exporting reports, SP-API is how that connection works today.
Two things changed in 2026 that any SP-API plan should account for. Amazon released a new Orders API version with a migration deadline in March 2027, and it announced, then cancelled, a fee structure for third-party developers. Both are covered below, along with the core APIs and when Amazon vendors should use EDI instead.
What changed in 2026
Orders API v2026-01-01 and the March 2027 deadline
In January 2026, Amazon launched a new version of the Orders API. Per the SP-API release notes, it simplifies ten operations into two: getOrder and searchOrders. A single getOrder call now returns complete order and item information, which cuts the number of requests and helps with throttling.
Amazon's announcement lists a few other practical changes: selective data fetching through includedData parameters, package and tracking information for merchant-fulfilled orders, and a simpler access model for buyer PII that no longer routes through the Tokens API. The v0 operations most integrations rely on today (getOrders, getOrder, getOrderItems, getOrderAddress, getOrderBuyerInfo, and getOrderItemsBuyerInfo) are scheduled for removal, and integrations must migrate by March 27, 2027.
If your order sync was built a few years ago, assume it uses v0. Ask whoever maintains it for a migration date now, because the deadline falls right after the holiday season when nobody wants to touch order flow.
The 2026 developer fees that never arrived
On November 3, 2025, Amazon announced that third-party developers would pay a $1,400 annual subscription starting January 31, 2026, plus monthly fees based on GET call volume starting April 30, 2026. Tiers ranged up from a Basic tier that included 2.5 million GET calls a month, with overage at $0.40 per thousand calls, as Shopifreaks summarized at the time.
After developer pushback, Amazon reversed course in May 2026 and said it would not move forward with the usage and annual fees. The fees applied only to third-party developers building tools for other sellers. Sellers using SP-API for their own accounts were never in scope.
The practical takeaway: nobody is paying SP-API fees today, but the episode is a good reason to keep your integration efficient. Subscribing to notifications instead of polling, and fetching only the fields you need, keeps you inside rate limits now and protects you if Amazon revisits pricing.
The SP-API sections most sellers use
SP-API is a collection of APIs. These are the ones that come up in nearly every seller integration.
API | What it does | Typical use |
|---|---|---|
Orders | Retrieves orders and order items | Pull Amazon orders into your ERP or OMS as sales orders |
Listings Items | Creates and updates listings, including price and quantity | Push price and available inventory from your ERP |
Catalog Items | Looks up product data in Amazon's catalog | Match your SKUs to ASINs; check attributes |
Feeds | Uploads data in bulk | Large listing, price, or inventory updates |
Reports | Requests and downloads reports | Sales, inventory, settlement, and returns data for finance and planning |
Notifications | Sends events when something changes | React to new orders or listing issues instead of polling |
Fulfillment Inbound | Creates inbound shipment plans to FBA | Send replenishment to Amazon fulfillment centers |
Finances | Returns financial events and transactions | Reconcile payouts, fees, and refunds in your accounting system |
Amazon's SP-API changelog is the place to watch for new versions and deprecations. Reading it monthly is a reasonable habit for anyone who owns an integration.
SP-API for Amazon vendors (1P)
If you sell to Amazon as a vendor through Vendor Central, Amazon is your retail customer and sends you purchase orders. SP-API has a separate set of vendor APIs for that relationship. Amazon's documentation groups them into Vendor Retail Procurement (orders, shipments, invoices, and transaction status) and Vendor Direct Fulfillment, where you ship directly to Amazon's customers.
Vendors can usually choose between these APIs and traditional EDI for the same business documents. The table shows how they line up.
Business step | EDI document | SP-API equivalent |
|---|---|---|
Amazon sends a purchase order | Vendor Orders API | |
You confirm or adjust the PO | Vendor Orders API (acknowledgments) | |
You tell Amazon what shipped | Vendor Shipments API | |
You bill Amazon | Vendor Invoices API | |
You report stock | Vendor Direct Fulfillment Inventory API (for direct fulfillment) |
Should a vendor use EDI or SP-API?
If you already trade EDI with other retailers, adding Amazon as another EDI partner usually makes sense. Your maps, monitoring, and team processes already exist, and Amazon becomes one more partner on the same rails. See our Amazon EDI requirements page, and Amazon Advantage if that program applies to you.
SP-API vendor APIs fit better when Amazon is your only retail partner and you have developers who prefer JSON over X12, or when you need data that the EDI documents do not carry. Plenty of brands run both: EDI for the purchase order cycle and SP-API for reports and analytics. Our post on why modern brands need both EDI and API walks through how the two work side by side.
How to get SP-API access
Access starts with registering as a developer in Amazon's Solution Provider Portal and creating an application. Amazon distinguishes between private developers, who build for their own selling account, and public developers, who build tools for other sellers. Applications request roles that control which data they can reach, and access to restricted data such as buyer names and addresses requires additional review.
Once registered, sellers authorize an application through Login with Amazon (LWA), and the application uses LWA tokens on every call. Amazon's SP-API general FAQ covers the registration paths for sellers and vendors and links to the use case guide for each API.
What to plan for if you build it yourself
SP-API is well documented, and a capable developer can get an order sync running quickly. Keeping it running is the larger cost. Plan for these:
Rate limits. Each operation has its own throttle. Integrations that poll aggressively hit them first, especially across several marketplaces.
Version churn. The Orders API migration is one example. Amazon deprecates and replaces API versions regularly, and each one is a small project.
PII rules. Buyer data has stricter access and retention requirements than order data, so design for that from day one.
Error handling. Failed calls and partial responses need retries and alerts, or orders go missing quietly.
Mapping into your ERP. The SP-API side is the easy part. Matching ASINs to SKUs, posting fees and refunds correctly, and reconciling settlements is where the time goes.
Industry estimates for a basic custom build vary widely. One seller-tools vendor puts a simple monitoring integration at $3,000 to $15,000 upfront plus ongoing maintenance; a full order-to-cash integration with your ERP runs higher.
Connecting Amazon to the rest of your channels
For most brands, Amazon is one channel among several. The same ERP that takes Amazon orders also takes 850s from Walmart and Target, ships through a 3PL, and invoices everyone. Running Amazon on its own custom integration and retail on EDI means two sets of maps, two places to look when something breaks, and two processes for your team.
Surpass connects Amazon (through SP-API or EDI, depending on your relationship) and your retail EDI partners to your ERP through one managed service. Americanflat's marketplace integration is a good example of how that looks in practice, and our B2B SaaS and consumer goods pages cover the industries we support. If you also sell on TikTok Shop, our TikTok Shop order tracking guide covers that side.
If you would like help scoping an Amazon integration or planning your Orders API migration, talk to our team.
Frequently asked questions
What is the Amazon SP-API?
The Selling Partner API is Amazon's REST-based API that lets sellers, vendors, and authorized developers access orders, listings, inventory, reports, finances, and fulfillment data programmatically.
Is the Amazon SP-API free?
Yes. Amazon announced annual and usage fees for third-party developers in November 2025, then cancelled them in May 2026 before any charges took effect. Sellers using SP-API for their own accounts were never subject to those fees.
What replaced Amazon MWS?
SP-API replaced Amazon Marketplace Web Service. MWS is retired, so new and existing integrations should use SP-API.
What is the Orders API v2026-01-01?
It is the new version of the SP-API Orders API, released in January 2026. It consolidates order retrieval into getOrder and searchOrders, and integrations using Orders API v0 must migrate by March 27, 2027.
Can Amazon vendors use SP-API instead of EDI?
Yes. Vendor Central partners can exchange purchase orders, acknowledgments, shipment confirmations, and invoices through the vendor APIs or through EDI. Many vendors that already trade EDI with other retailers keep Amazon on EDI for consistency.
What is the difference between SP-API and PA-API?
SP-API is for sellers and vendors managing their business on Amazon. The Product Advertising API (PA-API) is for affiliates and publishers who display Amazon products and earn commissions.
Do I need a developer to use SP-API?
To build an integration, yes. Many sellers instead use software or a managed integration provider that has already built and maintains the SP-API connection.
Where is the SP-API documentation?
Amazon publishes it at developer-docs.amazon.com/sp-api, including use case guides for each API, release notes, and the deprecation schedule.
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