FBA capacity limits decide how much inventory Amazon lets you send, and at 10,000 units a month a tight limit can block a shipment you already paid to make. Amazon also charges a fee when you run too lean, so the target is a narrow band: enough stock to stay above 28 days of supply, without going over the cap.
This guide covers how Amazon sets the limit (checked against Seller Central in October 2026), what counts against it, and the replenishment math that fits a high-volume catalog inside it.
FBA capacity limits cap the cubic feet of inventory you can have at Amazon each month, per storage type, counting stock on hand plus shipments in transit and open shipments. Amazon sets them from your IPI score, sales history, forecasts and lead time. To stay in stock, keep 28 to 60 days of supply in FBA, ship smaller loads weekly, and use Capacity Manager for peaks.
What are FBA capacity limits?
They are a monthly cap, in cubic feet, on how much inventory you can store and send to Amazon's fulfillment centers. You get one limit per storage type: standard-size, oversize, apparel, footwear and extra-large. Capacity can't be moved between storage types, and dangerous goods (flammable and aerosol) are handled separately.
| Account | Capacity limit |
|---|---|
| Individual selling plan | 15 cubic feet, fixed, not eligible for increases |
| Professional, in FBA under 39 weeks | No capacity limits while Amazon builds your sales record |
| Professional, in FBA 39 weeks or more | A monthly limit per storage type, shown in the Capacity Monitor |
Source: Amazon Seller Central, FBA capacity limits, checked October 21, 2026. To find a product's volume, multiply length x width x height in inches and divide by 1,728.
How does Amazon calculate your FBA capacity limit?
Amazon sets it from your IPI score plus historical sales volume, seasonal patterns, ASIN forecasts, new selection, scheduled deals, fulfillment center capacity and shipment lead time. It doesn't publish a formula.
Limits are typically announced in the fourth week of the month, in the Capacity Monitor at the bottom of the FBA dashboard and by email. Each announcement confirms next month's limit, reaffirms or adjusts the following month's estimate, and adds an estimate for the month after. Multi-Channel Fulfillment orders count in the sales history and forecasts used to set it.
On IPI: Amazon's capacity page says the score influences your limit but names no cutoff. The 400 and 350 thresholds quoted across 2026 articles, and in Google's AI Overview, aren't on Amazon's capacity pages. What Amazon does publish is a guideline to hold 30 to 60 days of expected sales and to treat anything over 90 days of supply as excess.
What counts against your capacity limit?
Everything on hand at Amazon plus everything on its way, including shipments you've created but not sent. If on-hand plus inbound exceeds your limit, you're blocked from creating new shipments, and you're also blocked if a single new shipment would push you over.
- Open shipments count. Cancel any shipment you no longer plan to send; it frees capacity right away.
- Removal orders free space fast. They are reflected in capacity usage within 24 hours of creation, even while pending.
- Returns add back. Customer returns are added to capacity usage when they are received.
- AWD auto-replenishment is exempt. Inventory moved from Amazon Warehousing and Distribution to FBA through Auto-Replenishment is exempt from FBA capacity limits; manual replenishments from AWD are not (Replenishment from AWD to FBA).
How much capacity does a 10,000-unit-a-month seller need?
Roughly 1,700 to 3,700 cubic feet for a typical small, standard-size item, depending on how many days of supply you hold. The math is units per day x days of supply x cubic feet per unit.
Example: a 10 x 8 x 4 in unit (320 cubic inches, or 0.185 cubic feet) selling 10,000 units a month, about 333 a day.
| Days of supply in FBA | Units | Cubic feet | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|---|
| 28 | 9,333 | 1,728 | Below this, the low-inventory-level fee can apply |
| 45 | 15,000 | 2,778 | Middle of Amazon's 30 to 60 day guideline |
| 60 | 20,000 | 3,704 | Top of the guideline |
| 90 | 30,000 | 5,556 | Over this, Amazon counts the stock as excess |
These figures are stock on hand. Your limit also has to cover what is in transit, which is where the replenishment pattern matters.
How do you stay in stock when Amazon caps your capacity?
Send smaller shipments more often. Inbound inventory counts against the limit, so one big monthly shipment needs far more capacity than weekly ones for the same in-stock floor.
Same example, with a 14-day lead time from creating a shipment to units being available (an assumption; use your own). The goal in both cases is never dropping below 28 days on hand.
| Pattern | Shipment size | When you create it | Peak capacity used | Cubic feet |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Monthly | 10,000 units (30 days) | At 42 days on hand (28 + 14 lead time) | 42 days on hand + 30 inbound = 72 days | 4,444 |
| Weekly | 2,333 units (7 days) | Every week; 2 shipments always in transit | 35 days on hand + 14 inbound = 49 days | 3,025 |
Weekly replenishment uses about 1,420 fewer cubic feet, a third less, for the same 28-day floor. With a 3,500 cubic foot limit, the monthly pattern gets blocked and the weekly one fits.
The trade-off is freight. A weekly 2,333-unit shipment of this item is about 430 cubic feet of product, around 7 pallets, so it moves by LTL or SPD instead of a full truck and costs more per unit than one consolidated load. Ask each carrier or 3PL for a per-unit quote by shipping method before you commit.
Other levers, in order of speed:
- Cancel open shipments you won't send.
- Fix stranded inventory (units at Amazon without an active listing); it uses capacity and hurts IPI.
- Remove or liquidate stock past 90 days of supply. See what is dead stock.
- Stop restocking slow, bulky SKUs into FBA; capacity is cubic feet, so an oversize slow mover uses limit out of proportion to its sales.
- Hold the bulk upstream, at a prep center, 3PL or AWD, and feed FBA on a fixed weekly cadence.
- Request extra space through Capacity Manager for months you are confident will sell.
What does running too lean cost?
The low-inventory-level fee. Amazon adds it to the FBA fulfillment fee on every unit shipped when both the 30-day and 90-day historical days of supply for an FNSKU are below 28 days. Since January 15, 2026 it is calculated per seller FNSKU, and it now also applies to Small Bulky and Large Bulky items.
| 2026 size tier | Shipping weight | Under 14 days | 14 to 21 days | 21 to 28 days |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Small standard | Up to 16 oz | $0.89 | $0.63 | $0.32 |
| Large standard | Up to 3 lb | $0.97 | $0.70 | $0.36 |
| Large standard | 3+ lb to 20 lb | $1.11 | $0.87 | $0.47 |
| Small Bulky | Up to 50 lb | $1.85 | $1.02 | $0.51 |
| Large Bulky | Up to 50 lb | $2.09 | $1.15 | $0.57 |
Source: Amazon Seller Central, Low-inventory-level fee, rates from January 15, 2026. At 10,000 units a month of a Large standard item up to 3 lb, slipping into the 14 to 21 day band costs about $7,000 a month; under 14 days, about $9,700.
Exemptions: new Professional sellers for 365 days after first inventory received, new-to-FBA parent products for 180 days if enrolled in FBA New Selection, products that sold fewer than 20 units in the past 7 days, Grocery, and SKUs where 70% or more of inventory was auto-replenished from AWD over the prior 90 days.
How does Capacity Manager work, and when is it worth it?
Capacity Manager lets you request extra capacity for a future month at a maximum reservation fee per cubic foot that you set. Amazon reviews requests about twice a week and grants the highest fees first. If granted, you earn a $0.15 performance credit for every $1 of FBA sales made with the extra space, and you pay the fee minus credits after the period ends.
- You can't request the current month, only future periods with a confirmed or estimated limit.
- Granted capacity may be usable up to one month early, so you can position stock before the peak.
- Everyone granted in the same week pays the lowest granted fee that week, and your fee drops if later grants for the period clear lower.
- You owe the fee whether or not you use the space, and unused granted capacity can hurt your IPI score.
Break-even example (assumptions: $25 average price, all standard-size sales come from this product). The monthly pattern above needs about 950 cubic feet more than a 3,500 cubic foot limit. With 950 of 4,450 cubic feet coming from the request (21.3%), $250,000 of monthly sales prorates to about $53,400 of qualifying sales and $8,000 of credits. Any granted fee up to about $8.40 per cubic foot is fully offset if sales hold.
The formula is Amazon's own (prorate sales by the share of your total limit that came from the request, then apply 15%); see Capacity Manager.
Where Orderfy fits
Orderfy is a 3PL and Amazon FBA prep center in Garland, Texas, in Dallas-Fort Worth. Sellers who hit capacity limits can hold bulk inventory at Orderfy and send it into Amazon in smaller loads by small parcel, LTL or consolidated full-truckload freight. Prep is quoted per unit, with freight billed separately (Orderfy Prep). Inbound inventory is typically received and sellable the same day, and prep orders are typically ready to ship to Amazon the same day.
The Orderfy Prep WMS is included and tracks shipments, counts, condition and photos, so you can see what's waiting at the warehouse versus what's at Amazon. Every client gets photo records of shipments and direct communication channels for 24/7 access to the warehouse team. Prep is tracked from arrival at the warehouse to sellable on Amazon, every outbound carton is weighed and measured, and box contents are tracked accurately in the WMS.
Whichever partner you choose to hold bulk stock, ask for its storage pricing, its outbound cadence to Amazon (for example weekly or on request) and its turnaround from request to shipped, in writing.
Orderfy is probably not the right fit if you're still in your first 39 weeks of FBA (no limits yet), if your Capacity Monitor shows plenty of headroom, or if you're happy with AWD Auto-Replenishment and its fee exemptions. For the wider set of options, see FBA alternatives.
Frequently asked questions
Amazon uses your IPI score plus historical sales, seasonality, ASIN forecasts, new selection, scheduled deals, fulfillment center capacity and shipment lead time. You get one limit per storage type per month, measured in cubic feet.
Typically in the fourth week of each month. Amazon confirms the next month's limit, updates the following month's estimate and adds an estimate for the third month, shown in the Capacity Monitor and sent by email.
Yes. On-hand inventory, shipments in transit and shipments you've created but not sent all count. Cancel open shipments you won't send to free the space.
Amazon doesn't publish a fixed IPI cutoff on its capacity limits page; it says the score is one of several inputs. The 400 and 350 figures in third-party articles aren't on Amazon's capacity pages. Amazon's own guideline is 30 to 60 days of supply and nothing past 90 days.
Inventory moved to FBA through AWD Auto-Replenishment is exempt from FBA capacity limits. Manual replenishments from AWD are subject to the limits and are rejected if they would push you over.
New Professional accounts active in FBA for less than 39 weeks don't receive capacity limits. Individual accounts have a fixed 15 cubic foot limit that can't be raised.
No. Each product is classified into exactly one storage type based on its weight and dimensions, and capacity can't be exchanged between types.
It isn't charged up front. After the period, you pay the reservation fee minus performance credits of $0.15 per $1 of qualifying sales, so strong sales can offset it fully. If you don't sell, you pay the balance even if you never used the space.
Sources
- FBA capacity limits, Amazon Seller Central (checked Oct 21, 2026)
- Capacity Manager, Amazon Seller Central (checked Oct 21, 2026)
- Low-inventory-level fee, Amazon Seller Central (rates from Jan 15, 2026; checked Oct 21, 2026)
- Inventory performance and IPI frequently asked questions, Amazon Seller Central (checked Oct 21, 2026)
- Replenishment from AWD to FBA network, Amazon Seller Central (checked Oct 21, 2026)
- Orderfy llms.txt and site pages for Orderfy facts
Get a quote
Tell us your monthly units, storage types and current capacity limit, and we'll tell you whether holding stock at Orderfy and feeding FBA in smaller loads makes sense. Get a quote.