Menu Icon

Walmart vs. eBay vs. Amazon Prices: Which Site Is Cheapest?

Published on May. 07, 2020

Last updated on Aug. 26, 2024
4 min read

Which website has the lowest prices? We compared prices on Walmart vs. eBay vs. Amazon for 110 items in 11 categories and found a clear winner.

Walmart, Amazon and eBay Mobile Apps on a Phone Screen

Image credit: BigTunaOnline / Shutterstock.com.

Which Site Is Cheapest, eBay, Amazon or Walmart?

On average, we found that Walmart is the most expensive and Amazon is the cheapest. Compared to Walmart, eBay is 6% cheaper and Amazon is 13% cheaper.

Total Combined Prices of 110 Identical Items across Walmart, eBay and Amazon

Price Comparison: Walmart vs. eBay vs. Amazon by Category

Comparing prices in 11 categories, Amazon usually has the lowest prices.

Total Combined Prices of 10 Identical Items in Each Category

Categories Where Amazon Has the Lowest Prices

  • Household and Cleaning Supplies
  • Toys
  • Personal Care Products
  • Food
  • Makeup
  • Pet Supplies
  • Electronics
  • Sports, Fitness and Outdoors

Categories Where eBay Has the Lowest Prices

  • Baby Supplies
  • Kitchen Supplies and Appliances

Categories Where Walmart Has the Lowest Prices

  • Medicine and Health Products

Sellers can get the most money for their products on Walmart, where they can sell for more in these categories:

  • Household and Cleaning Supplies
  • Toys
  • Personal Care Products
  • Food
  • Makeup
  • Pet Supplies
  • Electronics
  • Sports, Fitness and Outdoors
  • Baby Supplies
  • Kitchen Supplies and Appliances

Baby Supplies

Walmart vs eBay vs Amazon in terms of Baby Supplies

Considering the 10 items selected under “Baby Supplies,” Amazon is the most expensive. Walmart is 0.3% cheaper and eBay is 13% cheaper than Amazon.

Household and Cleaning Supplies

Walmart vs eBay vs Amazon in terms of household and cleaning supplies

In terms of the 10 items selected under “Household and Cleaning Supplies,” Walmart is the most expensive. Meanwhile, eBay is 3% cheaper and Amazon is 12% cheaper than Walmart.

Toys

Walmart vs eBay vs Amazon in terms of toys

In total, Walmart charges the most for the 10 items in our “Toys” category. eBay is almost 17% cheaper while shopping on Walmart would lower the total cart cost by 27%.

Medicine and Health Products

Walmart vs eBay vs Amazon in terms of medicine and health products

The total cost for the 10 medicine and health products we compared is highest on Amazon. eBay is 1% cheaper and Walmart is the cheapest at 3% less than Amazon.

Personal Care Products

Walmart vs eBay vs Amazon in terms of personal care products

Sellers charge noticeably more on eBay for the 10 personal care products we chose. The same list of products is 27% cheaper on Walmart and 34% cheaper on Walmart.

Food

Walmart vs eBay vs Amazon in terms of food

This is Amazon’s big win. We randomly selected 10 food products and found that eBay was much more expensive. Walmart's prices are 22% cheaper than eBay’s. But on Amazon, you will pay 43% less than on eBay!

Makeup

Walmart vs eBay vs Amazon in terms of makeup

As a buyer, the total cost of the 10 makeup products we selected will burn the biggest hole in your pocket on Walmart. Go to eBay to pay 21% less or Amazon to reduce your cost by 29%.

Pet Supplies

Walmart vs eBay vs Amazon in terms of pet supplies

Adding up the prices of the 10 pet supplies we looked at, the total was higher on eBay. On the other hand, the total cost of these products was 15% less on Walmart and 23% less on Amazon.

Electronics

Walmart vs eBay vs Amazon in terms of electronics

Walmart charges the most for our sample of 10 “Electronics” products. These products’ prices are 10% cheaper on eBay and 11% less on Amazon than on Walmart.

Kitchen Supplies and Appliances

Walmart vs eBay vs Amazon in terms of kitchen supplies and appliances

The list of products in our “Kitchen Supplies and Appliances” category cost the most on Amazon, but Walmart was not far behind at 3% cheaper. These products cost 18% less on eBay than on Amazon.

Sports, Fitness and Outdoors

Walmart vs eBay vs Amazon in terms of sports, fitness and outdoors

The item on the far right is "Penn Championship Extra Duty Tennis Balls (1 can, 3 balls)."

In total, shopping for “Sports, Fitness and Outdoors” items costs the most on Walmart. These items are 12% cheaper on eBay and 17% cheaper on Amazon compared to Walmart.

Method

Pen, Calculator and Paperwork

Prices

We took the prices listed directly from Walmart, eBay, and Amazon’s websites. Some items in the Food category are from Amazon Fresh.

Prices fluctuate every minute on these marketplaces, so the prices you see in this article may not match what you see when you visit these sites. This study simply provides a snapshot of prices across the three marketplaces in 2024.

Amazon Prime and Credit Cards

The prices listed do not factor in the Amazon Prime membership fee or discounts from Amazon credit cards.

Shipping

The prices listed do not factor in the cost of shipping. It’s worth noting that free shipping on Amazon and Walmart only applies to orders fitting their criteria. Many of the eBay items listed here offer free shipping with no membership fees or minimum order size. However, for some items, shipping may be an additional cost.

Products

The products we compared are the same in brand, quantity, style and model—identical across the three sales channels. All products included in the price comparison are new—used items were not considered.

Keep in mind that each of these marketplaces has sellers you can’t find on the other two. Amazon and Walmart also have brands of their own. For example, Great Value products are only sold at Walmart and AmazonBasics are household products by Amazon. While a 36-pack of AAA Duracell batteries may be cheaper on Walmart than on Amazon, a 36-pack of AAA AmazonBasics batteries is even cheaper.

Which Marketplace Wins?

Where you should shop or sell depends on the type of product you are dealing with. According to our data:

  • Walmart, once known for budget-friendly shopping, is actually the most expensive overall. However, it offers the best prices in the medicine and health department.
  • Amazon is generally the cheapest, offering the lowest prices across multiple categories. These include household and cleaning supplies, toys, personal care products, food, makeup, electronics, pet supplies, and sports, fitness and outdoors.
  • eBay falls in the middle, being 6% cheaper than Walmart overall but more expensive than Amazon. However, it offers the best deals on baby supplies and kitchen supplies and appliances.

Whether you are a seller or a bargain hunter, each of these marketplaces offers opportunities to earn and save.

Next Step for Sellers

Now that you have a feel for prices on Walmart vs. eBay vs. Amazon, learn more about selling on Walmart vs. Amazon or how to start selling on eBay. These guides will help you decide if one or all of these channels are best for your business.