Best E-commerce Platform Singapore: The Beginner’s Guide to Marketplaces

If you’re starting a small business in Singapore, selling online is the fastest way to test demand. The challenge is picking the right place to start.

This guide compares the best e-commerce platforms for Singapore founders to launch today, focusing on marketplaces that enable quick listing without a lengthy setup process. We’ll also touch on payments and payouts, because once you expand beyond Singapore, you’ll need a simple way to accept and manage multiple currencies.

As you grow, the Wise Business account lets you accept card payments, receive marketplace/PSP (Payment Service Provider) payouts to local account details (arriving in your account in that currency), and pay overseas suppliers in their currency — so you spend less time on financial admin and more time building the business.

Table of contents
What is an e-commerce platform? Top e-commerce platforms to start selling fast in Singapore Shopee Lazada Amazon Singapore How to choose the best e-commerce platform in Singapore Simplify online payments and payouts with Wise Business Wrap-up: choose your first marketplace and your money flow

What is an e-commerce platform?

An e-commerce platform is the infrastructure that enables you to list products, process payments, and fulfill orders online.

In Singapore, you’ll encounter two broad types of e-commerce platforms:

1. Online marketplaces. Think of these as digital malls. You set up a seller account and list products where shoppers already search and buy. The marketplace handles key pieces of the journey: search, cart, checkout, and, in many cases, integrated delivery options. For beginners in Singapore, the most relevant names are Shopee, Lazada, and Amazon Singapore.
2. Hosted storefront builders. These help you create your own branded site with full control over design and features. They’re powerful, but they require a build phase, and you’ll need to drive your own traffic.

This guide focuses on marketplaces because they help you start selling fast.

If you later opt to add a branded site, expect to allocate extra time for setup, integration, and marketing.

Your marketplace choice influences everything from fees and discovery (ads, vouchers, ranking) to fulfilment options, service levels, and payout speed — so it’s worth getting right from day one.

---

Top e-commerce platforms to start selling fast in Singapore

Getting your first listings live should be simple.

Below, we compare the three major marketplaces in Singapore (Shopee, Lazada, and Amazon Singapore) from a beginner's perspective: how quickly you can launch, what fees are involved, how fulfillment works, and where each platform excels.

You can use this to shortlist one platform to start with now, then add a second channel once you’ve validated demand.

Shopee

Why sellers choose it

Shopee is a mobile-first marketplace with massive regional demand and strong app engagement.

Multiple 2025 reports position Shopee as Southeast Asia’s market leader, with a roughly 45% share in 2024 according to some analyses¹, and newer estimates at around 52%². This places Shopee well ahead of Lazada and Tokopedia (a leading Indonesian e-commerce company).

That means instant local visibility in Singapore and meaningful regional reach as you scale.

How it charges

Expect three main layers: commission (varies by category/seller type), a transaction/processing fee, and optional programme/service fees (e.g., vouchers, cashback) if you opt in³.

• Transaction fee: 3.0% before GST of the final payment amount (includes buyer-paid shipping and any Shopee vouchers, Coins or rebates), rounded to the nearest cent. With 9% GST, that’s 3.27% incl. GST. Applies to all payment methods (credit/debit cards, instalment plans, ShopeePay, PayNow).
• SPayLater exception: 3.27%–5.45% including GST, depending on the buyer’s repayment period.
• Note: Transaction and commission fees apply to all sellers, and some sellers may also incur service fees (e.g., Coins Cashback). Always reconfirm your live rates and programme enrolments in Seller Centre before finalising prices.

Cross-border and logistics

If you plan to sell beyond Singapore, Shopee’s International Platform (SIP)⁴ helps you extend listings into nearby markets (e.g., Malaysia, Thailand; with the Philippines rolling out), and Shopee’s regional logistics network supports fulfillment across borders — a useful feature once you’ve validated demand locally.

Pros

• Huge local traffic and app-led shopping behaviour
• Fast to list and participate in voucher/campaign mechanics
• Regional tools (SIP) and logistics options for scaling

Cons

• Stacked fees (commission + transaction + optional programmes) require margin discipline
• Competitive pricing pressure in popular categories
• Programme/policy tweaks mean you must stay on top of rules

Lazada

Why sellers choose it

Lazada is Shopee’s main regional rival (often dubbed the “Amazon of Southeast Asia”)⁵, and it operates across six countries (Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam)⁶.

The platform has leaned into AI-powered experiences (e.g., personalization initiatives and the “AI Lazzie” shopping assistant), alongside strong seller tooling⁷.

How it charges

Lazada uses category-based commissions plus a payment/processing fee on each order.

Commonly cited examples for Marketplace sellers include electronics at ~5% (cap at ~SGD 30) and other categories at ~6.5% (cap at ~SGD 60)⁸. The payment processing fee is 3.0% before GST (i.e., 3.27% including 9% GST) of the final payment amount — inclusive of buyer-paid shipping — and calculated after any platform/bank Lazada Vouchers or discount mechanics (e.g., Lazada Bonus, LazCoins)⁹.

This fee is deducted automatically before payout and appears in your statements. Always confirm the exact rate and commission cap for your category in Seller Centre before pricing.

Integrated management

Sellers can manage inventory, pricing, and orders from a single Seller Center dashboard (web and mobile apps), with analytics and operational tools built in.

Pros

• Regional presence (6 countries) with mature seller tools
• Ongoing AI investments for discovery and personalization
• Clearer planning with category-based commission caps

Cons

• 3% (before GST) payment fee + commission can compress margins if not priced well
• Competitive in mainstream categories; execution on ads/promos still required

Amazon Singapore

Why sellers choose it

Amazon helps small businesses tap a global buyer base.

Independent estimates put Amazon at 300M+ active customers worldwide (Amazon doesn’t publish a current official number)¹⁰, which is why many SG brands use it for credibility and eventual cross-border expansion.

Trust signals (such as reviews and the A-to-Z Guarantee) and Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA) can boost conversions for higher AOV (average order value) or niche products.

How it charges

Pick a selling plan and pay category-based referral fees; add FBA fulfilment/storage fees if you use FBA.

As of today, Amazon states that the Professional plan fee (SGD 29.95/month, excluding GST) is waived until 31 December 2026; the Individual plan is SGD 1.00 (excluding GST) per unit. Most referral fees fall between 7% and 15%, depending on the category¹¹.

Always confirm your exact category table in Seller Central.

Pros

• High buyer trust and strong customer conversion; a credible place to build reviews
• Global reach potential and programs for cross-border growth when you’re ready
• FBA can improve delivery speed and customer experience (Prime-style benefits)

Cons

• Listing quality and category rules add setup effort.
• Referral fees + (optional) FBA/storage fees require healthy margins and volume
• International expansion still needs strategy (pricing, taxes, logistics) beyond simply listing

💡If you're growing a global business, you'll quickly face a daunting wall of costs, complexity, and hidden fees when receiving international payments. Wise Business helps you bypass this wall, making it easy to receive money from around the world and start getting paid like a local today.

• Obtain account details to receive payments in GBP, EUR, CAD, AUD and more for a one-time fee of S$ 99.
• Simply share your account details with customers or add them to invoices.
• Hold, send, and convert money at the mid-market rate in one account.
• Simplify customer payments with Wise request payment feature.
• Accept payments from customers and payment service providers (PSPs) like Stripe and Amazon.
• Generate payment links to request money in specific currencies.

➡️Get started with Wise Business today

---

How to choose the best e-commerce platform in Singapore

Before you list a single SKU, decide what “good” looks like for your business: who you’re selling to, how they shop, the margin you need after fees, and how quickly you can ship. Use the tips below to shortlist one platform to start with now, then layer a second channel once you’ve validated demand.

Match the marketplace to your buyer and price point

Start with who you’re selling to and how they shop.

If your buyers are price-sensitive and live on mobile, Shopee’s promo-heavy ecosystem can help you gain traction quickly. If you’re building trust around higher-AOV goods (think specialty electronics or premium home goods), Amazon Singapore’s reputation and FBA promise can help lift conversions. Lazada sits in the middle with structured tools and a regional path if expansion is on your roadmap.

Price for commission, transaction, promos, and fulfilment

Price defensively from day one.

• Commission range: Expect a commission of ~5%–15%, depending on the category and seller tier.
• Processing fees: Budget ~3% payment/processing per order.
• The real take rate: After optional programme fees (e.g., vouchers/cashback), ads, and fulfilment, your effective take rate can exceed 15%. Here’s how you can model it:
  • Item price – (commission + processing + promos/ads + fulfilment/shipping) = net margin.

➡️ If you’re sourcing overseas: see how Novelship scaled while paying suppliers efficiently with Wise Business.

Decide on integrated fulfilment vs your own couriers

Fulfillment speed drives conversion, but it isn’t free.

• Integrated vs. self-fulfill: Integrated options (e.g., Fulfillment by Amazon) can enhance delivery speed and trust, but incur storage/handling fees. Self-fulfill keeps control but demands reliable couriers and customer fulfillment discipline.
• Service levels: Check the availability of same-day/next-day or Prime-style delivery, along with the surcharge per unit.
• Cost realism: Map your most common parcel (size/weight) and simulate shipping costs before you commit to a programme.

Dashboard, rules, and marketing tools to look for

Operational friction costs you time and ratings.

• Dashboard usability: Look for a clear seller console that allows you to manage inventory, pricing, and orders without requiring workarounds.
• Disputes and penalties: Understand seller support channels and penalties for late shipments, cancellations, or poor metrics.
• Marketing tools: Confirm access to ad boosts, promotional vouchers, bundles, and insights — these are often the levers that unlock visibility in your first 90 days.

Quick guide to choosing a marketplace

• Start on Shopee if you sell fast-moving, price-sensitive products and want the quickest route to first sales.
• Start on Lazada if you want structured seller tools and a clear path to regional expansion after validating in Singapore.
• Start on Amazon Singapore if trust, category depth, and the option to add FBA later align with your higher AOV or niche catalogue.

---

Simplify online payments and payouts with Wise Business

Complex payment gateway integrations are in the past; you can start accepting credit and debit card payments in 18+ currencies in minutes with Wise, no code required.

Just send a payment link, invoice, or QR code to your customers, and let Wise handle the rest, ensuring timely payments and improving your cash flow. This streamlined approach wipes out the technical challenges and time-consuming setup associated with traditional payment gateways, allowing you to focus on what truly matters: growing your business.

Say goodbye to complex payment processing. With Wise Business, you pay 3.2% + SGD 0.50 for domestic consumer cards, and 3.6% + SGD 0.50 for international and business cards — no monthly fee and no payout fee. The rest arrives in your account in that currency.

And once the payment is done you can manage multiple currencies effortlessly, all in one account. Enhance your customer relationships and support your business's global expansion with a payment solution that prioritises simplicity and efficiency.

➡️Learn how to accept card payments with Wise Business

---

Wrap-up: choose your first marketplace and your money flow

Choosing the right e-commerce platform is about finding the right fit.

Start with where your buyers already shop, the margins you can protect after fees, and a fulfilment model you can run reliably. For many new sellers, Shopee gets you moving fast, Lazada offers structured tools and a regional path, and Amazon Singapore adds trust with the option to add FBA when your catalogue and average order value justify it.

Your choice should reflect your business needs, product type, and target audience. Once you’ve validated demand, consider combining a marketplace with your own site and social channels to reach more customers and reduce platform risk.

Keep a close eye on your cost stack — commissions, payment/processing, optional program fees, ads, and fulfillment — and reconfirm live rates in your Seller Centre before finalising prices.

This matters even more when receiving or paying in foreign currencies, where conversion and transfer fees can significantly impact your take-home pay.

To keep money ops simple as you grow, the Wise Business account lets you accept card payments without code, receive like a local using local account details in supported currencies, hold multiple currencies in your account, and pay overseas suppliers in their preferred currency(no need to convert your money unnecessarily and incur more conversion fees).

You can convert at the mid-market rate with a transparent fee whenever you need, so cash flow stays tidy while you focus on growth.

➡️ Get started with Wise Business today.

---

Sources:

1. Business of apps Shopee revenue and usage statistics
2. TechNode Global Southeast Asia platform e-commerce
3. Shopee seller education hub commission, service, and transaction fee
4. Shopee seller education hub SIP
5. Sellersnap top Amazon competitors
6. Lazada about
7. PR Newswire
8. Lazada commission rate
9. Lazada payment fee
10. AMZ Scout Amazon statistics
11. Amazon Singapore sell pricing

Sources checked on 6 October 2025