Six Mercado Libre markets: how the conditions compare
It is one platform, but the conditions differ in every country: commissions, free-shipping thresholds, taxes, and customs vary several times over. Below is what affects your margin, with a source for every figure.
- Selling fee
- 11.8–17.1%
- Shipping threshold
- ARS 33,000
- Population
- 46.0 million
- Presence
- We operate on the ground
- Selling fee
- 11–19%
- Shipping threshold
- R$ 79
- Population
- 213.6 million
- Presence
- Team with local citizenship
- Selling fee
- 8–20.5%
- Shipping threshold
- MXN 299
- Population
- 133.0 million
- Presence
- Opened on request
- Selling fee
- 13–20%
- Shipping threshold
- CLP 19,990
- Population
- 19.9 million
- Presence
- Opened on request
- Selling fee
- 9–20%
- Shipping threshold
- COP 60,000
- Population
- 53.9 million
- Presence
- Opened on request
- Selling fee
- 11.5–17%
- Shipping threshold
- not confirmed — being verified
- Population
- 3.38 million
- Presence
- Jurisdiction of the management company
Side-by-side comparison
The figures come from secondary sources: the platform's official reference pages are closed to automated checking. Verify them in your seller dashboard before you decide.
| Argentina | Brazil | Mexico | Chile | Colombia | Uruguay | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Selling fee | 11.8–17.1%1 | 11–19%: Clássico 11–14%, Premium 16–19%2 | 8–20.5%: Clásica 8–16%, Premium 12.5–20.5%3 | 13–20%4 | 9–20%5 | 11.5–17%5 |
| Free-shipping threshold | ARS 33,0001 | R$ 792 | MXN 2996 | CLP 19,9905 | COP 60,0006 | not confirmed — being verified |
| Fixed fee | ARS 1,095 at a price up to 15,000, ARS 2,190 up to 25,000, ARS 2,628 up to 33,000. Above the threshold there is no fee1 | As of March 2, 2026, the flat fee was replaced by a variable rate based on weight and dimensions — from about R$ 5.65 per parcel of up to 0.3 kg2 | MXN 25 at a price up to 99, MXN 30 up to 149, MXN 37 up to 299. Above the threshold there is no fee5 | CLP 700 at a price up to 9,990, CLP 1,000 up to 19,990. Above the threshold there is no fee5 | COP 2,500 at a price up to 30,000, COP 4,000 up to 60,000. Above the threshold there is no fee5 | UYU 9 at a price up to 400, UYU 16 up to 800, UYU 29 up to 1,2005 |
| VAT | 21%7 | ICMS 17–20% depending on the state, plus PIS/COFINS7 | 16%7 | 19%8 | 19%7 | 22%, or 20% when paid by card7 |
| Import duty | 0–35%7 | usually 10–20%, 35% maximum7 | 0–35%. About 90% of imports under free-trade agreements enter at 0%, but in 2025–2026 the rates on textiles, footwear, auto parts, and plastics were raised7 | a single rate of 6% of the customs value; 0% under free-trade agreements8 | 0–20%, with some tariff codes higher7 | 0–35% under the MERCOSUR common external tariff, 0% inside the bloc; plus a consular fee of 3–5%7 |
| Population | 46.0 million9 | 213.6 million9 | 133.0 million9 | 19.9 million9 | 53.9 million9 | 3.38 million9 |
| Rate against the dollar | ARS ~1673 | BRL ~5.0710 | MXN ~17.3210 | CLP ~93010 | COP ~315510 | UYU ~40.1110 |
| Momentum | GMV +41% year over year in local currency, Q1 202611 | GMV +38% year over year, units sold +56%, buyers +32% — the fastest pace in five years, Q1 202611 | GMV +28% year over year, Q1 202611 | GMV +40% year over year, Q1 202611 | GMV +28% over 202512 | Mercado Libre does not disclose separate country-level data |
| Our presence | The founder and part of the team hold Argentine citizenship; our own warehouse in Buenos Aires, a customs broker, a registered importer. | Part of the team holds Brazilian citizenship and is ready to run operations on the ground. The warehouse and broker are arranged for each specific project launch. | We open the company for the project and run operations remotely through local contractors. We do not yet have our own team on the ground. | We open the company for the project and run operations remotely through local contractors. | We open the company for the project and run operations remotely through local contractors. | The jurisdiction in which we open the management company for a company network. As a sales market it is small, but convenient to enter. |
← the table scrolls sideways →
What decides unit economics is not the commission but the pairing of "free-shipping threshold + fixed fee." That is what determines whether a low-priced item survives. In Brazil the threshold is low (R$ 79), so inexpensive goods do better there than in Argentina with its ARS 33,000. You can check this against your own numbers in the calculator.
Not sure which market to choose?
Send us the product and the volume — we will calculate the economics across several markets at once and show you the difference.
How the country affects a seller's profit
The same product earns different profit in different Latin American countries, and the spread is wider than most people assume. The selling fee ranges from 8% in Mexico to 20.5%, VAT from 16% in Mexico to 22% in Uruguay, and the import duty takes anywhere from 0 to 35% depending on the country and the tariff code. Together that produces a one-and-a-half to twofold difference in margin.
The second factor, often overlooked, is the fixed fee on low-priced items. It is deducted from every sale below the free-shipping threshold and does not depend on the price: in Argentina it is ARS 1,095–2,628, in Mexico MXN 25–37, in Chile CLP 700–1,000. For a $12 item, that fee means losing a double-digit percentage of revenue, which is why cheap mass-market goods are usually shipped into the region as bundles.
The third factor is our presence. In Argentina we have our own warehouse, a customs broker, and a team with local citizenship; in Brazil, people with citizenship; in the other four countries we open the company for the project and work through local contractors. This affects launch timelines and how quickly problems get solved on the ground, so we state it plainly on each country page.
Sources
- Nubimetrics, Argentina — data as of August 28, 2025
- Gestor Shop, Brazil commission table — data as of May 7, 2026
- Tiendanube, Mexico commissions — data as of March 19, 2026
- Wivo Analytics, Chile — data as of May 23, 2026
- Nubimetrics, tariff breakdown — data as of August 28, 2025
- UpSeller, shipping thresholds — data as of November 24, 2025
- PwC Worldwide Tax Summaries — data as of 2026
- Servicio Nacional de Aduanas, Chile — data as of 2026
- Worldometer, population — data as of 2026
- ExchangeRate-API — data as of August 4, 2026
- Mercado Libre Q1 2026 results — data as of May 7, 2026
- ECDB, Mercado Libre data — data as of 2025
- eMarketer, Latin America e-commerce market shares — data as of May 6, 2025