You are standing in a store, holding a product and asking yourself one question: can I sell this on Amazon at a profit? An Amazon FBA scanner app answers that in seconds. You scan the barcode and see the Amazon price, the fees, your profit and whether you are even allowed to sell the item. For retail arbitrage, it is the most important tool you own.
But most scanner apps were built for the US market. If you sell on Amazon.co.uk, Amazon.de or another European marketplace, VAT and fees work differently, and an app that gets them wrong shows you profits that do not exist. This guide compares the best scanner apps for sellers in the EU and the UK.
The best Amazon scanner apps at a glance
| App | Price | Platforms | EU VAT and fees | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ProfitGo | from €19.95/month (about €16 billed yearly) | Chrome, iOS, Android | Yes, per marketplace | EU and UK sellers |
| SellerAmp SAS | from $19.95/month | Chrome, iOS, Android | Supported, US-first product | Sellers who follow US courses |
| Amazon Seller App | Free | iOS, Android | Basic estimate | Complete beginners |
| BuyBotPro | from £39.95/month | Chrome only | Yes, UK focus | Online arbitrage at the desk |
Short answer: if you sell in Europe or the UK and want reliable numbers on your phone and in the browser, start with ProfitGo. If you only want to test retail arbitrage for free, the Amazon Seller App is enough for the first few store visits.
What is an Amazon scanner app and how does it work?
A scanner app uses your phone camera to read the barcode (EAN or UPC) of a product. It then finds the matching Amazon listing and its ASIN and shows you the key numbers. Without a scanner, you would need five to ten minutes per product to look everything up by hand. With one, it takes a few seconds.
A good scanner app shows you:
- The current Buy Box price and the number of sellers
- FBA fees, referral fee and VAT for your marketplace
- Your net profit, margin and ROI
- Sales rank and estimated monthly sales
- Whether you are allowed to sell the product in your account
Tip: mobile reception inside large stores is often weak. Check that your app loads results quickly and test it in the aisle before you fill your trolley.
The best mobile scanner apps for retail arbitrage
1. ProfitGo by ProfitPath
ProfitGo is a scanner app and Chrome extension built for Amazon sellers in Europe and the UK. More than 1,000 sellers use it, and it is rated 4.8 out of 5. ProfitGo calculates FBA fees, referral fees and VAT separately for each marketplace, so the profit you see matches what actually lands in your account.
Key features:
- Barcode scanning in the iOS and Android app, plus a mass scanner for scanning many products in a row
- Chrome extension (also works in Edge and Brave) that shows profit data directly on Amazon and on retailer websites
- Profit, margin and ROI including VAT, FBA and referral fees
- Cross-marketplace comparison across UK, DE, FR, IT, ES, NL, BE and PL
- Sales rank, estimated sales, eligibility and hazmat warnings
- Reverse search: find where a product is sold cheaper online
- Storefront scanner, WEEE check and Google Sheets integration
Reverse search changes the way you source. Instead of hoping to stumble on a deal, you start with a product you know sells well and let ProfitGo find where to buy it. Cross-marketplace comparison shows whether the same item earns more on Amazon.de, Amazon.fr or Amazon.co.uk.
You can check the fee calculation yourself: scan a product and compare the result with Amazon's own revenue calculator. The screenshots below show the same product in both tools.
Pricing: Manual Essential costs €19.95 per month (1,000 product lookups, 2 app and 2 Chrome installs). Manual Expert costs €29.95 per month (unlimited lookups, 5 app and 5 Chrome installs, premium support). Billed yearly, that comes to about €16 and €24 per month. Both plans start with a free trial.
Best for: sellers in the EU and the UK who want accurate numbers in store and at the desk.
2. SellerAmp SAS
SellerAmp SAS is one of the best-known scanner apps and is recommended in many YouTube tutorials and arbitrage courses. It offers a Chrome extension and a mobile app with profit calculation, Keepa charts, eligibility and IP alerts, and a storefront explorer. It supports seven marketplaces: the US, Canada, the UK, Germany, France, Italy and Spain.
SellerAmp was developed with the US market in mind. The interface is in English only and prices are in US dollars. For sellers in Europe, it is worth comparing SellerAmp's profit figures with Amazon's revenue calculator for a few products before relying on them. If you are looking for tools with a stronger EU focus, see our overview of SellerAmp alternatives.
Pricing: $19.95, $29.95 or $49.95 per month depending on the plan.
Best for: sellers who follow US-based courses and sell in several regions.
3. Amazon Seller App
The Amazon Seller App is Amazon's free mobile app for managing your seller account. It includes a barcode scanner that shows the current price, the number of offers, the sales rank and whether you are allowed to sell the product. You can enter your costs and see an estimated profit for FBA and FBM.
Beyond scanning, the app is a full remote control for your account. You can create listings, manage inventory and orders, check your account health and answer buyer messages on the go.
What it lacks for serious sourcing: there is no price history or sales rank history, and no comparison between marketplaces. Many sellers start with it and switch to a dedicated scanner once they buy regularly.
Pricing: free with your Amazon seller account.
Best for: beginners who want to test retail arbitrage without paying for a tool.
For online arbitrage at the desk: BuyBotPro
BuyBotPro is not a mobile scanner but a Chrome extension from the UK. When you open a product on Amazon, it runs an automated check covering profit, eligibility, IP risk, hazmat and competition, and gives the deal a score. That makes it a good fit for online arbitrage, where you analyse many product links from your desk.
BuyBotPro pulls much of its data from Keepa, so you also need a Keepa subscription. Plans start at £39.95 (or $39.95) per month, with higher tiers at 54.95 and 129.95 and a discount for yearly billing.
A useful companion: the Keepa app
Keepa is not a scanner app either, because it does not calculate fees or profit. But its free app for iOS and Android shows the price history of any product, which helps you judge whether today's price is normal. Learn how to read the charts in our guide on Keepa for Amazon product research, and how to get notified of price drops in our guide on Amazon price alerts with Keepa.
How to choose the right scanner app
- Your marketplaces: the app should support every Amazon marketplace you sell on, and calculate VAT correctly for each.
- Accuracy: compare a few scans with Amazon's revenue calculator. Small fee errors add up quickly over hundreds of units.
- Mobile and browser: if you source in store and online, pick a tool that works on your phone and in Chrome.
- Budget: one good deal usually pays for a month of a paid scanner. Use free trials to test before you commit.
Frequently asked questions
Which app can scan products for Amazon?
Amazon's own free Seller App can scan barcodes and show the price, fees and eligibility. For more detailed data such as VAT per marketplace, sales estimates and cross-marketplace comparison, sellers use dedicated apps like ProfitGo or SellerAmp SAS.
Which barcode scanner app is best for Amazon sellers?
For sellers in Europe and the UK, ProfitGo is the most complete option because it calculates fees and VAT for each marketplace. For a free start, the Amazon Seller App is enough.
What is the Amazon Seller App?
It is Amazon's free mobile app for sellers. You can scan products, check eligibility, create listings, manage orders and inventory and answer buyer messages from your phone.
Do I need a scanner app for retail arbitrage?
Yes. Without one, checking a single product takes minutes. With a scanner, you can check dozens of products in the time it takes to walk down one aisle.
Can I use one app for Amazon.de and Amazon.co.uk?
Yes, as long as it supports both marketplaces and handles the different VAT rules. ProfitGo even compares the same product across all its supported marketplaces at once.
Conclusion
The right Amazon FBA scanner app depends on where you sell. For Europe and the UK, you need correct VAT and fees per marketplace, and that is exactly what ProfitGo was built for. The free Amazon Seller App is a good way to try retail arbitrage, BuyBotPro suits online arbitrage at the desk, and the Keepa app adds price history on the go.
Want to see the difference yourself? Try ProfitGo for free and scan your first products on your next store visit.
