Every guide to selling on Amazon eventually says "get Keepa." It's excellent — but it's also another subscription, and if you're just starting UK retail arbitrage you might wonder whether you need it on top of a scanner app. The honest answer: you need the data Keepa provides; whether you need a separate Keepa subscription depends on the other tools you use.
What it costs: Keepa’s price-history graphs are free in its browser extension, and Keepa Pro costs €29/month or €290/year and adds sales-rank and offer graphs (prices checked on Keepa’s site on 13 October 2026).
What Keepa actually gives you
Keepa's value is history and alerts:
- Price history — how the Amazon and Buy Box price have moved over time, so you know if today's price is normal or a spike.
- Sales Rank (BSR) history — how well the product sells and whether demand is steady (see how to read Keepa graphs and BSR explained).
- Amazon-on-listing and offer counts — competition signals.
- Price-drop alerts — notifications when a product hits a price you set.
This information is the backbone of a good buy decision. The question isn't whether you need it — you do — it's how you get it.
When a standalone Keepa subscription is worth it
Pay for Keepa directly if:
- You do a lot of online arbitrage research at a desk, poring over full graphs across many products in the browser — Keepa's native charts and extension are hard to beat for deep analysis.
- You want granular alerts and data exports beyond what your scanner app offers.
- You're scaling and want the raw data source itself, not just an app's interpretation of it.
For serious online-arbitrage sourcing, a Keepa sub is often worth every penny.
When you probably don't need a separate Keepa sub
You can likely skip a standalone Keepa subscription if:
- You mainly source in-store (retail arbitrage) and decide fast in the aisle rather than analysing graphs at length.
- Your scanner app already includes Keepa-style history inside the buy decision — which is the point below.
The middle path: a scanner app that includes the data
Most in-store arbitrage sellers don't want to read raw graphs in a shop — they want the conclusion. That's how Axivelo is built: it uses Keepa-powered price and BSR history and turns it into plain signals — "16.5% below 90-day average", "Amazon is selling this item", steady vs slow demand — right next to net profit, ROI and your maximum buy price, from one barcode scan. For a lot of UK retail-arbitrage sellers that removes the need for a separate Keepa subscription, because the data you'd buy Keepa for is already in the decision. (If you're comparing tools generally, see the best Amazon FBA scanner apps in the UK and SellerAmp alternatives.)
The underlying point stands regardless of tool. Decide based on how you source: heavy desk-based online arbitrage → a Keepa sub earns its keep; fast in-store checks → an app that includes Keepa-style data usually covers it.
The bottom line
You need Keepa's information to do retail arbitrage properly — buying without price and BSR history is guessing. Whether you pay for Keepa separately is a workflow question: online-arbitrage researchers benefit from the full subscription; in-store sellers are usually covered by a scanner app that already reads Keepa-style data into the buy decision. Start with the free Axivelo calculator to see the profit maths, and what retail arbitrage is if you're still finding your feet.
Two products with the same displayed margin
Imagine two £8 products that both appear to return £4 net at today's Amazon price. The first has held a similar price for months, with several sellers and a reasonably stable rank pattern. The second shows a sharp price jump only during an Amazon stock-out. The current profit calculation alone treats them alike; the historical context suggests the second deserves a lower expected sale price. Keepa describes its price-history charts and product tracking; the chart is evidence of past prices, not a guaranteed number of units you will sell.
Check whether the chart is for Amazon UK and for the exact ASIN, pack size and variation you found. Look at a longer window rather than one day's spike, then model a lower sale price and compare your maximum buy price. If you rarely scan and buy only tiny test quantities, a free basic workflow may be enough. If you regularly risk capital on products whose current price is misleading, historical context can pay for itself. Review the actual Amazon fee estimate separately: price history cannot fix a wrong size tier or VAT assumption.
Check any product before you buy
The free UK Amazon FBA calculator applies the 2026 fees and VAT to show net profit, ROI and margin. Axivelo does the same from a barcode scan in the aisle — free to start on Android.
Open the free FBA calculatorFAQ
Do I need Keepa for retail arbitrage?
You need the information Keepa provides — price history, BSR history, whether Amazon is on the listing — but not necessarily a separate Keepa subscription. In-store sellers are often covered by a scanner app that already includes Keepa-style data in the buy decision; heavy online-arbitrage researchers benefit more from a standalone Keepa sub.
Is Keepa worth it in 2026?
For sellers who do a lot of desk-based online arbitrage research, yes — its native charts, alerts and data are hard to beat. For sellers who mainly check deals in-store and want a fast buy/skip verdict, an app that surfaces Keepa-style data may make a separate subscription unnecessary.
What's a good alternative to a Keepa subscription?
A scanner app that includes Keepa-powered price and BSR history — such as Axivelo — gives you the key data inside the profit decision, which covers most in-store retail-arbitrage needs. For deep, manual graph analysis across many products, the Keepa subscription itself is still the reference.
Does Axivelo use Keepa data?
Yes — Axivelo uses Keepa-powered price and rank history and presents it as plain buy signals alongside net profit, ROI and your maximum buy price, so you get the conclusion without reading the raw graph.
UK Amazon FBA sellers — we built Axivelo after one too many trips juggling Keepa, a calculator and a spreadsheet halfway down a B&M aisle. Now it shows profit, ROI, MAX PAY and demand on every in-store scan.