Amazon Germany vs Amazon UK: Which Is Cheaper? (2026 Data)

Before Brexit, comparing Amazon.de and Amazon.co.uk was a straight currency play. Now there are three moving parts: the GBP/EUR rate, the post-Brexit import VAT collected at checkout, and each marketplace's underlying price in its native currency. The result is messier — and more interesting. On premium electronics, the UK still wins surprisingly often. On everything else, Germany is the safer default. Here's the data.

The Brexit overhead, in plain numbers

For an EU-based shopper buying from Amazon.co.uk, the price now includes import VAT collected by Amazon at checkout — typically 19–22% depending on your delivery country. There's no customs duty on most consumer goods (zero-tariff trade deal), so the math is simply: UK shelf price × FX rate × (1 + your VAT rate − UK VAT).

In practice: Amazon.co.uk strips the UK 20% VAT and charges your country's VAT instead. So an item priced £1,000 inc. VAT (£833 ex VAT) lands at €833 × 1.18 EUR/GBP × 1.20 (German VAT) ≈ €1,180 delivered. That's the number to compare against Amazon.de.

Premium electronics: UK still competitive

This is the only category where the UK reliably beats Germany. The reasons:

UK retail competition (Currys, John Lewis) keeps Amazon.co.uk aggressive on flagship products
Apple, Sony, Canon and Nikon often launch with lower UK list prices than EU equivalents
GBP weakness vs EUR amplifies the effect

Product type	Amazon.de	Amazon.co.uk (delivered EU)	Cheaper
MacBook Pro 14" M4	€2,099	€1,949	UK by ~€150
Sony A7 IV body	€2,299	€2,179	UK by ~€120
iPhone 16 Pro 256GB	€1,229	€1,189	UK by ~€40

Caveat: warranty handling on cross-border buys from the UK is now less seamless than EU-internal purchases. For a €2,000 camera you'll keep for five years, that's worth weighing.

Small kitchen and home appliances: Germany wins

For Dyson, Ninja, KitchenAid, Tefal and similar brands, Germany is meaningfully cheaper than the UK delivered:

Dyson V15: ~12% cheaper on Amazon.de than UK delivered
KitchenAid stand mixers: 8–15% cheaper Germany
Ninja Foodi range: 10–18% cheaper Germany

The UK premium here comes from a combination of weaker UK pricing on these brands (less retail competition than Germany) plus the import VAT overhead. Italy is also worth checking on Dyson — often beats both. Live Dyson comparison.

LEGO and toys: Germany, no contest

Germany is the largest LEGO market in Europe and Amazon.de reflects that. The UK is rarely competitive on LEGO once import VAT is added. On premium sets (Icons, Star Wars UCS, Technic flagships), Germany typically beats UK delivered by 15–25%.

Same pattern on Playmobil and other German-origin brands — they're cheapest in their domestic market by a wide margin. LEGO price tracker.

Books and media

For English-language books, Amazon.co.uk has the larger catalogue and tighter pricing — but post-Brexit shipping fees and import VAT now wipe out most of the savings. For a typical paperback or hardcover, buying from Amazon.de in English is now usually cheaper delivered, with much faster shipping.

Beauty and skincare: mixed

UK retail prices on premium skincare (La Mer, La Roche-Posay, Estée Lauder) are sometimes lower in absolute GBP terms, but the import VAT and shipping costs typically erase the gap. For most EU shoppers, Italy and Spain are better hunting grounds than the UK on this category.

Recap table

Category	Cheaper	Typical gap
Premium laptops, cameras	UK	5–10%
iPhones, flagship phones	UK (marginally)	2–5%
Small appliances (Dyson, Ninja)	Germany	10–18%
LEGO and premium toys	Germany	15–25%
Books in English	Germany (delivered)	0–10%
Beauty / skincare	Italy or Spain (not UK)	—

Things that change the math

GBP/EUR rate. When the pound weakens (sub 1.15 EUR/GBP), UK arbitrage windows widen. Above 1.20, the UK loses on most categories.
Sales events. UK Black Friday and Boxing Day sales sometimes beat German Prime Day pricing, especially on Apple and Sony.
Warranty. EU-internal buys keep your statutory 2-year guarantee with frictionless service. UK buys now require shipping back to the UK — factor that in for big-ticket purchases.

How to actually decide

The 5-second rule: anything you'd buy and forget about (a camera, a TV, a laptop), check the UK if the GBP is weak. Anything you'll deal with the warranty on (appliances, anything mechanical), default to Germany or Italy.

For a single product, just paste the URL into the Zonscope comparator — we show you the live delivered price on all nine European marketplaces including the UK with VAT/FX correction baked in. The cheapest one is highlighted. One click to the affiliate link.

Bottom line

Post-Brexit, the UK is no longer the default cheap option for EU buyers — it's a specialist play that wins on premium electronics roughly 60% of the time, and loses on almost everything else. For toys, appliances, and German-origin brands, Amazon.de is the safer first stop. For Apple, Sony, and Canon flagship gear with the GBP soft, Amazon.co.uk delivered remains worth checking.