TikTok Shop Fees Explained: How Much Do You Really Keep?

TikTok Shop fees for sellers center on one platform charge per completed order: a referral fee in the US, listed at 6% for most categories on the official Seller Center page we checked, and a commission fee of 9% including VAT in the UK. On top of that, sellers pay for affiliate commissions, shipping, refunds and samples, which usually cost more than the platform fee itself.

Affiliates, on the other hand, pay no TikTok Shop fees at all. This guide breaks down each fee as of 2026, shows how they stack on a real-looking order, and explains where to confirm the rate for your own category.

How much does TikTok Shop take per sale?

In the US, TikTok charges a referral fee on each qualified (completed) order. The official fee pages list 6% for most categories, 5% for some, and 3% on the part of certain high-value sales above $10,000.

The official Seller Center page says the 6% standard rate took effect in 2024 (on April 1), and the category page adds these exceptions:

How it's calculated. The US referral fee is the rate times (customer payment + platform discount − tax). In plain terms: the price the buyer paid, plus any discount TikTok funded, minus sales tax.

Sales tax on the fee itself

Since November 1, 2025, TikTok adds sales tax to the referral fee for sellers whose business address is in Texas or West Virginia. It shows on your seller invoice and settlement report.

What are TikTok Shop fees in the UK?

UK sellers pay a platform commission fee of 9% including VAT, with a 5% effective rate for eligible Electronics and Beauty and Personal Care products. Only one reduction applies to a product at a time.

The UK base differs from the US in one important way: it includes customer-paid shipping. The formula on the UK commission policy page is (net sales + customer-paid shipping + platform discount − refunds) times the rate. So if you charge a buyer for delivery, you pay commission on that too.

UK sellers also see shipping fees, Fulfilled by TikTok charges, return shipping and affiliate commissions deducted in their settlement. Some UK accountants and tool providers also report a small per-order fee for orders you ship yourself rather than through TikTok's logistics; check the current UK fee pages for the amount.

What does a refund cost you?

A refund costs you the sale, the shipping you already paid and, in the US, part of the referral fee. TikTok returns the referral fee but keeps a refund administration fee.

That fee is 20% of the referral fee, capped at $5 per SKU (the cap took effect on May 15, 2025). There's no administration fee on creator sample orders, and eligible orders canceled automatically before shipping are exempt.

Example (hypothetical): a buyer refunds a $30 order at a 6% referral fee. The referral fee was $1.80; TikTok keeps 20% of it, $0.36. Small on its own, but return shipping and a product you may not be able to resell usually hurt far more.

Which other costs come out of each sale?

The referral fee is often the smallest cost in the order. The bigger ones are the affiliate commission you offer, shipping, the product itself and any ads.

Affiliate commission timing. If you lower a commission rate, changes to an open collaboration take effect after 30 days and changes to a targeted one after 5 days, so plan changes ahead.

How much do you really keep? A worked example

Here is a full order, step by step, so you can see where the money goes. All numbers are hypothetical except the 6% rate, which is the standard US rate on the official page we checked.

Example (hypothetical): you sell a phone stand for $25, with free shipping for the buyer, through an affiliate creator at a 15% commission.

$8.75 out of $25 is 35%. Now spread the cost of samples across your orders: sending 10 free samples at $11 each (product plus shipping) costs $110, which is the full margin on about 13 orders. And if 1 in 20 orders comes back, the lost product and shipping eat into the rest.

The lesson: price with every cost in view. Low-priced products leave very little room, which is why many sellers look for items that can sell for more than $20 or bundle products together. We cover product economics in the best products to sell on TikTok Shop.

For affiliates: fees you don't pay

Affiliates don't pay referral fees. Your commission is (revenue − refunds) times the commission rate, paid after delivery and settlement. Canceled or fully refunded orders earn nothing. If you're starting there, see how to become a TikTok Shop affiliate.

How do TikTok Shop fees compare with Amazon and Etsy?

On the percentage alone, TikTok Shop's US referral fee is lower than many Amazon categories and Etsy's combined fees. But the fee is only one part of the cost, and TikTok sales usually need content or affiliate commissions to happen.

Amazon's own pricing page lists most referral fees between 8% and 15%, plus a per-item or monthly plan fee. Etsy charges a listing fee, a 6.5% transaction fee and payment processing. The fuller comparison, including how buyers find you, is in TikTok Shop vs Amazon vs Etsy.

How can you keep more of each sale?

You can't negotiate the platform fee, but you control almost everything around it.

• Price above impulse-only levels when you can. Fixed costs such as a shipping label weigh less on a $30 order than a $10 one.
• Bundle. Two units in one package share one label.
• Set commissions deliberately. Offer higher targeted rates to creators whose content already sells, rather than raising the open rate for everyone.
• Cap samples. Send samples to creators whose past videos match your product, not to every request.
• Reduce refunds. Accurate listings, honest videos and good packaging prevent returns better than any policy.
• Get paid faster. Better shop performance moves you to shorter settlement periods; see how TikTok Shop pays you.

Next steps

Before you list a product or accept a collaboration, run the numbers with your real costs and your category's current rate.

• Our TikTok Shop guide for beginners puts the margin math for sellers and affiliates in context.
• Compare platforms in TikTok Shop vs Amazon vs Etsy.
• Understand payout timing in how to get paid from TikTok Shop.

For other ways to earn online, see our guide to making money online. When you're ready to act on the numbers, learn how to make money on TikTok Shop step by step.