TikTok Shop's platform fee is low compared with other marketplaces, but it is rarely the biggest cost on an order. Creator affiliate commissions, seller-funded discounts and shipping usually take more. This calculator puts the referral fee, the creator's cut and your own costs together, so you see what a sale is really worth before you set a price or an affiliate rate.
Rates are from TikTok Shop Seller University's US referral fee table, as of October 2026. The calculator runs in your browser.
TikTok Shop fees in 2026 (US)
The main platform fee is the referral fee:
| Category | Referral fee |
|---|---|
| Almost every category (beauty, fashion, home, electronics, toys, food, pet and more) | 6% |
| Jewelry: diamond, gold, jade, platinum, ruby, sapphire and emerald | 5% |
| Pre-Owned (bags, watches, trading cards, clothing, refurbished electronics) | 5%, and 3% on any part of a sale over $10,000 |
The fee is calculated as: referral fee rate x (customer payment + platform discount - tax). In plain terms, that is what the buyer paid, plus any discount TikTok funded, minus sales tax. It includes the shipping fee the buyer paid. A discount you fund yourself lowers the fee base; a discount TikTok funds does not.
Other charges to know about:
- Refund administration fee: when an order is refunded, TikTok returns the referral fee minus 20% of it, capped at $5 per SKU (cap in place since May 15, 2025). Refunds for orders canceled before shipping under the auto-cancel rules are exempt.
- Payment processing: there is no separate processing fee listed for US sellers.
- Creator affiliate commission: the rate you set for creators who sell your product, charged only on affiliate sales.
New sellers can be enrolled in promotional fee plans; check Seller Center for your account's current rate and choose the matching option.
How to use the TikTok Shop fee calculator
- Enter the item price and choose your category rate.
- Enter any seller-funded discount on the order, such as a coupon you pay for.
- Choose Shipping: you charge shipping and buy the label, or you offer free shipping and pay the label. Enter the amounts.
- If a creator sold the item, enter the creator affiliate commission in percent.
- Enter your item cost and packaging, then read the fees, payout, profit, margin and break-even price.
Worked examples
A $25 product with $4.99 shipping
The fee base is $25 + $4.99 = $29.99, and 6% of that is $1.80. Your payout is $28.19. After a $4.50 label, a $7 product cost and $0.50 of packaging, profit is $16.19, a 54.0% margin on the $29.99 you received.
The same sale through a creator at 15%
The creator commission is 15% of $25, which is $3.75. Profit drops to $12.44. Affiliate sales can still be the best sales you make, because they reach people who would never find your shop, but set the commission with this number in front of you.
A $5 seller-funded coupon
The buyer pays $20 for the item plus $4.99 shipping. The fee base is $24.99, so the referral fee is $1.50. Your payout is $23.49 and profit is $11.49. Your coupon cost you $5 of revenue but saved $0.30 in fees.
A refund
If the $25 order is refunded, TikTok keeps 20% of the $1.80 referral fee, $0.36, as a refund administration fee. You get the remaining $1.44 back, so a refund costs you $0.36 in fees plus any shipping you cannot recover.
A month on TikTok Shop
Suppose you take 300 orders in a month at $25 with $4.99 shipping. The referral fee is $1.80 per order, $540 for the month. If 40% of those orders came from creators at a 15% commission, that is 120 x $3.75 = $450 more, close to the referral fees themselves. That is why the affiliate rate is the number to watch: going from 15% to 20% on those 120 orders would add another $150.
High-value Pre-Owned sales
Pre-Owned categories pay 5%, and only 3% on the part of a sale above $10,000. A $12,000 pre-owned watch pays 5% of $10,000 plus 3% of $2,000, which is $560. Choose the Pre-Owned option in the calculator and it applies the split for you.
Creator samples
Many sellers send free samples to creators. Refunds under TikTok's "buy now, refund later" creator sample process are exempt from the refund administration fee, but the sample itself and its shipping are still a cost. Count them as marketing spend alongside affiliate commission.
Pricing with affiliate commission in mind
If you want $10 profit on every creator sale at a 15% commission, with $4.99 shipping charged, a $4.50 label and $7.50 of product and packaging, the price works out to $21.91. At that price the referral fee is $1.61 (6% of $26.90), the commission is $3.29, your payout is $22.00 and profit is $10.00. Run your own numbers in the calculator, then decide whether non-affiliate sales at the same price leave enough room for coupons and flash deals.
TikTok Shop compared with other marketplaces
The comparison table under the calculator runs the same item and shipping through Whatnot, Depop, Mercari and Poshmark. For a $25 item with $4.99 shipping, TikTok Shop's $1.80 is among the lowest, close to Depop and well below Poshmark's $5.00. Compared with Amazon's 15% referral fee in most categories, the difference is larger still; see the Amazon FBA calculator for that side.
The real cost on TikTok Shop is getting seen. Most sales come from videos and creators, which is where affiliate commission and content time come in. AM Jarvis Social Autopilot posts your products and pages to Pinterest, Instagram and Facebook on a schedule, written by your own AI, which helps you build reach outside TikTok without extra ad spend. To measure what your paid promotion returns, use the ROAS calculator, and for creator performance the TikTok engagement rate calculator.
Setting prices and affiliate rates
- Price for the affiliate sale. If you want creators to promote you, assume a share of sales will carry their commission and check profit at that rate.
- Fund discounts carefully. A seller-funded discount reduces your revenue one for one, while the fee saving is only 6% of it.
- Include shipping in your math. The fee is charged on the shipping the buyer pays, and you pay for the label.
- Use the break-even price as your floor for flash sales and coupons.
Troubleshooting
My settlement shows a different fee
Check whether the order had a platform-funded discount (it is added back to the fee base) or a seller-funded one (it is not). Also check whether your account has a promotional rate.
Is the TikTok Shop fee 6% or 8%?
The current US category table in Seller University lists 6% for almost every category and 5% for some jewelry and Pre-Owned items. If your Seller Center shows a different rate for your category or account, choose the closest option or adjust the result accordingly.
Why is my margin lower on affiliate sales?
The creator commission is charged on the item price after your discounts, on top of the referral fee. At 15% it usually costs about twice the referral fee, so set a separate price floor for affiliate campaigns.
Does the calculator include Fulfilled by TikTok?
No. If TikTok fulfills your orders, enter its fulfillment charge as your postage cost to include it.