How much does TikTok Shop charge sellers? TikTok Shop charges US sellers a referral fee of 6% on each completed order in most categories, calculated on what the customer paid plus any TikTok-funded discount, minus tax. There is no separate payment processing fee. Your real cost per order also includes the creator commission you set, fulfillment, samples, ads and returns, which is what the calculator below adds up.
By Andrew Morgans, founder of Marknology, selling on Amazon since 2011 | Updated September 2026
TikTok's fee policy defines the referral fee as the charge that "encompasses all TikTok Shop fees, with the exception of shipping and tax fees." Everything else on this list is a cost you choose or control. Here is every line that lands on a TikTok Shop order for a US brand.
| Cost | Who sets it | How it works |
|---|---|---|
| Referral fee | TikTok Shop | 6% per completed order in most US categories. Five fine jewelry sub-categories (diamond, gold, jade, platinum and carat gold, and ruby, sapphire and emerald) are 5%, many pre-owned categories are 5%, and collectibles pay 3% on any portion of a sale over $10,000. Charged on the customer payment plus any platform discount, minus tax. |
| Refund administration fee | TikTok Shop | When an order is refunded, TikTok returns the referral fee minus 20% of it, capped at $5 per SKU. Not charged on "buy now, refund later" creator sample orders or on eligible cancellations before shipping. |
| Sales tax on the referral fee | Your state | Since November 1, 2025, TikTok collects sales tax on referral fees for sellers whose business is registered in Texas or West Virginia. |
| Creator commission | You | The affiliate rate you set for creators who sell your product. Paid on the orders their content drives, not on your own videos or LIVE sessions. |
| Fulfillment and shipping | You or TikTok | A per-unit Fulfilled by TikTok (FBT) fee that covers pick, pack, packaging and delivery, or your own warehouse or third-party logistics (3PL) cost plus postage. |
| Shop Ads | You | Optional ad spend to boost videos, products and LIVE sessions. You control the budget. |
| Samples and content | You | Product and shipping cost for creator samples, plus any content you pay for. |
TikTok also runs time-limited fee reductions, such as reduced referral fees for new sellers and for some LIVE auction orders. They change by quarter, so check the offers in Seller Center before you plan around one.
Sources, checked September 25, 2026. TikTok Shop Academy, TikTok Shop Referral Fees by Category (updated May 14, 2026). TikTok Shop Academy, TikTok Shop Referral Fee Updates (referral fee formula and refund administration fee). TikTok Shop Academy, Sales Tax on Referral Fees, effective November 1, 2025.
TikTok's formula is: referral fee rate × (customer payment + platform discount minus tax). Seller-funded discounts lower the customer payment, so they lower the fee too. TikTok-funded discounts do not, because TikTok adds them back. This is TikTok's own worked example at 6%:
| Order kept | Half refunded | Fully refunded | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Customer payment | $102.00 | $102.00, then $51.00 refunded | $102.00, then $102.00 refunded |
| Platform discount | $5.00 | $5.00, then $2.50 refunded | $5.00, then $5.00 refunded |
| Sales tax | $2.00 | $2.00, then $1.00 refunded | $2.00, then $2.00 refunded |
| Referral fee at 6% | $6.30 | $3.15 | $0.00 |
| Refund administration fee | None | $0.63 | $1.26 |
Settlement happens after delivery once there is no open refund or return request, and TikTok pays out once your balance clears its $1 threshold.
Sources, checked September 25, 2026. TikTok Shop Academy, TikTok Shop Referral Fee Updates (referral fee formula and refund administration fee).
Enter one product. The calculator shows what each order keeps after TikTok's referral fee, creator commission, fulfillment, samples, ads and returns, and the highest commission you can pay creators before the product loses money. The defaults are examples, not benchmarks, except the 6% referral fee, which is TikTok's standard US rate.
How the math works: the referral fee is charged on the selling price plus any TikTok-funded discount, excluding tax, which is the formula in TikTok's fee policy. Returned orders are assumed to come back resellable, so they cost you the fulfillment you already paid and a refund administration fee of 20% of the referral fee, capped at $5 per SKU. Commission and product cost apply to kept orders only. Return shipping, damaged returns, sales tax on fees and seller-funded promotions are not included. Every default except the 6% referral fee is an example: replace it with your own numbers.
FBT charges a per-unit fulfillment fee that includes pick, pack, packaging and last-mile shipping to the shopper, plus storage. TikTok changed the rate card several times in 2026: lower fees for single units from 16 to 50 lb from May 20, higher fees for multi-unit orders from 5 to 20 lb from June 18, and new weight tiers up to 150 lb from July 13. Use the current rate card, not last year's blog posts.
Since June 16, 2025, every FBT order ships free to the shopper by default. Sellers can opt a product out: shoppers then pay a flat $5.99 on orders under $30, TikTok keeps that shipping fee, and the seller gets a $0.75 per-unit reimbursement on those orders. TikTok warns that opting out can reduce sales, so run the numbers on low-price items before you do.
| Option | What you pay | Where it fits |
|---|---|---|
| Fulfilled by TikTok (FBT) | A per-unit fulfillment fee by weight and units per order, plus storage and any inbound, return and service fees on TikTok's rate card | Brands whose TikTok orders justify stock in TikTok's network and that want FBT's default free shipping |
| Your own warehouse | Labor, packaging and postage per order | Brands with in-house fulfillment that can meet TikTok's handling times |
| A 3PL that ships every channel | The 3PL's pick, pack and storage fees plus postage | Brands selling on TikTok Shop, Amazon, Walmart and their own site from one pool of stock |
We run our own warehouse in Kansas City that ships TikTok Shop, Shopify, Walmart and Amazon Seller Fulfilled Prime orders from one pool of stock. See how it works.
Sources, checked September 25, 2026. TikTok Shop Academy, FBT Rate Card and Frequently Asked Questions (updated July 13, 2026).
TikTok Shop's 6% is lower than the referral fee in many Walmart and Amazon categories. The advantage rarely survives once you add creator commissions and samples, because on TikTok Shop creators are the sales engine. Compare channels on profit per order after every cost, not on the referral rate.
| TikTok Shop | Walmart Marketplace | Amazon | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Monthly fee | None listed in TikTok's fee policy | None: no setup, monthly or hidden fees | $39.99 a month for a Professional plan, or $0.99 per item on the Individual plan |
| Commission on each sale | 6% referral fee in most categories | Referral fee by category, mostly 6% to 15%, with tiers for some categories | Referral fee by category, a percentage or a per-item minimum, whichever is greater |
| Payment processing | Included: TikTok's referral fee covers all TikTok Shop fees except shipping and tax | Included in the referral fee | Included in the referral fee |
| Creator or affiliate cost | Commission you set for creators | Optional | Optional |
| Fulfillment program | Fulfilled by TikTok (FBT) | Walmart Fulfillment Services (WFS) | Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA) |
For the full Amazon picture, read our Amazon seller fees guide. For Walmart, see how to sell on Walmart.
Sources, checked September 25, 2026. TikTok Shop Academy, Referral Fee Updates. Walmart Marketplace, Pricing. Amazon, Selling fees and plans.
For the full launch plan, read how to sell on TikTok Shop as a brand and our guide to the TikTok Shop affiliate program.
Sources, checked September 25, 2026. TikTok Shop Academy, How Standard Affiliate Commission Works (updated September 14, 2026).
We run TikTok Shop creator programs, Shop Ads and fulfillment for product brands as one team with their Amazon, Walmart and Shopify. See our TikTok Shop agency work, or start with a Growth Diagnostic: a full audit across Amazon, your own site, TikTok Shop and other marketplaces, with a 90-day roadmap.
Start With a Growth DiagnosticIn the US, TikTok Shop charges a referral fee of 6% on each completed order in most categories. A few categories are lower: some fine jewelry and many pre-owned categories are 5%, and collectibles pay 3% on any portion of a sale over $10,000. TikTok says the referral fee covers all TikTok Shop fees except shipping and tax.
No separate one. TikTok's fee policy says the referral fee encompasses all TikTok Shop fees except shipping and tax fees, so payment processing is included in the referral fee.
The referral fee equals the referral fee rate multiplied by the customer payment plus any platform discount, minus tax. For example, a $102 customer payment with a $5 TikTok-funded discount and $2 of tax gives 6% of $105, which is $6.30.
Yes, mostly. TikTok refunds the referral fee on a refunded order minus a refund administration fee of 20% of that referral fee, capped at $5 per SKU. The fee is not charged on buy now, refund later creator sample orders or on eligible cancellations before shipping.
On platform fees, usually yes: 6% in most TikTok Shop categories against Amazon's category referral fees and plan fee. But most TikTok Shop sales come through creators who earn a commission you set, plus samples and content, so compare profit per order after every cost, not the referral rate alone.
There is no standard rate: you set it in Seller Center. Work backward from margin: price, minus the referral fee, product cost, fulfillment, samples, ads and returns. The calculator on this page shows the highest commission a product can carry before it loses money.