How Much Does TikTok Shop Take From a Sale? US & UK Fees Explained
Short answer: TikTok Shop takes a 6% referral fee on most sales in the United States and a 9% commission fee in the United Kingdom. Affiliate commission, refund fees and shipping take more on top, so a $50 sale leaves you with $26 to $31 in the US depending on how you sell it. Zyrro breaks down every fee in this guide.
How Much Does TikTok Shop Take From a Sale in the US?
TikTok Shop takes 6% of each order in the United States for most product categories. TikTok calls this a referral fee, and it is the platform’s main charge. The fee is calculated on the customer payment plus any platform discount, minus tax — and the base includes the shipping fee the buyer pays. TikTok’s own Seller Center page states the rate plainly: starting 1 April 2024, the referral fee on all qualified transactions rose to 6% per order.
What surprises many new sellers is what the 6% covers. TikTok defines the referral fee as encompassing all TikTok Shop fees, with the exception of shipping and tax fees. That means there is no separate payment processing fee for US sellers — the card fee is bundled into the 6%. If a guide tells you to add another 2–3% for payment processing on top, it is describing other markets or the pre-April 2024 structure, not the current US fee. There is also no listing fee and no monthly subscription for a basic TikTok Shop; the referral fee is the platform fee.
One warning is worth stating clearly. In August 2026, several trade reports claimed TikTok had raised the standard US rate to 8% for most non-food categories. TikTok’s own public category table still listed 6% for those categories when it was last checked on 31 October 2026, and no official TikTok notice of an 8% change was found. Either the reports are wrong, the change applies only to some sellers, or the public table is out of date. Do not price on 8% — and do not assume 6% forever either. Check your own rate in Seller Center under Finance, then Statements, before you set prices.
What Does TikTok Shop Take in the UK?
In the United Kingdom, TikTok Shop takes a 9% commission fee, and that 9% is inclusive of VAT. The commission is calculated on net sales plus the shipping fee the customer pays plus any platform discount, minus refunds. So on a £50 sale with £3.95 buyer-paid shipping, the fee is 9% of £53.95, which is £4.86 — not 9% of £50.
The UK rate is higher than the US rate, but the two are not directly comparable: the UK 9% already includes VAT, while US sellers deal with sales tax separately. Some UK categories pay less — Electronics and selected Beauty & Personal Care categories get a reduced effective rate of 5%. If you sell in one of those categories, confirm your exact rate in Seller Center, because the reduced rate applies automatically to the specified categories only.
| Fee | United States | United Kingdom |
|---|---|---|
| Standard platform fee | 6% referral fee | 9% commission fee (incl. VAT) |
| Reduced category rate | 5% (selected jewellery, pre-owned) | 5% (Electronics, selected Beauty) |
| Fee base | Customer payment + platform discount − tax (includes buyer-paid shipping) | Net sales + customer-paid shipping + platform discount − refunds |
| Separate payment processing fee | No — bundled into the 6% | No separate fee published |
| Refund administration fee | 20% of the referral fee, capped at $5 per SKU | No fee found on public UK help pages |
| Listing fee / monthly subscription | None for a basic Shop | None for a basic Shop |
TikTok Shop fees at a glance, US vs UK. Rates verified against TikTok Shop Seller Center help pages on 31 October 2026.
Which Categories Pay Less Than 6%?
Not every US category pays the full 6%. TikTok’s category table sets 5% for five jewellery sub-categories — Diamond, Gold, Jade, Platinum and Carat Gold, and Ruby, Sapphire and Emerald — and for all Pre-Owned categories. For Collectibles and Pre-Owned, the portion of a sale over $10,000 is charged at 3%. Everything else most sellers deal in — Beauty, Electronics, Fashion, Home, Food and similar — sits at 6%.
New sellers sometimes get a lower rate for a limited time. TikTok confirms that promotional plans exist for eligible new sellers, but the rate and the terms are not published on its public US help pages — some guides say 3% for 30 days if the first sale happens within 60 days of joining, others say 2% for 90 days. Because the guides disagree and TikTok publishes no official terms, treat any new-seller rate as something to confirm in your own Seller Center account, not as a number to build your pricing on.
What Else Comes Out of Your Sale?
The referral fee is only the first deduction. Three more costs regularly take a share of a TikTok Shop sale, and sellers who ignore them are the ones who wonder where the money went.
Affiliate commission. If a creator sells your product, you pay them a commission you set yourself. TikTok allows anything from 1% to 80% per product, and publishes no default rate — the choice is yours. Guides typically report that sellers offer 10% to 20%, and TikTok’s UK Creator Collaboration Playbook puts the average at 10% to 15%. A 10% commission on a $50 product is $5.00, which is more than the $3.00 referral fee. That is the single biggest lever on your margin after your product cost, and it is entirely in your control.
Refund administration fee (US). When an order is refunded, returned or cancelled after it was placed, TikTok returns the referral fee — minus an administration fee of 20% of that referral fee, capped at $5 per SKU. On a $50 sale the referral fee is $3.00, so the administration fee is $0.60 and you get $2.40 of the fee back. The cap only bites on large orders: TikTok’s own example is a $500 sale, where 20% of the $30 fee would be $6, reduced to $5 by the cap. No equivalent fee was found on TikTok’s public UK help pages, so UK sellers should check their own statements.
Smart Promotion (optional). This is an opt-in programme, not a default charge. If you join it, TikTok charges a fixed fee of 3.5% of your store’s gross merchandise value outside campaign periods, rising by 1.0 to 2.0 percentage points during campaigns. You can opt in and out at any time, so only count it if you actually use it.
Shipping is the last piece. The buyer-paid shipping fee sits inside the referral-fee base, but the cost of actually sending the parcel comes out of your pocket. If you offer free shipping to the buyer, the whole delivery cost is yours. Fulfilled by TikTok (FBT) fees are also charged per unit, but TikTok’s official FBT rate card could not be verified from a public source and published guides disagree on the per-unit price — enter the fee from your own Seller Center rate card rather than trusting a number from a blog. For the full shipping setup, see our guide to how to ship on TikTok Shop.
Worked Example: What You Keep From a $50 Sale
The clearest way to see what TikTok Shop takes is to run one sale through the numbers. These examples use a $50 product, a $12 product cost and $4.00 to ship it, with free shipping for the buyer. Every figure below can be recalculated from the rates above.
Where a $50 TikTok Shop sale goes in the US: $3.00 referral fee, $12.00 product cost, $4.00 shipping, $31.00 profit.
| US sale, no affiliate | US sale, 10% affiliate | UK sale, no affiliate | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sale price | $50.00 | $50.00 | £50.00 |
| Platform fee (6% US / 9% UK) | − $3.00 | − $3.00 | − £4.50 |
| Affiliate commission (10%) | — | − $5.00 | — |
| Product cost | − $12.00 | − $12.00 | − £12.00 |
| Shipping cost | − $4.00 | − $4.00 | − £3.50 |
| You keep | $31.00 | $26.00 | £30.00 |
| Profit margin on price | 62% | 52% | 60% |
Worked examples: a $50 / £50 sale with a $12 / £12 product cost. Affiliate commission is the biggest swing — 10% to a creator costs more than the platform fee itself.
Two things stand out. First, the platform fee is the smallest deduction in every column — your product cost and your affiliate rate matter more. Second, the break-even price is lower than most sellers expect. With the same $12 cost and $4.00 shipping, a US sale breaks even at about $17.02 without an affiliate, and at about $19.05 with a 10% affiliate commission. Below those prices you lose money on every order, however many units you sell.
How Do You Work Out Your Real Profit Before You List?
Do the maths before you list, not after the first payout disappoints you. The quickest way is to run your own numbers through a fee calculator: enter your price, product cost, shipping cost and affiliate rate, and read off the profit, margin and break-even price. Zyrro’s free TikTok Shop Fee & Profit Calculator does exactly that for US and UK sellers, with the 6% and 9% rates built in and every rate editable — so if your category pays 5%, or your Seller Center shows a different rate, you can change it and see the result instantly.
Run your own numbers before you list — the calculator shows profit, margin and break-even price for US and UK sellers.
If you prefer to check by hand, the formula is simple. Take the price the customer pays, subtract the referral fee (6% of the price in the US, 9% in the UK), subtract any affiliate commission, then subtract your product cost and your shipping cost. What is left is your profit. Then divide that profit by the price to get your margin. A margin under 20% leaves almost no room for refunds, ads or a price cut — most sellers aim for 30% or more after all fees.
How Can You Pay Less to TikTok Shop?
You cannot negotiate the 6% or 9% headline rate, but you can change almost everything around it. First, check your category — if your product qualifies for the 5% jewellery, pre-owned or UK Electronics rate, make sure your listing is categorised correctly, because the rate follows the category. Second, set your affiliate commission deliberately: a 20% offer recruits creators fast, but it doubles the cost of a 10% offer on every single order, so match the rate to the category average rather than bidding blind. Third, keep refunds low — every refunded US order costs you 20% of the referral fee, and a high return rate quietly eats the margin on the orders that stay sold. Fourth, price with the calculator, not with a guess: a product that looks profitable at $25 can be loss-making at $19 once the fee, the affiliate cut and shipping are all counted.
Finally, compare platforms before you commit your stock to one of them. TikTok’s 6% US fee is far below eBay’s 13.6% final value fee for most categories, which is one reason sellers accept TikTok’s affiliate costs — but eBay has no affiliate commission at all, so the right answer depends on how much of your TikTok volume comes through creators. Our eBay Fee & Profit Calculator runs the same product through eBay’s US and UK fees so you can compare the two side by side.
US vs UK at a glance: 6% in the US, 9% including VAT in the UK, with a 5% reduced rate for some categories in both markets.
For the full picture of what TikTok Shop offers sellers beyond fees, see our TikTok Shop seller tools hub, which lists the free calculators available now and the ones coming next.
Frequently Asked Questions About TikTok Shop Fees
How much does TikTok Shop take from a $50 sale?
In the US, TikTok Shop takes a $3.00 referral fee from a $50 sale (6% of $50). In the UK, the commission on a £50 sale is £4.50 (9% of £50, including VAT). Affiliate commission, product cost and shipping come out on top, so a $50 US sale with a 10% affiliate commission leaves $26.00 profit on a $12 product.
Does TikTok Shop charge a separate payment processing fee?
No, not in the US. TikTok states that the referral fee covers all TikTok Shop fees except shipping and tax, so card processing is bundled into the 6%. Do not add a separate 2–3% processing fee to US calculations unless your own settlement statement shows one.
What is the TikTok Shop commission rate in the UK?
The UK commission rate is 9%, inclusive of VAT, on net sales plus customer-paid shipping plus platform discount, minus refunds. Electronics and selected Beauty & Personal Care categories pay a reduced effective rate of 5%. New sellers may qualify for a lower promotional rate, but TikTok does not publish the rate or terms publicly.
How much affiliate commission should I offer creators?
You set the rate yourself anywhere from 1% to 80% per product, and TikTok publishes no default. Guides typically report sellers offering 10% to 20%, and TikTok’s UK Creator Collaboration Playbook puts the average at 10% to 15%. Start near the category average, then raise it only if creators ignore your product.
Do I get the referral fee back if a buyer returns the item?
Mostly, yes — in the US. TikTok refunds the referral fee on a refunded order, minus an administration fee of 20% of that referral fee, capped at $5 per SKU. On a $50 sale, $2.40 of the $3.00 fee comes back and $0.60 is kept.
Is TikTok Shop raising its fee to 8%?
Trade reports in August 2026 claimed the standard US rate rose to 8% for most non-food categories. TikTok’s own public category table still showed 6% when checked on 31 October 2026, and no official TikTok notice of an 8% change was found. Until TikTok confirms a change, 6% is the verified rate.
Rates in this article were verified against TikTok Shop’s official Seller Center help pages on 31 October 2026. TikTok can change fees with around 30 days’ notice to sellers, so always confirm your exact rate in Seller Center before setting prices. This article is general information, not financial advice. Zyrro’s free calculators use the same verified rates and let you change any rate to match your own account.