TikTok Shop’s headline fee is simple: 6% per order in most categories, with no listing fee, no monthly fee and no separate payment processing charge. What trips sellers up is the amount the 6% is charged on, and everything that can be stacked on top of it. The fee applies to the shipping the buyer pays and to coupons TikTok funds, and the creator commission or Smart Promotion fee you agreed to can cost more than the referral fee itself. The calculator above applies each fee to the amount TikTok’s own pages name and shows the arithmetic on every line.
Every TikTok Shop fee at a glance
These are the fees for US sellers, taken from TikTok Shop’s Seller Academy.
| Fee | Amount | Charged on | When |
|---|---|---|---|
| Referral fee | 6% | Item price after your discounts + shipping the buyer pays (TikTok-funded coupons included, sales tax excluded) | Every completed order, most categoriessource |
| Referral fee: fine jewelry | 5% | Same base | Diamond, Gold, Jade, Platinum & Carat Gold, Ruby/Sapphire & Emeraldsource |
| Referral fee: Pre-Owned | 5%; 3% on the part over $10,000 | Same base | 12 Pre-Owned categories (bags, watches, trading cards…)source |
| Referral fee: Collectibles | 6%; 3% on the part over $10,000 | Same base | Cultural items, entertainment, sports collectibles, trading cardssource |
| LIVE auction referral fee | 4% new auction sellers / 3% high-value orders | Same base | $1-start Seller LIVE Auction orders until Dec 31, 2026 (PT); 3% from $500 ($1,500 jewelry) in 7 categoriessource |
| Payment processing | Included | Covered by the referral fee | No separate chargesource |
| Setup fee | $0 | — | Opening a shop; no listing or monthly fee eithersource |
| Refund administration fee | 20%, max $5 per SKU | The referral fee TikTok refunds | Refunds, returns and cancellationssource |
| Affiliate commission | 1%–80% (you set it) | Item revenue minus refunds | Sales through a creator’s video, LIVE or showcasesource |
| Smart Promotion | 3.5%; +1.0–2.0 points in campaigns | Your shop’s GMV | If you join (required for platform campaigns)source |
| Campaign service fee | Set per campaign | Campaign price after your discount + shipping the buyer pays | Products registered in a campaign whose Fee Policy lists one (not for Smart Promotion members in platform campaigns)source |
| Sales tax on referral fee | Your state’s rate | Referral fee | Business registered in Texas or West Virginiasource |
| Chargeback appeal | $10 per chargeback | — | When you appeal a chargeback (not auto-contested ones)source |
Four things catch sellers out:
- Shipping is part of the base. TikTok says the referral fee base includes the shipping fee paid by the customer. A $40 item with $5.99 shipping pays 6% of $45.99, which is $2.76, not $2.40. Many fee guides leave shipping out.
- TikTok’s coupons don’t lower your fee; yours do. The formula is customer payment + platform discount − tax, so a coupon TikTok pays for is added back. A discount you fund comes straight off the base.
- There is no extra processing fee. The referral fee covers every TikTok Shop fee except shipping and tax. If your spreadsheet also takes a card processing percentage, it is counting the same cost twice.
- The optional costs are the big ones. A 15% creator commission on a $25 item is $3.75, about twice the $1.80 referral fee on the same order with $5 shipping.
What you keep at common prices
Each row assumes a US seller, a 6% category, $5 shipping paid by the buyer, no creator commission and no Smart Promotion.
| Item price | Total fees | Fee rate | You keep |
|---|---|---|---|
| $10.00 | $0.90 | 6.00% | $14.10 |
| $15.00 | $1.20 | 6.00% | $18.80 |
| $20.00 | $1.50 | 6.00% | $23.50 |
| $25.00 | $1.80 | 6.00% | $28.20 |
| $35.00 | $2.40 | 6.00% | $37.60 |
| $50.00 | $3.30 | 6.00% | $51.70 |
| $75.00 | $4.80 | 6.00% | $75.20 |
| $100.00 | $6.30 | 6.00% | $98.70 |
| $200.00 | $12.30 | 6.00% | $192.70 |
There is no fixed fee per order, so the share stays at exactly 6% at every price: a $10 item keeps $14.10 of a $15 order, and a $200 item keeps $192.70 of $205.
How the fees add up on one order
A $25 item with $5 shipping, sold through a creator on a 15% commission, by a shop enrolled in Smart Promotion outside a campaign period:
- Buyer pays$30.00
- Referral fee6% × $30.00 ($25.00 item + $5.00 shipping)−$1.80
- Payment processingIncluded in the referral fee$0.00
- Affiliate commission15% × $25.00−$3.75
- Smart Promotion fee3.5% × $30.00−$1.05
- You keep$23.40
The referral fee is 6% of $30.00, the item plus shipping, so $1.80. The creator’s 15% is worked out on the $25 item price: $3.75. Smart Promotion takes 3.5% of the sale, $1.05. Together that is $6.60, or 22% of the order, and you keep $23.40 before paying for the item and the label. TikTok doesn’t say exactly what the GMV behind Smart Promotion includes, so we charge it on the same item-plus-shipping amount as the referral fee. If your statement shows it on the item alone, it will be $0.88 instead of $1.05 on this order.
Categories with a lower rate
The 6% rate covers almost every category, from beauty and fashion to electronics and home. The exceptions:
- Fine jewelry, 5%. Since October 31, 2024, five sub-categories pay 5%: Diamond, Gold, Jade, Platinum & Carat Gold, and Ruby, Sapphire & Emerald. Silver, pearl, amber, crystal and other stones stay at 6%.
- Pre-Owned, 5%. All 12 Pre-Owned categories, including bags, watches, footwear, refurbished phones and collectible trading cards.
- 3% above $10,000. Pre-Owned and Collectibles (cultural items, entertainment, sports collectibles, trading cards) pay 3% on the part of a sale over $10,000. A $12,500 trading card in Collectibles costs 6% of $10,000 plus 3% of $2,500: $675 in all. TikTok doesn’t say whether the $10,000 is counted per item or per order; the calculator applies it to the order.
- LIVE auctions until December 31, 2026. Seller LIVE Auction orders with a $1 starting bid are charged 4% for eligible new auction sellers, and 3% on high-value orders from eligible existing auction sellers ($1,500 for jewelry, $500 in the other targeted categories), on up to $400K of auction sales a week. Pick it under “More options”.
Refunds, returns and chargebacks
When an order is refunded or cancelled, TikTok gives back the referral fee on the refunded part, minus a refund administration fee of 20% of that fee. Since May 15, 2025, it is capped at $5 per SKU per refund. On the $25 item with $5 shipping, a full refund costs you $0.36. The cap only matters once the referral fee on one SKU reaches $25, a sale of roughly $417 at 6%.
Returns can cost more than the admin fee. TikTok’s return policy makes sellers responsible for return costs even for buyer-fault reasons such as “no longer needed”, and Refund without Return is switched on automatically for items priced up to $10, so the buyer keeps the item. Appealing a chargeback costs $10, whatever the outcome, unless TikTok contests it for you automatically.
Ways to keep more of each sale
- Set creator commission per product. Rates from 1% to 80% are yours to choose. A raise reaches creators at once, but a cut waits 30 days in open collaborations and 5 days in target collaborations, so test a lower rate before you need the margin.
- Weigh Smart Promotion against what it unlocks. It is optional and you can leave at any time, but it is the entry ticket to platform campaigns, Flash Sales and Premium Offers, and enrolled sellers pay no additional fee to sign up for them. TikTok commits to platform discounts at least equal to the fee rate.
- Watch for Commission Saving via GMV Max. If TikTok invites your shop, orders from GMV Max campaigns that meet its ROI and budget targets get a lower referral fee automatically.
- Register Pre-Owned and fine jewelry items in the right category. The 5% rate only applies when the listing sits in one of those categories.
Recent TikTok Shop fee changes
- January 1, 2027UpcomingThe Seller LIVE Auction reduced referral fees (4% and 3%) end after December 31, 2026, 11:59 p.m. PT. Auction orders go back to the category’s standard 5% or 6%.source
- October 1, 2026Seller LIVE Auction orders with a $1 starting bid: referral fee cut from the standard 5%–6% to 4% for eligible new auction sellers, and to 3% on high-value orders in 7 categories for eligible existing auction sellers (up to $400K of auction sales per week).source
- March 3, 2026Most sellers moved from Co-funded Promotion to Smart Promotion: a fixed 3.5% of shop GMV, 1.0–2.0 points more during campaign periods. From April 2026 it is required to join platform campaigns, Flash Sales, Premium Offers and Weekly Promos.source
- November 1, 2025Sellers whose business is registered in Texas or West Virginia now pay state sales tax on their referral fees.source
- May 15, 2025Refund administration fee (20% of the refunded referral fee) went from uncapped to a maximum of $5 per SKU per refund.source
- October 31, 2024Referral fee for five jewelry sub-categories (Diamond, Gold, Jade, Platinum & Carat Gold, Ruby/Sapphire & Emerald) cut from 6% to 5%.source
- April 1, 2024Referral fee raised to 6% per order on all qualified orders. It covers every TikTok Shop fee except shipping and tax.source
Reports of an 8% US referral fee from August 2026 come from third-party blogs: TikTok’s own category table, revised October 8, 2026, still lists 6% and 5%. We re-check TikTok’s fee pages every day and update this calculator when they change.