TikTok Shop Fees Explained (2026)
TikTok Shop's fee structure looks simple in the ads and is anything but simple in your settlement report. This page lists every fee a seller pays, who charges it, and what it actually costs on a typical order.
The fee stack at a glance
| Fee | Typical US rate | Charged on | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Referral fee | ~6% (5% jewelry, 3% promo tier) | Product + shipping the buyer pays | Includes payment processing in the US — no separate transaction fee |
| Affiliate commission | 10–20% (you set it) | Attributed creator orders | Your biggest cost if you sell through creators |
| FBT fulfillment | from ~$3.58/order | Per shipped order | Scales with weight & dimensions; storage fees extra |
| GMV Max ads | 10–20% of revenue (your choice) | Ad spend | Optional but near-mandatory when scaling |
| Refund admin / losses | varies | Returned orders | You lose shipping and often the goods |
1. Referral fee by market (2026)
- United States: ~6% for most categories, 5% for jewelry & pre-owned luxury, promotional tiers as low as 3% on very large orders. Payment processing is bundled in.
- United Kingdom: ~5% for most categories.
- Europe (DE/FR/IT/ES): ~9%. Opened to local sellers in 2025.
- Japan: switched from a flat 7% to category-based 7–12% in May 2026 — see our Japan fee guide.
- Malaysia: Platform Support Fee added February 2026 on top of commission.
2. What the referral fee is charged on
The fee applies to the total amount the customer pays — product price plus any shipping the buyer pays, plus coupons funded by the platform in some cases. A $29.99 product with $5 buyer-paid shipping is charged on $34.99.
3. Affiliate commission: the hidden margin killer
TikTok Shop is a creator-driven channel. If you sell through affiliates, you set their commission — typically 10–20%, and 15% is a common open-collaboration rate. On a $29.99 item that's $4.50 per order, more than the referral fee itself. Many sellers set this rate in a hurry during campaign setup and discover later it was never priced into the product.
4. FBT — Fulfilled by TikTok
FBT fulfillment starts around $3.58 per order for light packages and scales with weight bands. Storage fees apply during peak season. Self-fulfilling replaces this with your own shipping cost — the calculator models both.
5. The real take rate
Advertising a "6%" platform is technically true and practically misleading. For a scaling seller using affiliates and GMV Max ads, the all-in take — platform fees, creator payouts, fulfillment, ads, refund losses — typically lands between 38–52% of GMV. Products below 60% gross margin struggle to survive that stack.
Run your own numbers in the free TikTok Shop fee calculator — it models every layer above, plus reverse pricing to hit a target margin.