TikTok Shop Fee Calculator: Referral Fee & Profit

Estimate US TikTok Shop order profit after referral fees, creator commission, delivery and ads. Set the category rate and commission from your Seller Center agreement.

By Berend Vrakking, Founder · Updated 15 October 2026 · ~8 min read

Your results

At $30.00 you keep $14.02 per sale (42.5% margin). You can spend at most $17.02 on ads per order before losing money (break-even ROAS 1.94).

Profit per order: $14.02
Break-even ROAS: 1.94
Target ROAS: 273%

Profit margin: 42.5%
Net markup on COGS: 155.8%
Max break-even ad spend: $17.02
Total fees: $1.98
Referral fee: $1.98

Explore the break-even ROAS calculator

US dollars, one item per order. Selling price and shipping charged exclude sales tax. Tax only increases the basis of fee lines marked payment; it never becomes seller revenue. Fee lines are rounded half up to whole cents before summing. All fee presets are editable estimates, not a settlement quote.

Illustrative starting values. No sign-up required. Results update as you edit.

Platform and payment fees

Edit any preset to match your account.

Referral fee

Percentage

%

Fixed amount

$

6% preset from TikTok’s referral fee article (5% to 6% by category). Rates change: enter the rate shown in your Seller Center.

Creator affiliate commission

Include this charge

Percentage

%

Fixed amount

$

TikTok sets no standard rate: the seller sets the commission per product, and TikTok calculates it on revenue minus refunds. 10% is illustrative. This scenario applies it to item price only; enter your effective rate.

Key takeaways

TikTok Shop profit per order = retained revenue − item cost − shipping cost − referral fee − creator commission (if enabled) − overhead − return handling − ad spend. Retained revenue is item price plus shipping charged, reduced by the expected refund rate; sales tax is not revenue and is not in any fee base here. Starting values: referral fee: 6% on item price and shipping charged; creator commission: 10% on item price only, off by default; ad spend $3.00 per order; overhead $0.00 per order; no returns assumed.

The referral fee preset is 6%, from TikTok’s referral fee article (effective April 2024, 5% to 6% by category).
Some trade sites report a rise to 8% from 4 August 2026. We could not confirm it on TikTok’s own pages, so edit the percentage if your Seller Center shows a different rate.
Creator commission is separate and set per product. The 10% preset is illustrative and off by default.
Leave creator commission out of ad spend, or you count it twice.

What fees does TikTok Shop charge?

TikTok’s US referral fee article gives 6%, with 5% to 6% by category. Its basis can include platform-funded discounts. This simplified scenario assumes no platform subsidy or special discount adjustment: use actual effective order amounts for subsidised campaigns.

Fee line, Starting preset, Basis and scope, Source
Fee line	Starting preset	Basis and scope	Source
Referral fee	6%	6% preset from TikTok’s referral fee article (5% to 6% by category). Rates change: enter the rate shown in your Seller Center.	TikTok Shop referral fee update
Creator affiliate commission	10% (off initially)	TikTok sets no standard rate: the seller sets the commission per product, and TikTok calculates it on revenue minus refunds. 10% is illustrative. This scenario applies it to item price only; enter your effective rate.	TikTok Shop standard affiliate commission

Creator commission is separate from the platform referral charge. The optional 10% input is an illustration, applied to item price in this model. Replace it with your agreement’s effective percentage and reconcile its basis against settlement data before comparing affiliate campaigns.

Do not count the same creator or campaign charge twice. The commission line represents percentage-based affiliate cost; ad spend is additional paid acquisition. Refund administration charges and other unrecovered costs can remain after revenue reverses, so use the returns scenario and overhead allowance.

Rates change. TikTok’s referral fee article states 6% (5% to 6% by category). Trade sites report 8% from 4 August 2026, which we could not confirm on TikTok’s own pages. Check your Seller Center and edit the percentage if it differs. Fees last checked 15 October 2026. Next review due 15 January 2027. Fees change: presets are US examples, so edit them to match your account.

TikTok Shop worked example

A $30 item costs $9, collects $3 for shipping and costs $5 to deliver. The starting order pays the 6% referral example and $3 separate advertising, with creator commission disabled. Enable the illustrative 10% affiliate commission to compare an affiliate-attributed sale.

Illustrative data. Starting calculator values, one item per order.

Order revenue before returns: $30.00 + $3.00 = $33.00
Referral fee: $1.98
Creator affiliate commission: $0.00
Total fees: $1.98
Retained revenue: $33.00 × (1 − 0%) = $33.00
Contribution before ads: $33.00 − $9.00 COGS − $5.00 delivery − $1.98 fees − $0.00 overhead − $0.00 return handling = $17.02
Profit after ads: $17.02 − $3.00 = $14.02
Profit margin: $14.02 ÷ $33.00 = 42.5%
Net markup on COGS: $14.02 ÷ $9.00 = 155.8%
Max break-even ad spend: $17.02
Break-even ROAS: $33.00 ÷ $17.02 = 1.94
Target ROAS for 15% retained margin: 273%

At $30.00 you keep $14.02 per sale (42.5% margin). You can spend at most $17.02 on ads per order before losing money (break-even ROAS 1.94).

Mistakes to avoid when calculating TikTok Shop profit

Mistake, What it does to profit, Fix
Mistake	What it does to profit	Fix
Assuming the 6% preset is current for your category	TikTok changes rates, and trade sites report 8% from August 2026.	Copy the rate from your Seller Center and edit the percentage.
Counting creator commission in ad spend as well	Profit is understated and the ROAS you need comes out too high.	Enter commission in the creator line only.
Ignoring platform-funded discounts in the fee basis	The fee is charged on the buyer payment plus the platform discount, less tax.	Use the effective order amounts for subsidised campaigns.

ROAS, POAS and TikTok Shop fees

TikTok Shop charges a referral fee on the buyer payment plus any platform discount, and creator commission comes on top. A campaign can hit its ROAS target while those two take most of the margin. POAS divides contribution before ads by ad spend: a POAS of 1 covers the ads and leaves nothing over.

How this calculator works

US dollars, one item per order. Selling price and shipping charged exclude sales tax. Tax only increases the basis of fee lines marked payment; it never becomes seller revenue. Fee lines are rounded half up to whole cents before summing. All fee presets are editable estimates, not a settlement quote.

Retained revenue = (selling price + shipping charged) × (1 − returns % − chargebacks %). The returns scenario retains all original COGS, fees and outbound shipping, and adds handling cost × returns %. It assumes no recovered stock value and no refunded fees, unless a page lets you enter a supplier recovery share. Use zero returns for the ordinary completed-order calculation.

Profit = retained revenue − COGS − shipping cost − total fees − overhead − return handling − ads. Profit margin = profit ÷ retained revenue. Net markup = profit ÷ item COGS. This is profit after entered costs, before unallocated business costs and income taxes.

Maximum break-even ad spend = contribution before ads. Break-even ROAS = original item and shipping revenue ÷ contribution before ads, shown as a plain number. Target ROAS = original revenue ÷ (contribution before ads − retained revenue × desired margin), shown as a percentage. A zero or negative budget has no feasible ROAS. Pre-return advertising revenue sets the ROAS basis and retained revenue sets the margin basis: match the revenue basis to your advertising reports.

Pages with extra inputs add them to the same sum. Monthly costs are divided by orders per month and added to overhead. Supplier recovery adds back that share of the item cost on returned orders. A chargeback removes the sale, adds the dispute fee and recovers nothing.

Profit = retained revenue − COGS − shipping cost − fees − overhead − return handling − ads.
Break-even ROAS = order revenue ÷ contribution before ads, as a plain number.
Target ROAS = order revenue ÷ (contribution before ads − retained revenue × desired margin), as a percentage.

Starting values on this page: selling price $30.00, shipping charged $3.00, sales tax $0.00; item cost $9.00, shipping cost $5.00, overhead $0.00 per order, ad spend $3.00 per order; 0% of orders returned with $0.00 handling each; referral fee: 6% on item price and shipping charged; creator commission: 10% on item price only, off by default; desired profit margin 15%.

Not modelled: platform-funded discounts, refund administration fees and category exceptions beyond the editable percentage.

TikTok Shop fee and profit questions

What percentage does TikTok Shop take?

The preset is 6%, the rate in TikTok’s referral fee article, which gives 5% to 6% by category. Some trade sites report 8% from August 2026; we could not confirm that on TikTok’s own pages. Replace the percentage with the rate in your Seller Center.

Does TikTok affiliate commission replace the referral fee?

No. The creator line is added to the referral charge for an affiliate sale. TikTok sets no standard rate: the seller sets the commission per product, and TikTok calculates it on revenue minus refunds. The 10% starting value is illustrative and off by default, so enter the rate from your agreement.

How do platform discounts affect the fee estimate?

TikTok’s referral formula uses the customer’s payment plus any platform discount, less tax. The default scenario assumes no platform-funded discount. For a subsidised order, work out the effective fee from your settlement report and enter it as a higher percentage or as an extra charge in overhead.

Should I put creator commission in ad spend too?

No. When the affiliate line is on, leave that charge out of ad spend: the ad spend field is for additional paid acquisition. Counting commission in both places would understate profit and overstate the ROAS you need to break even, which could stop you scaling a campaign that works.

Are refunded TikTok orders cost-free?

Not necessarily: refund administration and fulfilment costs can remain after revenue reverses. The returns field keeps the original costs and reduces expected revenue, which is deliberately conservative. Add a handling cost per return where your own settlement history supports it, and reconcile against actual refunds.

Are these TikTok Shop fees current for 2026?

The linked official sources were checked on 15 October 2026; the next review is due 15 January 2027. Fees can change during the year. Confirm your category, account and order-specific charges before relying on any preset.

Next step: set your ad break-even for TikTok Shop

Subtract creator commission first, then use the contribution before ads to find your break-even ROAS. Compare it with what your TikTok campaigns return per product.

Break-even ROAS calculator
Free: turn this contribution into a break-even return.
POAS calculator
Free: compare profit with ad spend.
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About this calculator

Written by Berend Vrakking, founder of Product Metrics. Fee presets come from the official pages linked above, checked on 15 October 2026, with the next review due 15 January 2027. The calculator is free and needs no sign-up.