Profit per order
Profitable$20.70
Modeled revenue minus TikTok referral fee, creator commission, and seller operating costs for a completed order.
TikTok Shop Fee & Profit Calculator
Estimate TikTok Shop referral fees, creator commission, seller costs, profit, margin, and the buyer-paid item amount you need for break-even or a target margin. The United States model uses official TikTok Shop documentation. This is an estimate, not a TikTok settlement statement.
Profit For Sellers is not affiliated with TikTok. United States rates were last verified 2026-09-09. The primary result models a completed order. Enter the buyer-paid item amount, not a pre-discount list price. Buyer sales tax is excluded. Platform-funded discounts are included in the modeled referral-fee base. Creator commission is user-entered. Refunds, FBT rate cards, storage, campaign fees, settlement adjustments, and tax on referral fees for some Texas or West Virginia sellers are not estimated automatically.
Inputs
Results
TikTok referral fee
$3.30
Referral rate times (customer payment before tax + platform-funded discount). This is not creator commission.
Creator commission
$0.00
User-entered affiliate rate applied to buyer-paid item amount × quantity. Shipping is not included in this commission base.
Profit margin
37.6%
Profit divided by modeled revenue. Unavailable when modeled revenue is zero.
Effective selling-cost rate
6.0%
Referral fee plus creator commission, divided by modeled revenue.
Break-even buyer-paid item amount
$27.98
Minimum nonnegative buyer-paid item amount per unit where profit is at least zero under these assumptions.
Target-margin buyer-paid item amount
$36.89
Minimum nonnegative buyer-paid item amount per unit where profit divided by modeled revenue meets the target margin.
Breakdown
| Item | Amount |
|---|---|
| Buyer-paid item amount | $50.00 |
| Customer-paid shipping | $5.00 |
| Platform-funded discount | $0.00 |
| Modeled revenue | $55.00 |
| Referral fee base | $55.00 |
| TikTok referral fee | -$3.30 |
| Creator commission | -$0.00 |
| Product cost | -$15.00 |
| Fulfillment / shipping cost | -$5.00 |
| Packaging | -$1.00 |
| Other variable costs | -$0.00 |
| Advertising allocated to this order | -$10.00 |
| Operating costs | -$31.00 |
| Profit | $20.70 |
Formula and methodology
Formula
Item customer payment = buyer-paid item amount per unit × quantity. That amount is what the customer paid for the item after applicable discounts, not a pre-discount list price. Customer payment before tax = item customer payment + customer-paid shipping. Referral fee base and modeled revenue = customer payment before tax + platform-funded discount.
Referral fee = referral fee base × referral rate. Creator commission = item customer payment × affiliate rate on a creator sale, and 0 on an organic/self-sale. Shipping is not included in the modeled commission base.
Operating costs = product cost × quantity + fulfillment + packaging + other variable cost + allocated advertising. Profit = modeled revenue − referral fee − creator commission − operating costs.
Profit margin and effective selling-cost rate divide by modeled revenue when that amount is greater than zero. Break-even and target-margin results use the same profit function and return the minimum nonnegative buyer-paid item amount. Monthly figures multiply this order by the volume you enter.
Assumptions
The default model is a United States TikTok Shop seller calculating in USD. Buyer sales tax is not added. The primary result is a completed order, not an expected refund rate.
Platform-funded discounts are added to the referral-fee base because that is TikTok Shop's documented formula; they are entered separately from the buyer-paid item amount. Creator commission is the rate you enter for the collaboration; this tool does not invent a typical creator percentage.
Per-order fulfillment, packaging, other, and advertising amounts do not scale with quantity. Product cost does.
What is included
Buyer-paid item amount, quantity, customer-paid shipping, platform-funded discount, product cost, fulfillment, packaging, other variable cost, allocated advertising, sourced 6% and 5% US referral presets or a custom Seller Center rate, organic vs creator sale, user-entered affiliate commission, target-margin amount, break-even buyer-paid item amount, and optional monthly scaling.
What is excluded
Non-US TikTok Shop markets, FBT rate-card charges, storage, shipping adjustments, tax adjustments, promotional referral rates, campaign service fees, flat-fee creator deals, collectible and pre-owned $10,000/3% referral tiers, buyer sales tax, sales tax on referral fees for applicable Texas or West Virginia sellers, and settlement adjustments that are not entered as costs.
How the calculator works
Enter the buyer-paid item amount per unit (not a pre-discount list price), quantity, shipping the buyer paid before tax, any TikTok-funded discount separately, and your costs. Choose the sourced United States referral preset that matches the category, or type the rate from Seller Center. If the order is a creator affiliate sale, enter the commission currently applicable to that collaboration.
On a sample completed US organic order with $55.00 modeled revenue, this model estimates $3.30 in referral fees and $20.70 profit (37.6% margin). Your numbers will differ.
TikTok Shop referral fees
TikTok Shop documents a referral fee on qualified completed US orders. The official calculation is referral rate × (customer payment + platform discount − tax). This calculator omits buyer sales tax from the profitability model, so the fee base is customer payment before tax plus platform-funded discount.
Referral fee is a platform selling cost. It is not the same as creator affiliate commission, FBT fulfillment, or advertising.
6% vs 5% categories
Most listed United States categories use 6.0%. Specified eligible categories use 5.0%, including Diamond, Gold, Jade, Platinum/Carat Gold, and Ruby/Sapphire/Emerald jewelry sub-categories. Listed Pre-Owned categories also publish 5% as the category rate.
Collectibles and Pre-Owned documentation also describes a 3% rate on the portion of a sale above $10,000. That tier is not auto-modeled. If your listing uses a special or promotional rate, use Custom and the percentage currently shown in Seller Center. TikTok Shop is not always 6%.
Referral-fee base
Customer payment in the official formula includes the buyer-paid item amount and shipping the buyer paid. Tax is subtracted in TikTok's formula; this tool never asks for buyer sales tax and does not add it. If you need a settlement-style check that includes tax, compare against Seller Center rather than treating this estimate as a statement.
Platform-funded discounts
TikTok Shop adds platform-funded discounts to the referral-fee base. If the buyer paid $50 for the item and TikTok funded $5, with $0 shipping, the base is $55.00 and the 6% referral fee is $3.30. That $50 is the buyer-paid item amount, not a $50 list price plus a $5 discount. The platform discount does not shrink the fee base.
Creator affiliate commission
Affiliate commission is set in Open or Target Collaboration and can differ by product and creator. TikTok documents estimated commission as actual paid item price × commission rate. This calculator applies your entered rate to buyer-paid item amount × quantity and does not include shipping in that base. TikTok currently allows commission rates from 1% to 80% in Open and Target Collaborations; enter the rate that currently applies to your product/creator collaboration.
Organic vs creator sale economics
Merchant self-selling through your own LIVE or video does not add affiliate commission. Creator-attributed sales do. On the sample order, organic profit is $20.70. The same order with a 15% creator rate has $7.50 commission and $13.20 profit, a difference of -$7.50. That 15% figure is an illustration, not a recommended or typical rate.
Break-even pricing
Break-even buyer-paid item amount is the lowest nonnegative per-unit amount the customer pays for the item that leaves profit at or above zero, holding quantity, shipping, platform discount, costs, referral rate, and creator rate fixed. The candidate is checked with the same profit function as the main result. If shipping and platform discount already cover costs at a $0 buyer-paid item amount, the result is $0 as a floor, not necessarily an exact zero-profit point. If referral plus commission leave no nonnegative solution, the amount is not applicable.
Target-margin pricing
Target-margin amount is the lowest nonnegative buyer-paid item amount where profit divided by modeled revenue meets your target. It uses the same function as profit and break-even. If the target is higher than the economics can support, the result is not applicable. A $0 floor means the minimum nonnegative buyer-paid item amount, not that profit equals the target exactly at zero.
Refund administration fee
The primary profit number models a completed order. It does not apply an expected refund rate. TikTok Shop documents that when a refund, return, or cancellation occurs after the order is placed, the referral fee associated with the refunded amount can be reversed minus a refund administration fee of 20.0% of the refunded referral fee, capped at $5.00 per SKU from May 15, 2025.
TikTok's published sample uses a 6% referral fee of $6.30. A 50% refund equivalent of $3.15 refunded referral fee produces a $0.63 administration fee. A full refund of that $6.30 referral fee produces $1.26. TikTok also documents exceptions for certain “buy now refund later” creator sample refunds and some buyer-initiated pre-shipment auto-cancellations. Those exceptions are not generalized here.
Creator commission adjustments on refunds
TikTok's affiliate documentation distinguishes estimated commission after the buyer pays from actual commission after after-sales. With no refund, actual commission remains the estimated amount. On a partial refund, actual commission is based on the reduced actual paid item amount. On a full refund, actual commission can become zero. Settlement guidance also notes timing: commissions are typically paid after delivery and settlement, and later refunds may not always reverse a commission already paid to the creator.
What this calculator does not include
It does not auto-fill non-US markets, FBT rate-card or storage tables, shipping or tax adjustments, campaign service fees, special promotional referral rates, or flat-fee creator deals. Collectible and pre-owned orders with a 3% rate on the amount above $10,000 should use Custom. Sales tax collected from buyers and sales tax on referral fees for sellers with a Texas or West Virginia business registration address (effective November 1, 2025 in TikTok's article) are not added automatically. Settlement reserves and other adjustments are outside the completed-order estimate.
Official sources
US rates were checked against TikTok Shop Seller University on 2026-09-09. TikTok can change fees. Confirm the current articles and your Seller Center rate before relying on an estimate. This site is not affiliated with TikTok.
Frequently asked questions
How much does TikTok Shop take per sale?
For most US categories the sourced referral fee is 6.0% of customer payment plus platform discount, excluding tax in this model. Creator sales also pay the affiliate rate you set. FBT, ads, and other costs are separate. On the sample organic order the effective selling-cost rate is 6.0%.
Is TikTok Shop always 6%?
No. Specified eligible categories use 5.0%. Some collectible and pre-owned sales have additional tier notes. Promotional account rates can differ. Confirm the category row and Seller Center.
What is TikTok Shop's referral fee?
It is the service fee TikTok Shop charges on successfully paid and delivered orders, calculated as the category rate times customer payment plus platform discount minus tax.
Does TikTok Shop charge fees on shipping?
Customer-paid shipping is part of customer payment, so it is in the referral-fee base. Creator commission in this model is not applied to shipping.
Do creator commissions reduce seller profit?
Yes, when the sale is attributed to a creator collaboration. The comparison panel shows organic profit versus the same order with your entered commission. Rates vary by product and creator.
Does TikTok charge fees on platform-funded discounts?
The documented referral-fee formula adds platform discount to the base, so those discounts increase the referral-fee base rather than reducing it. Enter the buyer-paid item amount separately; do not enter a pre-discount list price and then add the TikTok-funded discount on top of that list price.
How do refunds affect TikTok Shop referral fees?
The referral fee associated with the refunded amount can be reversed, minus the refund administration fee, subject to documented exceptions. The main calculator result still models a completed order.
What is the refund administration fee?
TikTok Shop documents 20.0% of the refunded referral fee, capped at $5.00 per SKU, with listed exceptions for some sample and pre-shipment cases.
How do I calculate TikTok Shop break-even price?
Enter costs, quantity, shipping, platform discount, referral preset, and creator rate if it applies. The result is the lowest nonnegative buyer-paid item amount per unit, solved from the same profit function as the main result.
Does this calculator include FBT fees?
No. Fulfilled by TikTok rate-card and storage charges are not auto-filled. Enter the fulfillment cost you expect for the order if you want it in the estimate.
Are TikTok Shop fees the same outside the US?
Not necessarily. This version sources United States Seller University rules only. Other markets are not auto-calculated.
Related tools
To set a price from costs and a target margin without TikTok Shop's schedule, use the Product Pricing Calculator. To judge advertising efficiency at a known price, use the Break-Even ROAS Calculator. For a marketplace-agnostic profit estimate, use the E-commerce Profit Calculator. Shopify sellers can use the Shopify Profit Calculator. For Etsy listing, transaction, and Offsite Ads fee estimates, use the Etsy Fee Calculator.