On TikTok Shop, every discount that sells sets the price of the next one.

TikTok Shop’s commission is easy to look up: 6% in the US, 9% in most of Europe. What decides whether you make money there is harder to find, because it’s spread across hundreds of pages in TikTok’s seller academies, written separately for each market and revised every few weeks.

We read them, and this is what they add up to for a seller in the US, the UK, or the EU in late 2026. The costs on top of the commission matter, and we go through each one. But the rule that should shape your plan is about price: when you register for a campaign or a flash deal, your price can’t be above the lowest price customers paid in a recent window. So every discount that sells sets the ceiling for the next one.

What TikTok Shop is, and where it runs

TikTok Shop is a marketplace inside the TikTok app. Products are tagged in videos and LIVE streams in the For You feed, sit in a showcase on the seller’s profile, and fill the Shop tab, where people search and browse as on any marketplace. Checkout happens without leaving the app, and creators can promote other sellers’ products for a commission. [1]

Apart from search in the Shop tab, a product reaches buyers three ways: your own videos and LIVEs, creators paid through TikTok’s affiliate program, and ads. Each one has its own costs, and they add up.

TikTok Shop launched fully in the US on September 12, 2023. [1] In Europe it started in the UK, then added Ireland and Spain in December 2024 and France, Germany, and Italy on March 31, 2025. [19] On June 15, 2026, it opened in eight more EU countries: Poland, the Netherlands, Belgium, the Czech Republic, Austria, Greece, Portugal, and Hungary. [2]

In the US, the joint venture set up in January 2026 secures user data, the algorithm, and content moderation. The shop isn’t its business: the venture’s announcement says TikTok global’s US entities will manage “certain commercial activities, including e-commerce, advertising, and marketing.” [20]

Demand on TikTok Shop starts with content, and a small group of sellers takes most of it. We covered how concentrated US sales are in our piece on the size of the market. This one is about the mechanics.

What changed in 2026

Most of this year’s changes moved money: who pays for shipping, what promotions cost, and what you need to join a campaign.

Two claims you may have seen aren’t on TikTok’s pages. If you’ve read that the US fee is going to 8%, the current rate table, updated October 8, 2026, still lists 6% for most categories and 5% for some jewelry and pre-owned items. [3] If you’ve read that creators must get at least 10%, the affiliate setup guide gives the range as 1% to 80%. [8]

What a sale costs

Start with the commission, which TikTok calls a referral fee in the US. It’s 6% for most categories and 5% for some jewelry and pre-owned items. [3] In the UK it’s 9% before reductions, and 5% for selected electronics and beauty categories. [4] In the EU it’s 9%, with 7% for most electronics, for beauty devices such as hair dryers and electric shavers, and for household appliances. Makeup and skincare pay the full 9%. [5]

Two details make the percentage bigger than it looks. It’s charged on more than you receive: in all three markets, the base adds back the discounts TikTok funds and includes any shipping the customer pays. [3][4][6] And EU prices are listed with VAT, which TikTok counts in your sales. [23] At a 23% VAT rate, 9% of the shelf price is 11.1% of the price before VAT.

When a US order is refunded, TikTok returns the fee minus an administration charge of 20% of it, capped at $5 per SKU since May 15, 2025. [24]

As on Amazon, where the referral fee is the smallest line on the bill, the commission is where the costs start. Smart Promotion needs a closer look, because it charges a share of every sale, not just discounted ones. In the US, you pay a fixed 3.5% of total shop GMV outside campaigns and 1-2 points more during them. In return, TikTok commits to give your customers discounts worth at least as much, and decides itself where they go, using signals such as competitors’ prices. [7] The EU version varies with results, and TikTok’s page says a higher ROI may mean a higher fee. It counts that ROI as the sales of every order that used a program discount, divided by the fee, so orders you’d have had anyway count as a return. [15]

Those discounts go to your customers, not to you. In the US, if TikTok hands out less than it promised, it makes up the difference in ad credits. [7] Either way, they lower what your customer pays, which only pays off on orders you wouldn’t have had at full price. It’s the same sum as any sitewide sale, and we worked it through for Black Friday: a discount given to customers who’d have bought anyway is a cost, however many orders it brings.

Shipping got more expensive for sellers this year and last. In the US, TikTok ended its 80-cent subsidy per order on May 29, 2025, and sellers now cover the cost so shoppers still ship free. [9] The EU stopped co-funding on January 28, 2026. [21] What you get for offering free shipping is visibility, such as badges, a free-shipping channel, and access to campaigns, if your shop-wide threshold is $30 or less in the US, £22 or less in the UK, or €20 or less in the EU. [9][26][21] In the EU, free shipping is also required to join any platform campaign. [21]

Run your own numbers per product. Enter prices before VAT or sales tax.

For a UK or EU seller, set VAT to your rate and the commission to 9%. At 23% VAT, with everything else at the defaults, 18.6% is left.

Cash arrives later than it does on your own site. In the US, TikTok pays out 1 to 31 days after delivery, depending on your performance, [27] and can keep part of your earnings in reserve for 30 days to cover returns. [28] New sellers in the UK and EU wait 31 days from delivery, [29][30] and in the EU the bank transfer usually takes another three business days. [31]

Why every discount sets the next price

When you register a product for a campaign, TikTok checks your price against the rules set for that campaign, and when there are several, the strictest one wins. Rules it can set include the lowest price a customer actually paid for the product in a recent window, and its examples use 30, 60, or 90 days. Another is the lowest price for a similar product “found on other websites or apps,” so a sale on your own site can count against you too. [32] A discount nobody bought at doesn’t set a paid price, but one that sells does.

The window depends on the tool and the event. UK and EU flash deals must be “lower than the lowest product price in the last 30 days, including seller product discount.” [11] US campaign prices are “typically required to be at or below the lowest price in the past 30 days,” and TikTok warns the requirement may extend further for events like Black Friday. [12] It did. The 2026 US Black Friday campaign’s Standard tier uses the lowest price of the past 90 days, and its Advanced tier takes another 3% off that. [13] For product discounts in its biggest events, TikTok’s US pricing guidance points to the lowest price of the past 180 to 365 days. [33]

Here’s what that does to a calendar. Take a list price of 40, a week at 15% off in August, and one day at 25% off on October 10.

We’ve measured both windows on November 11, the day the campaign opens. By then, a 30-day rule has forgotten both promotions. A 90-day rule hasn’t: the highest price you can register is 30, the October price, so the shallow 15% you might have planned for Black Friday isn’t available. The one-day deal was cheap to run. It got expensive a month later. And if TikTok checks when you register, weeks before the campaign, even a 30-day window would still catch it.

So plan promotions backward from the events you care about:

• Decide which campaigns matter this year, and look up the window each one uses before you discount anything in the months ahead of it.
• Keep deep discounts out of that window unless you’re happy for them to become your campaign price.
• Treat your website’s sales as part of the same calendar, because TikTok compares prices it finds elsewhere.
• In the EU, the law has its own 30-day rule for advertised price cuts, which our Black Friday piece explains.

Promotions you can run

TikTok Shop has three kinds of promotion, funded in different ways.

Your own tools. Product discounts, flash deals, and coupons for everyone, for followers, for new customers, or during a LIVE, plus bundles and gifts with purchase. You set them and you pay for them. TikTok’s UK terms say sellers “shall bear all costs” of their promotions. [34] In the US, a customer can use only one of your coupons per shop per order. [35]

Platform campaigns. These are TikTok’s themed events, from weekly promos to Black Friday, where you register products at a price that meets the campaign’s rules in exchange for placement, badges, and extra discounts. TikTok’s US guidance ranks them from B to SS. Co-funded doesn’t mean TikTok pays most of it: the same guidance puts coupon funding at one part TikTok to nine parts seller in the biggest events, and at zero to ten in everyday ones. [33] In the EU, TikTok says it contributes “50%* or more” of each voucher in co-funded voucher campaigns, and the asterisk notes the share may change. [36]

Check the fee as well. A US registration guide updated October 13, 2026, says standard registration carries a 1% campaign service fee on every order in the campaign period, [12] while the Smart Promotion page says major campaigns, flash sales, and Premium Offer cost nothing extra. [7] Look at the registration screen before you commit.

In the US, campaigns now come with ads. Where GMV Max is built into campaign registration, TikTok calls it “a requirement for participation in the campaign,” and its FAQ is plain about the bill: “Sellers fully fund these ads.” [10]

Smart Promotion. This is the fee-for-discounts program described above, and in the US it’s now the gate to everything else. Since April 2026, enrolling is a requirement for platform campaigns, flash sales, Premium Offer, and weekly promos. [14][7] To join, you need a Shop Performance Score of 3.5 or higher, if you have one, and an Account Health Rating above 150. [7]

The EU is softer, on paper. TikTok’s page says you can register for campaigns without Smart Promotion but get “basic exposure only,” and that Shop tab placements and TikTok-funded benefits are for members. The next sentence lists campaign enrollment as members-only too, so ask your account manager before you count on it. TikTok says it optimizes the program’s spend for an ROI of 5 or higher. [15]

You can opt in and out at any time in the US and the EU. [7][15] That makes it testable. Join for a month that isn’t a campaign month, then compare your margin after the fee with the month before, not just your sales. Don’t switch back and forth, though: TikTok’s EU page warns that changing your status makes prices fluctuate for customers and can cause checkout problems. [15]

Creators and ads

Creators sell your products for a commission you set. An open collaboration offers your products to every creator. A target collaboration invites specific ones, and its rate overrides the open one. Either way, the range is 1% to 80%. [8]

Rate changes are fast in one direction only. Raise a rate and creators already promoting the product get it at once. Cut it and they keep the old rate for 30 days. [37] So start lower and raise it, rather than launching high and trimming later.

Commission is calculated on the price before tax minus your discount, so TikTok-funded discounts don’t reduce it but yours do. [38] Creators typically get paid 15 days after delivery. [37] Free samples are yours to fund, and the seller pays for the product, shipping, and tax. [39]

Ads run through GMV Max. Since July 2025, it’s been “the default and only supported campaign type for TikTok Shop Ads,” [40] and only one ad account per shop can run it at a time, the one set as primary in Seller Center. [41] When you use a creator’s video in your ads, the creator earns commission on those sales too. You can set a separate Shop Ads rate for them, which has to be at least a third of your standard rate, or leave it and pay the standard one. [42][43] So an ad built on a creator’s video costs you twice, once in ad spend and once in commission.

Creators carry risk, too. In the US, a creator who commits the same violation six times in 90 days may lose e-commerce permissions immediately and have commissions frozen. [44] Brief them on the rules below before they post.

What you can’t sell or say

The rules differ by market, and they change often. These are the ones most likely to catch a new seller.

In the US

• GLP-1. Products that use “GLP,” “GLP-1,” or similar terms in the title or branding are prohibited since TikTok’s October 2026 update. Products clearly marketed to support people taking GLP-1 medications may be allowed. [16] Content can’t claim a product contains or mimics GLP-1 drugs. [45]
• Supplements. Selling dietary supplements is limited to invited sellers. [46]
• Images. The main image needs a pure white background. [47]
• Reference prices. “Artificially inflating the original price to exaggerate a promotional discount” breaks TikTok’s fair-pricing rules. [48]
• LIVE. No AI-generated voices, audio recordings, or radio. [49]

In the UK and EU

• Weight loss. “TikTok Shop prohibits any E-commerce Content related to weight loss.” [17][50]
• Price claims. Reference prices must not be inflated, and “price comparisons against other Sellers or retailers are not permitted.” [17][50]
• Taking buyers elsewhere. Links to other websites or apps, phone numbers, social media handles, email addresses, and QR codes that send buyers off TikTok Shop are banned in both markets. [17][50]

How accounts get closed

All three markets score sellers with an Account Health Rating. In the UK and EU, every seller starts with 200 points and earns 4 for every 200 finished orders in the past 180 days, and violations cost points. Enforcement actions start when you drop to 150, and again at 100, 50, and 0. [18][51]

At zero, the shop can’t withdraw funds for 30 days and the account “will be permanently deactivated.” Sellers “cannot appeal against AHR enforcements,” only against the violations behind them. [18][51] The US page says the account “may be” deactivated, and funds may be held for 90 days. [52]

Keep an eye on a second US score, too. If you have a Shop Performance Score, it needs to be 3.5 or higher for both Smart Promotion and the 2026 Black Friday campaign. [7][53]

Opening a shop in the EU or Poland

The new-seller rate is the reason to start carefully. If this is your first TikTok Shop store anywhere in the EU, you ship locally within the EU, and your products are substantially different from what’s already sold there, you can pay 2% commission for 90 days in Poland, the Netherlands, Belgium, the Czech Republic, Austria, Greece, Portugal, and Hungary, or 4% for 60 days in France, Germany, Spain, Italy, and Ireland. Reductions don’t stack, and your category rate applies when the period ends. [6]

TikTok checks whether you’re new using incorporation documents, tax details, contact information, and technical data. [6] Its EU pages on registration, product safety, EPR, and account health list Ireland, Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Poland, the Netherlands, and Belgium, so if you sell in one of the other EU markets, check the page for your country.

• Register with your company details, a representative’s ID and proof of address, an IBAN, and your tax identification number. [54]
• Name an EU-based Responsible Person for each product, as the GPSR has required since December 13, 2024, and list manufacturer, product, and safety information. [55]
• Get EPR registration numbers for each product category and country, under the same legal entity as your shop if you count as the producer, or from your supplier if you don’t, and upload them in Seller Center. [56]
• List prices with VAT included. Selling to consumers in other EU countries, you can report VAT through OSS in one country. Outside Ireland, TikTok bills its fees at 0% VAT under the reverse charge, so you account for it yourself. [23]
• Expect DAC7 questions: once you reach 30 orders or €2,000 a year, TikTok needs more information from you, and if you don’t provide it, settlement and payouts are suspended. [31]
• Claim the new-seller rate on time. Accept the mission in Seller Center and have at least five products live and in stock within 15 days of receiving it. [6]
• Plan cash for a 31-day settlement period while you’re new. [30]

Poland has its own cuts on top. Since October 1, 2026, selected electronics, household appliances, and food and beverages pay 5%, and books, magazines, and audio pay 7%. If you qualify for the new-seller rate, that applies first. [6]

How we checked this

Every fee, rate, and rule here comes from TikTok’s own pages: the US, UK, and EU seller academies, the TikTok Ads help center, and TikTok’s newsroom, all read in full on November 6, 2026. Where markets differ, we say which market a rule comes from, and where we found no current page for a market, we left that market out rather than assume the rule carries over. The calculator’s defaults are our assumptions. TikTok revises these pages often, so check the one for your market before you commit a budget.

Sources

1. TikTok Newsroom · Introducing TikTok ShopSeptember 12, 2023.
2. TikTok Newsroom · Digital Services Act: Our seventh transparency report on content moderation in EuropeAugust 31, 2026.
3. TikTok Shop US Academy · TikTok Shop Referral Fees in 2024 by CategoryUpdated October 8, 2026. Includes the formula for the fee base.
4. TikTok Shop UK Academy · TikTok Shop UK Commission Rate PolicyUpdated September 18, 2025, the latest UK commission page we found.
5. TikTok Shop EU Academy · TikTok Shop Commission Rate by Product CategoriesUpdated September 16, 2026.
6. TikTok Shop EU Academy · Poland only: Platform Fee Reduction Policy GuideUpdated September 29, 2026. Also sets out the EU commission formula and the new-seller reduction.
7. TikTok Shop US Academy · US Smart Promotion Introduction and FAQUpdated September 24, 2026.
8. TikTok Shop US Academy · Setting Up Affiliate CollaborationsUpdated July 16, 2026.
9. TikTok Shop US Academy · Free Shipping FAQ GuideUpdated May 13, 2026.
10. TikTok Shop US Academy · Campaign registration with GMV MaxUpdated May 13, 2026.
11. TikTok Shop EU Academy · Flash DealUpdated May 12, 2026. The UK page uses the same price rule.
12. TikTok Shop US Academy · How to register for standard or advanced registrationUpdated October 13, 2026.
13. TikTok Shop US Academy · 2026 BFCM Better Price Rewards Registration GuideUpdated November 5, 2026.
14. TikTok Shop US Academy · TikTok Shop Campaign x Smart PromotionUpdated May 27, 2026.
15. TikTok Shop EU Academy · Smart Promotion ProgrammeUpdated October 21, 2026.
16. TikTok Shop US Academy · Policy Pulse, October 2026Updated November 5, 2026.
17. TikTok Shop EU Academy · TikTok Shop EU Content PolicyUpdated September 21, 2026.
18. TikTok Shop EU Academy · Account Health Rating (AHR)Updated October 22, 2026.
19. TikTok Newsroom · TikTok Shop: The future of shopping fueled by discovery e-commerceMarch 31, 2025.
20. TikTok Newsroom · Announcement from the new TikTok USDS Joint Venture LLCJanuary 23, 2026.
21. TikTok Shop EU Academy · Free Shipping Benefits PolicyUpdated January 27, 2026.
22. TikTok Newsroom · What’s shaping the holiday season on TikTok ShopOctober 14, 2026.
23. TikTok Shop EU Academy · Finance and VAT FAQUpdated March 28, 2026.
24. TikTok Shop US Academy · TikTok Shop Referral Fee Updates, 2024Revised May 2025, with the refund administration fee cap.
25. TikTok Shop UK Academy · Smart Promotion ProgrammeUpdated May 20, 2026.
26. TikTok Shop UK Academy · Free Shipping Benefits PolicyUpdated July 16, 2026.
27. TikTok Shop US Academy · Finances Page FAQUpdated August 11, 2025.
28. TikTok Shop US Academy · Dynamic Settlement and Reserve PolicyUpdated July 31, 2026.
29. TikTok Shop UK Academy · Payment Settlement PeriodUpdated July 15, 2026.
30. TikTok Shop EU Academy · TikTok Shop EU Account Finance PolicyUpdated September 29, 2026.
31. TikTok Shop EU Academy · Payment Settlement PeriodUpdated August 28, 2026.
32. TikTok Shop US Academy · Campaign Price TransparencyPublished March 2, 2026.
33. TikTok Shop US Academy · TikTok Shop Campaign Tiers and Recommended Pricing StrategiesUpdated May 14, 2026.
34. TikTok Shop UK Academy · TikTok Shop Seller Promotional Tools Terms and ConditionsLast modified February 9, 2023.
35. TikTok Shop US Academy · How to Use Seller CouponUpdated April 27, 2026.
36. TikTok Shop EU Academy · Co-funded Voucher CampaignsUpdated May 19, 2026.
37. TikTok Shop US Academy · How Standard Affiliate Commission WorksUpdated September 14, 2026.
38. TikTok Shop US Academy · How to Access Your Settlement ReportUpdated September 11, 2025. Defines the affiliate commission base.
39. TikTok Shop US Academy · How to set up and manage samplesUpdated July 16, 2026.
40. TikTok Ads Help Center · About GMV Max migration for TikTok Shop AdsLast updated March 2026.
41. TikTok Ads Help Center · GMV Max guidelinesLast updated June 2026.
42. TikTok Shop US Academy · Affiliate Creatives for Ads (ACA): Setting Commission RatesUpdated October 14, 2026.
43. TikTok Shop US Academy · How to use Shop Ad commission rate recommendationsUpdated May 13, 2026.
44. TikTok Shop US Academy · Creator Enforcement PolicyUpdated October 9, 2026.
45. TikTok Shop US Academy · Content PolicyUpdated November 6, 2026.
46. TikTok Shop US Academy · Dietary Supplements RequirementsUpdated October 9, 2026.
47. TikTok Shop US Academy · Product Listing PolicyUpdated September 1, 2026.
48. TikTok Shop US Academy · Fair Pricing PolicyUpdated November 4, 2026.
49. TikTok Shop US Academy · Requirements for High-Quality Videos and LIVEsUpdated November 6, 2026.
50. TikTok Shop UK Academy · TikTok Shop UK Content PolicyUpdated September 1, 2026.
51. TikTok Shop UK Academy · Account Health Rating (AHR)Updated October 22, 2026.
52. TikTok Shop US Academy · Account Health Rating (AHR) RequirementsUpdated November 2, 2026.
53. TikTok Shop US Academy · 2026 Black Friday and Cyber Monday Seller Campaign GuideUpdated October 19, 2026.
54. TikTok Shop EU Academy · TikTok Shop EU Seller Registration PolicyUpdated September 21, 2026.
55. TikTok Shop EU Academy · General Product Safety Regulation (GPSR) Compliance GuideUpdated September 30, 2026.
56. TikTok Shop EU Academy · Introduction to Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR)Updated October 12, 2026.

MS

Editor-in-chief

Mikołaj Salecki

Writes about media, tech, and AI business for people who actually run digital. Former agency lead. Skeptic of frameworks that read better than they perform.

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