TikTok Shop profit calculator — referral + affiliate stack

TikTok Shop headlines a 6% referral fee, but creator affiliate commissions (often 10–25%) stack on top. Many sellers model 6% and wonder why payouts feel thin. Below is the full per-unit formula.

TikTok Shop fee stack (US, 2026)

• Referral fee — 6% on most categories (5% jewelry); new sellers may get 3% for first 30 days
• Affiliate commission — seller-set, typically 10–25% of item price (not shipping)
• Refund admin — 20% of referral fee, capped $5/SKU on returns
• Your costs — COGS, outbound shipping, TikTok Shop ads (Spark Ads / GMV Max)

Profit formula

Net profit = Sale price − COGS − Shipping − Referral fee − Affiliate payout − Ad spend per unit

Referral fee = Sale price × 6% (most categories)

Affiliate payout = Sale price × your commission %

Example: $35 beauty SKU with 15% affiliate

$35 sale · $10 COGS · $4.50 ship · $2.10 referral (6%) · $5.25 affiliate (15%) → net ≈ $13.15 (38%)

Add $3 Spark Ads CPA and margin drops to ~$10 — still looks healthy on gross margin, but affiliate-heavy SKUs can hit 26%+ all-in platform cost before ads.

At 500 units/month that's $6,575 contribution — or $5,075 if you run $3/unit ads. Model both before raising affiliate rates.

Common margin mistakes

• Ignoring affiliate — creator-driven sales can be 70%+ of GMV early on
• Using bank deposits as revenue — settlements are net of fees; reconcile in Seller Center
• Free shipping promos — referral applies to customer payment including shipping subsidies

When to upgrade from a calculator

At 300+ orders/month, TrueProfit ($35+/mo) connects Shopify and TikTok Shop for live P&L. Until then, what-if unit math prevents listing losers.

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