Etsy vs TikTok Shop: where do makers keep more?
TikTok Shop's referral fee looks lower than Etsy's fees. Then you add creator commission. Here's the honest comparison.
Selling directly
A $28 item with $5.95 shipping, sold from your own TikTok videos, with no creator involved:
TikTok Shop leaves you $0.96 more when you make the sale yourself.
Selling through a creator
Most TikTok Shop sales come through affiliate creators, and you set their commission. At 15%, the same order leaves you $4.48, compared with $7.72 on Etsy.
That can still be worth it. A single creator video can sell more in a weekend than an Etsy listing sells in months. Just price so the creator's cut doesn't erase your margin.
A note on TikTok's rate
TikTok's published table lists 6% for most US categories, while sellers report a standard rate of 8% since August 2026. These examples use 8% to be safe. Check your actual rate in Seller Center.
