TikTok Shop affiliate for sellers: open vs target collaborations and commission rates
On TikTok Shop, a lot of sales come from creators promoting your products in videos and LIVEs — and earning a commission when they sell. You set that up in Affiliate Center. Here’s how the two main collaboration types work, from TikTok Shop’s US Academy.
Two ways to work with creators
| Open Collaboration | Target Collaboration | |
|---|---|---|
| Who can promote | All TikTok Shop creators — or only those you approve, if you turn on approval mode | Only the creators you invite |
| Products | Set per product, per group, or for all products | Specifically selected products |
| Commission | 1%–80% | 1%–80% |
| Best for | Getting as many creators as possible to find your products | Working closely with specific creators who fit your brand |
Which commission does a creator get?
A product can be in several collaborations at once, but a creator is paid only one commission rate per product. The Target Collaboration rate always overrides the Open Collaboration rate — so TikTok Shop recommends setting a higher rate in Target Collaborations to make the invite worth accepting.
How the commission is calculated
Commission = (revenue − refunds) × commission rate. A full refund means no commission; a partial refund reduces it. Commissions are paid only after your order settles and any refund or return requests are resolved.
Setting up a Target Collaboration
- In Affiliate Center, go to Collaboration → Target collaboration — or invite a creator directly from Find Creators.
- Choose the products and set the commission rate.
- Optionally turn on Free sample available, and choose whether sample requests follow your sample strategy or are approved automatically.
- Add a name, an expiration date, contact details and a message, then send.
A message for the invitation:
Invitations show statuses such as pending, expiring within 7 days, and cancelled. A cancellation takes effect the next day at 00:00.
Things to know
- Shop Ads commission is a separate rate for creator content used in ads. Turning it off doesn’t turn off Video Shopping Ads for that creator’s content — that’s done in TikTok Ads Manager.
- Creator commissions are deducted from your settlements, so price with commission in mind — use the creator commission field in the TikTok Shop fee calculator.
- A creator needs your product to be live and in their showcase to link it — see product link not showing on a video.