Insights
TikTok Shop fees vs Amazon FBA UK: 2026 comparison | Z MEDIA
TikTok Shop UK charges a flat 9% commission on net GMV in 2026, every category. Amazon UK charges circa 15% referral fees in most categories plus FBA fulfilment fees, for a typical all-in of 18 to 25% of the sale price. TikTok Shop wins on platform cost, Amazon wins on built-in search demand, and the real difference is where your marketing money goes. Updated July 2026.
What does TikTok Shop charge UK sellers in 2026?
Four cost blocks, all documented in Z MEDIA's TikTok Shop fees guide:
Platform commission: 9% flat on net GMV, all categories, fixed.
Fulfilment (FBT): £0.78 (XS), £1.08 (S), £1.80 (M) or £3.00 (L) per item, plus £1.99 shipping per order at £22 or more (£0 below £22, where the buyer pays £3.99). Storage from £0.24 per CBM per day, returns handling £1.80 per unit.
Affiliate commission: typically 10 to 20% on affiliate-attributed orders, and you set the rate.
Ads: GMV Max runs at roughly £0.50 to £3.00 cost per sale, with sellers typically spending 8 to 12% of revenue.
Optional Smart Promotions add up to 3.5% of GMV, rising to 4.5% in campaign periods.
What does Amazon FBA charge UK sellers in 2026?
Referral fee: circa 15% in most categories, including beauty. February 2026 brought cuts at the low end: clothing at or under £15 dropped to 5% and home products at or under £20 dropped to 8%, per Amazon's 2026 European fee update.
FBA fulfilment: roughly £2.50 to £3.50 per unit for a small standard parcel on the 2026 FBA rate card, after an average £0.26 per parcel reduction this year. A 1.5% fuel and logistics surcharge applies to fulfilment fees from 17 April 2026, per the same update.
Storage: monthly fees per cubic unit with peak season surcharges, on the rate card.
Ads: pay per click, priced by auction. There is no fixed rate, and beauty is one of the most contested categories.
A typical FBA seller's all-in platform cost lands at 18 to 25% before ads.
How do the fees compare side by side?
Cost line | TikTok Shop UK | Amazon FBA UK |
|---|---|---|
Commission | ||
Fulfilment | ||
Outbound shipping | Included in the FBA fee | |
Storage | Monthly, with peak surcharges | |
Ads | Auction PPC, no fixed rate | |
Demand source | Affiliate commission of 10 to 20% on attributed orders, plus organic and paid | Built-in search traffic |
Typical total cost to serve |
What does the same £35 beauty product net on each platform?
Assumptions, stated so you can rerun them: COGS £7.00, a small item (FBT size S, FBA small standard parcel), affiliate commission set at 15%, and ad spend of 10% of the sale price on both platforms. Storage is shown per unit as a generous rounding from £0.24 per CBM per day and the FBA rate card.
Line | TikTok Shop | Amazon FBA |
|---|---|---|
Sale price | £35.00 | £35.00 |
Commission | £3.15 (9%) | £5.25 (15%) |
Fulfilment | £1.08 (size S) | £3.00 (small parcel, circa) |
Outbound shipping | £1.99 (order above £22) | Included |
Storage (illustrative) | £0.10 | £0.15 |
Affiliate commission (15%) | £5.25 | None |
Ads (10%) | £3.50 | £3.50 |
Total selling cost | £15.07 | £11.90 |
COGS | £7.00 | £7.00 |
Net profit | £12.93 | £16.10 |
Net margin | 37% | 46% |
Arithmetic check. TikTok Shop: £3.15 + £1.08 + £1.99 + £0.10 + £5.25 + £3.50 = £15.07, and £35.00 minus £15.07 minus £7.00 = £12.93. Amazon: £5.25 + £3.00 + £0.15 + £3.50 = £11.90, and £35.00 minus £11.90 minus £7.00 = £16.10.
Read it carefully, because the table flatters Amazon. Strip out marketing and TikTok Shop is the cheaper platform: £6.32 versus £8.40 to sell, pick, pack and deliver the same unit, which is 18% versus 24% of the price. The whole gap is marketing. The affiliate line only applies to affiliate-attributed orders. A sale from your own organic video carries no affiliate fee and nets £18.18 on the same sums, and your organic share grows as the content library compounds.
Which platform actually wins on cost?
The honest verdict. TikTok Shop wins on platform cost: lower commission, cheaper small-item fulfilment. Amazon wins on demand: shoppers arrive already searching, so an established listing converts with less spend behind it. On TikTok Shop you create demand yourself, in funnel order: affiliate, then organic, then paid. That costs money per order, but it buys an asset you keep: creators, content and audience, plus a halo effect that lifts your other channels, Amazon branded search included. Amazon ad spend defends shelf space and builds very little you own.
Most brands should not pick one. Use TikTok Shop to create demand and Amazon to catch it. For the deeper cost mechanics, see how much TikTok Shop takes from a sale, the FBT vs 3PL comparison and the break-even calculator.
Frequently asked questions
Is TikTok Shop cheaper than Amazon FBA in the UK?
On platform cost, yes. TikTok Shop takes a 9% commission against Amazon's circa 15% referral fee, and FBT small-item fees undercut typical FBA fees. Marketing is where TikTok Shop costs more, because you generate the demand.
What is the all-in cost of selling on TikTok Shop UK?
Expect 20 to 35% of GMV once commission, FBT, affiliate and ads stack, per Z MEDIA's fees guide. The full stack is broken down in how much does TikTok Shop take from a sale.
Do Amazon sellers have to pay for ads as well?
In practice, yes. PPC is auction priced with no fixed rate, and contested categories such as beauty push bids up. The 18 to 25% typical FBA cost is before advertising, per the fees guide.
Should I sell on both platforms?
Usually, yes. TikTok Shop creates demand that shows up as branded search on Amazon and Google, the halo effect. Start with the channel that matches your margin structure, then layer the second.
Z MEDIA runs the whole engine, affiliate, organic content, paid and fulfilment strategy, as a full service TikTok Shop agency, from £5k/month. If you want the £35 example rebuilt on your own numbers, book a strategy call.
About Z MEDIA: Z MEDIA is an official TikTok Partner and a founding TikTok Shop agency in the West, with $100M+ TikTok Shop GMV delivered across 300+ brands.
