Shopee Singapore charges a 3.27% transaction fee on every completed order. TikTok Shop Singapore charges the same 3.27%. That one line item is identical. What happens next, commission, is where the two platforms pull apart by category.
The transaction fee matches. The onboarding terms do not
Both platforms confirm 3.27% as a flat, GST-inclusive transaction fee, verified directly on each platform’s own Seller Centre fee pages. Shopee also waives commission entirely for a seller’s first 120 days. Zero commission, for four months. TikTok Shop’s Singapore Seller Centre pages checked for this piece name no equivalent grace period. A seller comparing onboarding cost on the two platforms should not assume matching terms only because the transaction fee lines up.
Commission is where the platforms diverge
Shopee’s commission runs in tiers, split first by Mall versus non-Mall, then again by category. A standard non-Mall listing sits at 7.63% to 9.81%, depending on Promo Xtra Programme participation. Move that same listing into Shopee Mall and the range climbs to 10.90% to 13.08%. Electronics gets its own table. A non-Mall phone or laptop listing runs 7.63% to 9.81%, capped at S$30. Mall electronics subcategories range from 8.72% up to 15.26%, capped at S$80. Essential goods sit lowest of all Shopee’s tiers, 6.54% to 10.90% non-Mall, covering Food & Beverages staples and toilet paper specifically.
TikTok Shop’s structure is flatter. Most categories pay one rate. A standard seller pays 8.175%, or 7.085% under the BXP programme. A separate, lower tier applies to Computers & Office Equipment, Phones & Tablets, Cameras & Photography, Gaming & Consoles, Smart & Wearable Devices, plus a handful of named electronics-adjacent categories, 6.540% standard, 5.450% BXP. Outside electronics, TikTok Shop publishes no equivalent ten-row category table. One number covers nearly everything else.
Electronics is where the ranking flips by tier
Compare electronics directly and Shopee Mall is the more expensive of the two, up to 15.26% against TikTok Shop’s electronics ceiling of 6.540%. Shopee’s non-Mall electronics tier still loses to TikTok Shop on the same category, 7.63% to 9.81% against 6.540%. On standard non-electronics goods, the two sit close, Shopee non-Mall at 7.63% to 9.81% against TikTok Shop’s flat 8.175%. Shopee only pulls ahead on essential goods. Its 6.54% floor beats TikTok Shop’s 8.175% catch-all on the same staples category.
Fee comparison table
| Category | Shopee SG | TikTok Shop SG |
|---|---|---|
| Transaction fee | 3.27% | 3.27% |
| New seller grace period | 120 days at 0% commission | Not published |
| Standard, non-Mall | 7.63% to 9.81% | 8.175% standard, 7.085% BXP |
| Standard, Mall | 10.90% to 13.08% | Not tiered separately |
| Electronics, non-Mall | 7.63% to 9.81%, capped S$30 | 6.540% standard, 5.450% BXP |
| Electronics, Mall | 8.72% to 15.26%, capped S$80 | 6.540% standard, 5.450% BXP |
| Essential goods (F&B staples, toilet paper) | 6.54% to 10.90% | 8.175%, no discounted tier |
Two fees neither platform states as one number
Shopee runs an opt-in Promo Xtra Programme, formerly the Coins Cashback Programme, charged against cost of goods rather than item price. No general rate appears on Shopee’s published fee page. One worked example uses 5.45% of gross settlement. That figure comes from a single calculation, not a stated default. The same worked example references a separate AMS Commission Fee, close to 10% of purchase value, with no published rate card anywhere else on the page. Model both as directional, not as fixed costs.
The verdict
TikTok Shop wins on electronics. Its 6.540% tier beats every Shopee electronics tier, Mall or non-Mall. Route essential goods, specifically Food & Beverages staples and toilet paper, through Shopee instead. Its 6.54% floor undercuts TikTok Shop’s flat 8.175% catch-all, since TikTok Shop has no discounted consumables tier. Outside those two categories, the platforms land close enough that programme opt-ins, Shopee’s Promo Xtra, TikTok Shop’s BXP, decide more of the final number than the base commission table does.