Whatnot says its new terms include “the lowest commission rates in the industry”

Whatnot just made a compelling offer to its community: The more they sell, the bigger their cut will be.

That’s the gist of Whatnot’s updated commission rates, which bring a new financial structure to the live shopping platform. Vendors who achieve $15,000 of monthly sales through Whatnot will have a percentage point knocked off their commission rate. That rate will continue to decrease as monthly sales go above $250,000. For its “custom” top tier, Whatnot says its commission rate can go as low as 3% — and it’s touting the new figures as “the lowest commission rates in the industry.”

Whatnot has become a pioneering ecommerce company thanks to its compelling combination of secondhand sales and live-streaming entertainment. The platform generated $8 billion of gross merchandise value in 2025, and it claims to attract 650,000 new users each week. Those big numbers helped Whatnot land a massive $545 million Series G round, which came with a valuation of $20 billion.

To keep the big returns coming, Whatnot is giving back to its community in the form of its new rates. “Our sellers are what made this possible. The businesses you’ve built have brought more buyers, products, and communities to Whatnot,” reads a Whatnot blog post

. “As the marketplace has expanded, we’ve gained new ways to support what sellers are building here. Lower commission rates, built into how Whatnot works rather than offered as a limited-time promotion, are the next step.”

The blog post cites seller Arkollab as a case study for the new rates. Arkollab was part of a pilot program for Whatnot’s new policy and doubled its monthly sales as a result.

Of course, lowering commission rates isn’t entirely altruistic. Social platforms have recently increased incentives for higher earners while also pitching those creators to brand partners. By dangling a carrot in front of big names, platforms incentivize those creators to chase bigger targets each month.

There are plenty of Whatnot vendors who aren’t yet generating enough sales to qualify for the lower rates, but the L.A.-based company doesn’t want its minnows to lose hope. According to Whatnot, nearly 20% of sellers who reached $15,000 in sales over four weeks were generating less than $5,000 over four weeks six months prior. So if your channel isn’t big enough to qualify for the savings, just keep streaming.