Open vs target collaborations on TikTok Shop: which to use, and when
By Collabrun. Published 1 October 2026.
TikTok Shop gives sellers two ways to work with affiliate creators. An open collaboration is an offer any creator can pick up. A target collaboration is an invitation you send to creators you chose. They do different jobs, and they work well side by side.
The two types at a glance
| Open collaboration | Target collaboration | |
|---|---|---|
| Who it reaches | Any creator who finds it in TikTok's creator marketplace | Only the creators you invite |
| Who chooses | The creator picks up your offer | You pick the creator, the creator decides whether to take it up |
| What you set | Products and a commission rate | Products, commission, a message and optional free samples |
| Personal touch | None: there is nobody to address | A message to each creator, by name |
| Invite limits | None that we have measured | 7,000 a week per shop, 200 groups of up to 50 per rolling 24 hours, and a follower cap by GMV tier (measured, October 2026) |
| Who took part | Seller Center only; TikTok's API gives apps no list | You know who you invited; videos and showcase adds show who acted |
Open collaborations
An open collaboration publishes your product, at a commission you set, to TikTok's creator marketplace. Any creator browsing the marketplace can find it and start promoting the product without an invitation from you.
It is a standing offer. You publish it once, and it keeps working while you do other things. You do not choose who takes it up, and you do not write to anyone.
Target collaborations
A target collaboration is TikTok's name for an invitation. You choose the creators, the products and the commission, add a message, and decide whether to offer free samples. TikTok delivers it to each creator as an invitation card, and the creator decides whether to take it up.
Because you are reaching named people, TikTok limits how many you can send. As of October 2026 we measured a weekly allowance of 7,000 invitations per shop, shared with anything else inviting for that shop, Seller Center included; 200 invitation groups per rolling 24 hours, each of up to 50 creators; and a follower cap that depends on the shop's GMV tier. TikTok sets these and can change them. The details are in TikTok affiliate invite limits, explained.
When an open collaboration fits
- You want reach without the legwork. Creators who search the marketplace for products like yours find the offer themselves, including creators no search of yours would have turned up.
- The product sells itself on video. If a creator can see the appeal from the listing, they do not need a pitch from you.
- You are happy to pay the same rate to anyone. The commission is the same for every creator who picks it up, so set it at a rate you can afford on every sale.
The trade-off is control. You cannot pick the creators, you cannot speak to them before they start, and you cannot offer one creator better terms than another inside the same offer.
When a target collaboration fits
- You know who you want. Creators in your niche, inside a follower band, with a record of sales or steady posting.
- You want to offer more. A higher commission or free samples for the creators you most want, rather than for everyone.
- The product needs explaining. A message lets you say why the creator fits and what makes the product sell. Our guide on writing a creator invite covers what to put in it.
- You are launching. With no sales or videos yet, a new product has little to show creators browsing the marketplace. Inviting creators who fit gets the first videos made.
The trade-off is effort and limits. You have to find the creators, the weekly allowance caps how many you reach, and many invitations go unanswered, so you need a plan for follow-ups.
Using both together
The two types are not rivals. A practical way to run them side by side:
- Publish an open offer as your baseline, at a commission you would pay any creator, so the product is always available in the marketplace.
- Invite the creators you most want with a target collaboration, and make it worth more than the open offer: a higher rate, free samples, or both. Otherwise there is little reason to take up the invitation instead.
- Follow up on invitations that show no activity, rather than inviting the same creators again.
- Watch who actually sells, from either route, and invite more creators like them.
One caution: TikTok does not document which rate applies when a creator is in both an open and a target collaboration for the same product. Check the creator's rate in Seller Center rather than assuming either one wins.
What you can and cannot see afterwards
Target collaborations are easier to follow, because you chose the creators. Even so, TikTok does not report a yes or no from each creator. What it does report, for each collaboration, is whether creators have made videos and added the product to their showcase. That is the signal to watch, and the one to base follow-ups on.
How Collabrun handles each
Open collaborations
- Publish an offer from the Outreach page: choose a product and a commission, and the offer goes to TikTok's creator marketplace straight away. It cannot be recalled from Collabrun once published.
- The list shows what you published from Collabrun, with each offer's commission and date. Offers made in Seller Center do not appear, and neither does a count of who joined, because TikTok gives apps neither. The page says so rather than showing a list that looks complete.
Target collaborations
- Campaigns save a creator search and send target collaboration invites in the background, in full groups of 50, until your shop's weekly allowance is used. See TikTok affiliate invites.
- Each invitation carries your products, commission, free samples if you offer them, and your message, with TikTok's
{{creators username}}variable passed through so every creator sees their own name. - Creators are found with filters for followers, category, sales and views, under your shop's follower cap. See TikTok creator search.
- Re-invite rules skip anyone invited in the last 90 days unless you change it, and anyone already in a live collaboration with your shop.
- Follow-ups go to creators whose invitation shows no video and no showcase add after the days you choose, by direct message or a second invitation.
- A nightly copy of your collaborations, including ones created in Seller Center, feeds the funnel: invited, creating content, showcase adds. What creators then earn you is on profit per creator.
Questions
What is the difference between an open and a target collaboration?
An open collaboration is an offer that stands in TikTok's creator marketplace for any creator to pick up. A target collaboration is an invitation you send to creators you chose, with your commission, your message and free samples if you offer them.
Can I see which creators joined my open collaboration?
Not through an app. TikTok's API has no list of the creators who took up an open offer, so no connected app can show it to you. Check Seller Center for that.
Do open collaborations count against my weekly invite allowance?
The limits we measured, 7,000 invitations a week and 200 groups of up to 50 creators a day, apply to target invitations. We have not measured any limit on open offers, so we do not state one.
Should I use both?
Usually, yes. An open offer reaches creators you would never have found. Target invites put your best terms in front of the creators you most want. They do different jobs.