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TPT Exclusive or Basic? What to know by December 31

Updated

TPT now has two seller memberships, Basic and Exclusive, and some of the terms depend on when you choose. Everything below comes from TPT's help center, read on October 21, 2026, and links to the page it came from. TPT can change its terms, so check those pages before you decide.

The two memberships

Basic pays you 55 percent of each sale, minus a 30 cent transaction fee per resource. New Basic sellers pay a one-time $29 fee that isn't refunded, and it doesn't count toward Exclusive if you upgrade later. You can sell your resources anywhere else. (Seller fees and payout rates)

Exclusive pays 77.5 percent of each sale. The transaction fee is 15 cents per resource, and only on orders under $3. It costs $59.95 a year and comes with TPT's search analytics, keyword and promotional tools, and a chance to be included in TPT-funded marketing. In return, you sell your digital educational resources only on TPT. (Seller fees and payout rates, FAQ for new and Basic sellers)

Premium closed to new sign-ups on October 1, 2026, and ends on January 1, 2027. (Seller fees and payout rates)

The dates, depending on where you are now

If you're a Basic seller or new to TPT

You can join Exclusive at any time. If you join between October 1 and December 31, 2026, you get an introductory 80 percent until January 1, 2027, then 77.5 percent. (FAQ for new and Basic sellers)

The exclusivity terms apply "immediately upon sign-up," so take down paid resources you sell elsewhere before you join. (FAQ for existing Premium sellers)

If you stay on Basic, nothing about your membership changes.

If you're a Premium seller

You stay Premium at 80 percent through December 31, 2026, whichever way you go. If your Premium membership renews between October 1 and December 31, it renews as Premium. (FAQ for existing Premium sellers)

You can still upgrade from Basic to Exclusive later, from the same opt-in page. (FAQ for existing Premium sellers)

One catch: checking the box means agreeing to the exclusivity terms, and that part of the FAQ doesn't give a date. If you sell paid resources elsewhere, ask TPT whether they can stay up until January 1 before you check it.

What "sell only on TPT" covers

Exclusive is about digital educational resources. As an Exclusive seller, you can still sell these elsewhere:

And you can't sell these anywhere but TPT:

You can keep your own website and promote your resources anywhere, as long as the purchase happens on TPT. A "Buy now" button on your site can link to the same resource in your TPT store. If you run more than one TPT store, all of them have to be Basic or all Exclusive. (FAQ for new and Basic sellers)

Free resources are allowed on and off TPT, with one catch. In TPT's words, "you cannot charge for a resource on TPT that you offer for free off-platform." (what you can sell outside TPT, FAQ for new and Basic sellers)

What it means for resources you already sell elsewhere

If you sell digital teaching resources on your own site, on another marketplace, or here on Honor System, Exclusive means taking the paid ones down, along with any classroom licenses or memberships that include them. Basic and new sellers do that before signing up. Premium sellers who opt in have until January 1, 2027 (but see the catch above). Free resources can stay up, but the same resource can't carry a price on TPT.

On Honor System, you can unpublish a listing from your dashboard at any time. Teachers who already bought it keep it in their library.

If you leave Exclusive

You can switch from Exclusive back to Basic, but the $59.95 yearly fee isn't refunded, and there's "a one-year wait period" before you can sign up for Exclusive again. That's how TPT describes it for Basic and new sellers who join. TPT says some details differ for Premium sellers, so read the FAQ for existing Premium sellers if that's you. (FAQ for new and Basic sellers)

If you're not sure

Start with what you sell outside TPT today, or plan to. If that's nothing, Exclusive costs you the yearly fee and no other sales. If you sell bundles on your own site, school licenses, or a membership, Exclusive would end those for your digital resources, so add up what they bring in.

Then run your own figures. The your-numbers calculator takes your monthly sales and average order and shows a year on Basic, a year on Exclusive after the $59.95 fee, and a year on Basic with a share of your sales made on Honor System.

Joining and leaving don't work the same way. A Basic seller can join Exclusive later, though the 80 percent introductory rate is only for sign-ups through December 31, 2026. Leaving Exclusive means a year before you can rejoin, per TPT's FAQ for new and Basic sellers.

Where Honor System fits

Honor System doesn't ask for exclusivity. You keep 90 percent of each sale before card processing. What you can list here depends on your TPT membership.

On TPT Basic, or not on TPT, you can sell the same resources here and anywhere else.

As a TPT Exclusive seller, you can't sell paid digital teaching resources here. TPT's terms allow you to list:

(What you can sell outside TPT)

If you want to compare more than the two TPT memberships, other places to sell lists what each one pays, and selling on TPT and your own site covers running two stores.