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Best Gumroad Alternatives | 18 Places to Sell Your Digital Products

BEST-GUMROAD-ALTERNATIVEs sell digital products online

Tired of watching Gumroad take a hefty bite out of your hard-earned sales? Trust me, I get it.

When I first tried selling digital products back in 2022, I was drawn to Gumroad’s simplicity. 

Don’t get me wrong, Gumroad deserves credit for starting the easy-sell-anything model that helped countless creators like us monetize our work. But times have changed, and so have our options.

Let me make it clear to you. When you’re just starting, giving away 10% plus transaction fees might seem reasonable. But as your sales grow, watching a big chunk of your money disappear each month for essentially the same service feels daunting. 

In this guide, I’ll walk you through the best Gumroad alternatives that might just transform how you sell your ebooks, courses, templates, or any digital goods.

Let’s look into the options now.

Top Gumroad Alternatives – Comparison (Table)

Before we dive into the details of each platform, here’s a quick comparison chart to help you identify which alternatives might be worth your time:

Platform Transaction Fees Monthly Fee File Size Limits Custom Domain Email Marketing Memberships EU VAT Handling
Gumroad 10% + $0.30 (free), 5% + $0.30 (paid) $0-$12/month 16GB Basic Basic
Payhip 5% (free), 2% ($29/mo), 0% ($99/mo) $0-$99/month Unlimited Basic + integrations
Sellfy 0% $29-$99/month 10GB Advanced
Sendowl 0% $15-$39/month 2GB Via integrations
Podia 0% $39-$89/month Unlimited Advanced
Paddle 5% + $0.50 $0 Unlimited Via integrations
BigCommerce 0% $29.95-$299.95/month Unlimited Advanced Via apps

Additional Gumroad Alternatives Contd.

Platform Transaction Fees Monthly Fee File Size Limits Custom Domain Email Marketing Memberships EU VAT Handling
StanStore 5% + $0.30 $0 5GB Basic
ConvertKit/Kit 3.5% + $0.30 or 0% (paid plans) $0-$99/month 100MB Advanced
Ko-fi 0% (paid), 5% (free) $0-$6/month 2GB Basic
Beacons 9% (free), 5% ($10/mo) $0-$25/month 1GB Basic
Easy Digital Downloads 0% $99-$499/year + hosting Depends on hosting Via WordPress Via extension Via extension
Buy Me a Coffee 5% $0 1GB Basic
Checkout Page 5% + $0.30 $0 500MB
Teachable 5% + $1 (free), 0% (paid) $0-$299/month Unlimited Advanced
Thinkific 0% $39-$399/month Unlimited Advanced
Kajabi 0% $149-$399/month Unlimited Advanced

If you’re that person who just thinks of picking the one with the lowest fees, hold up. There’s more to consider than just the numbers! 

Price too low, and you might sacrifice features that could boost your sales and save your time significantly. Price too high, and your fancy digital platform may eat away at profits.

In my experience working with digital and e-commerce platforms, the right platform isn’t always the cheapest—it’s the one that aligns with your specific needs, product type, and growth stage.

Let’s break down each alternative in detail to help you find your perfect match. 

Top Websites Like Gumroad: Alternatives

Payhip

Payhip struck me as the perfect middle ground between simplicity and functionality. Their straightforward interface and customization options make your online store feel like, well, yours.

Pricing structure: Payhip offers three plans:

What I particularly appreciate is how this structure scales with your business. When you’re just starting out, you can go with the free plan and only pay when you make sales. Once your monthly fee is less than the transaction fees you’re paying, it makes sense to upgrade.

Personally, I’ve had a positive experience with Payhip when selling digital downloads in a different niche. Their analytics dashboard gave me clear insights, their customer support responded within hours (not days), and setting up new products took minutes. I never tried their blog option, though.

Key features:

Who it’s perfect for: If you’re selling ebooks, digital downloads, or memberships and want a balance of simplicity, features, and fair pricing, Payhip is hard to beat. It’s especially good if you’re concerned about international sales and EU VAT compliance.

Sellfy

Sellfy stands out with its true zero-transaction-fee model and comprehensive feature set. Unlike many competitors that offer 0% transaction fees but then hit you with high monthly costs, Sellfy’s pricing is quite reasonable for what you get. It’s an all-in-one platform that handles everything from store design to email marketing.

Pricing structure:

They also offer a discount for annual plans. If you sell a decent volume and opt for the yearly plan, the price decreases significantly. For established creators, this is a no-brainer!

Key features:

Who it’s perfect for: Sellfy works best for creators with a steady sales volume who want an all-in-one solution. If you’re selling more than $600/month, the monthly fee easily pays for itself compared to Gumroad’s fees. It’s especially beneficial if you’re looking to sell both digital and physical products (via print-on-demand) in one place.

Sendowl

Sendowl takes a different approach from most Gumroad alternatives. Instead of providing a marketplace or storefront, it focuses on being an ultra-efficient digital delivery and cart system. This makes it perfect for creators with an audience who just need a reliable way to sell and deliver products.

Pricing structure:

All plans have zero transaction fees beyond the standard payment processor fees from Stripe or PayPal.

Key features:

Who it’s perfect for: Sendowl is ideal for creators who already have an established website or audience and just need a reliable backend for handling transactions and delivering digital goods. It’s particularly strong for those selling software, licensed products, or anything that requires sophisticated delivery options.

Podia

Podia goes beyond simple digital downloads to offer a comprehensive platform for courses, memberships, webinars, and digital products. It’s designed for creators who want to build a complete digital business rather than just sell individual products.

Pricing structure:

All plans have zero transaction fees beyond payment processor fees.

Key features:

Who it’s perfect for: If you’re planning to create courses, build a membership community, or develop a more comprehensive digital business beyond one-off product sales, Podia offers tremendous value. It’s particularly well-suited for creators who want to avoid juggling multiple platforms for products, courses, and email marketing.

Paddle

Unlike most platforms on this list, Paddle acts as a Merchant of Record (MoR), meaning they handle all the complex tax compliance, payment processing, and financial aspects of your business. This is a game-changer for international sellers worried about tax implications.

Pricing structure:

Key features:

Who it’s perfect for: Paddle is ideal for software companies, high-ticket digital product sellers, and businesses with significant international sales. If you’re making serious revenue and want to offload the tax compliance headache, Paddle’s fee structure is worth it for the peace of mind and time saved on administration.

BigCommerce

In general, BigCommerce is known for physical product e-commerce, but it offers robust features for digital products as well. It’s a full-featured e-commerce platform that can scale from small businesses to enterprise-level operations.

Pricing structure:

All plans have zero transaction fees beyond payment processor fees.

Key features:

Who it’s perfect for: BigCommerce makes sense if your digital products are part of a larger e-commerce operation that includes physical goods, or if you anticipate significant growth. It’s overkill for most creators just selling a few digital products, but excellent for established businesses looking for an all-in-one solution with extensive customization options.

Other Common Alternatives to Gumroad 

Sometimes the best solution isn’t the most obvious one. These platforms might fly under the radar compared to the big names, but each offers unique advantages for specific creator needs.

StanStore

For a few years, StanStore has been generating buzz among social media creators, though I’m not completely sold on the hype. It offers a clean, simple interface for selling digital products with a focus on creator-fan relationships.

Pricing: 5% + $0.30 per transaction with no monthly fee. They offer a 14-day trial but no free plan.

Key features:

Best for: Social media creators with existing audiences who want a straightforward selling solution without monthly fees. However, I’d recommend watching this space—the platform is still evolving, and while the buzz is strong, it’s worth seeing how it develops before going all-in.

Ko-fi

Ko-fi began as a tip jar alternative but has evolved into a capable platform for selling digital products alongside donation features.

Pricing:

Key features:

Best for: Creators with community-based audiences who want to offer multiple support options (donations, products, memberships) in one place. Particularly good for artists, writers, and creators with loyal followings.

Beacons

Beacons combines link-in-bio functionality with the ability to sell digital products, making it useful for social media creators.

Pricing:

Key features:

Best for: Social media creators who want to combine their link-in-bio page with selling capabilities, particularly those on Instagram, TikTok, or other platforms with limited link options.

Easy Digital Downloads (WordPress)

For those who value control and ownership, Easy Digital Downloads (EDD) offers a WordPress-based solution for selling digital products.

Pricing:

Plus, you’ll need hosting costs ($5-30/month typically).

Key features:

Best for: Technical creators who value control and don’t mind a steeper learning curve. Particularly good for those already using WordPress or selling products that need extensive customization.

Buy Me a Coffee

Buy Me a Coffee focuses on simplicity, offering an easy way for creators to accept support and sell digital products.

Pricing: 5% transaction fee with no monthly cost.

Key features:

Best for: Creators looking for the simplest possible solution to start monetizing their audience with minimal setup. It’s particularly popular among writers, artists, and podcasters.

Checkout Page

Checkout Page offers perhaps the most stripped-down selling experience possible—just a simple checkout page for your products.

Pricing: 5% + $0.30 per transaction with no monthly fee.

Key features:

Best for: Creators who just want to test the waters or need the absolute simplest solution for occasional product sales. It’s more limited than most options but has virtually no learning curve.

ConvertKit/Kit

Recently rebranded from ConvertKit to Kit, this platform is primarily an email marketing tool but has expanded to include digital product sales capabilities.

Pricing:

Key features:

Best for: Creators who prioritize email marketing and want to sell products directly to their list without integration hassles. It’s particularly valuable if you already use Kit/ConvertKit for your email marketing.

Membership-focused Alternatives

If building recurring revenue through memberships is your goal, these specialized platforms offer features specifically designed for membership businesses.

Memberful: The Premium Membership Platform

Pricing:

Key features:

Best for: Serious membership businesses that need robust features and integrations, particularly those using WordPress as their content platform.

MemberSpace: The Any-Website Membership Solution

Pricing:

All plans charge a 4% transaction fee for monthly memberships and 2% fee for annual memberships.

Key features:

Best for: Creators who already have established websites on platforms like Squarespace, Webflow, or custom sites and want to add membership functionality without rebuilding everything.

Course-specific Platforms

If courses are a significant part of your digital product strategy, these specialized platforms offer features designed specifically for online education.

Teachable: The Course Creator’s Favorite

Pricing:

Key features:

Best for: Creators focused primarily on courses who want a platform built specifically for educational content with strong student engagement features.

Thinkific

Pricing:

Key features:

Best for: Course creators who need extensive customization options and want to create a distinctive, branded learning experience.

Kajabi

Pricing:

All plans have no transaction fees.

Key features:

Best for: Serious digital educators building a complete online education business. The higher price point is justified if you’re using multiple features and would otherwise need several separate tools.

Keep These Factors in Mind Before Switching Platforms

Jumping from one platform to another isn’t as simple as flipping a switch. After helping numerous creators migrate between platforms, I’ve seen both smooth transitions and absolute nightmares. Here are the key factors to consider before making the leap:

Your Business Stage

Be honest with yourself—where is your business actually at right now?

Starting out: If you’re just testing the waters, platforms with free plans like Payhip or even sticking with Gumroad might make sense despite the fees. Why pay monthly subscriptions when you’re not sure your products will sell?

Growth phase: As your sales increase, those transaction fees start to hurt. This is when platforms like Sellfy, with monthly fees but no transaction costs, often become more economical.

Mature business: Established businesses with predictable revenue should prioritize advanced features, integrations, and scalability over minor cost differences. Platforms like Kajabi or BigCommerce might be worth the investment owing to their robust capabilities.

Just a hobby: If you’re not dependent on the income, simplicity might be the winner.

What’s Important to You

No platform excels at everything. Prioritize based on your specific needs. They could be:

Frequently Asked Questions

1: Will I lose access to my existing customer data if I switch from Gumroad?

A: Unfortunately, yes—at least partially. While you can export customer email addresses and purchase history from Gumroad, the direct relationship between customers and their purchased products typically won’t transfer seamlessly. You’ll need to communicate the change to customers and may need to re-issue access to products on your new platform.

2: How long does it take to switch platforms?

A: For a small catalog, you might expect to spend 3-7 days setting up the new platform, migrating products, and testing everything. Larger catalogs or complex setups can take several weeks. It’s better to keep your products live on both platforms simultaneously during the transition period.

3: What types of digital products sell best online?

A: In general, digital products that solve specific problems, like templates, tools, and courses with clear outcomes, tend to convert better than ebooks or guides. Other factors like target audience need, how you nurture your audience to buy your digital product, pricing, and reviews (on platforms like Gumroad, Zazzle, etc.) matter, too. 

4: How important is email marketing for digital product sales?

A: Customer information is the new gold. Their information, combined with the right email marketing, is typically your highest-converting sales channel when nurtured properly. Platforms with built-in email capabilities (like Podia or ConvertKit/Kit) or strong email integrations should be prioritized if you’re serious about scaling your digital product business.

5: Should I offer refunds on digital products?

A: Despite concerns about people “stealing” your content, a generous refund policy typically increases conversion rates significantly while only resulting in a small percentage of refunds. Most platforms allow you to set your own refund policies and handling procedures.

Wrapping it up!

The digital product space is budding with new options regularly. The good part? You have more choices than ever to find a platform that truly fits your specific needs, without watching Gumroad (or anyone else) take an oversized bite of your hard-earned revenue.

What’s your experience with these platforms? Have you made a switch that worked well for your business?

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