9 Gumroad Alternatives for Selling Digital Products

By Manob Editorial · October 14, 2026

The best Gumroad alternative depends on why you're leaving. For lower per-sale fees with tax handled, try Lemon Squeezy or Polar. For a flat monthly price and no commission, Payhip Pro or Sellfy. For tips and memberships, Ko-fi. For courses, Podia. For marketplace traffic, Etsy. As of October 2026, Gumroad takes 10% plus $0.50 on direct sales.

Gumroad today: the baseline

From Gumroad's pricing page, as of October 2026:

• Direct sales: 10% plus $0.50 per transaction "for all sales through your profile or direct links to your customers."
• Discover marketplace: 30% per transaction when a new customer finds and buys from you through Gumroad's own marketplace.
• Monthly fee: none. The page says "no hidden fees, no monthly charges."
• Tax: "Since January 1, 2025, Gumroad handles ALL your tax obligations," including VAT and GST, as merchant of record.

That last point is why many sellers stay. When a platform is your merchant of record, it is the legal seller and deals with sales tax and VAT around the world. Platforms that pay you directly through your own PayPal or Stripe account usually leave some of that to you. Keep that in mind when a lower fee looks attractive.

Gumroad alternatives at a glance

As of October 2026, from each platform's own pricing or help pages. "Not listed" means we didn't find the term on the page we checked.

What you keep on a $20 sale

Platform fees only, on a single $20 digital sale to a US buyer, as of October 2026. Where a platform charges card processing on top, we note it rather than guess the rate.

• Payhip Pro, Sellfy, Podia Shaker: $20.00 before card processing, but each charges a monthly plan fee
• Payhip Plus: $19.60 before card processing ($29 a month)
• Payhip Free, Ko-fi shop sale, Podia Mover: $19.00 before card processing
• Lemon Squeezy: $18.50
• Polar Starter: $18.50 (a non-US card adds 1.5%)
• Etsy: $17.65 after the listing fee, 6.5% transaction fee and US payment processing of 3% plus $0.25
• Gumroad, direct sale: $17.50
• Gumroad, via Discover: $14.00
• Manob (ours): $13.00

Sellfy and Podia quote card processing at a typical 2.9% plus 30¢, and Ko-fi at around 3% plus $0.30, which takes roughly $0.88 to $0.90 off a $20 sale. Add that back before you compare. At low volume, no-commission plans are often the expensive choice. Gumroad's fee on a $20 sale is $2.50, so Sellfy's $22-a-month Starter plan only pays off once you sell about nine $20 items a month, and more once you add Sellfy's card processing.

The 9 alternatives, one by one

1. Lemon Squeezy: best for lower fees with tax handled

Lemon Squeezy charges 5% plus 50¢ per transaction, with no monthly fee, and acts as merchant of record. It warns that "some payments may be subject to additional fees," including some transactions outside the US. It's half of Gumroad's percentage for the same tax coverage. One caution: the site's footer now reads "Link, LLC f/k/a Lemon Squeezy LLC," and its April 2026 update says the goal is to give users an easy way to migrate to Stripe Managed Payments. No date is given. Expect the product to change.

2. Polar: best for developers selling software

Polar says it acts as "the reseller of your product in over 100 markets," taking on payments, sales tax, fraud, refunds and chargebacks. Its fee page lists 5% plus 50¢ on the free Starter plan and 3.8% plus 40¢ on Pro at $20 a month. Non-US cards add 1.5%, disputes cost $15 each, and payouts carry Stripe's own fees. It can grant license keys, file downloads up to 10GB and private GitHub repository access automatically (benefits). Our CodeCanyon alternatives guide covers it for code sellers.

3. Payhip: best when you've outgrown Gumroad's percentage

Payhip has three plans with the same features: Free Forever with a 5% transaction fee, Plus at $29 a month with 2%, and Pro at $99 a month with none. PayPal and Stripe still charge their standard rates on top. Payhip says it is "fully compliant to collect and remit EU VAT and UK on your behalf automatically." It sells digital downloads, courses, coaching, memberships and physical products. On Pro, you'd pay less than Gumroad's direct fee once you sell about 40 items at $20 a month, before card processing.

4. Sellfy: best for a storefront with print on demand

Sellfy charges no transaction fee on any plan. You pay a subscription instead: Starter is $22 a month billed yearly or $29 monthly, for up to $10,000 in sales a year. Business ($59 yearly, $79 monthly) raises that cap to $50,000. Every plan covers digital products, subscriptions, physical products and print on demand. There's no free plan, only a 14-day trial, and Sellfy says it "may start to charge a 2% overage fee" if you pass your plan's sales cap without upgrading.

5. Ko-fi: best for tips, memberships and commissions

Ko-fi's fee page lists no monthly cost and 0% on one-time tips on the Free option. Shop sales, memberships, monthly tips and commissions carry a 5% fee. Money goes straight into your own PayPal or Stripe account, where processor fees of "around 3% + $0.30" apply. It suits creators whose audience already supports them, with a small shop alongside. It isn't built as a full product storefront.

6. Podia: best for courses and coaching

Podia bundles digital downloads with online courses, coaching, events and a community. Mover costs $42 a month billed yearly with a 5% transaction fee. Shaker ($84) and Earthquaker ($150) charge no transaction fee. Stripe or PayPal processing of 2.9% plus 30¢ applies on every plan. There's no free plan, only a 14-day trial. If your downloads are a side product to a course, Podia replaces Gumroad and a course platform at once.

7. Etsy: best for printables and design files with built-in buyers

Etsy is a marketplace, so it brings its own traffic. Its fee page lists $0.20 per listing (renewed every 4 months), a 6.5% transaction fee, and US payment processing of 3% plus $0.25. There's also a one-time shop set-up fee that varies by location. Etsy collects and remits US sales tax on qualifying digital orders from US buyers. The rule that matters: digital items "must be made and/or designed by you, the seller," with up to five files of 20MB each per listing (digital listings). Large code or template packages won't fit.

8. Shopify: best if digital products are part of a bigger store

Shopify's Basic plan was listed at $19 a month billed yearly or $25 monthly on its US pricing page, with a 2% fee if you use a third-party payment provider instead of Shopify's own. Shopify's free Digital Downloads app attaches files and links to products. You get full control of the store and its design, and you also take on more setup than Gumroad asks for. It makes sense when you already sell physical goods or plan to.

9. Manob (our own marketplace): best for selling website templates and themes

Manob is our own platform, so read this entry with that in mind. It's not a general digital-goods store. It's a marketplace for WordPress themes, HTML templates, Figma and other design files, React templates and Shopify themes, with more than 600 products listed. Our fee is higher than every option above: 35% commission on products. You'd use it for the audience of template buyers, not to save on fees.

What you get for that: non-exclusive licensing, so the same item can stay on Gumroad. Every product is manually reviewed before approval, and buyers can preview every item before purchase. Each product has Regular and Extended License prices. Sellers provide 6 months of support through a built-in ticket system, which is a real time cost to plan for. You can also sell freelance services from the same account at 20% commission, and new sellers get 50 free Connects for bidding on client jobs. See becoming a seller.

Which alternative is best for templates, themes and design files?

Gumroad works for these, but outside Discover it only reaches the buyers you bring yourself. A common setup is a direct store for your own audience (Gumroad, Lemon Squeezy or Payhip) plus one or two non-exclusive marketplaces for discovery. For WordPress themes, our guide to selling WordPress themes covers GPL licensing and packaging. Fonts and graphics sellers should compare Creative Market, Creative Fabrica and Etsy in our Creative Market alternatives. Theme authors can see marketplace author fees side by side in ThemeForest alternatives.

When to stay on Gumroad

• You sell occasionally. No monthly fee means a slow month costs nothing, unlike Payhip Plus, Sellfy or Podia.
• You want tax handled. Gumroad is merchant of record. Payhip, Ko-fi, Sellfy and Podia pay into your own processor account, so check what tax work stays with you.
• Discover sends you buyers. The 30% rate only applies to new customers who find you through Gumroad's marketplace, so it's paying for sales you probably wouldn't have made.
• You want the simplest setup. You need a product page and a link, with no theme or store to configure.

Frequently asked questions

What is the best alternative to Gumroad?

For lower fees with tax handled, Lemon Squeezy or Polar. For no commission at a monthly price, Payhip Pro or Sellfy. For courses, Podia. For marketplace traffic on design files and printables, Etsy.

Is there a Gumroad alternative with lower fees?

Yes. As of October 2026, Lemon Squeezy and Polar's Starter plan charge 5% plus 50¢ per sale against Gumroad's 10% plus $0.50, and Payhip's free plan charges 5% plus processor fees.

Does Gumroad handle sales tax and VAT?

Yes. Gumroad says that since January 1, 2025, it handles all your tax obligations, including VAT and GST, as merchant of record.

Is Lemon Squeezy shutting down?

Its April 2026 update doesn't announce a shutdown. It says the goal is an easy migration path to Stripe Managed Payments, and its footer now names "Link, LLC f/k/a Lemon Squeezy LLC."

Can I sell on Gumroad and another platform at the same time?

Yes. Gumroad is your own store, so nothing stops you listing the same product elsewhere, though Etsy requires that digital items be made or designed by you. Non-exclusive marketplaces like Manob also allow it.