Gumroad is still the easiest way to start selling a digital product. The catch is the price. It charges 10% + $0.50 on every direct sale, and card processing comes on top. If a buyer finds you through Gumroad's Discover marketplace, the fee jumps to a flat 30%.
On a $10 ebook, that's the difference between keeping about $7.90 and keeping $7.00. Across a year of sales, it adds up to real money.
We at Webhorse Studio, build and develop websites, online stores, AI integration and more. As far as, NinthKart, it is a marketplace for digital products, you can also list or add your digital products and get sell from the world. Below are the seven alternatives we'd actually consider in 2026. They're ranked by what lands in your bank account, not by who pays the biggest affiliate commission.
The quick answer
Selling to your own audience and want $0 upfront: Payhip (free plan, 5% fee).
Selling software, licences or subscriptions worldwide: Lemon Squeezy (5% + 50¢, handles global sales tax for you).
Making more than about $600 a month: Sellfy or Stan Store (a flat monthly fee, 0% per sale).
Selling printables and want a big buyer audience: Etsy.
Want marketplace discovery without Gumroad's 30%: NinthKart (15% commission, no listing fees).
Want full control and zero platform fees: your own website.
What you keep from one $10 sale
We used each platform's published fees as of September 2026. Where a platform charges card processing separately, we added the standard US rate of 2.9% + 30¢.
Platform | Fees on a $10 sale | You keep | Monthly cost |
|---|---|---|---|
Gumroad (direct sale) | 10% + $0.50, plus processing | $7.91 | $0 |
Gumroad (Discover sale) | 30% flat, processing included | $7.00 | $0 |
Payhip Free | 5%, plus processing | $8.91 | $0 |
Lemon Squeezy | 5% + $0.50, processing included | $9.00 | $0 |
Etsy | $0.20 listing + 6.5% + 3% + $0.25 | $8.60 | $0 |
NinthKart | 15% commission, no listing fee | $8.50 ★ | $0 |
Sellfy Starter | 0%, plus processing | $9.41 | $29 (or $22/mo yearly) |
Stan Store Creator | 0%, plus processing | $9.41 | $29 (or $25/mo yearly) |
What you keep from a $1,000 month (100 sales of $10)
This is where subscriptions start to make sense.
Platform | Total fees | You keep |
|---|---|---|
Sellfy Starter / Stan Creator | $29 + $59 processing | $912 |
Lemon Squeezy | $100 | $900 |
Payhip Free | $50 + $59 processing | $891 |
Etsy | $20 listings + $65 + $55 processing | $860 |
NinthKart | $150 | $850 ★ |
Gumroad (direct) | $150 + $59 processing | $791 |
Gumroad (Discover) | $300 | $700 |
The break-even rule: a $29/month plan beats a 5% fee once you sell more than about $580 a month ($29 ÷ 5%). Below that, a pay-per-sale plan is cheaper.
The 7 Gumroad alternatives, one by one
1. Payhip — the best free alternative
Payhip is the closest thing to "Gumroad, but cheaper." You get a storefront, ebook and course delivery, discount codes, affiliates and EU VAT handling.
Pricing: Free plan at 5% per sale, Plus at $29/month with 2%, Pro at $99/month with 0%. PayPal and Stripe processing is charged on every plan.
Best for: creators with their own audience (newsletter, YouTube, Instagram) who want low fees from day one.
Watch out for: there's no real marketplace, so every buyer has to come from you.
2. Lemon Squeezy — best for software and global sales
Lemon Squeezy acts as the merchant of record. That means it collects and pays sales tax and VAT around the world for you, which is a big deal once you sell to 40 countries.
Pricing: 5% + 50¢ per transaction. Small extra fees can apply to some international payments.
Best for: software, licence keys, SaaS subscriptions, WordPress plugins and themes.
Watch out for: it's built for developers, and the 50¢ fixed fee hurts on very cheap products.
3. Sellfy — best once you're selling steadily
Sellfy charges a monthly subscription and no transaction fee.
Pricing: Starter $29/month ($22/month billed yearly) for up to $10k a year in sales, Business $79/month for up to $50k, Premium $159/month for up to $200k. Processing is extra.
Best for: sellers above roughly $600 a month who want a polished store, email marketing and print-on-demand in one place.
Watch out for: the sales caps. Outgrow a tier and you're moved up.
4. Stan Store — best for social-media creators
Stan turns your "link in bio" into a mini store with products, bookings and email capture.
Pricing: Creator $29/month, Creator Pro $99/month. Stan takes no transaction fee; Stripe or PayPal processing applies.
Best for: Instagram and TikTok creators selling guides, templates and coaching.
Watch out for: it's designed around mobile link-in-bio traffic, not search or marketplace discovery.
5. Etsy — best audience for printables
Etsy is where people already go to buy planners, wall art, invitations and templates.
Pricing: $0.20 per listing (renewed each time an item sells), 6.5% transaction fee, and 3% + $0.25 processing in the US. Offsite Ads can add more on some sales.
Best for: printables, SVGs, planners and party templates, especially if you're starting from zero followers.
Watch out for: heavy competition and price pressure. You also can't send buyers to your own store.
6. NinthKart — a marketplace built only for digital products
Full disclosure: this one is ours. We built NinthKart because we kept seeing the same gap. Gumroad's marketplace costs 30%, and Etsy is built for handmade physical goods first.
Pricing: free to join, no listing fees, 15% commission only when you make a sale (you keep about 85%). High-volume shops can qualify for a lower rate.
Payouts: monthly, around the 15th, for the previous month's sales, by bank transfer, PayPal or local methods where available.
What you can sell: templates, printables and planners (Productivity), ebooks (E-Books), graphics, prompts, themes, WordPress items, plugins, scripts and code, and app and game templates.
Best for: creators who want a marketplace audience without paying 30%, and developers whose themes, code and app templates don't fit on Etsy.
Watch out for: NinthKart is newer, so its buyer audience is still growing. We'd use it alongside your own traffic, not instead of it.
If you want to try it, opening a shop takes a few minutes and costs nothing until you sell.
7. Your own website — zero platform fees, full control
With your own store (WooCommerce, Shopify with a digital-downloads app, or a custom build), you pay only processing and hosting. You own the customer list, the design and the checkout.
Pricing: Shopify starts at a monthly plan; WooCommerce is free software plus hosting. Card processing applies either way.
Best for: established creators and businesses. At that point a 5–10% fee on every sale is more than a website costs to run.
Watch out for: setup time, security updates and the fact that no marketplace sends you buyers.
This is what we do at Webhorse Studio. If you want a store that looks like your brand instead of a template, talk to us.
How to choose in 60 seconds
Do you already have an audience? No → start with a marketplace (Etsy for printables, NinthKart for printables, templates, code and ebooks). Yes → go to step 2.
Do you sell software or subscriptions worldwide? Yes → Lemon Squeezy. No → go to step 3.
Do you make more than about $600 a month? No → Payhip Free. Yes → Sellfy, Stan Store or Payhip Pro.
Are you doing $5,000+ a month or want total control? → Your own website, with marketplaces as extra sales channels.
Most successful sellers we work with don't pick one. They run their own store for their audience and list on one or two marketplaces to be found by new buyers.
Frequently asked questions
What is the best free alternative to Gumroad? Payhip's free plan. It costs nothing monthly and charges 5% per sale plus card processing, which is about half of Gumroad's 10% + 50¢.
Which Gumroad alternative has the lowest fees? It depends on volume. Below about $580 a month in sales, Lemon Squeezy (5% + 50¢, processing included) and Payhip Free (5% + processing) keep the most. Above that, 0%-fee subscription platforms like Sellfy and Stan Store win.
Is there a Gumroad alternative with a marketplace? Yes. Etsy has the biggest audience for printables. NinthKart is a marketplace built only for digital products, with a 15% commission compared with Gumroad Discover's 30%.
How much does Gumroad take per sale in 2026? 10% + $0.50 per direct sale, plus card processing. Sales through Gumroad Discover cost a flat 30%, which includes processing.
Can I sell on more than one platform at once? Yes, and it's usually smart. Keep your prices consistent and check each platform's rules. For example, Etsy doesn't allow you to direct buyers to your own store.
Fees checked on 30 September 2026 from each platform's official pricing page. Platforms change their pricing, so confirm the current numbers before you decide.
Sources: Gumroad fees · Payhip pricing · Lemon Squeezy pricing · Sellfy pricing · Stan Store pricing · Etsy fees and payments policy · NinthKart seller page
