Digital & Online
Where to Sell Digital Products: Gumroad vs Etsy vs Payhip vs Your Own Site
Compare platforms for selling digital products: Gumroad, Etsy, Payhip, Lemon Squeezy, Amazon KDP and your own site, with fees, tax handling, pros and cons.
Choosing where to sell a digital product is not just about fees. It decides who handles sales tax and VAT, whether buyers can find you without your own audience, how much control you have over checkout and email, and how much you keep on each sale. This guide compares the main options for selling ebooks, templates, printables and courses, as of late 2026.
Warning: Platform fees and policies change frequently. Every figure below is based on published fees as of late 2026. Verify current pricing on each platform's site before choosing.
Three types of platforms
| Type | What it means | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| Marketplace | The platform brings buyers; you compete with other sellers | Etsy, Amazon KDP, Gumroad Discover |
| Merchant of record (MoR) storefront | The platform legally sells to the buyer and handles tax | Gumroad, Lemon Squeezy, Paddle, Stripe Managed Payments |
| Processor only | You sell on your own site; you handle tax and delivery | Stripe, PayPal on your website |
Platform comparison
| Platform | Fees (late 2026, verify) | Tax handling | Strengths | Watch out for |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gumroad | 10% + 50¢ per direct sale, plus card processing; 30% on Discover marketplace sales | Handles sales tax and VAT as MoR | Very easy; creator audience | Fixed fees heavy on low prices |
| Lemon Squeezy | 5% + 50¢; extra for international payments, PayPal and subscriptions | Handles global tax as MoR | Clean checkout, license keys, affiliates | Stripe is moving users toward Stripe Managed Payments; check status |
| Stripe Managed Payments | Standard Stripe processing + 3.5% | Tax in many countries as MoR | Stripe's checkout and reliability | Eligibility and supported locations apply |
| Payhip | Free plan 5% per sale; paid plans lower the percentage; plus processing | VAT and sales tax features (check scope) | All features on every plan | Processor fees on top |
| Etsy | $0.20 listing fee, 6.5% transaction fee, payment processing, optional offsite ads fees | Collects sales tax and VAT in many places as a marketplace facilitator | Built-in traffic for printables and templates | Heavy competition; marketplace rules |
| Amazon KDP | 35% royalty option for $0.99 to $200; 70% option for $2.99 to $9.99 (US store) minus delivery costs | Amazon handles tax | Largest ebook audience | Exclusivity if you join KDP Select; complex PDFs may not convert well |
| Your site + Stripe or PayPal | Stripe about 2.9% + 30¢ for US cards; PayPal checkout higher | You handle tax | Lowest fees, full control, your customer list | Tax registrations, delivery tools, fraud |
How to choose
If you have no audience yet
Start where buyers already search. Etsy works well for printables, planners and templates. Amazon KDP works for Kindle ebooks. You give up margin and control, but you get discovery.
If you have an audience
An email list, blog, YouTube channel or social following means you can bring your own buyers. A merchant of record storefront like Gumroad or Lemon Squeezy is the simplest: easy checkout, tax handled. For more control and lower fees, sell on your own site with Stripe.
If you sell internationally
Selling digital products to buyers in many countries can create VAT and GST obligations. A merchant of record takes that burden off you. Selling directly with Stripe means you are responsible for registering and remitting where required.
If your price is very low
At $0.99, fixed fees dominate. Approximate amounts kept on a $0.99 US sale, before tax:
| Platform | You keep |
|---|---|
| Your site + Stripe | about $0.66 |
| Payhip Free + Stripe | about $0.61 |
| Etsy | about $0.45 |
| Lemon Squeezy | about $0.44 |
| Amazon KDP (35%) | about $0.35 |
| Gumroad (direct) | about $0.06 |
A worked example: one product, three channels
A creator sells a $19 budgeting template pack.
| Channel | Monthly sales | Approx. kept per sale | Monthly net |
|---|---|---|---|
| Etsy (marketplace traffic) | 60 | about $16.75 (after listing, transaction and processing fees) | about $1,005 |
| Gumroad (her email list) | 25 | $15.75 | $394 |
| Her own site + Stripe (blog readers) | 30 | $18.15 | $545 |
Etsy brings the most buyers because of its traffic. Her own site keeps the most per sale but requires her to handle sales tax and delivery. Gumroad sits in the middle: simple and tax-handled, with a higher fee. Using all three lets her reach new buyers on Etsy, then invite them to her email list for future products sold directly.
Tip: Include a short, valuable bonus or a link to your free resource inside every marketplace download, following the marketplace's rules, so buyers can join your email list.
Delivery, files and refunds by platform type
Fees are only part of the picture. Each platform type handles the buyer experience differently.
Marketplaces deliver files through their own download systems and set their own rules for refunds, reviews and messaging. You must follow their policies on what you can include in a listing and how you contact buyers.
Merchant of record storefronts usually provide download links, license keys for software, customer receipts and basic refund tools. They also appear as the seller on the buyer's card statement in many cases, so make sure your product name is clear in the checkout to avoid confused buyers and disputes.
Your own site gives you full control, but you must set up delivery yourself: expiring download links, a members area or an email delivery tool. You also write and enforce your own refund policy and respond to disputes directly.
Whichever you choose:
- Keep file sizes reasonable and test downloads on phone and desktop
- Add a short "start here" page inside each product
- State your refund policy clearly before purchase
- Respond to support requests within one business day
Moving platforms later
Many sellers start on a marketplace or MoR storefront and later move core products to their own site once they have an audience. Make that move easier by keeping master files outside any platform, recording which buyers came from where, and collecting emails wherever the platform allows. Avoid long exclusivity commitments until you know a channel is working.
Questions to ask before choosing
- Who handles sales tax and VAT?
- What do I keep at my actual price point?
- Does the platform bring buyers, or must I bring them?
- Can I collect buyer emails and contact them later?
- Are there exclusivity requirements?
- Does it support bundles, discounts, license keys and affiliates?
- How are payouts handled, and in which currencies?
- Can I export my customer and sales data?
Mistakes to avoid
- Choosing by headline percentage without checking fixed fees
- Selling directly worldwide without understanding VAT
- Relying on one marketplace for all income
- Ignoring exclusivity terms such as KDP Select
- Not collecting customer emails where allowed
Your next step
The platform is the storefront, but the business is the product, pricing and marketing behind it. Selling Digital Products & Ebooks Online by Omer Muneer Qazi covers validating ideas, creating professional PDFs and templates, platforms compared in detail, pricing, delivery and piracy, copyright and licensing, taxes and merchant of record decisions, sales pages and marketing.
General information only, not legal, tax or financial advice. Rules and costs vary by state and change; verify with official sources. Read the disclaimer.