Five Best Gumroad alternatives that are less expensive and Better (2023) --
Updated: December 20 in 2022.
Update:As of December 2022, Gumroad is announcing a cost increase, and they will be charging 10 percent for each sale users make through the platform (plus any additional fees for transactions that come from Paypal and Stripe). If you're caught in the middle of this terrible news and you're thinking of switching to other platforms, here is the list of Gumroad alternatives that you'll definitely need to check out!
Gumroad is a popular platform for selling digital products. The platform provides a fully online storefront that allows you to offer digital goods online for sale in just a few minutes. Gumroad also comes with other capabilities like features that allow you for selling subscriptions, integration with Paypal and Stripe, and many more.
However, it has disadvantages that deter people from staying on the platform. Review sites have proven that amongst other things, Gumroad's expensive pricing and lack of support for customers, and lack of scalability for large volume sellers has led customers to move to other platforms.
In this article this article, we'll review Gumroad's best alternatives to selling digital products so you can choose the best option for your business. We have included many alternatives that are perfect for businesses which are only beginning however, we've considered scalability in mind so that you won't need change platforms when your business expands.
This is a brief overview of the top Gumroad alternative options that can be less expensive and more effective:
What is Gumroad and what does it Provide?
Gumroad is an eCommerce platform that's designed toward digital goods. Gumroad offers a variety of options, including selling different categories of digital products like subscriptions and digital downloads. The software also provides marketing and analytics tools and the capability to integrate products on your website.
With Gumroad offers you an online store that is hosted fully and where you're able to market your items through. Gumroad also offers a tiny online marketplace known as "Gumroad Discover" where you can display your products' listings alongside other designers.
How Much Does Gumroad Price?
Gumroad charges a flat rate of 10% per sale you make on the platform.
Furthermore, you'll have to also pay transaction charges from Paypal and Stripe which usually come out to be about 2.9 percent plus $0.30 for each transaction.
It is important to note that Gumroad had an alternative pricing structure before 2023. However, they had recently settled on the current pricing structure.
What are the reasons to look at Gumroad Alternatives?
1. Pricey Pricing and the Lack of Scalability
Gumroad's fixed rate of 10% charge for each sale is incredibly expensive when you're new to the market, but it's more costly as the business expands because expenses will continue to increase as a percentage of your earnings.
Imagine making $100,000 per month and having to pay $10,000 fees - that doesn't sound exciting at all. Additionally that the fee of 10% is notinclude any additional Paypal or Stripe charges (which usually cost around 2.9 percent plus $0.30 per transaction) that you also need to pay.
2. The lack of customizability
Although Gumroad has a fully-hosted website to display your merchandise online, you'll not be able to alter the look of your online store to fit your company's branding. Gumroad has a distinctive style of store that can be found on every seller's retail stores. There is nothing you can modify on your storefront is a single highlight color and a few small customizations such as your name, bio, and your logo.
As a contrast, the alternative platforms presented in this article have advanced features for store builders which are user-friendly for beginners (no programming or design expertise needed) however, they're capable of giving you the freedom to design an extremely profitable online store that matches your branding.
3. Discover Better Options to Sell Online Courses
If you're selling goods such as digital downloads, Gumroad is generally quite proficient in providing your documents to clients. If you're offering online courses, the platform isn't equipped with the powerful functionalities that other online platforms generally offer.
Gumroad's online course features allow the upload of a video as well as other documents that your students can download and then click on to watch the video. But this isn't the engaging learning experience you'd hope to get on an online platform for courses. There's no sophisticated course options like assessments, drip schedule, or certificates of completion.
Here's an example of a student's learning experience
Here's an example of an engaging learning experience with diverse lesson styles could look like (the illustration below comes drawn from ):
Specific Features to Search For in an Gumroad alternative
In the search for alternatives to Gumroad, there are a number of crucial aspects to take into consideration.
1. The features to sell various product Sorts
Does the platform provide the necessary tools to market various digital products? This can help you increase the income you earn through various sectors. Think about features like:
- The features to market digital download Instant file delivery, pdf stamping, download limitations and much more
- The features to market online courses: engaging online course player that includes a variety of different types of lesson (e.g. assignment videos, video lessons, etc), drip content schedule, various course pricing options, certificates, and more
- Tools to market coaching services including integration with online meetings platforms like Zoom and Calendly as well as other
- The features to market subscriptions or membership: ability to bill recurring payments
Also, search for flexibility to be able to integrate product pages onto your site. This allows you to embed an order cart, and a an effortless checkout process into your site.
2. Cost-effective Price (Little to No Costs Up-Front)
How much will it price per transaction? Are there monthly costs, hidden fees, or limitations?
Choose platforms that boast solid records of stable pricing models. While a lot of companies will offer you a reasonable pricing plan at the start, you'd want to make sure you're not facing unexpected price increases later on.
3. Robust Marketing Tools
In addition to the standard marketing tools, such as discount coupons, you must seek out a system which can provide more sophisticated and effective marketing tools, like affiliate marketing. It allows you to conduct different marketing campaigns that can grow your business.
This is the only option on the list which offers affiliate marketing service for free Other platforms require monthly subscription fees to access these tools.
4. A Beginner-Friendly Store Builder that is Fully Customizable and Fully-Custom
The digital world is awash with opportunities, and the online store, or site is essential for any brand or business to increase the brand's popularity and demonstrate their level of professionalism. If it is done right, having your own website is not just a way to set yourself up as an expert in your area, but can also help build relations with clients as it allows them to learn about your brand in a deeper way.
Find platforms that permit you to build a fully custom online store that will showcase your business in the best possible way. There are a ton of possibilities that don't need any programming or design abilities.
5. Tax-Free, so You Won't Have To
The dread of having to navigate the confusing world of VAT may prevent you from expanding your company and slowing down the growth. Look into a service which is fully compliant so that you can not only take VAT payments from your clients at checkout, but also remit VAT on your behalf and you don't have to do anything.
5 of the Best Gumroad Solutions to Sell Digital Products
Let's review several of the best alternatives to Gumroad for selling digital items. Each one has distinct options and plans for pricing, so it's important to compare the options carefully prior to making a decision.
1.
is the best Gumroad alternative all-round in terms of price and affordability.
is by far the most popular of platforms that often gets compared to Gumroad since they're the closest Gumroad competitor that offers the same features Gumroad offers, but at a much lower cost which is ideal for companies regardless of size.
It is well-known for its forever-free subscription that allows the sellers access to ALL of the tools that the platform has to offer. Instead of the massive 10% fee that Gumroad charges just 5% for every sale. If your business is growing and you are ready to upgrade, move to a monthly subscription for a lower cost. You will never have to think about scaling up your business at .
If you're searching for an online platform that's committed to the growth of your company, this is your ideal choice.
PRICING:
The company has disrupted the market by offering an unconventional pricing plan that is geared towards helping small companies succeed while also ensuring that businesses will keep their costs low in the process of growing into multimillion-dollar companies.
There are three pricing plans:
- Free for life with only 5% fee (perfect for those who are just beginning)
- Amount of $29 per month with 2% fee
- A monthly payment of $99 with no charges
So why is this "unconventional"? It's because the pricing plans provide all users the exact same accessibility to ALL of their incredible features. 's founders created the company because of their belief in creating a platform that assists small-scale businesses by never limiting their access to the advanced capabilities they require. This belief is well-received by a large number of sellers who have's online reviews.
If you're just starting out, you can start on the most well-known Plan, Free for Lifewith no fees per month and 5% fees for each sale (excluding shipping costs). As your business expands, you can switch to 's Plus plan, which costs $29 for month fee plus 2percent fees per sale or the Pro plan with $99 for month fees (no other fees per sale).
has maintained this pricing for a long time, so you can have a confidence that the price won't go anyplace.
PROS :
- This is the cheapest alternative to Gumroad
- Inbuilt key features that allow you to market various products including:
- Unlimitless product listings, and unlimitable revenues
- Improved checkout experience to ensure the highest conversion
- Powerful but easy-to-use store builder No coding or design expertise required
- You can completely personalize your store's online appearance to reflect the brand you want to represent
- Storefront that is hosted completely for free (you can also connect a custom domain)
- If you already have your own site, you can easily embed your site on any eCommerce website
- Secure and instant payouts through Paypal and Stripe
- Pricing options for Pay-what-you-want for your items (a.k.a. Tip Jar)
- Remits and collects UK & EU VAT on your behalf
- Store analytics & ability to join with Google Analytics
- Bonus: is also highly praised for its customer support level. Every user is treated with respect regardless of what pricing plans that you're on
CONS :
- There is no automated integration of shipping labels or any software (e.g. Shippo or ShipStation). The platform of ShipStation is more targeted towards digital items, but you can still offer physical items if you wish to
2. Shopify
Being one of the biggest online marketplaces in the world, Shopify is often a preferred choice as a Gumroad alternative. Shopify is an eCommerce platform that allows you to create your own online store as well as manage your merchandise. It also offers a wide selection of tools and functions like payment processing, analytics, as well as marketing tools. Furthermore, Shopify has a variety of pricing plans that will fit diverse budgets.
Due to the sheer size of this online marketplace, you will find hundreds of third-party applications across all business categories which you can integrate with your Shopify store. This allows you to equip your shop online with distinctive tools for everything from changing the look of your website , to marketing tools, and many more. There is one caveat: the apps typically are not free, so you'll have to manage your expenses cautiously.
Although Shopify is a powerful eCommerce platform however, it's not have built-in capabilities to sell digital products since Shopify's platform is designed towards tangible items. You will have to install an additional app from third parties that can potentially add to the cost for selling digital goods.
PRICING:
For small businesses that want to test different platforms prior to settling on one that suits their needs, Shopify offers a 14-day free trial. There is no forever free program.
With a monthly cost of $29, the Shopify Basic Plan is the most well-liked plan. Additional Shopify plans are offered for $79/month, 299/month in the case of Advanced Shopify, and $2000/month for Shopify Plus/Enterprise. The extra transaction fee will be charged per sale.
Like we said, the Shopify platform is not equipped with built-in functions to market digital items. You'll most likely need to install third party apps through the Shopify app store , which typically comes with additional costs.
PROS :
- You can access thousands of 3rd party apps available on Shopify, the Shopify app store
- It supports multi-channel sales. This is especially helpful if you have a brick-and-mortar store
- Shopify is used by many small-scale businesses and also by content creators that specialize with Shopify content. The communities you join will likely offer many helpful suggestions about online companies
- Although Shopify's capabilities aren't enough for sellers whose catalog is predominantly digital products, physical product sellers could profit from Shopify's extensive eCommerce capabilities
CONS:
- There are no built-in functions to market digital items. You'll need to install third party apps which will probably come with additional costs. Shopify isn't a good alternative for creatives.
- There are no built-in marketing tools such as affiliate marketing, referrals, cross-sell, upsell and much more.
3. Kajabi
Kajabi is another well-known alternative to Gumroad because it provides an all-in-one marketplace for selling digital items. The major benefit for Kajabi in comparison to Gumroad is that it allows creators to set up an online community. But, Kajabi is well-known for its monthly costs which can be a bit costly for businesses with small budgets who are just starting out.
PRICING:
Kajabi offers 14 days of trial period. You will need to input the details of your payment before being able to start your free trial.
After your trial period is over, you have an option to choose between three paid plans:
- Basic: $149/month
- Growth: $199/month
- Pro: $399/month
There's a small amount of savings if you opt to sign up for the year-long subscription.
PROS :
- Kajabi is a provider of educational materials for their users through Kajabi university (although it's important to note that you'll probably be able to obtain these information from free Youtube videos on the internet)
- Access to features not offered on Gumroad including community services, sales funnels, and much more.
CONS
- It is not affordable for small-scale business customers
- Complex marketing feature such as affiliate programs are only available in those plans. Growth and Pro plans
- Numerous limits on various items like the amount of products, numbers of contacts, the number of members, admin users, and more. Not recommended for those of you who would like to "set-it-and-forget-it" because you'll need to keep track of your usage
4. Podia
Podia is among the top choices for creators. One of the major benefits of Podia is the fact that they provide a lifetime-free plan, but bear that in mind that you will not be able to publish multiple merchandise on the plan for free.
PRICING:
- For free, 8% of fees
- Mover: $39/month
- Shaker: $89/month
- Earthquaker: $199/month
PROS :
- The features are designed to help sell additional product types that aren't available through Gumroad including community-based and webinars
- A chat-on-page widget that can help you interact with your website users
CONS :
- The plan for free comes with 8% transaction fees and allows you to sell 1 digital download (you'll probably need upgrade to Podia's premium plans to be a fully-functioning eCommerce store)
- The more complex marketing tools, such as affiliate marketing is only available for Shaker ($75/month) or the Earthquaker ($166/month) plans
- You'll need to pay an additional fee of $20 per month for any additional team seats
- You can't turn off Podia logo unless you subscribe to for the Shaker ($75/month) or Earthquaker ($166/month) plans
5. Mighty Networks
If you're looking for an Gumroad alternative to establish an online community, offer coursesor coaching services, Mighty Networks is a well-known option. Though this option might not be suitable for the sale of digital downloads, you might consider this to be a superior Gumroad alternative to sell online courses.
PRICING:
There is a selection of 2 paid plans:
- The community plan: $39/month
- The business plan: $119/month
- Mighty Pro: You'll have to reach out to the team in order for price
PROS :
- Mighty Networks' community feature is more sophisticated than any of the platforms mentioned in this article Its interface is almost like that of the social media platforms.
- Members may view one another's posts via a feed of content that may encourage more genuine interaction
CONS
- The absence of solid features for marketing product categories such as digital downloads
- Online course features aren't as robust as other online course platforms as they don't offer lesson types like quizzes or assessments, as well as certification of successful completion
- Does not have integration with PayPal
Last Thoughts on Choosing the Best Option for Your business
Here you go! There's a wide range of Gumroad alternatives to try and don't be a fool to avail all of the platforms' free trials to find out which ones offer the perfect mix of advantages and pricing plans that suit your business demands.