Gumroad alternatives: where to sell your digital products, and how to move
Seven platforms, matched to the reason you're leaving, plus a seven-step exit that protects your money.
The short answer: Lemon Squeezy if you sell software or license keys and want sales tax off your plate (it's the only one with an official Gumroad migration). Payhip if you sell ebooks, templates or courses and just want lower fees with no monthly bill. Stan if your buyers come from Instagram or TikTok. Sellfy if your revenue is steady and you'd rather pay a flat plan than a cut. Polar if you're a developer selling access or a subscription. Podia or Teachable if your products are turning into courses. One thing to know first: since 2025, Gumroad is a merchant of record and handles all your sales tax. Several alternatives don't. We compared the seven platforms in this guide and checked their fees in 2026.
The ranking is editorial: a sponsored spot is always labeled on its card, and no affiliate link changes a rating.
Why creators leave Gumroad, in numbers
Gumroad gets two big things right: no monthly fee, and global sales tax handled for you. People leave for other reasons. The cut is heavier than it looks, the money is slow to arrive, and accounts get frozen with little warning. Here are the six reasons that come up most, checked against Gumroad's own help docs.
The 10% fee is really closer to 15%
On direct sales, Gumroad takes 10% + $0.50 per transaction. Card processing (2.9% + $0.30) comes on top, and so do PayPal fees. On a $30 product, you lose $3 + $0.50 + $0.87 + $0.30 = $4.67, about 15.6% of the price. The smaller the product, the worse it gets: on a $5 item, the $0.80 in fixed fees alone eats 16%.
Discover takes 30%
A sale credited to Discover, Gumroad's marketplace, costs a flat 30% (processing included). Your $30 product now nets $21. The catch is attribution: some creators say they paid that rate on sales they're sure came from their own audience. If Discover isn't bringing you buyers you can measure, switch it off before you even think about moving.
Slow payouts
You need at least $100 in your balance to get paid, and every sale is held for a minimum of 7 days. PayPal payouts cost 2% and go out in USD only. Bank payouts land in your local currency. Instant payouts exist for eligible US accounts, at 3% and up to $10K. If you sell $60 a month, your money can sit there for weeks.
Accounts reviewed, held or suspended
New accounts have payouts skipped until Gumroad reviews them. Go over a 1.5% chargeback rate across 365 days and part of every payout gets held back. If you're suspended, your balance can be held for 30 to 45 days. Creator forums have stories of accounts suspended over a single dispute, with access to customers gone overnight.
Support that doesn't help much
Public reviews of Gumroad are harsh: more than eight in ten give one star. The complaints rhyme: payouts marked as sent but never received, accounts closed with no explanation, canned replies. Happy users rarely write reviews, so it's not a fair sample. Still, the pattern is too consistent to ignore.
Subscriptions you can't take with you
Gumroad exports your sales as a CSV, including each buyer's email and subscription status. It doesn't export your product files or your active subscriptions in working order. No platform picks up a Gumroad subscription as is: your members have to subscribe again at the new place. That's the strongest reason to stay, and the main thing to plan for if you go.
You're leaving because… go to…
The right Gumroad alternative depends on what's pushing you out. Find your reason, and the card takes you to the right profile.
Merchant of record, 5% + 50¢, and their team runs the Gumroad migration.
You sell ebooks or templates and want lower feesPayhip5% on the free plan, 2% at $29 a month, 0% at $99.
Your buyers tap the link in your bioStanA mobile-first store, 0% transaction fees, from $29 a month.
Your revenue is steady and you want a flat planSellfyStarter at $22 a month billed yearly, 0% up to $10,000 in sales over 12 months.
You're a developer selling access or a subscriptionPolarMerchant of record, free to start, lower rates from $20 a month.
Your products are turning into coursesPodia or TeachablePodia migrates up to 150 products for you; Teachable is built for long courses.
Gumroad alternatives, platform by platform
For each platform: why move there, who it's for, its catch, how to migrate from Gumroad, and what it costs. We ranked them for a creator selling digital products online, with an eye on two things most lists skip: who handles sales tax, and who helps you move. Kajabi and SendOwl, common on other lists, aren't ranked here: we couldn't confirm their current prices on an official page.
Lemon Squeezy: the most hand-held exit
Official migrationWhy move to Lemon Squeezy. It's the only platform here with a written process for leaving Gumroad. Like Gumroad, it's a merchant of record: it sells in its own name, then collects and remits sales tax and VAT for you. You keep the tax comfort, the base fee drops from 10% + 50¢ to 5% + 50¢, and there's still no monthly plan.
Who it's for. Indie software makers, plugin and theme sellers, template shops that issue license keys, and anyone selling worldwide who doesn't want to file tax in a dozen places.
Who it's not for. Course creators who want a full learning area. Lemon Squeezy sells files and licenses, not structured courses.
The catch. Add-ons stack up fast: +1.5% for buyers outside the US, +1.5% for PayPal, +0.5% on subscriptions. A European subscriber paying with PayPal costs you 8.5% + 50¢. Payouts outside the US carry a 1% fee on Stripe. And Stripe bought Lemon Squeezy in 2024 and reportedly now favors its own merchant-of-record product, so the roadmap may move slower.
How to migrate. Export your Gumroad sales CSV and send it to support. Their team imports your products, customers and license keys by hand, in about three business days. You redo descriptions, images, files and variants yourself. Your buyers find their purchases in their order portal. The migration offer: 0% fees for your first 30 days, on up to $10,000 in sales. If you automate around it, see Lemon Squeezy with Zapier.
- Monthly fee
- $0
- Fees
- 5% + 50¢ (plus add-ons)
- Sales tax
- handled (merchant of record)
- Migration
- done by their team
Payhip: Gumroad's feel, lower fees
Best value on feesWhy move to Payhip. Payhip feels close to Gumroad: a simple store for ebooks, templates and courses. The difference is choice. You pick between a cut and a plan, and every feature is on every plan, so you never pay to unlock one.
Who it's for. Writers, designers and solo educators who sell straight to their audience and want a rate that drops as sales grow.
Who it's not for. Software sellers with complex licensing. Lemon Squeezy or Polar fit better.
The catch. Stripe or PayPal processing comes on top of Payhip's cut. On tax, Payhip collects and remits EU and UK VAT plus US and Canadian sales tax, but it doesn't present itself as a full merchant of record. The math that matters: Plus ($29 a month, 2%) pays for itself above roughly $970 a month in sales; Pro ($99, 0%) above roughly $3,500.
How to migrate. There's no official Gumroad import. You rebuild your products, then bring customers over from your CSV. Payouts go out right after each sale, with no $100 floor, which is usually the first relief after Gumroad.
- Free plan
- $0 + 5% per sale
- Paid
- Plus $29 (2%), Pro $99 (0%)
- Best for
- ebooks, templates, small courses
- Catch
- Stripe/PayPal fees on top
Stan: the link-in-bio store
For social creatorsWhy move to Stan. If your buyers come from Instagram or TikTok, the link in your bio is your storefront. Stan turns it into a store built for the phone, so your followers buy right where they found you. No transaction fee, just a monthly plan.
Who it's for. Content creators selling guides, presets or coaching to a mobile audience.
Who it's not for. Anyone who sells mostly through a website or an email list. You'd be paying for a mobile storefront you don't need.
The catch. No free plan. Creator costs $29 a month ($300 a year). Discount codes, upsells, affiliates, email and contact import all sit on Creator Pro, at $99 a month ($948 a year). Stripe or PayPal fees still apply. If you're replacing Linktree too, read our Linktree alternatives.
How to migrate. Rebuild your products, then import your customer list (that needs Creator Pro). Use the 14-day trial to set everything up before you swap the link in your bio.
- Paid
- Creator $29/month
- Transaction fee
- 0%
- Trial
- 14 days
- Catch
- contact import on Pro only
Sellfy: a flat plan instead of a cut
0% transaction feesWhy move to Sellfy. Sellfy takes no cut of your sales; you pay a plan. Starter is $22 a month billed yearly ($29 monthly) and covers $10,000 in sales over a rolling 12 months. Business is $59 ($79 monthly) for $50,000, Premium $119 ($159 monthly) for $200,000. Above the cap, Sellfy charges 2%. Our full Sellfy review rates it 3.6/5.
Who it's for. Creators with steady sales who want a clean store on their own domain and a bill they can predict.
Who it's not for. Someone who makes $50 one month and nothing the next. A $22 to $29 plan eats a big slice of small sales, while Gumroad costs nothing in a dead month.
The catch. The cap runs on a rolling 12 months, not the calendar year, so one strong launch can push you up a plan sooner than you'd think. Payment processing is still on you.
How to migrate. Sellfy offers migration help: your email list on every plan (one to two days), your products on Business and Premium (5 to 20 days), and your store design on yearly Business or Premium. Plan details are on our Sellfy pricing page, and its rivals in our Sellfy alternatives.
- Paid
- Starter $22/month, yearly
- Transaction fee
- 0% under the cap, 2% above
- Labs rating
- 3.6/5
- Migration
- email list on all plans
Polar: for developers selling software
Built for developersWhy move to Polar. Polar is a merchant of record, like Gumroad and Lemon Squeezy, so tax is handled. It's aimed at developers selling software, access or subscriptions. Starter is free at 5% + 50¢ per sale, and the rate drops as you move up: 3.8% + 40¢ on Pro ($20 a month), 3.6% + 35¢ on Growth ($100), 3.4% + 30¢ on Scale ($400).
Who it's for. Technical solo founders selling a tool, a code template or a license, who want fees that fall as volume grows.
Who it's not for. An illustrator or writer who wants a pretty store without touching code. Polar talks to developers first.
The catch. Small fees add up: +1.5% for non-US cards, and on Stripe payouts, $2 per active month plus 0.25% + 25¢ per payout. A dispute costs $15. Handy math: on a $30 product, Pro saves about 46¢ per sale, so it pays for itself at 44 sales a month.
How to migrate. Polar's migration tool only covers Stripe. For Gumroad, contact their support, then rebuild your products.
- Free plan
- Starter, 5% + 50¢
- Paid
- Pro $20/month, 3.8% + 40¢
- Sales tax
- handled (merchant of record)
- Catch
- payout fees on top
Podia: when your files become courses
Courses and communityWhy move to Podia. Plenty of creators start on Gumroad with a PDF and end up selling a video course or coaching. Podia keeps those products under one roof. And its team migrates your content for you: up to 50 products on Mover, 150 on Shaker and Earthquaker.
Who it's for. Educators and coaches who want a simple online school without stitching five tools together.
Who it's not for. Someone selling one $9 ebook. There's no free plan, and $49 a month is heavy on small sales.
The catch. Mover ($49 a month, $42 billed yearly) keeps a 5% fee. You need Shaker ($99, $84 yearly) to hit 0%. On monthly billing, Shaker wins once you pass $1,000 in monthly sales. Stripe or PayPal processing (2.9% + 30¢) still applies.
How to migrate. Start the 14-day trial (no card needed), request the content migration, and check every imported product before you open sales.
- Paid
- Mover $49/month + 5%
- 0% fees
- from Shaker, $99/month
- Trial
- 14 days, no card
- Migration
- 50 to 150 products
Teachable: an online school for serious courses
CoursesWhy move to Teachable. If Gumroad mostly sells your video courses, Teachable gives you a real online school where students take every course in one place. It's a course platform, not a file shop.
Who it's for. Educators selling multi-hour programs with a catalog that keeps growing.
Who it's not for. Template or ebook sellers. You'd be paying for a school to sell files.
The catch. Starter ($39 a month, $29 yearly) charges a 7.5% transaction fee, more than Lemon Squeezy's or Payhip's cut. Builder ($89, $69 yearly) brings it to 0%, and Growth is $189 ($139 yearly). With a small catalog, the bill passes Gumroad's quickly.
How to migrate. There's no Gumroad import. Rebuild your courses, upload your videos, and invite past buyers from your CSV.
- Paid
- Starter $29/month yearly + 7.5%
- 0% fees
- from Builder, $69/month yearly
- Best for
- long video courses
- Catch
- no Gumroad import
The 7 alternatives side by side
Our default pick: Lemon Squeezy if you want tax handled and a guided move, Payhip if you just want to pay less. The first column shows the entry cost, the second the tax question and migration help.
| Entry price and fees | Sales tax and migration | |
|---|---|---|
| GumroadWhere you start | $0 a month; 10% + 50¢ plus card fees; 30% via Discover | Merchant of record; sales CSV export, no files or live subscriptions |
| Lemon SqueezySoftware, licenses | $0 a month; 5% + 50¢, add-ons for non-US, PayPal, subscriptions | Merchant of record; migration done by their team, 0% for 30 days |
| PayhipEbooks, templates | Free at 5%; Plus $29 (2%); Pro $99 (0%) | Collects EU/UK VAT and US/Canada sales tax; rebuild products, import customers |
| StanLink in bio | Creator $29 a month, 0% transaction fee | Contact import on Creator Pro ($99) |
| SellfyFlat plan | Starter $22 a month yearly, 0% up to $10,000 over 12 months | Free email list migration, products from Business |
| PolarDevelopers | Free at 5% + 50¢; Pro $20 at 3.8% + 40¢ | Merchant of record; Gumroad migration via support |
| PodiaCourses | Mover $49 a month + 5%; Shaker $99 at 0% | Content migrated by Podia, 50 to 150 products |
| TeachableOnline school | Starter $29 a month yearly + 7.5% | No Gumroad import |
Prices before tax, payment processing excluded unless noted, subject to change. Rerun the math with your own average price and volume.
Leaving Gumroad in seven steps
Order matters. Each step protects something: your money, your buyers, your subscribers. Budget one to two weeks for a small catalog, and keep Gumroad open the whole time.
Cash out your balance first
Day 1Check your balance and next payout date. Every sale is held at least 7 days, and nothing goes out under $100. If you're below the floor, either wait for a few more sales or accept that a small remainder arrives later. Never delete your account: Gumroad keeps unpaid funds from deleted accounts.
If you're paid through PayPal, remember the 2% fee and USD-only payouts. A bank payout in your local currency can cost less in conversion.
- Floor
- $100 minimum
- Trap
- deleting the account
Export your sales with a one-day buffer
Day 1In the Sales tab, click the export icon, pick a date range and grab the CSV (it's emailed to you if it takes a while). Times are in UTC, so add a day on each side to catch every sale from the first and last day.
The file includes buyer email, product, amount, taxes, fees, refunds, disputes, variants, discount code, license key, subscription status and country. Keep it safe: it's your only copy of the history.
- Format
- CSV
- Tip
- +1 day before and after
Clean the file before importing it
Day 2Remove refunded sales and disputes, or you'll hand access back to people who got their money back. Remove buyers flagged "Do not contact" too: they didn't opt in to your emails. Reformat amounts if the new platform expects a different decimal format.
Then split the file in two: one-time buyers and active subscribers. They take different paths.
- Remove
- refunds, disputes, opt-outs
- Result
- two clean lists
Rebuild your products at the new place
Days 2 to 5Gumroad doesn't export your files. Work from the originals on your computer, not from buyer downloads. Recreate each product with its description, images, variants and price. If your destination migrates for you (Lemon Squeezy, Sellfy on Business, Podia), send the CSV on day one: depending on the platform, it takes from three days to three weeks.
Revisit pricing while you're at it. Going from 10% to 5%, you can keep the same price and pocket the difference, or trim it slightly for returning buyers.
- Time
- 3 days to 3 weeks
- Source
- your original files
Give past buyers their access back
Week 1Your buyers paid, so they keep their product. Two ways to do it. The clean way: import customers at the destination, which gives them an account (Lemon Squeezy does this during its migration). The simple way: one email with a download link or a 100%-off code for the new product.
Send it from your email tool, not from Gumroad, and only to buyers who agreed to hear from you.
- Simple route
- 100%-off code
- Audience
- opted-in buyers
Move subscribers over one billing cycle at a time
Weeks 1 to 4This is where revenue leaks. No platform takes over a Gumroad subscription: each subscriber cancels, then resubscribes at the destination when their cycle ends. Tell them twice, a week ahead and on the day, with a direct link.
Give them a reason to follow: a free month, a bonus, a locked-in price. Some won't make the move, so keep the Gumroad subscription running until the last one is gone.
- Pace
- at the end of each cycle
- Tip
- a free month
Swap your links, then unpublish without deleting
Week 2Replace every Gumroad link: website, link in bio, email signatures, video descriptions, old posts. If a Make or Zapier scenario talks to Gumroad, point it at the new platform (our Gumroad and Make page lists what the connector handled).
Then unpublish your Gumroad products but keep the account open until the last payout and the last subscriber are gone. It costs nothing to keep.
- Keep
- the Gumroad account
- Reconnect
- Make, Zapier scenarios
Is your tool missing from this page? Email us: hello@hackceleration.com
What makes a Gumroad exit go wrong
The same mistakes show up again and again in creators' stories of leaving. None of them is technical. They're about money, tax and subscribers.
Deleting the account too soon
A deleted account loses its unpaid balance. Unpublish products, switch off Discover, but keep the account until the final payout. Keeping it is free.
Forgetting about sales tax
Gumroad, Lemon Squeezy and Polar are merchants of record and file tax for you. The other platforms here don't say so as plainly. Before you move, check who collects and remits tax on your international sales, and run it past your accountant.
Comparing headline rates, not real cost
Use your real average price and volume. At $9, the fixed 50¢ matters more than the percentage. At $3,000 a month, a flat plan almost always beats a cut.
Leaving right before the 5% tier
Above $20,000 in paid sales in a calendar month, Gumroad drops new direct sales to 5% + 50¢. A refund that pushes you back under resets it to 10%. If you sell that much, redo the math before you go.
Losing subscribers quietly
One email gets ignored. Plan two reminders and a reason to follow, or part of your recurring revenue disappears on switch day.
Leaving dead links behind
An old Gumroad link in a video or post keeps sending buyers to an unpublished product. List every link before you unpublish, and replace them all.
- Balance cashed out (or remainder accepted) and Gumroad account kept
- Sales CSV exported with a one-day buffer on each side
- Refunds, disputes and opt-outs removed from the file
- Original product files found on your computer
- Destination's tax status checked (merchant of record or not)
- Past buyers emailed with access to the new product
- Subscribers told twice, with a reason to follow
- Discover switched off and products unpublished
- Website, bio link and automation scenarios updated
Gumroad alternatives: common questions
What's the best free alternative to Gumroad?
Payhip's free plan: no monthly fee and 5% per sale instead of 10% + 50¢, with processing on top in both cases. Lemon Squeezy and Polar are also free to start at 5% + 50¢, and they handle sales tax. On a $9 product, Payhip comes out ahead because it skips the 50¢ fixed fee.
Is Gumroad legit?
Yes, Gumroad pays, but on its terms: a $100 minimum, a 7-day hold, and accounts reviewed or held at the first warning sign (chargebacks over 1.5%, a dispute, a processor refusal). If it's your income, don't keep all of it in one place, and keep a recent export of your customer CSV.
Does Gumroad really take 10%?
On direct sales it takes 10% + 50¢, and card processing (2.9% + 30¢) comes on top. On a $30 product that's about 15.6% in total. Sales credited to Discover cost 30%, processing included. Above $20,000 in paid sales in a calendar month, new direct sales drop to 5% + 50¢.
Do I need a merchant of record to sell digital products?
Not strictly, but it saves real work. A merchant of record sells in its own name and files VAT and sales tax for every country. Without one, you register and file yourself wherever the rules require it. Gumroad, Lemon Squeezy and Polar play that role; Payhip covers EU/UK VAT and US/Canada sales tax.
Can I move my Gumroad subscriptions to another platform?
No. No platform takes over a live Gumroad subscription, not even Lemon Squeezy, which does migrate your customers and license keys. Each subscriber cancels and resubscribes at the new platform when their cycle ends. A free month helps the fence-sitters follow.
How and when does Gumroad pay out?
By bank transfer in your local currency, or via PayPal in USD with a 2% fee. Payouts run weekly, monthly or quarterly, and daily for eligible US accounts after four payouts. You need a $100 balance, and each sale waits at least 7 days. You can also pause payouts.
Is Gumroad cheaper than Shopify for digital products?
For a few sales a month, yes, because Gumroad has no monthly plan. As volume grows, a plan with a low cut beats 10% + 50¢. For physical goods Shopify is the better fit; if you're thinking of leaving it too, see our Shopify alternatives.
Should I turn off Gumroad Discover?
If you bring your own audience, often yes. A Discover sale costs 30% instead of 10% + 50¢, and some creators say none of their sales really came from the marketplace. Switch it off for a month and compare your net revenue. It's the easiest check before you decide to leave.
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