Stack
Gumroad
A no-code storefront for digital products with checkout, file delivery, and merchant-of-record tax handling built in.
What it actually does
Gumroad is a hosted storefront: you upload a product, get a checkout page and file delivery, and can sell the same day with no code. It became a merchant of record on January 1, 2025, so global sales tax is collected and remitted for you.
Its Discover marketplace can surface your product to buyers you did not acquire yourself. It supports digital downloads, memberships, and physical goods, plus license keys.
The cost is the trade-off: 10% + $0.50 per direct sale is double Paddle or Lemon Squeezy, and Discover-attributed sales cost 30%. It has no real subscription API depth, entitlements, or usage billing, so founders usually outgrow it once they need production SaaS billing.
Gumroad vs its main rivals
The tools people actually weigh against Gumroad: Payhip, Sellfy, Ko-fi, Lemon Squeezy. Same criteria for every column, including where Gumroad loses.
| Gumroad |  Payhip |  Sellfy |  Ko-fi | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Pricing & access | ||||
| Free tier | YesNo monthly fee | YesFree plan (5%) | NoTrial only | YesFree plan |
| Starting price | 10% + $0.50 | 5% (free plan) | $29/mo | 5% shop fee |
Tax & compliance | ||||
| Merchant of record | YesYes | NoEU VAT only | NoNo | NoNo |
Selling & storefront | ||||
| Digital downloads | YesYes | YesYes | YesYes | YesYes |
| Memberships / subs | YesYes | YesYes | YesYes | YesYes |
| Physical products | YesYes | YesYes | YesPOD | YesYes |
| Built-in discovery | YesDiscover | NoNo | NoNo | NoNo |
Developer & API | ||||
| License keys | YesYes | YesYes | YesYes | NoNo |
| REST API | Free | No | No | No |
Scaling & fees | ||||
| Lowest fee available | 10% + $0.50 | 0% (Pro) | 0% (flat fee) | 0% (Gold) |
| Storefront builder | YesBasic | YesFull builder | YesFull builder | YesBasic |
- Fastest zero-to-first-sale of any tool here, with product page, checkout, and delivery and no code
- Merchant of record since January 1, 2025, so global sales tax is collected and remitted for you
- Discover marketplace can bring buyers you did not acquire yourself
- 10% + $0.50 per direct sale is double Paddle and Lemon Squeezy, and Discover sales cost 30%
- Payhip Pro and Sellfy reach 0% transaction fees, making Gumroad the most expensive per-sale option here
- No proper subscription API depth, entitlements, or usage billing for real SaaS
Pay less for it
4 ways foundYou pay only when you make a sale, so keeping a store open costs nothing
Driving buyers through your own links pays 10% instead of the 30% Gumroad Discover rate
Selling higher-priced bundles spreads the fixed $0.50 fee across more revenue per checkout
Payhip — Digital-product storefront at 5% on the free plan and 0% transaction fees on the $99/mo Pro plan
StackTracker tracks what you actually pay for Gumroad and every other tool, flags overpayment, and shows the dollars you would save by switching.
Is it the right tool for you
- You are validating a paid idea and want to sell this weekend with no code
- You sell digital downloads and want tax handled for you
- You value a marketplace that can send you buyers
- You run production SaaS billing with subscriptions and entitlements → use Polar or Stripe
- You want a much lower per-sale rate → use Payhip or Lemon Squeezy
Track what Gumroad and the rest of your stack cost
StackTracker adds up every subscription, plus your hours, so you see the real number.
Prices and limits last verified 2026-07-20.