5 Top Gumroad Alternatives that are Cheaper and more effective (2023) -
Updated: December 20, 2022
Version 1.0 UpdateAs from December 20, 2022 Gumroad has announced a cost increase, and they will be charging an additional 10% for each sale users make through the platform (plus extra transaction charges due to Paypal and Stripe). If you're caught in the middle of this shocking news and contemplating switching to another platform, here is the listing of Gumroad alternatives you'll need to check out!
Gumroad is a popular platform to sell digital goods. Gumroad offers a hosted storefront so you can offer digital goods online for sale within a matter of seconds. Gumroad also comes with other options like the ability to sell subscriptions, integration of Paypal and Stripe, and more.
But, there are negatives that discourage people to staying on the platform. Online reviews have shown that , among other things the high cost of pricing on Gumroad and lack of support for customers, and lack of scalability for big volume sellers has led customers to move to different platforms.
In this post this article, we'll review Gumroad's best options for selling digital goods to help you choose the best option for your company. We've included a variety of options which are ideal for companies who are just beginning their journey, but we've also considered scalability with an eye on ensuring that you won't need move onto other platforms as your business grows.
This is a brief listing of the most effective Gumroad choices that's more affordable and more effective:
What is Gumroad and What does it Provide?
Gumroad offers an eCommerce platform that's geared to digital products. It offers many capabilities, like selling different product types including digital downloads as well as subscriptions. It also offers analytical tools and marketing, as well as the ability to embed product pages on your website.
With Gumroad it is possible to have an entirely hosted online store which you're able to market your items through. Gumroad also provides a smaller online marketplace called "Gumroad Discover" in which you are able to showcase your listings of products among other creators.
What is the cost of Gumroad Cost?
Gumroad charges 10% flat per sale you make on the platform.
Additionally, you'll also need to be charged transaction costs for transactions with Paypal and Stripe which usually come out to be about 2.9 percent plus $0.30 per transaction.
It is important to note that Gumroad had unorthodox pricing structures prior to 2023. they've decided to adopt this new pricing structure going forward.
Why Should You Look to Gumroad Alternatives?
1. Pricey Pricing and the Lack of Scalability
Gumroad's fixed rate of 10% charge for each sale is incredibly expensive for businesses who are new to the market, but it's more costly as your business grows because your expenses will continue to rise as a percentage of your revenue.
Imagine earning $100,000 a month and having to pay $10,000 fees - that doesn't sound exciting at all. Furthermore to that, the 10% charge is notinclude any additional Paypal or Stripe costs (which usually cost around 2.9 percent plus $0.30 per transaction) in addition to the fees you have to pay.
2. Inability to Customize
Even though Gumroad provides a fully-hosted storefront to sell your products on, you won't have the ability to modify the appearance of your online store in order to reflect your brand. Gumroad has a distinctive style of store that can be found on the sellers' stores. All you have to do is modify on your storefront is one color for your highlight along with a few minor customizations including the name of your business, bio and logo.
As a contrast, the alternative platforms presented in this post have sophisticated store builder capabilities that are beginner friendly (no coding or design skills required) However, they are capable of giving you the full freedom to create a highly converting online store which is in line with your brand.
3. Get Better Solutions to Sell Online Courses
If you're selling goods like digital downloads, Gumroad is generally quite good at instantly delivering your downloads to customers. If you're offering taking online classes, this platform doesn't offer the robust features that online courses platforms usually provide.
Gumroad's online course features allow the upload of a video or other files for your students to download, or simply click to view the video. It's not the exciting educational experience you'd like to get from an online course platform. There's no sophisticated course options like assessments, drip schedule, or the ability to award certificates for completion.
Here's an example of a student's experience in a course:
In comparison, here's what an engaging learning experience with diverse lesson styles could appear to be (the illustration below comes taken from ):
features to look for in an Gumroad Alternative
If you are looking for a replacement to Gumroad, there are a number of essential aspects to be considered.
1. Features to Sell Various Product Types
Does the platform provide robust tools to sell various digital products? This can help you increase the revenue you can earn from various verticals. Consider features such as:
- Features to sell digital download Instant file delivery, PDF stamping, download limits, and many more
- Online course features that can be sold include: a fun online course player that includes a variety of kinds of lessons (e.g. videos, assignment or assignments), drip content schedule and a variety of pricing options for courses, certificates, and more
- Features to sell coaching service Integration with online meeting platforms like Zoom and Calendly, and more
- Options to sell subscriptions or memberships: the ability to charge recurring payment
In addition, look for the flexibility to integrate product pages onto your site. It allows you to integrate an order cart, and a seamless checkout functionality into any website.
2. Cheap Pricing (Little to No Costs Up-Front)
How much does it take to complete a transaction? Do you have any monthly charges such as hidden charges, limits?
Choose platforms that boast solid records of stable pricing structure. While a lot of companies might offer a good pricing plan at the start but you'll want to be sure you're not facing sudden price hikes later on.
3. The Robust Marketing Tools
Apart from basic marketing tools, such as discounts, it is important to aim to find a platform that offers more advanced and effective marketing tools, such as affiliate marketing. It allows you to conduct various marketing campaigns to scale your company.
This is the only option on the list that provides the affiliate marketing feature for free, other platforms charge monthly fees for access to the features.
4. Beginner-Friendly and Fully-Customizable Store Builder
The digital world is awash with opportunities, and an online store or website is essential for every company or brand to build the brand's popularity and demonstrate the professionalism of their business. When done properly the creation of a website is not just a way to set yourself on the right path to becoming an expert in your field but also help build connections with your customers since they can learn about the brand more closely.
Find platforms that permit you to build a fully custom online store that will present your company in the most professional possible way. There are a ton of options that do not require any design or coding expertise.
5. The Tax Department will take care of VAT So You Don't Have To
A fear of the complicated world of VAT may stop you from expanding the scope of your business, and could slow down the growth. Consider selecting a platform that is fully compliant to not just collect VAT at the time of checkout from customers and remit the VAT for you which means you do not have to touch a single finger.
5 of the Best Gumroad Alternatives to Market Digital Products
Now let's take a look at some of the top alternatives to Gumroad to sell digital products. Each platform offers unique features and pricing plans, therefore it is important to evaluate these carefully before you make your choice.
1.
It is the most effective Gumroad option for value and affordability.
It is the most popular of platforms that is often compared with Gumroad since they're the closest Gumroad competitor , and they offer all the features that Gumroad provides, with way more affordable pricing which works for businesses that are of any size.
is popular for having a forever-free subscription that allows sellers access ALL of the functions that the platform has to offer. In lieu of the huge 10% charge that Gumroad makes, only charges 5percent for each sale. If your business is growing then you may switch to 's monthly subscription for a lower cost. You will never have to worry about scaling your business at .
If you're looking for an online platform that's invested in the success of your business, is your ideal choice.
PRICING:
The company has disrupted the market by offering an unconventional pricing plan which is designed to assist small companies succeed while in addition, ensuring that businesses maintain their prices at a low level in the process of growing into multimillion-dollar companies.
There are three pricing plans:
- Free for life with only 5% fee (perfect for newbies)
- Amount of $29 per month with 2% fee
- Monthly payment of $99 and no fee
Why is it "unconventional"? This is because all pricing plans provide the same access to all of their incredible features. The founders of's company came up because of their belief in establishing a platform which assists small-scale businesses in the long run by ensuring they have access to the tools they require. This belief is well-received by many sellers on 's online reviews.
If you're just starting out it's possible to start with the most well-known Free-forever planwith no fees per month and 5% fees for each sale (excluding shipping costs). As your business expands, you can change to the Plus plan, which costs $29 for month for monthly fees plus 2percent fees per sale or the Professional plan with $99 for month fee (no charges for other sales).
has maintained this pricing for a long time, so it is possible to have assurance that the price won't go anyplace.
PROS :
- The most affordable alternative for Gumroad.
- Built-in key features to sell different products like:
- Unlimitless product listings, and unlimitable revenue
- Check out experience optimized for higher conversion
- A powerful and easy-to-use store building tool There are no design or coding abilities required
- Ability to fully customize your store's online appearance to reflect your branding
- Storefront that is hosted completely for free (you can also connect to a domain you have created)
- If you have already got your own site, you can easily embed onto any eCommerce site.
- Instant and secure payouts via Paypal and Stripe
- Pricing options for Pay-what-you-want to your goods (a.k.a. Tip Jar)
- Pays for and collects UK & EU VAT on your behalf
- Ability to store analytics and link to Google Analytics
- Bonus: is also highly appreciated for its excellent customer service high-quality. All customers are given prioritization regardless of plan you're in
CONS :
- The shipping label is not integrated with any automated system or application (e.g. Shippo or ShipStation). The platform of ShipStation is more targeted toward digital products, but it's still possible to offer physical items if you want to
2. Shopify
One of the most popular eCommerce platforms in the world, Shopify is often a well-known Gumroad alternative. Shopify is an extensive e-commerce platform that allows the creation of an online shop and control the products you sell. Additionally, it offers a vast selection of tools and functions like payments processing, analytics and marketing tools. In addition, Shopify has a variety of pricing plans that will fit diverse budgets.
Given the size of this online marketplace, you will find thousands of third-party apps spanning over all categories of business that can be connected to your Shopify store. This allows you to equip your store's online shop with exclusive software from tweaking the design of your site to advertising tools, and many more. There is one caveat: these apps are often not completely free. You'll be able to control your spending carefully.
While Shopify is an effective eCommerce platform but it does offer no have built-in capabilities for selling digital items because Shopify's platform is geared towards tangible items. You will have to install other third-party applications that could likely increase the costs for selling digital goods.
PRICING:
For businesses with a small budget who wish to test different platforms prior to settling on one that suits the requirements of their company, Shopify offers a 14-day trial for free. The service isn't a permanent free plan.
For a price of just $29 per month, Shopify's Basic Plan is the most well-liked plan. Other Shopify plans are available at $79/month, $299/month in the case of Advanced Shopify, and $2000/month for Shopify Plus/Enterprise. There is an extra transaction fee will be charged per sale.
The Shopify platform does not come with integrated features for selling digital products. It is likely that you will need to install third party apps from the Shopify app store which typically comes with additional costs.
PROS :
- The ability to download thousands of third applications from third parties on Shopify, the Shopify app store
- Multi-channel sales are supported. This is especially helpful if your store is brick and mortar
- Shopify is utilized by a variety of small and medium-sized businesses, in addition to content creators that specialize on Shopify content. These communities will probably offer lots of useful tips about online companies
- While Shopify's features aren't sufficient for sellers whose catalog is mostly digital Physical product sellers can profit from Shopify's extensive eCommerce tools
CONS:
- No built-in features to sell digital items. There is the requirement to install applications from third parties, which be accompanied by additional cost. Shopify isn't a good option for creators
- There are no built-in marketing tools like affiliate marketing, referrals, cross-sells, upsells, and many more.
3. Kajabi
Kajabi is another well-known alternative to Gumroad as it also provides an all-in-one solution for the sale of digital goods. One of the main advantages over Kajabi against Gumroad is that it allows creators to set up a community. The downside is that Kajabi is known for having monthly fees which aren't ideal for small businesses that are just starting out.
PRICING:
Kajabi gives the option of a 14-day trial period. The trial requires you to enter the details of your payment before being eligible to get started with your free trial.
Once your free trial ends then you can choose of 3 plans that are paid
- Basic: $149/month
- Growth: $199/month
- Pro: $399/month
A small discounts if you decide to purchase the annual 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 online)
- The ability to access features that aren't accessible via Gumroad including community services sales funnels, sales funnels and much more.
CONS:
- It is not affordable for small-scale business customers
- Complex marketing feature such as affiliate program are available only in those plans. Growth and Pro plans
- Numerous limits on various items like the amount of items, the amount of contacts, of members, the number of 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 one of the most well-known options to creators. One of the biggest advantages of using Podia is the fact they have a perpetually free plan. However, keep in mind you won't be able to upload multiple merchandise on the plan for free.
PRICING:
- Free: 8% fee
- Mover: $39/month
- Shaker: $89/month
- Earthquaker: $199/month
PROS :
- Features to sell other categories of product that aren't on Gumroad including community-based and webinars
- A chat-on-page widget that can help to interact with site's users
CONS:
- The basic plan has the transaction fee of 8% which means you're only able to offer one digital download (you'll most likely have upgrade to Podia's premium plans to become a fully functional eCommerce store)
- Complex marketing tools such as affiliate marketing can only be found on the Shaker ($75/month) or the Earthquaker ($166/month) plans.
- It is necessary to pay an additional fee of $20 per month for any additional team seating
- There is no way to disable Podia logo unless you subscribe to for the Shaker ($75/month) or Earthquaker ($166/month) plans.
5. Mighty Networks
If you're searching for a Gumroad alternative to establish an online community, offer classes, or even sell coaching services, Mighty Networks is a very popular choice. Though this option might not be suitable for selling digital downloads, you could find this a better Gumroad alternative to selling your courses.
PRICING:
There are two plans to choose from: 2 paid plans:
- The Community Plan The community plan: $39/month
- The business planis $119 per month.
- Mighty Pro: You'll need contact the team to inquire about prices.
PROS :
- Mighty Networks' community feature is more advanced than the other platforms mentioned in this article The interface is similar to what you would see on the social media platforms.
- Members are able to view each other's posts through content feed which may encourage more genuine interaction
CONS:
- Lack of robust features for selling product types such as digital downloads
- The online course options don't have the same quality as other platforms for online courses since it doesn't provide lesson type such as assessments or quizzes and certification of successful completion
- It is not integrated with PayPal
Final Thoughts - Finding The Best Alternative For Your Company
You've got it! There's a wide range of alternatives to Gumroad that you can try out, so don't not forget to use all of the platforms' free trials to see which ones offer the perfect mix of advantages and pricing plans that suit your business needs.