5 Best Gumroad Alternatives to Gumroad that are cheaper and Better (2023) -
Last updated: December 20 in 2022.
Update:As of December 2022, Gumroad is announcing a cost increase, and they will be charging an additional 10% per sale users make through the platform (plus additional transaction fees that come from Paypal and Stripe). If you're affected by the shocking news and considering switching to other platforms Here's a listing of Gumroad alternatives that you'll want to consider!
Gumroad is a well-known platform for selling digital products. It offers a web-based storefront, allowing you to offer digital goods online for sale in just a few minutes. Gumroad is also equipped with additional capabilities like features that allow you to sell subscriptions, integration with Paypal and Stripe, and more.
That said, Gumroad has disadvantages that deter people from staying on the platform. Review sites have proven that , among other things the high cost of pricing on Gumroad in addition to the lack of customer service as well as the inability of scaling to handle large volumes of sales have led users to migrate to other platforms.
In this piece we'll look at some of the best Gumroad options for selling digital goods in order to make an informed decision for your business. We've included a variety of options that will be perfect for small businesses who are just beginning their journey, but we've also included the issue of scalability with an eye on ensuring that you won't need to move to other platforms when your business expands.
Below is a short list of the best Gumroad alternative options that can be less expensive and more effective:
What exactly is Gumroad and what does it Offer?
Gumroad can be described as an eCommerce platform that is geared toward digital goods. It provides a range of features, such as the capability to market various product types including digital downloads and subscriptions. Additionally, it provides analytics and marketing tools, as well as the possibility of embedding product pages on your website.
When you sign up with Gumroad, you'll have an entirely hosted online store which you can sell your products through. Gumroad also offers a tiny online marketplace called "Gumroad Discover" where you can display your product listings amongst other artists.
What is the cost of Gumroad cost?
Gumroad charges 10% flat for every sale that it makes on its platform.
Additionally, you'll have to also pay transaction fees through Paypal and Stripe which usually cost around 2.9 percentage plus $0.30 for each transaction.
Note that Gumroad used to have an alternative pricing structure prior to 2023. they've since settled on this current pricing structure.
Why Should You Look to Gumroad Alternatives?
1. Expensive Pricing and Lack of Scalability
Gumroad's fixed rate of 10% commission for each sale can be extremely expensive for businesses who are new to the market, but it's even more expensive as your company grows, as your expenditures will increase as a percentage of the revenue.
Imagine earning US$100,000 per month while having to cover fees of $10,000 - it doesn't look very exciting. In addition that the fee of 10% does notinclude additional Stripe and Paypal fees (which usually cost around 2.9% + $0.30 for each transaction) in addition to the fees you have to pay.
2. Inability to Customize
While Gumroad offers a fully hosted online storefront for you to sell your goods but you will not be able to customize the look of your online store to match your branding. Gumroad offers a distinct store theme that applies to all of its sellers' retail stores. The only thing you can customize on your storefront is one highlight color, along with a few minor customizations including the name of your business, bio and your logo.
As a contrast, the alternatives that are discussed in this article offer advanced features for store builders that are beginner friendly (no coding or design skills required) however, they're able to give you the freedom to design a highly converting online store that is consistent with your brand.
3. Find Better Alternatives for Selling Online Courses
If you're selling goods like digital downloads, Gumroad is generally quite efficient in delivering the documents to clients. But, if you're selling online courses, the platform doesn't offer the robust functionalities that other online course platforms typically provide.
Gumroad's online course feature allows you to upload a video or other files that your students can download, or simply click to view the video. But this isn't the engaging learning experience that you'd expect to get from an online course platform. There's no sophisticated course tools like assessment, drip schedule, or certification of achievement.
Here's an example from a student's course experience:
For comparison, consider this: an enjoyable learning experience using different lesson format options would look like (the illustration below comes taken from ):
Specific Features to Search For in a Gumroad alternative
In the search for alternatives to Gumroad, there's a few crucial aspects to take into consideration.
1. The features to sell various product Sorts
Does the platform provide the necessary tools to market different digital goods? This can help you increase your source of income from various verticals. Take into consideration features like
- The features to market digital download: instant file delivery, PDF stamping, download limits, and other features.
- Online course features that can be sold include: a fun online course player with various lesson types (e.g. videos, assignment or assignments), drip content schedule, various course pricing options as well as certificates.
- Tools to market coaching services including integration with online meetings platforms such as Zoom and Calendly, and more
- Options to sell subscriptions or membership: ability to take recurring payments
In addition, look at the possibility of being able to incorporate product pages into your website. It allows you to integrate an online shopping cart as well as a an effortless checkout process into your site.
2. Affordable Pricing (Little to No Upfront Costs)
What is the cost per transaction? Are there any monthly fees that are not disclosed, fees hidden, or limits?
Look for platforms that have good records of solid pricing models. Although a majority of businesses may offer you a favorable price structure at first it is important to make certain that you don't have unexpected price increases down the line.
3. Tools for Marketing that are robust Tools
In addition to the standard marketing tools, such as discount codes, you should look for a platform that offers more advanced and powerful marketing tools including affiliate marketing. This lets you run different marketing campaigns that can grow the size of your business.
It is the sole option on the list which offers affiliate marketing feature for free, other platforms charge monthly subscription fees to access these tools.
4. Easy-to-use and Custom-designed Store Builder for Beginners
In the digital age, having an online store or web site is critical for any company or brand to build the brand's popularity and demonstrate their professionalism. When done properly creating your own site can not only set you on the right path to becoming an expert within your industry, but it can will also aid in building relationships with customers as it allows them to learn about the company's brand better.
Find platforms that permit the creation of a custom online store that will represent your business in the best possible manner. There are plenty of options that do not need any programming or design abilities.
5. The Tax Department will take care of VAT, so You Won't Have To
A fear of the complicated world of VAT may hinder you from growing the scope of your business, and could slow down your expansion. You should consider a system which is fully compliant so that you can not just collect VAT at the time of checkout from customers, but also remit VAT on your behalf and you don't have to touch a single finger.
5 Best Gumroad Solutions to Market Digital Products
We'll now take a review several of the best alternatives to Gumroad to sell digital products. Each one has distinctive options and plans for pricing, so it's important to compare these carefully before you make your selection.
1.
The best Gumroad option for value and affordability.
is easily the most popular of platforms that frequently gets compared to Gumroad as they are the closest Gumroad rival that has the same features Gumroad provides, at a much lower cost which works for businesses of all sizes.
is popular for having a forever-free subscription that allows the sellers access to the entirety of the tools it has to provide. Instead of the hefty 10% fee that Gumroad charges it charges only the buyer 5% per sale. Once your revenue grows then you may move to a monthly subscription to reduce your expenses. There is no need to fret about scaling your business .
If you're looking for a platform that is genuinely invested in the success of your enterprise, then this platform is the best choice.
PRICING:
The company has disrupted the market by offering an unconventional pricing plan which is designed to assist small businesses succeed, but also ensuring that businesses will maintain their prices at a low level in the process of growing into million-dollar businesses.
offers a choice between 3 pricing plans:
- Forever-free with 5% fees (perfect for newbies)
- Amount of $29 per month with 2% fee
- $99/month with no fees
So why is it "unconventional"? It's because the pricing plans provide an equal access privilege to all of their awesome options. The founders of's company came up with a strong belief in establishing a platform which 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 starting your business from scratch then you should start off on the most well-known free-forever planswith no monthly fees + the 5% fee for each sale (excluding shipping costs). As your business expands, you can switch to 's Plus plan, which costs $29 for month fee plus the 2% fee per sale, or to the Professional plan at $99 per month fee (no other fees per sale).
has maintained this pricing for years, and customers can rest in peace of mind that this pricing isn't going anyplace.
PROS :
- This is the cheapest alternative for Gumroad.
- Key features built-in to help sell diverse products, including:
- Unlimitless product listings, and unlimitable revenues
- Optimized check out experience for higher conversion
- A powerful and easy-to-use store building tool No coding or design skills needed
- The ability to completely customize your store's online appearance to reflect your brand
- Storefront that is hosted completely for free (you can also connect a custom domain)
- If you already have your own website, you can easily embed into any eCommerce website.
- Payouts instantaneous and safe via Paypal and Stripe
- Pay-what-you-want pricing option to your goods (a.k.a. Tip Jar)
- Collects and remits UK & EU VAT on your behalf
- Analytics for the store and ability to connect to Google Analytics
- Bonus: It is praised for its customer support level. Every user is treated with prioritization regardless of plan you're in
CONS:
- No automated shipping label integration or software (e.g. Shippo, or ShipStation). The platform of ShipStation is more targeted towards digital goods, however you can still offer physical items if you would like to.
2. Shopify
One of the most popular eCommerce platforms around the globe, Shopify is often a well-known Gumroad alternative. Shopify is an extensive eCommerce platform that allows users to set up an online store and manage your merchandise. Additionally, it offers a vast selection of tools and functions including payments processing, analytics and marketing tools. Additionally, Shopify has a variety of pricing plans to suit different budgets.
Given the size of this marketplace for eCommerce, there are thousands of third-party apps spanning every business category that you can connect to your Shopify store. It allows you to outfit your store's online shop with exclusive software , from tweaking the appearance of your site to advertising tools, and more. There is one caveat: these apps are often not free, so you'll have to manage your expenses with care.
Even though Shopify is a strong eCommerce platform, it does not offer built-in functions to sell digital products as Shopify's platform has been designed towards tangible items. There is the requirement to install an additional app from third parties that can possibly increase the price 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 trial at no cost. The service isn't a permanent free plan.
For a price of just $29 per month, Shopify's Basic Plan is the most popular plan. Additional Shopify plans are offered for the price of $79/month. The cost is $299/month for Advanced Shopify, and $2000/month for Shopify Plus/Enterprise. There is an extra transaction fee will be charged for each sale.
Like we said, the Shopify platform is not equipped with integrated features for selling digital goods. It is likely that you will have to download third-party applications from the Shopify application store. This will usually come at extra cost.
PROS :
- Access to thousands of third applications from third parties available on Shopify, the Shopify app store
- Supports multi-channel sales. This is particularly helpful when you have a brick-and-mortar store
- Shopify is used by many small-scale businesses in addition to the creators of content who are specialized in Shopify content. The communities you join will likely offer a lot of helpful tips regarding online business
- While Shopify's features aren't sufficient for retailers whose catalogue is predominantly digital items Physical product sellers can gain from Shopify's eCommerce tools
CONS :
- There are no built-in functions to market digital items. There is the requirement to install applications from third parties, which most likely come with extra costs. Shopify isn't a good choice for designers.
- The website does not come with any marketing tools such as affiliate marketing, referrals, cross-sell, upsell and much more.
3. Kajabi
Kajabi is a different option to Gumroad because it provides an all-in-one platform to sell digital items. One of the main advantages of Kajabi against Gumroad is the fact that it also allows creators to set up communities. But, Kajabi is known for having monthly fees that are not quite friendly for businesses with small budgets who are only beginning their journey.
PRICING:
Kajabi provides the option of a 14-day trial period. The trial requires you to enter the details of your payment before being able to start your free trial.
Once your free trial ends, you have an option of 3 plans that are paid
- Basic: $149/month
- Growth: $199/month
- Pro: $399/month
There's a small amount of savings if you opt to buy the annual subscription.
PROS :
- Kajabi provides educational resources for users via Kajabi University (although it's worthwhile to mention that you'll probably be able to obtain these information from free Youtube videos available online)
- Access to features that aren't offered on Gumroad like community features sales funnels, community, and many more.
CONS
- Small business owners can't afford it. customers
- Complex marketing feature such as affiliate program is only available on the Growth and Pro plans
- There are numerous limitations on different things such as the number of items, the number of contacts, number of members, the number of admin users, and many 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 most popular alternatives to creators. One of the main advantages of using Podia is that they provide a lifetime-free plan. However, keep your mind that you'll not be able to upload multiple items on their free plan.
PRICING:
- The cost is free: 8 percent fee
- Mover: $39/month
- Shaker: $89/month
- Earthquaker: $199/month
PROS :
- Features to sell other product types that aren't available on Gumroad including community-based and webinars
- A chat-on-page widget that can help you interact with your web-site visitors
CONS
- The basic plan has an 8% transaction cost which means you're only able to sell 1 digital download (you'll most likely need to upgrade to one of Podia's paid plans to become a fully functional eCommerce store)
- Complex marketing tools such as affiliate marketing can only be found for Shaker ($75/month) or Earthquaker ($166/month) plans
- It is necessary to pay an additional 20 dollars per month to add team seating
- It is impossible to turn off Podia brand unless you purchase an annual fee for Shaker ($75/month) or Earthquaker ($166/month) plans
5. Mighty Networks
If you're searching for a Gumroad alternative to create communities, sell online coursesor coaching services, Mighty Networks is a popular option. Though this option might not be the best choice for selling digital downloads but you may consider this to be a superior Gumroad alternative for selling online courses.
PRICING:
There are two plans to choose from: 2 paid plans:
- The community plan is $39/month.
- The plan for business: $119/month
- Mighty Pro: You'll have to reach out to the team in order for prices.
PROS :
- Mighty Networks' community feature is more developed than other platforms listed in this article, the interface almost mimics what you would see on a social media platform
- Members are able to view each other's posts by logging into a content feed, which could encourage genuine interaction
CONS :
- The absence of solid features for marketing product categories such as digital downloads
- Online course features aren't as strong as the other platforms for online courses since it doesn't provide lesson type including assessments, quizzes along with certification of successful completion
- There is no integration with PayPal
The Final Thoughts: Finding the best solution for your Company
You've got it! There's plenty of Gumroad alternatives to test and don't forget to take advantage of every one of their trial offers to determine what options offer the best mix of advantages and pricing plans to suit your company's demands.