solobuild
If you sell an ebook, a template, a course, or any other digital product on your own, the platform you sell through decides more than how your checkout looks. It decides how much of each sale you keep, how quickly the money reaches you, and whether you or someone else is responsible for sales tax in every place your buyers live. Gumroad, Stan Store, and Payhip are three of the most common choices for one-person sellers, and they take very different approaches to all three questions. This guide compares them using each platform's own pricing and help pages, checked in October 2026.
A quick note on where this comes from. I sell my own products on Gumroad, so that section draws on direct experience as well as Gumroad's published terms. I have not used Stan Store or Payhip myself, so those sections are based only on what each company publishes, plus a small amount of public review data that is labeled as such. The Payhip links on this page are affiliate links, which means I may earn a commission at no extra cost to you.
The short version
Gumroad suits sellers who send buyers to their own product links from places like articles, newsletters, or social posts, and who want sales tax handled everywhere without thinking about it. There is no monthly fee, so a slow month costs nothing. The trade-off is a higher cut of each sale than the other two.
Payhip suits sellers who want a full store with built-in email, discount codes, and affiliates on every plan, including a free one. Its fees fall as you move up its paid plans, and it now handles a large share of sales tax for you. Stan Store suits creators who sell mainly from Instagram, TikTok, or YouTube through a link in their bio, and who are comfortable paying a monthly fee from the first day. The rest of this guide explains where those short answers come from.
What each platform actually charges
Gumroad has no plans and no monthly fee. It charges 10% plus 50 cents on each sale through your own profile or links. Gumroad's help center is explicit that this fee does not include card processing, which adds the standard 2.9% plus 30 cents, so a direct sale really costs about 13% plus 80 cents. Sales that come through Gumroad's Discover marketplace carry a flat 30% fee that already includes processing.
Payhip has three plans with the same features on each one. The Free plan costs nothing per month and charges a 5% transaction fee, the Plus plan costs $29 a month with a 2% fee, and the Pro plan costs $99 a month with no transaction fee. In every case, PayPal or Stripe still charges its normal processing rate on top, since the money goes through your own payment account.
Stan Store has no free plan, only a 14-day free trial. Its Creator plan costs $29 a month or $300 a year, and Creator Pro costs $99 a month or $948 a year. Stan says it takes 0% of your transactions, but your connected Stripe or PayPal account still charges processing, and Stripe adds a small fee each time you cash out. Several third-party pages and at least one AI-generated summary claim Stan takes a percentage of sales, but Stan's own help center says otherwise.
What the fees look like at real revenue
Comparing a percentage with a flat monthly fee is easier with numbers. The table below shows only the platform's own fees per month, assuming an average product price of $30. Card processing is left out because it is roughly the same 2.9% plus 30 cents on all three, so it does not change which option is cheaper.
| Monthly sales | Gumroad (direct links) | Payhip Free | Payhip Plus | Payhip Pro | Stan Creator |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| $300 (10 sales) | about $35 | $15 | $35 | $99 | $29 |
| $1,000 (about 33 sales) | about $117 | $50 | $49 | $99 | $29 |
| $3,000 (100 sales) | $350 | $150 | $89 | $99 | $29 |
Two break-even points stand out. Payhip's Plus plan becomes cheaper than its Free plan at around $970 a month in sales, and Pro becomes cheaper than Plus at around $3,500 a month. Stan's flat fee beats Gumroad's percentage once sales pass roughly $250 a month at this average price, but that comparison leaves out tax, which is the next section and the part most comparisons skip.
Who handles the sales tax
This is the question that changes the math. When you sell a digital product, many US states and most countries expect sales tax or VAT to be collected and paid, and the rules depend on where the buyer lives. A platform that acts as the merchant of record becomes the legal seller and takes that job off your plate entirely. A platform that does not leaves it to you, even if your fees look lower.
Gumroad is a full merchant of record. Since January 1, 2025, it collects and pays sales tax and VAT on your behalf worldwide, which is a large part of what its higher fee buys. Payhip handles VAT on digital products in the EU and UK, and since July 1, 2026, it also collects and pays sales tax in the US and Canada at no extra charge. Payhip notes that you need to set tax categories on your products and may still need to file in a state where you have a physical presence, and for other countries it collects the tax but passes it to you to pay.
Stan Store is not a merchant of record. It offers an optional tax calculator built on Stripe Tax for sellers in certain countries, but Stan's help center says Stripe only collects tax in the regions where you are registered, and you remain responsible for registering and filing. For a seller with buyers in many states or countries, that is real work and possible extra cost. So a Stan fee that looks cheaper than Gumroad's on paper can end up costing more once your own time on tax is counted.
Gumroad: easy to run, with tax handled
I use Gumroad for my own products, and the honest summary is that it is very easy to use and powerful for sales. My buyers come through my own links rather than Gumroad's marketplace, so I pay the direct fee rather than the 30% Discover rate. That distinction matters more than any feature, because it decides which of Gumroad's two very different prices you actually pay. If you expect to rely on Gumroad's marketplace to find buyers for you, budget for that much higher cut.
Beyond the basics, Gumroad covers most of what a solo seller needs. It supports downloads, courses, and memberships, has built-in email broadcasts and automated workflows, lets you run your own affiliate program, and supports custom domains. Once your direct sales pass $20,000 in a calendar month, Gumroad drops the fee on new direct sales that month to 5% plus 50 cents. Few one-person sellers reach that level, but it is worth knowing it exists.
There are two trade-offs to weigh. Payouts require a $100 minimum, and weekly, monthly, and quarterly payout schedules include a seven-day hold, with faster options limited mainly to US sellers. Public review sites also show a pattern of complaints about held payouts and account reviews, with Gumroad rated 1.4 out of 5 on Trustpilot from a few hundred reviews at the time of writing. Review sites skew toward unhappy customers, but the pattern is worth knowing before you put your whole income on one platform.
Payhip: the most features for the money
Payhip's strongest point is that every plan includes every feature. Even on the free plan you get a full storefront, email marketing, coupons, upsells, bundles, an affiliate program for your own promoters, license keys for software, and a custom domain. It can also sell coaching and physical products alongside digital ones. For a seller who wants one place to run the whole store, that breadth is hard to match at this price.
Its fees reward growth. The free plan's 5% is a fair price while you are testing, and the paid plans make sense as soon as your monthly sales justify them, as the table above shows. Money goes straight into your own Stripe or PayPal account, and Payhip says it deposits sales immediately after a transaction, with timing then set by your payment provider. Payhip charges no payout fee of its own.
The main limits are discovery and support. Payhip has a marketplace, but it is small, so you should plan to bring your own buyers rather than expect the platform to find them. Public reviews are positive overall, with a 4.6 out of 5 rating on Trustpilot from about 540 reviews, and the most common complaints are slow support and trouble setting up custom domains. As noted above, I have not sold on Payhip myself.
Stan Store: built for selling from social media
Stan Store is designed around a mobile, link-in-bio storefront, the single page creators put in their Instagram, TikTok, or YouTube profile. It handles digital downloads, courses, recurring memberships, and calendar booking for coaching calls, and it is clearly built for an audience that arrives on a phone. Stan takes 0% of each transaction, and public reviews are strong, with a 4.7 out of 5 rating on Trustpilot from over 2,000 reviews. The most common complaint is slow support.
The cost structure is the main thing to understand before choosing it. There is no free plan, so you pay at least $29 a month from the end of the trial whether or not you sell anything. Many of the tools that help a store sell more, such as discount codes, upsells, email marketing, and an affiliate program for your own promoters, are only on the $99 Creator Pro plan. Stan also does not support a custom domain, only forwarding from one you own.
Stan also makes the most sense for a specific kind of seller. If your audience lives on social media and you are already posting regularly, the link-in-bio format can convert well and the flat fee becomes cheap as sales grow. If your buyers come from search, articles, or email, or if sales tax across many regions worries you, Gumroad or Payhip will usually be the better fit. As with Payhip, I have not used Stan Store myself.
Other options worth knowing
These three are not the only way to sell a digital product. If you already run a newsletter, Kit can sell digital products and paid subscriptions from the same account on every plan, including its free plan, for 3.5% plus 30 cents per sale. Kit collects VAT for you but not US sales tax, so its tax position sits between Stan and Gumroad. It is a good fit when nearly all of your buyers come from your email list.
If you sell software or a subscription product rather than a download, a payment platform may suit you better than a storefront. Our comparison of Stripe, Lemon Squeezy, and Paddle covers that decision, including which of them handle tax for you. The same question of who owes the tax runs through every option, so it is worth answering before you compare features.
How to choose in five minutes
Start with where your buyers come from. If they arrive from your own articles, newsletter, or posts, the marketplace features of Gumroad and Payhip matter less, and the real comparison is fees against tax handling. If they arrive from a social media profile, Stan's link-in-bio store is designed for exactly that path. If you have no audience yet, avoid any monthly fee until you have made a few sales, which rules out Stan and Payhip's paid plans for now.
Then decide how much tax work you are willing to own. If the answer is none, Gumroad covers it everywhere, and Payhip now covers the US, Canada, the EU, and the UK. If you are comfortable registering and filing as your sales grow, Stan's flat fee becomes more attractive. Finally, check the few features you cannot live without, such as a custom domain or built-in email, against the plan you would actually be on.
Switching later is possible but takes effort. You can move product files to another platform in an afternoon, but existing customers keep their links and receipts on the old one, and any memberships or subscriptions would need to be moved by asking buyers to sign up again. It is worth choosing carefully once rather than planning to move after your first good month.
Comparison table
| Tool | Best For | Free Tier | Starting Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gumroad | Selling from your own links with tax handled worldwide | Yes, no monthly fee | 10% + $0.50 per sale, plus processing |
| Payhip | A full store with every feature on every plan | Yes, 5% fee | $29/mo (Plus, 2% fee) |
| Stan Store | Link-in-bio selling from social media | No, 14-day trial | $29/mo (Creator, 0% fee) |
| Kit | Selling to your newsletter list | Yes, on the free plan | 3.5% + $0.30 per sale |
Prices and terms were checked on each company's own pages in October 2026 and change often, so confirm the current details before you sign up. Card processing of about 2.9% plus 30 cents applies on top of the platform fees for Gumroad direct sales, Payhip, Stan, and Kit. Gumroad's Discover sales are the one exception, since that 30% fee already includes processing.
FAQ
Why are people leaving Gumroad? The reasons people give in public reviews are mostly about money and control. Gumroad's direct fee of 10% plus 50 cents, plus card processing, is higher than Payhip's or Stan's at moderate sales levels, and review sites show complaints about held payouts and account reviews. On the other side, Gumroad handles sales tax worldwide, which neither competitor fully matches. Whether leaving makes sense depends mostly on how much that tax handling is worth to you.
Which is better, Payhip or Gumroad? Payhip is cheaper at almost every sales level and includes more store features on every plan. Gumroad is a full merchant of record for tax worldwide, while Payhip covers the US, Canada, the EU, and the UK and passes other countries' tax to you. For most sellers with buyers concentrated in those regions, Payhip offers more for less. For sellers who want zero tax work anywhere, Gumroad's higher fee buys that peace of mind.
Is Stan Store better than Payhip? It depends on where your buyers come from. Stan is built for a mobile link-in-bio storefront and suits creators selling from social media, while Payhip is a more complete store with a free plan and broader tax handling. Stan has no free plan, keeps several sales tools on its $99 plan, and leaves tax registration to you. For most sellers without a large social following, Payhip is the safer starting point.
Does Gumroad's Discover marketplace bring sales? It can, but you pay for them. Sales from Discover carry a flat 30% fee instead of the 10% direct rate, and many sellers report getting few or no Discover sales without their own audience. In my own store, buyers come from my own links rather than Discover. It is best treated as an occasional bonus rather than a sales plan.
Do I need to handle sales tax on digital products? It depends on the platform and where your buyers live. On Gumroad, the platform handles it worldwide as the merchant of record. On Payhip, it is handled for the US, Canada, the EU, and the UK, with some setup on your side. On Stan Store, the responsibility stays with you, so it is worth speaking with an accountant once your sales reach multiple states or countries.
The recommendation
For most solo sellers just starting out, the choice comes down to Gumroad or Payhip, since both let you sell without a monthly fee. Choose Gumroad if your buyers come from your own links and you want tax handled everywhere with no thought at all, accepting the higher per-sale cost. Choose Payhip if you want the most store features for the least money and your buyers are mostly in the US, Canada, the EU, or the UK.
Choose Stan Store when your audience lives on social media, you are already selling regularly, and a flat monthly fee will be cheaper than a percentage. If you outgrow your first choice later, moving is real work but manageable, as covered above. Whichever you pick, put a real product live this week and send your own buyers to it, because no platform choice matters as much as having something for sale.