Part of: How to Sell Digital Products on Etsy (2026) · Etsy digital product maker
The best place to sell digital products depends on traffic: Etsy brings buyers but keeps about 14% of a $10 sale; Gumroad and Payhip charge less but bring no buyers; your own Shopify store suits sellers who already have an audience. Most sellers start on Etsy and add a standalone store later.
Every place you can sell a digital product falls into one of two groups, and the difference matters more than any fee.
If you are starting with no audience, a marketplace is usually where the first sales come from. Once you have followers, adding a low-fee storefront for that traffic keeps more of each sale. Many sellers do both with the same files.
Fees as published by each platform, checked in October 2026. Where a platform charges card processing separately, the estimate uses Stripe's standard US rate of 2.9% + $0.30. Platforms change their pricing, so confirm on their pricing page before you commit.
| Platform | Type | Monthly fee | Fee per sale | Approx. you keep on $10 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Etsy | Marketplace | $0 | 6.5% + 3% + $0.25 processing (US) + $0.20 listing renewal; one-time setup fee to open a shop | $8.60 |
| Gumroad (your own link) | Storefront | $0 | 10% + $0.50, plus card processing | $7.91 |
| Gumroad Discover | Marketplace | $0 | 30% flat (processing included) | $7.00 |
| Payhip Free plan | Storefront | $0 | 5%, plus card processing | $8.91 |
| Ko-fi free account | Storefront | $0 | 5% on shop sales, plus card processing | $8.91 |
| Lemon Squeezy | Storefront | $0 | 5% + $0.50 (small extra charges on some international payments) | $9.00 |
| Notion Marketplace | Marketplace (Notion templates only) | $0 | 8% + $0.40 | $8.80 |
| Stan Store | Storefront | $29 (Creator plan) | 0%, plus card processing | $9.41 (before the monthly fee) |
Want to compare your own price across platforms? The digital product pricing calculator shows your take-home on Etsy, Gumroad and KDP side by side, and the Etsy fee calculator breaks down every Etsy fee at your price.
If "free" means no monthly fee and no upfront cost, these are the options — you pay only when something sells:
No monthly plan; 10% + $0.50 per sale through your own link, or 30% when the sale comes from Gumroad's Discover marketplace. Simple to set up, popular for ebooks, Notion templates, presets and courses. Gumroad does not refund its fees when you refund a buyer.
The Free plan has every feature and a 5% transaction fee, plus card processing. You get a storefront, coupons, an affiliate programme and EU/UK VAT handling. A good default for selling printables and ebooks to your own audience.
Built for creators with followers: a free account takes 5% on shop sales (tips are 0%). Ko-fi Gold ($12/month) removes the 5%. Works well if your audience already finds you on social media.
5% + $0.50 per sale and acts as the merchant of record, which means it handles sales tax and VAT for you. Strongest for software, templates and digital downloads sold internationally.
Etsy has no monthly fee but charges a one-time setup fee to open a shop, $0.20 per listing and about 10–14% of each sale in transaction and processing fees. It is the paid option most sellers still start with, because Etsy's search brings buyers you would not reach any other way. How to sell digital products on Etsy walks through it step by step.
Printables — planners, worksheets, wall art, checklists — sell best where buyers already search for them. Etsy is by far the largest marketplace for printables, and it is where most printable shops start. To sell printables with no listing fees at all, use Payhip, Gumroad or Ko-fi and send traffic from Pinterest, which is the strongest free traffic source for printables (see our Pinterest strategy for Etsy sellers).
Teachers can also sell classroom printables on Teachers Pay Teachers, which has a free Basic membership; its payout rate is higher on the paid Premium membership, so check TPT's current seller rates before choosing. For more on what sells and how to price it, read how to sell printables on Etsy and use the printable pricing calculator.
| Product | Best marketplace | Best storefront for your own audience |
|---|---|---|
| Printable planners, wall art, worksheets | Etsy | Payhip, Ko-fi |
| Notion templates | Notion Marketplace, Etsy | Gumroad, Lemon Squeezy |
| Canva templates (social, business) | Etsy | Stan, Payhip |
| Low-content books (journals, logbooks) | Amazon KDP | — (sell the interior files on Etsy) |
| Classroom resources | Teachers Pay Teachers, Etsy | Payhip |
| Ebooks and guides | Amazon KDP (Kindle) | Gumroad, Payhip, Lemon Squeezy |
Selling Notion templates specifically? Our guide to how to sell Notion templates covers delivery and pricing on each platform. Not sure what to make yet? Start with the best digital products to sell on Etsy, then make your first template for free.
Craftific.com turns a niche idea into a print-ready PDF, KDP interior or Notion template — with a commercial-use licence to sell what you make on any of these platforms.
Start Free →Yes. Gumroad, Payhip (Free plan), Ko-fi and Lemon Squeezy have no monthly fee and no setup fee — you pay only a percentage when you make a sale, plus card processing on some of them. Etsy has no monthly fee either, but charges a one-time shop setup fee and $0.20 per listing.
It depends on where your buyers come from. If you need a marketplace to bring you buyers, Etsy is the strongest for printables, planners and templates, the Notion Marketplace for Notion templates and Amazon KDP for low-content books. If you already have an audience (social media, email, YouTube), a low-fee storefront like Payhip, Ko-fi, Lemon Squeezy or Stan keeps more of each sale.
You can list printables without a monthly fee on Gumroad, Payhip, Ko-fi and Lemon Squeezy. Etsy is the biggest marketplace for printables and has no monthly fee, but it charges $0.20 per listing and a one-time setup fee when you open the shop.
Not usually to get started — in the US many sellers start as sole proprietors, and most platforms let individuals sign up. Whether you should form a company depends on your country, income and liability concerns, so check with a local accountant or your government's small-business guidance. Either way, keep records of every sale for tax purposes.
Listing in several places works, as long as you own the product and the licence allows it. Many sellers list on Etsy for marketplace traffic and also sell through a storefront like Payhip or Gumroad to an email list or social audience, where fees are lower.
On a single $10 sale, Lemon Squeezy, Ko-fi, Payhip (Free) and the Notion Marketplace all leave you roughly $8.80–$9.00. Paid plans (Payhip Pro, Ko-fi Gold, Stan) remove the platform's percentage entirely in exchange for a monthly fee, which only pays off once you sell regularly.
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