How Each Platform's Fees Are Calculated
Etsy (digital download, US seller)
Net = Price − (Price × 6.5%) − $0.20 − (Price × 3% + $0.25)
6.5% transaction fee + $0.20 listing fee (which auto-renews on every digital download sale) + 3% + $0.25 Etsy Payments processing. This is the same fee logic used on Craftific's Etsy Fee Calculator, reused here verbatim for consistency.
Gumroad (direct sale)
Net = Price − (Price × 10%) − $0.50
Gumroad's flat rate, confirmed live from gumroad.com/pricing: 10% + $0.50 per transaction for direct sales, $0 monthly fee. Since January 2025 Gumroad is a full Merchant of Record, meaning this fee already includes payment processing and worldwide tax handling — there's no separate card-processing layer to add.
KDP Paperback Royalty
Printing Cost = 24–110 pages: flat $2.30 (US, regular trim, B&W)
111–828 pages: $1.00 + (pages × $0.012)
Royalty = (Price × Rate) − Printing Cost, where Rate = 60% if Price ≥ $9.99, else 50%
Verified against Amazon KDP's current official "Paperback Royalty" and "Paperback Printing Cost" help pages (regular trim, black ink, white paper, Amazon.com marketplace). Two things sellers often get wrong: (1) the 60% royalty tier only kicks in at $9.99 and above — below that it's 50%, not 40%; the 40% rate only applies to Expanded Distribution sales, not standard Amazon.com sales. (2) printing cost isn't a single flat-rate-per-page formula across every page count — short books (24–110pp) pay one flat fixed cost with no per-page addition, and only books over 110 pages add a per-page rate on top of a smaller fixed cost.
KDP royalty here assumes a paperback sold on Amazon.com with white paper, black ink, and regular (non-large) trim size. It is not directly comparable to the Etsy/Gumroad numbers since a KDP paperback has real per-unit printing costs that a pure digital download doesn't — this is royalty per physical unit printed on demand, not pure margin.
Frequently Asked Questions
What are Gumroad's fees in 2026?
10% + $0.50 per transaction on direct sales, $0 monthly fee, confirmed live from Gumroad's own pricing page. Discover marketplace sales (where Gumroad brings you a new customer) pay 30% instead. Gumroad has been a full Merchant of Record since January 2025, so this fee covers payment processing and tax remittance — there's no separate card fee layered on top.
What are Etsy's fees for digital downloads?
6.5% transaction fee + $0.20 listing fee (auto-renews each sale for digital downloads) + 3% + $0.25 payment processing for US sellers. Total effective fees typically run 10.5%–14% depending on price point.
How is KDP paperback royalty calculated?
(List price × royalty rate) − printing cost. The royalty rate is 60% at list prices of $9.99 and above on Amazon.com, or 50% below that — there's no 40% tier on standard Amazon.com sales (40% only applies to Expanded Distribution). Printing cost depends on page count: a flat fee for 24–110 page books, then a smaller fixed cost plus a per-page rate above 110 pages.
Which platform keeps me the most money?
It depends on price point and product type. At most digital-download price points, Gumroad's flat 10% + $0.50 usually beats Etsy's stacked fees once you're above roughly $10. But KDP paperback royalty isn't a fair apples-to-apples comparison — it's a physical, print-on-demand product with real per-unit printing costs, not a pure-margin digital file.
Sell everywhere from one workspace
Design Once, Price Smart Everywhere
Craftific.com helps you design and list digital products across Etsy, KDP, and Notion without redoing the work per platform.
Start Free →