Best Gumroad Alternatives to Grow Your Digital Business

Are you tired of high transaction fees and limited features on Gumroad? 

You're not alone!

Many digital entrepreneurs are seeking better alternatives to grow their businesses. In this article, we'll explore the best Gumroad alternatives that can offer you more customization, lower fees, and enhanced selling options. 

Whether you're looking to to sell online courses, digital products, courses, or physical items, there's a perfect platform out there for you. Stay tuned as we go over top options like Penni Cart, Patreon, Shopify, Skillshare, Sellfy, and Payhip, and help you find the right fit for your digital business.

Here’s What to look for in Gumroad Alternatives

If you've used Gumroad, you've likely encountered some drawbacks. 

The massive transaction fees of 10% can eat into your profits (especially for successful sellers). 

Additionally, Gumroad's platform is overly simple. This makes it great for starting out. Since it sells a wide variety of products without specialization, it can dilute your brand's uniqueness.

Consider these factores when searching for alternatives to Gumroad:

• Simple selling features
• Focused vs Varied selling options (courses, services, digital/physical products, etc.)
• Reputation and potential audience 
• Pricing & transaction fees (are they higher or lower?)
• Tiered bundles for scaling your business
• Customization and unique branding options
• Intuitive and easy-to-use interface for showcasing products/services
• Currency support
• Integrations and app support

Finding a platform that excels in these areas will help you grow your digital business more effectively.

Best Alternatives to Gumroad

Penni Cart

Penni Cart is a specialized shopping cart solution designed for Webflow eCommerce users, offering 0% processing fees. 

This platform is incredibly intuitive, even for those new to eCommerce, and includes a range of powerful features. The free package allows for unlimited products and offers a fully customizable cart, real-time analytics reporting, automatic tax calculations, subscription options, automatic receipts, special discount codes, and comprehensive control over shipping rates. 

For those needing additional support, the premium plan includes live call support with Penni Cart’s tech team.

Key features:

• Fully customizable & design-focused
• Tutorials to help guide you through setup and features
• Easy to learn, integrate, and user-friendly
• Affordable pricing, no transaction fees
• Real-time analytics reporting
• Purpose built for Webflow eCommerce business owners, designers and developers in mind

Cons:

• Specialized for just Webflow websites
• Relatively new company
• Learning curve for new Webflow users

Pricing Structure:

• Starter Free: For Webflow staging sites only
• Essentials: $24 per month
• Essentials Plus: $39 per month

Who it’s best for:

Penni Cart is ideal for Webflow users looking for an affordable, customizable shopping cart solution with zero transaction fees and real-time analytics. If you value customizability, affordability and scalability for your growing eCommerce business, Penni Cart is a great option. 

Patreon

Patreon is a membership platform that allows fans to support their favourite creators through a monthly subscription fee and recurring payments. This setup enables creators to offer tiered subscriptions, each with unique rewards and perks, making it an excellent way to fund creative work without just focusing on selling physical and digital products.

Key features:

• Highly accessible: Suitable for various digital content types, including artistic hobbies, podcasts, vlogs, and courses.
• Audience connection: Facilitates direct financial support from fans, fostering a closer relationship between creators and their audience.
• Established user base: With over 8 million active patrons, it provides a ready audience for creators.
• Stable income: Allows creators to earn a predictable monthly income, freeing them to focus more on their creative endeavors.
• Flexible subscription options: Subscribers can choose rewards and access levels that fit their budgets.

Cons:

• Limited support for physical products: Primarily geared towards digital content and creative work.
• Earnings fees: Patreon charges fees on earnings, which can reduce your overall income.
• Complex pricing: Pricing isn’t as straightforward as it might seem, with various fees that can add up.

Tiered Pricing:

• Free: 5% transaction fee + around $0.30 per transaction.
• Pro: 8% of income earned, includes active membership tools and analytics.
• Premium: 12% of income earned, offers everything in Pro plus team accounts, merch options, and a partner manager.

Who it’s best for:

Patreon is ideal for creators who prefer a patronage model, where they receive donations or support from their audience in exchange for exclusive content and perks. It's perfect for those looking to monetize a small to medium-sized following through memberships and digital offerings. 

However, the fee structure can be a disadvantage as your income grows, making it less suitable for those looking to scale significantly.

If you’re a creator seeking to deepen your connection with your audience while securing a stable income, Patreon is a great choice.

Shopify

‍

Shopify is a hosted e-commerce platform that caters to online stores of all sizes, from startups to internationally known brands. 

As an alternative to Gumroad, Shopify stands out with its ease of use and all-in-one capabilities, supported by a vast array of apps and integrations. Whatever you need for your online storefront or physical store, Shopify likely has a solution.

Key features:

• Feature-rich basic account: Offers a large number of features at an affordable price point.
• User-friendly: Ideal for e-commerce newbies, allowing you to set up a store to sell digital and physical products using a drag-and-drop editor in minutes.
• App ecosystem: Thousands of apps enable you to customize your online store with marketing tools, payment gateways, and more advanced features.
• Built-in marketing tools: Includes SEO, social media integration, and email marketing features to help your online business connect with new customers.
• Comprehensive control: Provides great control over your store and business operations, both online and offline.

Cons:

• Monthly fees: Basic plans are affordable, but subscription and transaction fees can add up for high-volume businesses.
• Potential high costs: Pricing can become expensive if your sales volume is low.
• Plugin dependency: Heavy reliance on plugins, which may affect website performance and incur extra costs.
• Templates Hamper Uniqueness: Although store templates are easy to select, some Shopify stores end up looking very much alike.

Pricing:

• Trial: Offers a short, 14-day trial period.
• Starter: From $38 per month.
• Basic: $99 per month.
• Advanced: $389 per month.

Who it’s best for:

Shopify is perfect for those monetizing with digital and physical products. It’s for extensive eCommerce websites with product descriptions, sales pages, and shipping connections. 

Its ease of use makes it accessible for beginners, while its extensive app ecosystem and robust features cater to more experienced users looking to scale their online business. If you need a flexible, powerful platform to sell both digital goods and physical goods, Shopify is a solid choice.

Skillshare

Skillshare is a specialized platform for selling courses, operating as a course marketplace rather than a dedicated sales platform.

If you have a course you're eager to teach but lack a substantial following, Skillshare can help you get discovered, particularly in niches with demand but limited course offerings.

Key features:

• Course marketplace: An excellent platform for selling online courses, with the option for creators to also sell digital products on their own website.
• No upfront cost: Skillshare doesn't charge to upload your online courses, making it accessible to creators of all levels.
• Large user base: With millions of active users seeking high-quality classes, Skillshare provides an opportunity to expand your audience and enhance your personal brand.

Cons:

• Payment based on watch time: Your earnings are determined by watch time. This is reported to be a handful of cents per minute. This can be unpredictable and may discourage shorter or more concise content. 
• Not a primary income stream: Skillshare's payment model makes it more suitable as a secondary income stream rather than a primary source of income.
• Limited control: Creators have limited control over their brand and presence on the platform.

Pricing:

• Free: It costs nothing to start on Skillshare, similar to Gumroad. Creators are paid based on profit sharing and watch time.

Who it’s best for:

Skillshare is ideal for course creators seeking a hassle-free instruction business and wishing to leverage an existing marketplace. A well-designed course with demand can perform well, even with the profit-sharing model. Most often, these courses provide creators with supplemental income.

Creators should be prepared to engage with users by responding to questions and projects on the platform. 

If you're looking for a platform to showcase your courses and increase your reach without the hassle of managing sales, Skillshare is a great option.

Sellfy

Sellfy presents itself as a similar alternative to Gumroad. It offers a wide range of features for creators of various goods, from selling digital downloads of products to physical items to print-on-demand and even video streaming.

With Sellfy, you can effortlessly create a storefront using a drag-and-drop editor and customize it to align with your brand. The platform also provides robust marketing features, including discount codes, cart abandonment emails, and tracking ad pixels, empowering you to enhance your brand visibility and attract new customers. 

Notably, Sellfy allows you to embed parts of your store into existing blogs, websites, or social media posts, streamlining the selling process.

Key features

• No transaction fees: Keep all the profit from your sales after your monthly payment.
• Versatile store setup: Easily sell digital downloads, physical products, print-on-demand items, subscriptions, and more.
• Built-in marketing tools: Utilize discount codes, cart abandonment emails, and tracking ad pixels to boost your brand visibility and reach new customers.

Cons:

• Limited integrations: Sellfy offers fewer integrations compared to other Gumroad alternatives, potentially limiting access to advanced features.
• Revenue caps: You're required to upgrade to a higher plan if your sales exceed certain thresholds.
• Limited membership support: Sellfy's membership features are relatively limited compared to other platforms.

Pricing:

• Setting up your store is free. Once you start selling, plans start from $29 per month for up to $10k in annual sales, with options for higher-tier plans based on sales volume.

Who it’s best for:

Sellfy is ideal for creators seeking a Gumroad-like experience but with more predictable sales that align with its price tiers. It's particularly suited for selling a variety of merchandise or digital products, such easy digital downloads such as printables, eBooks, videos, and physical items. Additionally, Sellfy's inclusion of a print-on-demand feature makes it attractive for creators looking to offer customized products.

Payhip

Payhip is an all-in-one eCommerce platform resemblign Shopify. It’s designed to provide a comprehensive set of tools for starting an online business. 

Whether embedding the service into your existing website or building a Payhip storefront, the platform offers flexibility in selling products directly to your audience.

Key features:

• Easy-to-use admin area: Simplifies the management of your online business.
• Multiple product types: Sell digital downloads, courses, memberships, and even physical products all in one place.
• Analytics and reporting: Access detailed insights including daily views, sales data, visitor sources, conversion rates, and visits map.
• Free plan: An attractive option for new entrepreneurs to test the platform without financial commitment.
• Website builder: Includes a decent website builder or the ability to embed products into existing sites.
• Custom domain: Use your own domain with any plan, enhancing your brand presence.

Cons:

• Limited support options: Support is only available via email, lacking options for call, chat, or live support.
• Limited payment options: Currently supports only PayPal and Stripe, limiting payment flexibility.
• Lack of SEO tools: The absence of SEO tools may pose challenges in driving organic traffic to your Payhip site.

Pricing: 

• Free Forever: $0/month with a 5% transaction fee.
• Plus: $29/month with a 2% transaction fee.
• Pro: $99/month with no transaction fee.

Who it’s best for:

Payhip is well-suited for individuals taking initial steps in eCommerce. However, for those seeking more advanced features such as robust sales, SEO, and marketing capabilities, Payhip may not meet all requirements. 

Payhip might be best for: 

• Beginner Bloggers: Ideal for those with a small audience looking to venture into selling digital products online.
• New Entrepreneurs: Suited for individuals wanting to experiment with creating and selling digital products without committing to a monthly fee.
• Technologically Challenged Creators: Suitable for those intimidated by the technical aspects of eCommerce.

‍