Where to sell digital products in 2026: Gumroad, Lemon Squeezy, Payhip and Stan fees compared

If you sell templates, ebooks, courses, presets or software licences, the four platforms most people compare are Gumroad, Lemon Squeezy, Payhip and Stan Store, with Paddle for software and Shopify if you already run a store. They differ on three things that matter more than the headline fee: who handles VAT and sales tax, which countries they'll pay you in, and what you pay once card processing and payouts are added.

The short version: if you sell to consumers in lots of countries and don't want to deal with tax, pick a platform that's the merchant of record (Gumroad, Lemon Squeezy or Paddle) or one that remits the main digital taxes for you (Payhip). If you're in the US, UK, Australia or another Stripe country and want the lowest fee, a flat-fee tool like Payhip Pro or Stan can be cheaper, but more of the tax work lands on you.

Why "who handles tax" matters more than the fee

Tax handling matters because digital sales are usually taxed where the buyer lives, not where you live. Sell a US$29 template to buyers in the UK, Germany and Texas and each sale can carry a different tax rule. Our guide to sales tax and VAT for online stores covers the thresholds country by country.

A merchant of record (MoR) is the business your customer legally buys from. It collects the tax, files it and remits it, and you're paid as its supplier. That's why MoR platforms charge more per sale. For the full trade-off, including Stripe's own MoR product, read merchant of record vs Stripe.

Here's where each platform stands, in its own words (checked 26 October 2026):

• Gumroad says "We're a Merchant of Record" and that since 1 January 2025 it handles "ALL your tax obligations", including sales tax, VAT and GST, though it collects tax "in regions where we have tax obligations as a merchant of record" (Gumroad pricing).
• Lemon Squeezy says "Lemon Squeezy is your merchant of record" and takes on "the liability of tax collection and calculation" (Lemon Squeezy pricing).
• Paddle says you can "Start selling globally with Paddle as your Merchant of Record" (Paddle pricing).
• Payhip describes itself as "Not a Merchant of Record" in its own Lemon Squeezy alternatives comparison. But its tax page says it acts as your reseller for digital EU and UK VAT, reports and remits it each quarter, and is a marketplace facilitator in the US and a digital platform operator in Canada, so it's "responsible for collecting and paying sales tax here and not you". Any other tax you set up, you report and pay yourself.
• Stan Store calculates tax at checkout through Stripe, but its sales tax help page says Stripe "will only collect tax from customers located in your registered tax region", and the feature is only available for stores in the US, Canada, the UK, Australia, New Zealand, Switzerland, Norway and the EU. Stan doesn't call itself a merchant of record.
• Shopify doesn't describe itself as the merchant of record on its pricing page, so treat a Shopify store as you being the seller.

Fees compared (checked 26 October 2026)

The platforms split into two models: a percentage per sale with no monthly fee, or a monthly subscription with a low or zero platform fee. All figures are from each company's own pages on 26 October 2026, in US dollars unless marked.

Sources: Gumroad pricing and fees, Lemon Squeezy fees, Payhip pricing, Stan pricing and fees, Paddle pricing, Shopify Australia pricing.

Gumroad: why the fee looks different everywhere

Gumroad's fee is quoted inconsistently because its pricing page and help centre say different amounts of the same thing. The pricing page shows "10% + $0.50" per direct sale and "30%" per Discover sale, with "No hidden fees, no monthly charges". The fees help article adds that the 10% + 50 cents "does not include" credit card processing (2.9% + 30 cents) or PayPal fees, while the 30% Discover fee "includes all processing fees".

Two more details from that article. Once your paid sales in a calendar month reach US$20,000, new direct sales that month cost 5% + 50 cents, resetting on the 1st. And when you refund a sale, Gumroad returns its own fee but keeps the processing portion.

Lemon Squeezy: surcharges and the Stripe move

Lemon Squeezy's base fee is 5% + 50 cents, but its fee docs add 1.5% for transactions outside the US, 1.5% for PayPal, 0.5% for subscription payments and an extra 5% on payments recovered by abandoned cart emails. Its pricing page carries a banner: "2026 Update: Lemon Squeezy + Stripe Managed Payments".

That update, posted on 28 January 2026, says Stripe acquired Lemon Squeezy in 2024, admits "slower support responses and less frequent product updates", and says "Our goal is to provide Lemon Squeezy users an easy way to migrate to Stripe Managed Payments" (Lemon Squeezy). It doesn't announce a shutdown date.

The catch for many readers: Stripe's Managed Payments eligibility page lists 37 business locations, being Canada, the US, 31 European countries, Australia, Hong Kong, Japan and Singapore. India, Pakistan, Indonesia, the Philippines, Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam aren't on it. Lemon Squeezy pays out to banks in all of those today, so if you're there, it's unclear where a future migration would leave you. That's our reading of the two pages, not something either company has said.

Payhip: when a plan beats the percentage

Payhip's three plans have the same features and differ only in fee: Free at 5% per sale, Plus at US$29 a month with 2%, and Pro at US$99 a month with no transaction fee (Payhip pricing). The same page says PayPal and Stripe "will still charge at their standard rates" on every plan. Payhip also connects regional gateways such as Razorpay, Xendit, Midtrans, Paystack and Mercado Pago, and says it "does not charge any fees to connect a payment gateway" (Payhip gateways).

Stan Store: flat fee, link-in-bio focus

Stan charges US$29 a month for Creator and US$99 for Creator Pro, or US$300 and US$948 a year, with "0% transaction fees" and a 14-day free trial (Stan pricing). Its fees help page lists the Stripe charges you still pay: 2.9% + 30 cents in the US, plus 1.5% if the customer is in another country, and 1.75% + A$0.30 in Australia. PayPal is "3.49% + fixed fee based on the currency received".

Paddle and Shopify

Paddle charges 5% + 50 cents per checkout transaction with "No monthly fees, migration fees, or hidden extras", and offers bespoke pricing for products under US$10 (Paddle pricing). It's built for software, though. Its acceptable use rules name B2B SaaS, consumer software and games, and prohibit sales "Where there is no bona fide software or service sold". A software licence or plugin fits. An ebook or template pack may not, so ask first.

Shopify's own Digital Products app is free and sends download links after a sale. The cost is the store itself: on the Australian pricing page, Basic is A$56 a month (A$42 billed yearly) with an online card rate of 1.7% + 30 cents (AUD), and a 2% fee if you use a third-party payment provider. If Shopify's own payments aren't open to you, see Shopify Payments not available.

Worked example: a US$29 product

These are our own calculations from the printed rates above, before sales tax, PayPal fees, currency conversion and payout fees. For platforms that use your own Stripe account, we've used the 2.9% + 30 cents US card rate that Gumroad's and Stan's help pages print, which is US$1.14 on US$29.

Where the monthly plans pay off, again our own arithmetic:

• Payhip Plus beats Free once you sell about US$967 a month (34 sales at US$29), because it saves 3% for a US$29 fee.
• Payhip Pro beats Plus at about US$3,500 a month in sales (about 121 sales), because it saves 2% for an extra US$70.
• Stan Creator beats Gumroad direct on fees from about nine US$29 sales a month, because Gumroad's platform fee is US$3.40 a sale. But Stan doesn't take on your tax.

At 50 sales a month (US$1,450), that works out to roughly US$227 on Gumroad direct, US$98 to US$119 on Lemon Squeezy depending on where buyers are, US$130 on Payhip Free, US$115 on Payhip Plus and US$86 on Stan Creator with US buyers.

Getting paid out: countries and methods

Payout coverage is where the platforms differ most for sellers outside the US. Check your own country on these pages before you list a product.

• Gumroad pays bank deposits in local currency in a long list of countries, including Australia (AUD), the UK (GBP), India (INR), Pakistan (PKR), Indonesia (IDR), the Philippines, Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam and Singapore (Getting paid). Where bank deposits aren't available it pays by PayPal in USD, with a 2% payout fee. It doesn't pay out through Payoneer, Wise or wire transfer. The standard minimum payout is US$100, with higher local minimums in some countries, and you need proof of residence in the payout country or a business registered there.
• Lemon Squeezy lists bank payouts in a long list of countries, including all of those above, and says "PayPal payouts are supported in 200+ countries and regions" (Supported countries). It notes that since May 2024 Stripe only accepts new Indian accounts by invitation, so Indian sellers without one are paid by PayPal. Payouts to non-US banks cost 1%, and PayPal payouts outside the US cost 3% capped at US$30 (fees).
• Stan creates a Stripe account for you in 39 listed countries, including Australia, the UK, Singapore, Japan and the UAE (Free Zone only), and says PayPal is available "in more than 200 countries" for everyone else (Stan countries). India, Pakistan, Indonesia and the Philippines aren't on the Stripe list.
• Payhip doesn't hold your money: sales go to the Stripe, PayPal or regional gateway account you connect, and your dashboard shows the gateways available in your region (Payhip gateways). If Stripe won't open an account for you, see Stripe not available in my country.

If you're setting up from Bali or elsewhere in Indonesia, Bali Startup & Tech covers the local side.

Which platform fits which seller

The right pick depends on where you live, where your buyers are, and how many sales you make.

• Just starting, selling worldwide, outside the main Stripe countries. Gumroad is the safest default: it's the merchant of record and pays out to local banks in India, Pakistan, Indonesia and much of Asia. Avoid relying on Discover sales at 30%.
• Lower fees with tax handled. Lemon Squeezy at 5% + 50 cents is cheaper than Gumroad direct, but factor in its own note about slower support and the Stripe migration.
• Software licences and plugins. Paddle or Lemon Squeezy, both MoRs at 5% + 50 cents.
• Steady sales and a supported Stripe or PayPal account. Payhip Plus or Pro cuts the platform fee while still remitting EU and UK VAT and US and Canadian sales tax.
• Creators selling from a link in bio, mostly to one country. Stan's flat fee is cheap at volume, but you own the tax outside your registered region.
• Already on Shopify. Add the free Digital Products app rather than running a second store.

To compare notes with other people selling digital products, join Remote Builders (it's free).

Common mistakes

These are the errors that cost sellers money or a held payout.

• Quoting Gumroad at 10% flat. Card processing of 2.9% + 30 cents sits on top of direct sales, so a US$29 sale costs US$4.54, not US$3.40.
• Counting on Discover. Discover sales cost 30%, almost a third of the price.
• Choosing the cheapest fee and ignoring tax. Stan and Shopify leave tax with you, and so does Payhip for anything outside EU and UK digital VAT and US and Canadian sales tax.
• Ignoring Lemon Squeezy surcharges. A non-US PayPal buyer adds 3% to the 5% + 50 cent base.
• Not checking payouts first. Gumroad won't pay to Wise or Payoneer, and bank payouts need proof of residence in that country.
• Building on Lemon Squeezy without checking Stripe Managed Payments eligibility. If your country isn't one of the 37 locations, plan a fallback.
• Assuming Paddle takes any digital product. Its rules are written for software.
• Forgetting income tax. Even an MoR only handles the tax on the sale. What it pays you is still your income where you're tax resident.

Checklist before you pick

Work through these before you list your first product.

1. Write down where you live and where your bank account is, then check each platform's payout list for your country.
2. List where your buyers are. If they're in many countries, favour an MoR or Payhip.
3. Check your product type is allowed, especially on Paddle.
4. Run the US$29 maths at your real price and expected monthly sales.
5. Add payout and currency conversion fees for your country.
6. If you're on Lemon Squeezy, check Stripe Managed Payments eligibility for your location.
7. Re-read each pricing page on the day you sign up, because these change.