The Real Platform Cut
Selling a $29 ebook on Gumroad feels like keeping $26. It isn't. By the time Gumroad takes its 10% plus $0.50, and Stripe processes the card at 2.9% + $0.30, you're actually keeping around $23.09. That's a 20.4% effective fee rate — not the 10% headline number.
"The fee on the label is never the fee you actually pay. Every platform stacks charges that only become visible after your first payout."
This isn't unique to Gumroad. Every platform has at least two layers of fees: their platform cut, and the payment processor's cut. Some bundle them together (making the headline number look better). Some add surcharges for international transactions, PayPal payments, or marketplace discovery. The total effective rate is what matters — and it's almost always higher than what's advertised.
The four layers every creator pays
- Platform transaction fee — the platform's direct cut, usually 5–10% of your sale price plus a fixed amount per transaction
- Payment processing fee — Stripe or PayPal's fee for moving money, typically 2.9% + $0.30 per transaction. Some platforms bundle this; others charge it separately
- Conditional surcharges — international transaction fees (+1.5% on Lemon Squeezy), PayPal fees (+1.5%), marketplace discovery fees (30% on Gumroad Discover)
- Payout fees — some platforms charge to transfer your money to your bank, especially for international payouts
Gumroad charges 30% (not 10%) when a buyer finds your product through Gumroad's Discover marketplace rather than your own link. You can't control which buyers come through Discover. If any meaningful portion of your traffic comes from the platform itself, your blended rate climbs fast.
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Platform Fee Breakdown — 2025
Here are the real effective fee rates for a $29 direct sale on each major platform, after all fees are accounted for. "Effective rate" means total fees as a percentage of your sale price.
Platform-by-platform breakdown
| Platform | Platform fee | Processing | On $29 sale, you keep | Effective rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gumroad Free | 10% + $0.50 | 2.9% + $0.30 | $23.09 | 20.4% |
| Payhip Free | 5% | 2.9% + $0.30 | $25.25 | 12.9% |
| Payhip Plus ($29/mo) | 2% | 2.9% + $0.30 | $26.12 | 9.9% |
| Payhip Pro ($99/mo) | 0% | 2.9% + $0.30 | $27.85 | 4.0% |
| Lemon Squeezy | 5% + $0.50 | Bundled | $26.95 | 7.1% |
| Ko-fi Free | 5% | 2.9% + $0.30 | $25.25 | 12.9% |
| Ko-fi Gold ($12/mo) | 0% | 2.9% + $0.30 | $27.85 | 4.0% |
| Etsy Digital | 6.5% + $0.20 listing | 3% + $0.25 | $23.67 | 18.4% |
| Teachable Free | 10% + $1.00 | 2.9% + $0.30 | $23.83 | 17.8% |
| Sellfy Starter ($29/mo) | 0% | 2.9% + $0.30 | $27.85 | 4.0% |
Note: Lemon Squeezy adds +1.5% for international transactions and +1.5% for PayPal payments on top of the base rate. If you sell globally, factor this in. The table above shows US card transactions only.
Which Platform Actually Wins at Your Revenue Level
The right platform depends entirely on your monthly revenue. A platform with a $99/month subscription and 0% fees is only worth it if your fee savings exceed $99. Here's the math at different revenue levels, assuming a $29 average product price.
| Monthly revenue | Best free option | Best paid option | When paid beats free |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under $500/mo | Lemon Squeezy | N/A — monthly sub eats savings | N/A |
| $500 – $1,500/mo | Payhip Free | Payhip Plus ($29/mo) | At ~$580/mo revenue |
| $1,500 – $3,000/mo | Payhip Free | Ko-fi Gold ($12/mo) or Sellfy | Immediately at this level |
| $3,000 – $7,000/mo | N/A | Payhip Pro ($99/mo) | At ~$3,600/mo revenue |
| $7,000+/mo | N/A | Payhip Pro or Stripe direct | Obvious — saves $400+/mo |
The Gumroad exception
Gumroad is the most expensive option at every revenue level above zero. Its 10% fee on direct sales, combined with Stripe's processing, results in an effective rate of 20%+. The only scenario where Gumroad makes sense: you're just starting and need zero setup friction, or you rely on Gumroad Discover for traffic (despite the 30% marketplace fee).
The Lemon Squeezy advantage
Lemon Squeezy's killer feature isn't its fee rate — it's Merchant of Record status. This means Lemon Squeezy handles VAT, GST, and sales tax collection and remittance globally on your behalf. If you sell internationally and don't want to deal with tax authorities in multiple countries, this is worth the slightly higher effective rate vs Payhip.
Start on Lemon Squeezy (global tax compliance, competitive fees) or Payhip Free (lowest per-sale fee without a subscription). Once you hit $1,500+/month, switch to Ko-fi Gold or Sellfy Starter. At $3,500+/month, Payhip Pro or Sellfy Business pays for itself.
Platform Comparison Tool
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Pricing Strategy for Digital Products
The most common pricing mistake: looking at what competitors charge and matching their price. This locks you into their margin structure, their cost assumptions, and their mistakes. Start from your fees and work up.
The right pricing formula
- Pick your target margin — 70%+ is achievable on most platforms at $20+ price points
- Calculate the required price — use our Price Finder tool to get the exact number for your platform
- Round to a psychological price point — .99 for value, .95 for premium, round numbers for luxury
- Check market positioning — is your price competitive for the quality and depth you're offering?
- Never go below your minimum — discounts are fine; pricing below your fee floor is not
What price points actually convert
| Product type | Sweet spot price | Why it works | Margin at this price (Payhip Free) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Short ebook / guide | $9 – $19 | Impulse buy threshold | ~82% |
| Template / swipe file | $19 – $47 | Perceived tool value | ~87% |
| Notion / Figma pack | $29 – $79 | Professional tool positioning | ~87% |
| Mini-course (1-3 hrs) | $49 – $97 | Education premium | ~88% |
| Full course (5+ hrs) | $97 – $297 | Transformation price | ~89% |
| Bundle / vault access | $97 – $497 | Perceived vs individual prices | ~89% |
Once your digital product is created, your marginal cost per sale is essentially zero. The only costs are platform fees and payment processing — typically 4–20% of revenue. This is why digital products consistently outperform physical products on margin: 85–96% gross margins are normal and achievable from day one.
Price Finder
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The Scale Math — When Platform Choice Compounds
Small fee differences look insignificant per sale. They aren't. Here's what the same product generates over a year on different platforms, assuming 50 sales/month at $29.
| Platform | Per sale kept | Monthly revenue | Annual revenue | vs Gumroad (annual) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gumroad Free | $23.09 | $1,154 | $13,854 | — |
| Payhip Free | $25.25 | $1,262 | $15,150 | +$1,296 |
| Lemon Squeezy | $26.95 | $1,347 | $16,168 | +$2,314 |
| Ko-fi Gold ($144/yr) | $27.85 | $1,392 | $16,757 | +$2,903 |
| Sellfy ($348/yr) | $27.85 | $1,392 | $16,409 | +$2,555 |
| Payhip Pro ($1,188/yr) | $27.85 | $1,392 | $15,569 | +$1,715 |
At 50 sales/month, switching from Gumroad to Ko-fi Gold is worth $2,903 per year — for a $144/year subscription. That's a 20x ROI on the subscription cost alone, before accounting for any growth in your sales volume.
The compounding effect
As your sales volume grows, the annual difference between platforms grows with it. A creator doing 200 sales/month at $29 would save over $11,600/year by switching from Gumroad to Ko-fi Gold. The platform decision you make today determines how much of your revenue you keep for the entire life of your product catalog.
Run your current numbers through our Platform Comparison tool. Enter your actual product price and monthly sales volume — see your real annual difference across every platform. Most creators who do this switch platforms within a week.