To sell digital products, make one thing your audience already asks for, price it high enough that flat per-sale fees stay small, and sell it from a store that fits your monthly sales. As of October 2026, $1,000 in $10 sales leaves about $891 on Payhip’s free plan, $909 on Stan Store’s $29 Creator plan and $791 on Gumroad.
The store also decides who deals with sales tax. Gumroad acts as merchant of record and handles tax worldwide, Payhip handles EU and UK VAT plus US and Canadian sales tax, and the rest leave most of the tax work with you. This page covers US rules plus EU VAT, and it is general information, not tax advice.
What digital products can creators sell?
Creators can sell anything a buyer downloads, streams or books online. The best first product is one your audience already asks you for, because you know there is demand before you build it.
Common creator products:
- Templates, such as Notion boards, spreadsheets, Canva designs and planners
- Presets and filters for photo and video apps
- E-books, guides and workbooks
- Printables and art files, including wallpapers and brushes
- Music, beats and sample packs
- Software, plugins and code
- Online courses and video lessons
- Memberships that give members new files or posts each month
- Paid calls and coaching sessions
Not every store sells every format. Payhip, Stan Store and Podia all sell courses, coaching and memberships. Gumroad sells downloads, courses and memberships, and Ko-fi adds a shop and commissions to its tip page.
Which platform should you sell digital products on?
Pick by how much you sell each month and where your buyers come from. A store with no monthly fee wins at low volume, and a flat monthly plan with 0% commission wins once sales are steady.
| Store and plan | Monthly plan | Fee per sale | Keep of $1,000 in $10 sales |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ko-fi Gold | $12 | 0% | $929 |
| Stan Store Creator | $29 | 0% | $909 |
| Payhip Free | $0 | 5% | $891 |
| Ko-fi Free mode | $0 | 5% | $891 |
| Podia Mover | $49 | 5% | $842 |
| Gumroad, direct sale | $0 | 10% + $0.50 | $791 |
| Gumroad, Discover sale | $0 | 30%, processing included | $700 |
These figures are arithmetic on each platform’s published fees as of October 2026, with Stripe’s 2.9% + $0.30 per US card payment included where it applies. Our best platforms for digital products list ranks the five stores in full.
The break-even points tell you when to switch:
- Payhip’s Plus plan at $29 a month for a 2% fee beats its Free plan once you sell about $967 a month, and Pro at $99 for 0% beats Plus above $3,500.
- Stan Store’s flat $29 beats Payhip’s Free plan above about $615 a month.
- Stan beats Gumroad above about $200 a month, as our Gumroad vs Stan Store comparison shows.
- Podia’s $99 Shaker plan at 0% beats its $49 Mover plan above $1,000 a month.
- Ko-fi Gold pays for itself once fee-bearing sales pass $240 a month.
Gumroad costs the most per sale, but its Discover marketplace can sell to buyers who have never heard of you, at 30%. None of the other four has a marketplace, so every buyer comes from your own audience. Our Gumroad vs Payhip comparison covers that trade-off.
How should you price a digital product?
Price high enough that the flat part of each fee stays small. Card processing costs about $0.30 per sale on every store here, and Gumroad adds $0.50 more, so cheap products lose a large share to fixed charges.
| Sale price | Gumroad direct | Payhip Free or Ko-fi Free mode | Stan Store, before the $29 plan |
|---|---|---|---|
| $3 | $1.19, about 40% | $0.54, about 18% | $0.39, about 13% |
| $10 | $2.09, about 21% | $1.09, about 11% | $0.59, about 6% |
| $30 | $4.67, about 16% | $2.67, about 9% | $1.17, about 4% |
This table is our arithmetic on published fees, using Stripe’s 2.9% + $0.30 for a US card. Ko-fi and Payhip put sales straight into your own PayPal or Stripe account, so PayPal sales follow PayPal’s rates instead.
We would avoid pricing below $10 unless the product is a cheap entry point meant to lead buyers to something bigger. A $3 product on Gumroad keeps about 60% of its price, while a $30 product keeps about 84%.
Who handles sales tax on digital products?
Who handles sales tax depends on whether your store is the merchant of record, meaning it is legally the seller. If it is, it collects and pays the tax. If it is not, the store may add tax at checkout, but filing and paying it is your job.
| Store | Merchant of record? | What it does about sales tax and VAT |
|---|---|---|
| Gumroad | Yes, since January 1, 2025 | Calculates, collects and remits sales tax and VAT worldwide |
| Payhip | Acts as reseller for EU and UK digital sales | Files EU and UK VAT, and collects US and Canadian sales tax as a marketplace facilitator and digital platform operator |
| Podia | No | Collects tax at checkout where you are registered, and says it “doesn’t file or remit your sales taxes for you” |
| Stan Store | Stan does not say it is | Calculates tax at checkout through Stripe, only in the state or country where you are registered and only with Stripe connected |
| Ko-fi | No, Ko-fi says the creator is | Adds the rates you set at checkout. You calculate and remit the tax |
In the US there is no federal sales tax, and each state decides whether digital goods are taxable. Avalara’s July 2026 guide gives examples. Texas taxes digital goods when the physical version would be taxable, Florida generally exempts them, and Washington taxes digital products however they are accessed.
Since the Supreme Court’s 2018 decision in South Dakota v. Wayfair, states can require out-of-state sellers to collect sales tax once they pass an economic threshold in that state. Europe has its own rule. The EU has required VAT on digital sales to EU buyers since 2015 wherever the seller is based, and the UK followed in 2020.
For a small seller with buyers in many places, a merchant of record removes the hardest part. That is the main reason to accept Gumroad’s higher fee, and it is why we rate Payhip highly for anyone with European buyers. Income tax on your profits is still yours either way, which our creator taxes basics guide covers.
When do digital product stores pay you?
Payhip, Ko-fi and Podia pay you as each sale happens, into your own PayPal or Stripe account. Stan Store and Gumroad hold your card sales in a balance that you cash out or they pay out on a schedule.
| Store | How you get paid | Minimum |
|---|---|---|
| Payhip | Each sale goes straight to your PayPal or Stripe account | None from Payhip |
| Ko-fi | Each payment goes straight to your PayPal or Stripe account | None |
| Podia | Sales go straight to your own Stripe or PayPal account | None from Podia |
| Stan Store | Manual cash out of the whole balance, arriving in 24 to 48 hours, for 0.25% + $0.25 | $10 |
| Gumroad | Daily, weekly, monthly or quarterly payouts | $100, or $1 for US instant payouts at 3% |
Gumroad’s weekly, monthly and quarterly schedules also hold each sale for at least 7 days before it can be paid out. If cash flow matters, the stores that pay into your own Stripe or PayPal get money to you fastest.
How do you launch your first digital product?
Launch one small product to people who already follow you, then improve it from what buyers tell you. That is our editorial view, and it keeps your first costs near zero.
- Pick the question your audience asks most often, and make the product that answers it.
- Build the smallest version that fully solves the problem. A good 10-page guide beats an unfinished course.
- Price it at $10 or more unless it is a deliberate entry product.
- Open a store on a plan with no monthly fee, such as Payhip Free or Gumroad, and move to a flat-fee plan once sales pass the break-even points above.
- Collect buyer emails. Stan Store’s lead magnets and Payhip’s email marketing both do this, and Gumroad lets you export buyer emails as a CSV.
- Announce it where your audience already is, and link it from your bio and video descriptions.
For courses with quizzes, communities or drip content, compare course platforms too, using our Teachable vs Podia comparison. For how product sales sit next to memberships, brand deals and ads, see how creators make money, and for every platform’s cut side by side, see our guide to creator platform fees.