Payhip review 2026: fees, VAT, payouts and who it suits

Payhip’s Free plan costs nothing a month and takes 5% of each sale, so on $1,000 of $10 sales you keep about $891 after Stripe’s fees. Plus at $29 a month and Pro at $99 a month lower the fee to 2% and 0%, and every plan gets the same features. For a creator starting out, the Free plan is the right choice, and Payhip’s handling of EU and UK VAT is the reason to pick it over similar stores.

How much does Payhip take?

Payhip takes 5% on Free, 2% on Plus and 0% on Pro as of October 2026. PayPal and Stripe charge their standard processing fees on top, on every plan.

Payhip’s Stripe help article gives Stripe’s base rate as 2.9% + $0.30 per transaction, varying by country, and notes that Stripe keeps those fees, not Payhip. PayPal charges its own standard rates.

Here is the arithmetic on published fees for 100 sales of a $10 product on the Free plan. Payhip takes $50 and Stripe takes $59, which leaves $891. On Plus the same month costs $20 in Payhip fees plus the $29 plan, which leaves $892. The two plans are almost level at $1,000 a month.

The break-even points are easy to work out. Plus beats Free once sales pass about $967 a month. Pro beats Plus above $3,500 a month. Below about $967, stay on Free.

At $3,000 a month in $10 sales, the same arithmetic leaves $2,673 on Free, $2,734 on Plus and $2,724 on Pro. Plus is the right plan for most creators in that middle band.

Payhip’s pricing page shows monthly prices only, with no annual discount. Payhip says it offers discounts to charities that contact it.

How do Payhip payouts work?

Payhip deposits each sale into your PayPal or Stripe account right after the transaction completes. It holds no balance of its own, so there is no Payhip payout schedule or minimum.

With Stripe you connect your own account, either an existing one or a new one created during setup. Stripe pays your bank daily by default, and you can switch to weekly, monthly or manual payouts in Stripe. Your first Stripe transaction on Payhip can stay pending for a few days while Stripe approves the account.

PayPal sales land in your PayPal balance, and from there PayPal’s own withdrawal rules apply. Subscription and membership installments are paid through Stripe.

Payhip supports 13 processors in total, including PayPal, Stripe, Mollie, Square, Mercado Pago, Razorpay and Paystack. In most cases you can connect PayPal plus one other processor for cards and local payment methods.

How does Payhip handle VAT and sales tax?

Payhip takes on EU and UK VAT for digital sales. It acts as the reseller, detects whether the buyer is in the EU or UK, applies that country’s rate and files the VAT with tax authorities every quarter. In Payhip’s words, “We assume full responsibility for collecting, reporting and paying these taxes so you don’t have to.”

This matters because EU rules have required VAT on digital sales to EU buyers since 2015, wherever the seller is based, and the UK followed in 2020. Registering for that yourself is a real cost for a small seller.

Payhip’s tax page also says it is a marketplace facilitator in the US and a digital platform operator in Canada, and so collects and pays sales tax there. For any other tax you choose to charge, Payhip collects it at checkout and passes it to you, and you report and pay it. Payhip sends a monthly sales report to help. This is general information about Payhip’s published policy, not tax advice.

How do you make money on Payhip?

Payhip sells digital downloads, online courses, memberships, coaching and physical products on every plan. There are no audience thresholds. You connect a processor and start selling.

Courses can include videos, files, quizzes and assignments, with drip publishing and completion certificates. Memberships charge recurring payments for access to downloads or a members group. Coaching covers one-to-one sessions, with Zoom and Calendly integrations. Physical products get inventory tracking and order fulfillment, and Payhip emails buyers their tracking numbers.

Marketing tools are the same on every plan:

• Coupons with limits, product rules and expiry dates
• An affiliate program
• Cross-selling and upsells to past buyers
• Referral pricing for buyers who share a product
• Email marketing to customers and a mailing list
• Verified customer reviews

You can run a full Payhip store with a custom domain, or embed Payhip’s checkout on a site you already have.

Who is Payhip best for?

Payhip is best for creators starting to sell digital products who want to pay nothing until a sale comes in. It is our pick for anyone with buyers in Europe, because Payhip handles the EU and UK VAT filing.

It also suits creators who want their money in their own accounts. Every sale goes straight to your PayPal or Stripe, so nothing sits in a platform balance waiting for a cash out.

We also like Payhip as a second store for creators who already sell elsewhere. The Free plan costs nothing to keep open, and every feature is available on it.

Skip Payhip if you need a marketplace to find buyers, because it has none. Creators selling more than $3,500 a month should be on Pro, and at that level a full course platform may also be worth pricing.

Payhip alternatives

Stan Store charges a flat $29 a month with 0% commission and suits creators who sell from a social bio link. By our arithmetic it beats Payhip’s Free plan above about $615 a month.

Gumroad is the other common pick for digital downloads. Our Gumroad vs Stan Store comparison covers how those two differ.

Podia suits creators who want courses, downloads and a community on one site from $49 a month. See our best platforms for digital products for a ranked list.