Gumroad is the pick if you want tax handled for you and accept the highest fee. Payhip is the pick if you want the lowest fee at volume and more control. Ko-fi is the pick if you are an audience-first creator who mostly collects tips and sells a few downloads. Which one costs least depends on your monthly sales, so the sections below show where the lines cross.
The published fees side by side
Here is what each platform lists, checked on its own pricing page in October 2026. Card or PayPal processing is separate on top of these.
Platform
Monthly cost
Platform fee
Gumroad
$0
10% + $0.50 on direct sales, 30% on sales from its Discover marketplace
Payhip
Free $0, Plus $29, Pro $99
5% on Free, 2% on Plus, none on Pro
Ko-fi
Free $0, Gold $12
0% on tips, 5% on shop sales on the free plan, 0% platform fee on Gold
Gumroad charges no monthly fee and takes 10% + $0.50 on sales made through your profile or direct links, and 30% on new customers who find you through Discover (Gumroad pricing). Payhip's plans are Free at 5%, Plus at $29 a month with 2%, and Pro at $99 with no transaction fee (Payhip pricing). Ko-fi takes nothing on tips, 5% of shop sales on the free plan, and lists Gold at $12 a month with a 0% platform fee (Ko-fi pricing).
Processing is a separate cost on Payhip and Ko-fi. Ko-fi's help centre says PayPal and Stripe take their own fees, usually around 3% + $0.30 (Ko-fi help). PayPal's own page lists 3.49% + $0.49 for standard checkout in the US (). Gumroad's page does not break out processing separately, so read your payout statement on the first few sales to see what you actually keep.
Written by
The Delivvo team
Delivvo runs the client cycle for service businesses: inquiry, quote, contract, deposit and delivery. Payments go straight to your own account.
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What a $20 sale really leaves you
Take a $20 template. On Gumroad's direct rate, the platform fee is $2.00 plus $0.50, which is $2.50 or 12.5% of the sale. On Payhip Free it is $1.00, on Plus $0.40 and on Pro nothing. On Ko-fi's free plan a shop sale costs $1.00, and on Gold nothing. Then subtract your processor's cut on each.
On low-priced products the fixed $0.50 hurts. At $5 it is a tenth of the price before the 10% is even counted. If you sell cheap downloads in volume, the flat part of Gumroad's fee is the number to watch.
Gumroad: pay more and stop thinking about tax
Gumroad is the shortest path from a file to a sale. Upload, set a price, share a link. The trade is the fee, and what you buy with it is real: since January 1, 2025, Gumroad says it handles all your tax obligations as merchant of record, collecting and remitting sales tax and VAT on your sales (Gumroad pricing). You do not register for EU VAT or file in a US state for those sales.
The costs of that arrangement are control. Gumroad owns the checkout and the customer relationship, and it decides how it pays you. Its page says only that payment "varies by country" and gives no payout schedule, so check the payout terms for your country before you plan cash flow around it. You still owe income tax on what you earn.
Payhip: lowest fees, more control
Payhip suits anyone who watches margin. The Free plan is fine while sales are light. The break-even points are simple arithmetic. Free costs 5% of sales. Plus costs $29 plus 2%, so it beats Free once monthly sales pass about $967. Pro costs $99 and nothing else, so it beats Plus once monthly sales pass about $3,500. Below $967 a month, stay on Free.
Payhip also lists tax handling. Its pricing page says it "automatically collects, reports and remits digital EU/UK VAT as well as US/Canadian sales tax" on your behalf. That is a lot of cover for a lower fee, but check what remains your duty with your accountant, since the platform's wording is not the same as being merchant of record. Payhip connects to your own Stripe or PayPal, so processing fees apply on top.
Ko-fi: built for tips, light on selling
Ko-fi started as a tip jar and it still behaves like one. Tips and donations carry no platform fee, so if your audience mostly wants to support you, Ko-fi keeps the cost near zero. Shop sales and memberships carry 5% on the free plan. Gold at $12 a month removes that fee, which means it pays for itself once your shop and membership sales pass $240 a month.
Ko-fi has fewer storefront controls than the other two, and its tax handling is lighter. It fits a creator who sells the occasional template or ebook next to a supportive audience, not a business that lives off a catalogue.
Tax and who is the seller
Tax is the part most new sellers discover too late. A merchant of record is the legal seller of the product and carries the duty to charge and send in the right tax. Gumroad took that role in 2025 and says it covers sales tax and VAT worldwide. Payhip says it collects and remits digital EU and UK VAT and US and Canadian sales tax for you. Ko-fi leaves tax with you.
If cross-border tax is the thing stopping you from selling, that alone may decide the platform. A heavier tool built entirely around this problem is covered in Polar vs LemonSqueezy vs Paddle. None of this is tax advice. Check how your country treats digital sales with your accountant.
Which one to pick
Choose by what you sell and how much admin you can stand.
If you sell worldwide and want tax to stop being your problem, choose Gumroad and treat the fee as the cost of that peace.
If you sell steadily and want to keep more of every sale, choose Payhip, start on Free and move up when your sales cross the lines above.
If you have an audience that tips and you sell the occasional product, choose Ko-fi and only buy Gold when 5% of your monthly shop sales is more than $12.
How Delivvo handles the custom work a storefront cannot
A storefront sells the same file to anyone. Many people who sell downloads also take custom work: a branded version, a one-off design, a done-for-you setup. That work needs a quote, a contract, a deposit and a delivery, and none of the three platforms above does that.
Put an inquiry form on your shop page or link it from your Ko-fi profile. Visitors who want a custom version fill it in, and each one lands on your lead board.
Turn the lead into a quote from your packages and add-ons, and send one link.
The client signs the contract and pays a deposit on the same page. You keep your downloads on your storefront and your custom jobs in Delivvo.
Deliver through the client portal. Clients open it with a one-time code, with no password, approve the files and download the versions. Your own files can be up to 50 GB on Pro and above.
Invoice from the same project with a sequential number in your own format, and let automations send reminders at 7, 14 and 30 days if a payment runs late.
One detail a storefront will not give you: every invoice, quote and contract carries a verification code, so a client's finance team can check that a document is genuine, and the documents can be in Arabic and English. The money goes to you through your own gateway, such as Stripe or PayPal, and Delivvo takes 0%. It is never the merchant of record, so tax stays with you or your accountant. Delivvo is not a storefront for digital downloads and does not replace any of the three platforms. See the details on the proposals page.
FAQ
Which platform is cheapest for digital products?
It depends on volume. Payhip Free at 5% costs less than Gumroad's 10% + $0.50 on any sale, and Payhip Pro at $99 with no fee wins above about $3,500 a month. Ko-fi is cheapest if your income is mostly tips.
Does Gumroad really handle my taxes?
For sales tax and VAT on your sales, Gumroad says it does, as merchant of record since January 1, 2025. It does not file your personal income tax. Check your own obligations with an accountant.
Can I use my own Stripe or PayPal?
Payhip connects to your own Stripe and PayPal accounts. Ko-fi pays out through PayPal or Stripe and lists their processing fees as separate. Gumroad pays you itself, with methods that vary by country.
Is Ko-fi Gold worth it?
Only once 5% of your monthly shop and membership sales is more than $12, which is $240 a month. Below that, stay on the free plan.
Can I use more than one of these?
Yes. Many sellers keep a Ko-fi page for tips and a Gumroad or Payhip store for products. Watch for fees stacking on the same customer and keep your records in one place for tax.
Delivvo runs the whole client cycle for service businesses, from the first inquiry to the quote, contract, deposit, invoice and delivery, so the custom jobs that come from your product sales get agreed, signed and paid in one place. Clients pay you directly through your own gateway, and Delivvo takes 0%. Start free
