Gumroad vs Payhip vs Ko-fi for Selling Digital Goods (2026)
The real 2026 fees, tax and merchant-of-record differences, and payout speed for the three main digital-product platforms.
The Delivvo team· August 29, 2026 8 min read
Pick Gumroad if you sell to a global audience and never want to think about VAT or sales tax, and know you will pay for that convenience. Pick Payhip if you want the lowest fees and your money landing straight in your own Stripe or PayPal, especially at volume. Pick Ko-fi if you are an audience-first creator who mostly takes tips and sells a few downloads on the side. The real differences in 2026 come down to the fee math, who counts as the merchant of record for tax, and how fast the money reaches you. Here is how the three compare and which one fits which kind of seller.
The 2026 fees, side by side
Three tools, three very different deals. This is what each one costs and what it skims off every sale before your payment processor takes its own cut.
| Platform | Monthly cost | Platform fee | Who handles tax | |---|---|---|---| | Gumroad | $0 (no plan) | 10% + $0.50 direct, 30% via Discover | Gumroad (merchant of record) | | Payhip | Free $0, Plus $29, Pro $99 | 5% free, 2% Plus, 0% Pro | You (your own accounts) | | Ko-fi | Free $0, Gold $12/mo | tips, shop and memberships (free plan) | You (your own accounts) |
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Gumroad keeps it simple and expensive. There is no monthly fee, and the platform takes 10% + $0.50 on sales through your own links and a flat 30% on sales that come through its Discover marketplace (gumroad.com/pricing). Card processing from Stripe, about 2.9% + $0.30 (stripe.com/pricing), stacks on top of the 10%, so a direct card sale usually costs you closer to 13% all in. Payhip runs the opposite way: a Free plan at $0/mo with a 5% fee, a Plus plan at $29/mo with 2%, and a Pro plan at $99/mo with no platform fee at all (payhip.com/pricing). Ko-fi takes nothing on tips, applies 5% to shop sales, memberships, and commissions on its free plan, and drops that to 0% if you pay for Ko-fi Gold at $12/mo for new creators. Processing still applies on every one of them, and PayPal is pricier than Stripe at 3.49% + $0.49 per transaction (paypal.com).
Person holding a bank card while buying a digital download on a laptop at a desk
Gumroad: pay more, forget about tax
Gumroad is the path of least resistance. Upload a file, set a price, share a link, done. The 10% + $0.50 fee is the highest here, and once you add card processing you are handing over roughly 13% of a direct sale. What you buy with that fee is real: since January 1, 2025, Gumroad has been the merchant of record and handles all of your tax obligations, calculating, collecting, and remitting sales tax, VAT, and GST worldwide (gumroad.com/pricing). You never register for VAT in the EU or file a return in a US state. For a solo seller who dreads tax paperwork more than a percentage point of margin, that trade is worth it. The catch is that Gumroad owns the checkout and the customer relationship, and it controls when your money is paid out.
Payhip: lowest fees, you keep control
Payhip is the pick for anyone who cares about margin and cash flow. On the Free plan you pay $0/mo and a 5% fee, which is fine while sales are light. The Plus plan at $29/mo cuts the fee to 2%, and the Pro plan at $99/mo removes the platform fee entirely. The break points are easy to reason about: below roughly $967 a month, Free is cheapest, Plus wins in the middle, and once you clear about $3,500 a month Pro pays for itself. The bigger difference is structural. Payhip connects to your own Stripe and PayPal, so the money lands in your account at the moment of sale and you stay the seller of record. It also applies EU VAT automatically on digital goods, though you remain responsible for your own income tax.
Ko-fi: built for tips, light on selling
Ko-fi started as a tip jar and still feels like one, in a good way. Tips and donations carry a 0% platform fee, so if your audience mostly wants to buy you a coffee, Ko-fi keeps all of it and only your processor takes a cut. Shop sales, memberships, and commissions carry a 5% fee on the free plan, which you can switch off entirely by paying $12/mo for Ko-fi Gold. Payouts go straight to your PayPal or Stripe, usually within moments of a sale, and you are the seller of record throughout. Ko-fi is the weakest of the three for a serious storefront, with fewer product controls and no built-in tax handling, but for a creator selling a handful of downloads alongside a supportive audience, it is hard to beat on cost.
VAT, sales tax, and who is the merchant of record
This is the part most sellers miss until a tax authority reminds them. The merchant of record is the legal seller of the product, and that entity is responsible for charging and remitting the right tax. Gumroad became the merchant of record on January 1, 2025, which means it is the seller on paper and it deals with sales tax, VAT, and GST across every country for you (gumroad.com/pricing). Payhip and Ko-fi leave you as the seller of record. Payhip softens that by charging and calculating EU VAT on digital goods automatically, but your income tax and any other obligations are yours. Ko-fi hands you the money and the responsibility with it. If tax compliance across borders is the thing keeping you from selling, that alone can decide the platform. For a deeper look at how full merchant-of-record tools handle this, compare Polar, Lemon Squeezy, and Paddle.
Payouts: when the money actually reaches you
Cash flow separates these three as much as fees do. With Payhip and Ko-fi, the sale settles into your own Stripe or PayPal balance right away, because you are the one taking the payment. You control the money the day it comes in. Gumroad works differently. Because it is the merchant of record, it collects the payment and pays you on its own schedule rather than instantly, so there is a lag between the sale and the deposit. For a freelancer who lives close to the line between invoices, that delay matters. If getting paid fast is the priority, Payhip or Ko-fi put the money in your hands sooner.
Which one should you pick?
The verdict comes down to what you sell and how much you hate admin. If you sell to buyers all over the world and want tax to disappear as a problem, pick Gumroad and treat the 10% as the price of never filing a VAT return. If you sell steadily and want to keep the most of every sale in your own account, pick Payhip, start on Free, and climb to Plus or Pro as your revenue crosses the break points. If you have an audience that tips and you sell the occasional template or ebook, pick Ko-fi and only pay for Gold once your shop revenue makes the $12/mo worth it. Selling downloads is how a growing slice of the 72.9 million US independents MBO Partners counted in 2025 turn a skill into income that does not ride on the next booking (mbopartners.com). If you are still deciding what to package and sell, the fundamentals in productized services for freelancers come first, and newer digital goods like custom GPTs and Claude skills sell on all three.
A storefront handles one-click digital sales, not the custom client work you still invoice by hand. Delivvo gives freelancers one branded portal for proposals, contracts, file delivery, and invoices for that work, and clients pay you directly through your own gateway with Delivvo taking 0% of it. See how it works
Frequently asked questions
Which platform is cheapest for a digital product seller?
It depends on volume. Payhip's Free plan at 5% beats Gumroad's 10% + $0.50 on almost any sale, and Payhip Pro at $99/mo with 0% is cheapest once you sell a lot. Gumroad only wins when you value its tax handling more than the extra fee. Ko-fi is cheapest of all if your income is mostly tips.
Does Gumroad really handle my taxes?
Yes, within its role. Since January 1, 2025, Gumroad is the merchant of record and collects and remits sales tax, VAT, and GST worldwide, so you do not register or file for those (gumroad.com/pricing). It does not handle your personal income tax, which you still report as usual.
Can I use my own Stripe or PayPal?
On Payhip and Ko-fi, yes. Both connect to your own accounts and pay you directly, so you control the money as it comes in. Gumroad acts as the seller and pays you on its schedule, so you do not plug in your own processor the same way.
Is Ko-fi Gold worth it?
Only once you sell enough. Gold costs $12/mo for new creators and removes the 5% fee on shop sales and memberships. If that 5% you are losing each month is more than $12, Gold pays for itself. Below that, stay on the free plan.
The takeaway
Fees are only half the decision. Gumroad charges the most and erases your tax burden by becoming the merchant of record. Payhip charges the least and keeps you in control of the money and the checkout. Ko-fi is the tip-friendly option for creators who sell on the side. Work out your monthly revenue, decide how much cross-border tax you want to touch, then pick the one whose trade you can live with.
