There are currently 50 million creators in the world and Goldman Sachs Research expects this number to grow at a 10-20% annual growth rate during the next five years, bringing the total market value of the creator economy to half a trillion dollars.
So, it’s no surprise that monetizing your knowledge through selling digital products is quickly becoming one of the best ways for many creators to make some serious cash.
Whether you’re selling online courses, how-to guides, ebooks, or templates, the prospect of passive income is on the rise, and you need creator stores to help you get there.
In this article, we break down the pricing and key features of the best creator stores on the market today.
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Top creator stores at a glance
| Best overall | The Leap Designed to help creators start making money online, The Leap enables you to create, sell, and market digital products all from one place quickly and easily — and all for free! |
| Best simple option | Gumroad With an easy-to-use interface, this e-commerce platform allows creators to sell virtually any digital product under the sun. |
| Best premium option | Shopify Shopify offers a plethora of pro features and tools like Shopify Payments, Shopify Email, and more for a premium price tag. |
With tons of creator storefronts on the market, it can be overwhelming to decide which is the best full online store for you. But we’re here to help!
Continue reading for an in-depth overview of the best creator stores available.
9 top creator storefronts
| Platform | Pricing + features |
| The Leap | Pricing: Free, with no transaction fee! Product builder: AI-powered product builder creates digital products for you in minutes! Email marketing features: Free (limits may apply) |
| Stan | Pricing: Creator plan: $29/month Creator Pro plan: $99/month Product builder: Course builder Email marketing features: Premium plan only |
| Beacons | Pricing: Free plan: $0/month (9% transaction fee) Creator Pro plan: $10/month (9% transaction fee) Store Pro plan: $30/month (0% transaction fee) Business Pro plan: $90/month (0% transaction fee) Product builder: Course builder with paid plans Email marketing features: Free (limits may apply) |
| Pensight | Pricing: Pro plan: $29/month Biz plan: $99/month Product builder: Course builder Email marketing features: Paid plans only |
| Gumroad | Pricing: $0/month (10% transaction fee) Product builder: Course builder Email marketing features: Free (limits may apply) |
| Linktree | Pricing: Free plan: $0/month Starter plan: $5/month Pro plan: $9/month Premium plan: $24/month Product builder: ❌ Email marketing features: ❌ |
| Payhip | Pricing: Free plan: $0/month (5% transaction fee) Plus plan: $29/month (2% transaction fee) Pro plan: $99/month (0% transaction fee) Product builder: Course builder Email marketing features: Free (limits may apply) |
| Sellfy | Pricing: Starter plan: starting at $19/month Business plan: starting at $49/month Premium plan: starting at $99/month Product builder: ❌ Email marketing features: Paid plans only |
| Shopify | Pricing: Basic plan: starting at $29/month Shopify plan: starting $79/month Advanced plan: starting at $298/month Product builder: ❌ Email marketing features: Paid plans only |
Whether you’re just getting started in your creator journey, or you’re a seasoned seller of physical and digital products looking to scale your online business, read on to learn more about the best ecommerce platform for you.
1. The Leap
The Leap is a free, all-in-one creator economy platform with an AI-powered digital product builder and link-in-bio storefront aimed at content creators and influencers who have knowledge they want to share (and make money from) online. Essentially, The Leap serves as a content creator’s sidekick (particularly creator educators), helping them to create and sell digital products quickly and easily.
The Leap’s digital product builder is designed to make the process of earning your first dollars as a content creator easier. It is a super user-friendly authoring tool that offers quick and intuitive digital product creation. The Leap’s link-in-bio storefront is mobile-optimized and comes with built-in email marketing automation, so you can do all your business in one place.
Content creators can use The Leap’s tool to easily build engaging digital products or sell their existing products to drive lead generation, earn money — or both! Thanks to The Leap’s Book My Time feature, you can even sell coaching and consulting services.
If you’re a creator looking to create and sell digital products like guides, tutorials, or mini-courses for your audience, then chances are The Leap is the platform for you.
Want to learn more about how The Leap can help you generate passive income? Sign up for The Leap Way mini-course series!
Key features
- Mobile-optimized link-in-bio creator store to sell unlimited products
- Digital product-hosting services
- AI-powered digital product builder for mini-courses, tutorials, guides, and challenges
- Email list builder
- Pre-made email templates to automate tasks like setting up email flows and sending email broadcasts easily
- Book My Time native calendar booking feature for coaching and consulting services
- Audience analytics to track orders and more
- No listing fee or platform transaction fees
- Flexible payment gateway options like buy now / pay later, discount/coupon codes, and one-click payments
- 200 combinations of themes, layouts, and colorways for customized storefronts
- AI assistant to generate mobile-optimized products, product descriptions, and more
Pricing
The Leap’s is 100% free!
Try The Leap free today to build your online store and sell your digital products.
Start monetizing your audience with The Leap, your free link-in-bio store.
2. Stan
Stan is a popular online store platform with many features that help creators monetize their expertise. The platform’s link-in-bio landing page doubles as an online storefront where creators can sell their own products, subscriptions, webinars, or online courses they’ve created with Stan’s course builder. Stan also has a native calendar feature that allows creators to sell 1:1 consultations, coaching sessions, or private lessons.
Stan offers a host of marketing features to help you sell your own products. Its standard plan allows users to build out their email list with opt-in forms, while its pro plan provides users with more robust email marketing capabilities, as well as pixel tracking to retarget followers.
It’s important to note that Stan does not offer a plan for free. While Stan comes with a lot of the bells and whistles that help you drive engagement and monetize as a creator, you’ll have to prepare to pay the price for even the most basic features — and even more for advanced features like email marketing and pixel tracking.
Read: The Leap vs. Stan Store: Which Creator Store Platform Should You Choose?
Key features
- Link-in-bio storefront with mobile-optimized checkout
- Online course builder
- Email list builder
- Email marketing features
- Calendar booking tool
- Pixel tracking
Pricing
Stan’s Creator plan is $29/month and its Creator Pro plan is $99/month.
3. Beacons
Beacons is a creator store platform that’s part link-in-bio tool, part analytics toolkit, and part income dashboard. It’s easy to use and offers a lot of room for customization, too.
While Beacons offers three tiers of paid plans, its free option is pretty robust in terms of its features, including helpful monetization tools like a customizable link-in-bio store and media kit, invoice creation, audience analytics, and email marketing. There’s a small catch though: Beacon’s free option comes with a 9% transaction fee, so it’s not completely free.
Beacons also has an online course builder, a desktop website builder, and enhanced design customization for email marketing — not to mention a handy AI email copy generator that transforms any link into succinct email copy.
Keeping all these features in mind, Beacons is a great option for creators looking to stretch their dollars with a platform that allows them to sell digital products, conduct email marketing, and manage their income.
Read: Stan Store vs. Beacons: Which Creator Store Platform Should You Choose?
Key features
- Link-in-bio storefront with mobile-optimized checkout
- Online course builder
- Email marketing tools including AI email copy generator
- Audience analytics
- Desktop website builder (coming soon)
- Income dashboard
Pricing
Free tier available (with 9% transaction fees). Paid tiers go from $10-$90/month.
4. Pensight
Relatively new to the market, Pensight has already gained significant popularity as an online store platform. It’s an online storefront with a built-in course builder, various marketing tools, and the ability to sell, schedule, and host one-on-one calls like consultations and coaching lessons.
The platform really has a “do-it-all” mentality, providing one link-in-bio space for creators to launch digital products and subscriptions, send newsletters, build and sell online courses, as well as offer coaching services.
One of Pensight’s most appealing attributes is that it has a free option, and that it charges zero transaction fees for its paid tiers. Heads up though that while Pensight offers several features for monetizing your knowledge, many of those more revenue-generating features aren’t included in its free option.
Read: Pensight vs. Stan Store: Which Link-In-Bio Tool Is Better?
Key features
- Link-in-bio storefront with mobile-optimized checkout
- Course builder (advanced features like drip content and comment sections available only with paid tiers)
- Email marketing (only with paid tiers)
- Native calendar bookings
- Video call integrations
- Sell memberships and subscriptions (only with paid plans)
Pricing
Pensight offers a free plan with limited monetization features. For more advanced features, you’ll need to upgrade to its Pro plan ($29/month) or the Biz plan ($99/month).
5. Gumroad
Gumroad is an easy-to-use creator store platform for selling any digital product, from ebooks to templates. It also gives creators the ability to sell memberships and subscriptions for recurring income.
If you already have your own online store, Gumroad’s embeddable checkout button and widget can come in handy, as they allow you to sell products directly from your own channels. Gumroad also has pretty robust audience analytics, which is a major plus for creators.
One important thing to note is that while Gumroad lets you sell virtually any digital product under the sun, it does not support the building of many digital products. You can create online courses on Gumroad, but other than that, your options are limited. This means you have to build the bulk of your digital products on a separate platform, and then come back to Gumroad to upload them.
While Gumroad charges a 10% transaction + $0.50 fee per sale (plus credit card processing fees), it doesn’t charge a subscription fee for using the platform. So, technically, Gumroad is free to use.
Read: Gumroad vs. Stan Store: Which Creator Store Platform Is Better?
Key features
- Online storefront with mobile-optimized checkout
- Sell memberships and subscriptions
- Online course builder
- Audience analytics
- Embeddable checkout button
Pricing
Free, with a 10% transaction fee + $0.50 per sale (plus credit card processing and PayPal fees). The transaction fee is 30% for digital products found via the Gumroad Discover Marketplace.
6. Linktree
Best known for being the OG link-in-bio tool on the market, Linktree has over 40 million users worldwide. While Linktree is first and foremost a link-in-bio tool, it comes with certain monetization features that give the creator platform some online store functionality, helping creators sell products, collect tips, and more.
For the best monetization options on Linktree, you’ll need to use one of its integrations to several popular online storefronts and digital payment gateway platforms like Paypal, Shopify, and Square. And while the platform makes it super easy for you to accept tips and request funds, it isn’t the strongest platform for selling digital products.
That being said, if you’re looking for an easy-to-use link-in-bio tool with some basic monetization features, then Linktree could be a good option for you. Some might want to pursue alternatives to Linktree with more advanced features, or a more all-in-one creator platform altogether.
Read: Stan Store vs. Linktree: Which Link-in-Bio Tool Is Better?
Key features
- Online storefront via third-party integrations (or host and sell digital products with paid account)
- Email list builder (only with paid plans)
- Email marketing via Mailchimp integration
- Advanced audience analytics (only with paid plans)
- Accept tips and request funds via in-app payment integrations
Pricing
Linktree offers a Free plan with limited features. For additional and advanced features, you can purchase a Starter plan for $5/month, a Pro plan for $9/month, or a Premium plan for $24/month.
Linktree also offers a 7-day free trial for its Pro plan, if you want to try out its premium features without committing right away.
7. Payhip
Payhip is a creator store platform with a focus on creators looking to sell digital downloads. In addition to its online storefront tool, the platform’s online course builder is tricked out with an assortment of useful features like drip content, quizzes, and assignments.
If you’re not looking to sell online courses, no worries. Payhip supports practically every digital product on the market. From ebooks to templates, simply upload them to your storefront and you’re ready to cash in. The platform also allows you to sell — and schedule — coaching sessions through its native calendar booking feature, as well as offer memberships and subscriptions.
If you’re looking to grow your business, Payhip offers users a marketing suite that includes coupons, an upselling feature, and referrals. For email marketing, Payhip has a robust array of integrations with apps like Mailchimp and Zapier to help you build your email list and send newsletters to your new customers.
Key features
- Online storefront with mobile-optimized checkout
- Online course builder
- Email marketing integrations (Mailchimp, Zapier, etc.)
- Marketing features like upselling, coupons, and referrals
- Native calendar bookings
- Audience analytics
Pricing
Payhip offers a Free plan with a 5% transaction fee, a Plus plan for $29/month with a 2% transaction fee, and a Pro plan for $99/month with no transaction fee.
All Payhip’s plans offer the same features. The only difference between the tiers is the percentage of transaction fees you pay per sale.
8. Sellfy
Sellfy is a creator platform that’s geared towards selling both physical and digital products. So, if you’re looking for a quick and simple way to get those products flying off the (digital) shelves, then this might be a good option for you.
One of Sellfy’s main selling points is that it has a user-friendly builder for websites that can get your online store up and running in just a few minutes. From there, you can upload an unlimited amount of digital products and even sell subscriptions and on-demand video. But, beware, the platform places a cap on just how much you can earn per pricing tier. If you plan on making more than $10,000 a year, you’ll have to upgrade to a higher-tiered plan.
While it lacks a digital product builder, Sellfy does offer a variety of marketing features geared towards conversion, like coupon codes and email marketing, which are available with even the lowest tier plan. If you want more advanced features, like product upselling and cart abandonment automation, you’ll have to level up your plan.
Key features
- Online storefront with mobile-optimized checkout
- Sell subscriptions
- Email collection
- Native email
- Coupon codes, upselling, and cart abandonment
Pricing
Sellfy’s Starter plan starts at $19/month, its Business plan starts at $49/month, and its Premium plan starts at $99/month. Prices vary depending on whether you want to pay monthly, annually, or bi-annually.
9. Shopify
Well-known for helping businesses and entrepreneurs sell their products, Shopify is a top dog in the ecommerce platform world. If you want to build your own store, this platform allows creators to sell physical and digital products from online courses to templates and more.
To start selling digital products and digital downloads, you’ll need to download and use Shopify’s free Digital Downloads app. From there, upload your product, disable the shipping option, and Shopify will deliver your products directly to your customers. You can also sell memberships and subscriptions, but you’ll need to integrate another app through Shopify’s app store.
While Shopify is a popular online store platform, it does require much more of a learning curve than other creator stores, and navigating its many apps may seem complicated to some. And while the platform has all sorts of robust features, including a powerful email marketing tool, it does come at a premium.
Key features
- Build your own store with mobile-optimized checkout
- Sell memberships and subscriptions through third-party app integrations
- Email marketing (at additional cost depending on number of emails sent)
- Email list builder
- Advanced audience analytics
Pricing
Shopify recommends its Basic plan (starting at $29/month) for solo entrepreneurs, its Shopify plan (starting $79/month) for small teams, and its Advanced plan (starting at $298/month) if you really want to scale your business. You can choose to pay for your plan in monthly or yearly installments.
Shopify charges transaction fees when you sell with third-party payment gateways (2% for Basic, 1% for Shopify plan, and 0.5% for Advanced plan). However, it waives these fees if you sell using the Shopify Payments app.
Choosing the best creator store for you
When it comes to choosing a single platform from this list, it might seem difficult at first. There are several factors to consider, most importantly your business needs, your audience’s needs, and your budget.
If you’re still feeling stumped after this article, may we make a suggestion?
If you want to create, sell, and promote your digital products all from one place and in no time at all, then The Leap is the only totally free, all-in-one creator store for you.
In addition to an AI-powered digital product builder and link-in-bio storefront, with The Leap, you also get an email list builder, advanced audience analytics, native calendar booking, and built-in email marketing features. What more do you need to supercharge your online business?
Who needs a physical store when you can monetize your knowledge? Try The Leap free today!
Build, market, and sell digital products all in one spot with The Leap!
FAQ
What is the best place to sell digital products?
The best place to sell digital products online is an ecommerce website builder that gives you the ability to upload and sell physical and digital products and services.
The best creator store platform will not only give you the ability to sell physical and digital products, but it should also offer you the option to create digital products, as well as offer more advanced marketing and sales features for understanding your audience and nurturing your leads.
Where is the best place to build an online store as a creator?
As a social media business creator looking to establish your own web store that sells physical and digital products, choosing the right platform is crucial for success.
While there are several options available, the best place to build a business creator store is on a platform that has a user-friendly interface, project management tool, custom domain options, customization options, and the ability to effortlessly set up your store, manage sales, process payments, and even build digital products to either sell or offer for free as lead magnets
Ideally, you find a creator store to supercharge your business like The Leap, which offers all of these features for free (with zero transaction fees), so you get to keep all the revenue generated from your products or services.
Is The Leap or Stan Store better?
The Leap and Stan Store offer similar functionality, including an online storefront builder and digital product builder. While the platforms are similar, The Leap is different from Stan in two big ways.
First, The Leap only offers a free plan, whereas Stan is only accessible through paid subscription ($29-99/month).
The second reason has to do with both platforms’ digital product builders. The Leap’s
AI-powered authoring tool allows users to create a range of engaging digital learning products — including mini-course, guides, tutorials, and challenges — faster and with less effort, whereas Stan’s tool only lets you build online courses.
So, when shopping for ecommerce websites to start selling online (via your social media platform as a link-in-bio tool or website), the only online store where you can truly do it all in one place with advanced features is The Leap.
Create and sell digital products in minutes using The Leap!
Follow The Leap on TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube for more creator tool and platform reviews. We also make a newsletter.
Further reading
- 11 Best Platforms To Sell Digital Products Online
- The Leap vs. Stan Store: Which Creator Store Platform Should You Choose?
- Stan Store vs. Beacons: Which Creator Store Platform Should You Choose?
- Snipfeed vs. Linktree: Which Link-In-Bio Tool Is Better?
- Gumroad vs. Stan: Which Link-In-Bio Tool Is Better?
- How To Write Digital Product Descriptions for Your Online Store (Tips + Free Template)
