Platform Reviews

10 Best Payhip Alternatives for Selling Digital Products (2024)

by · Updated Nov 8, 2024

If you are a creator looking for an online store to sell digital products, then you’ve likely heard of Payhip. While Payhip is a great option for selling digital products, the platform charges 2-5% transaction fees on its lower tiered plans, which can add up over time. The good news is that there are other alternatives on the market that take a smaller cut of your sales, and sometimes even offer more robust features. 

Read on as we break down the 10 best Payhip alternatives, including their pricing and key features.

Click here to start creating and selling digital products with The Leap. It’s free!

Payhip alternatives at a glance 

Best overallThe Leap
Designed to help creators kickstart their monetization journey, The Leap lets you create, market, and sell digital products all from one place, for free!
Best for online course buildingThinkific
With a robust toolkit of AI-powered features, Thinkific has what you need to build and sell online courses to generate passive income.
Best for community buildingKo-fi
Ko-fi gives your audience a space to donate tips and send messages of appreciation, which can help foster a sense of community. 

Best Payhip alternatives 

Payhip alternatives comparison 

PlatformPricing and key features
PayhipPrice: Free (5% transaction fee) – $99/month (0% transaction fee) 

Digital product builder: ✅

Types of digital products you can build: Online courses

Generative AI: ❌

Email marketing: ✅

Flexible payment options: ✅
The LeapPrice: Free!

Digital product builder: ✅

Types of digital products you can build: Mini-courses, guides, tutorials, challenges

Generative AI: ✅

Email marketing: ✅

Flexible payment options: ✅
ThinkificPrice: $36-$149/month

Digital product builder: ✅

Types of digital products you can build: Online courses 

Generative AI: ✅

Email marketing: ✅

Flexible payment options: ✅
GumroadPrice: Free + 10% transaction fee

Digital product builder: ❌

Generative AI: ❌

Email marketing: ✅

Flexible payment options: ✅
SellfyPrice: $22-$119/month 

Digital product builder: ❌

Generative AI: ❌

Email marketing: ✅

Flexible payment options: ✅
ShopifyPrice: $29-$298/month

Digital product builder: ❌

Generative AI: ✅

Email marketing: ✅

Flexible payment options: ✅
SnipfeedPrice: $20-$59/month

Digital product builder: ✅ (via integration) 

Types of digital products you can build: Online courses 

Generative AI: ✅

Email marketing: ✅

Flexible payment options: ❌
Etsy Price: Free – $10/per month

Digital product builder: ❌

Generative AI: ❌

Email marketing: ❌

Flexible payment options: ✅
StanPrice: $29-$99/month 

Digital product builder: ✅

Types of digital products you can build: Online courses 

Generative AI: ❌

Email marketing: ✅

Flexible payment options: ✅
Ko-fiPrice: $0-$6/month 

Digital product builder: ❌

Generative AI: ❌

Email marketing: ✅ (via integration) 

Flexible payment options: ✅
SendOwlPrice: $9-$39/month + various transaction fees

Digital product builder: ❌

Generative AI: ❌

Email marketing: ✅

Flexible payment options: ✅

1. The Leap

🏆 Best overall: Looking for the ultimate creator store to build, sell, and market your digital products all from one place — and for free? Then you’ll want to get in on The Leap.

This all-in-one platform functions as a link-in-bio storefront, an AI-powered digital product builder, and an email list builder. Designed with lead generation and sales in mind, The Leap helps creators transform their knowledge into digital products and their followers into paying customers, quickly and easily.

The Leap’s AI-powered digital product builder enables creators to create a range of bingeable, bite-sized learning products, including mini-courses, tutorials, guides, and challenges. Plus, The Leap’s digital product builder is powered by AI, meaning it can generate product drafts for you in seconds, saving you time and effort. It also helps you create effective lead magnets for growing your email list.

What’s more, The Leap offers users built-in email marketing automation features, in addition to audience analytics and flexible payment options.

The Leap is designed for creators looking to kickstart their monetization journey. And by leveraging all of its features at once, you’ll build yourself an income engine that’ll earn you more (and more) money over time.

The best part about The Leap? It’s free to use!

Key features

Pricing

Free! Sign up for The Leap today to start creating and selling digital products.

image

Build, market, and sell digital products all in one spot with The Leap!


2. Thinkific

🏆 Best for robust course creation: The leading platform for online course creation, Thinkific is designed specifically for monetizing knowledge. This all-in-one platform is designed to enable creators, educators, coaches, and infopreneurs to build online courses and start making money from their expertise. As for your video content, Thinkific offers unlimited video hosting on all plans, so you don’t have to worry about running out of space or paying for more.

payhip alternatives online store sell digital products thinkific

The platform is designed specifically for creator educators and comes equipped with simple, ready-to-use templates to get you started. Thinkific has an entire suite of free AI tools for course creators, including a course idea generator, social posts generator, course outline and quiz generator, and more. 

Key features

  • Customizable online storefront
  • Online course builder
  • AI Course Outline Generator, Quiz Generator, and more 
  • Built-in marketing and e-commerce features
  • Flexible payment options 

Pricing

Thinkifc offers a free test-drive plan with limited features. For more advanced features, you’ll need to upgrade to its Basic plan ($36/month), Start plan ($74/month), or Grow plan ($149/month).


3. Gumroad

🏆 Best for artists and musicians: Gumroad is a go-to platform for many creators selling digital products to their audiences. 

Gumroad allows users to create a digital storefront from which they can sell pretty much any digital product imaginable. We’re talking from ebooks to templates, online courses to printable art, and beyond. If you’re looking to sell subscriptions and memberships, Gumroad also has you covered. 

payhip alternatives online store sell digital products gumroad

Gumroad also makes it easy to sell your products through different channels (like your website, blog, newsletters, and more) through its embeddable checkout buttons and widgets. The platform arrives with email marketing functionality, so you can build your email list and email workflows to increase sales.

Key features

  • Online storefront
  • Embeddable checkout buttons
  • Sell memberships and subscriptions
  • Email marketing and email list builder
  • Audience analytics

Pricing

Free, with a 10% transaction fee per sale.


4. Sellfy

🏆 Best for unique marketing tools: Sellfy is a lightweight platform geared towards selling digital products. Its user-friendly online store builder helps you get your store up and running in just a few minutes. Once it’s online, you can upload as many digital products as you want, and even sell subscriptions and on-demand video.

payhip alternatives online store sell digital products sellfy

However, it’s important to note that Sellfy places a cap on just how much income you can earn per pricing tier. For example, if you plan on making more than $10,000/year, you’ll have to upgrade from Sellfy’s basic plan to a higher tier.

Sellfy also doesn’t offer a digital product builder. However, it does have an array of marketing tools geared towards conversion. For example, its Starter plan offers email marketing and coupons, while more advanced plans offer product upselling and cart abandonment automation.

Key features

  • Online storefront
  • Digital product hosting services
  • Email collection
  • Marketing tools like coupon codes, upselling, and cart abandonment
  • Audience and sales analytics
  • No listing or transaction fees

Pricing

Rather than charging users a transaction fee per sale, Sellfy offers three tiers of plans — Starter, Business, and Premium — which can be subscribed to on a monthly or yearly basis. The platform’s Starter plan begins at $22/month, its Business plan starts at $59/month, and its Premium plan starts at $119/month.

image

Create your lead magnets in minutes using The Leap!


5. Shopify

🏆 Best for digital and physical product sales: You might have already heard that Shopify is popular for selling stuff online — and that includes digital products. In addition to physical merch, this Payhip alternative allows creators to sell virtually any kind of digital product. However, it may not feel as intuitive to use as other Payhip alternatives on the market. 

payhip alternatives online store sell digital products shopify

To start selling digital products, you’ll need to download and use Shopify’s free Digital Downloads app. From there, upload your product and disable shipping, then Shopify will deliver your digital product directly to your customers. If you’d like to sell memberships and subscriptions, you’ll also need to integrate another third-party app through the Shopify app store.

Key features

  • Online storefront
  • Email marketing (at additional cost depending on the 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. 

Keep in mind that Shopify charges transaction fees when you sell using third-party payment gateways (2% for Basic, 1% for Shopify plan, and 0.5% for the Advanced plan). However, it waives these fees if you sell using the Shopify Payments app.


6. Snipfeed

🏆 Best for email and SMS marketing: Snipfeed is all about helping creators monetize their social audience in one click through on-demand content, direct interactions, and selling digital products.

payhip alternatives online store sell digital products snipfeed

While the platform focuses on monetization through digital services and products, it doesn’t have a built-in digital product builder for creating said products. However, it does have an online course builder integration, marketing tools, and a tip feature. That means that, you can upload pretty much any digital product onto Snipfeed and create online courses via integrations, just don’t expect the ability to build other products on the platform directly.

Key features 

  • Online store 
  • Create online courses via Canva integration 
  • Use ChatGPT to generate text descriptions 
  • Incorporate tipping feature 
  • Automated email workflows 
  • 0% transaction fees 

Pricing 

Snipfeed’s Pro plan is $20 per month and its Pro Plus plan is $59 per month. Snipfeed charges 0% transaction fees across all of its plans. 


7. Etsy

🏆 Best for global audience reach: Etsy is known as a marketplace for handmade and vintage goods, but it also offers options for creators selling digital products like printable art and digital downloads. One of the benefits of Etsy is that creators can set up a shop and reach a large audience of buyers who are interested in discovering unique and creative products.

payhip alternatives online store sell digital products etsy

The platform has a large and active community of buyers, making it easy for creators to reach potential customers. Etsy also offers custom listing options, and marketing tools to help creators promote their products and grow their businesses. 

Etsy is best suited for creators who are looking to sell digital products alongside physical products, or who have a unique or handmade product that would fit well within the Etsy community. Overall, it can be ideal for creators who are just starting out and want to test the waters with their products. Just keep in mind that this platform comes with steep transaction fees.

Key features

  • Mobile-optimized online storefront
  • Large and engaged community of buyers 
  • Easy to set up and use 
  • Access to a global market
  • Supports a wide range of products

Pricing

Etsy Standard plan is free to use. The Etsy Plus plan is $10/month and comes with certain perks like advanced customization options. Etsy charges a $0.20 listing fee for each product and takes a 6.5% transaction fee on the sale price.


8. Stan

🏆 Best for advanced marketing features: Stan has grown in popularity as a creator store in the last few years. “Why?” you ask. Because it boasts many features that help creators start selling and marketing their digital products.

stan store creator store platform tool link in bio sell digital products

In addition to its online store feature, the platform provides a host of marketing features. For example, its basic plan enables users to build out their email list with opt-in forms, while its pro plan provides users with email marketing capabilities, as well as pixel tracking to retarget followers.

Key features

  • Mobile-optimized online storefront
  • Customizable themes 
  • Online course builder 
  • Email marketing
  • Pixel tracking

Pricing

Stan’s Creator plan is $29/month, and its Pro plan will run you $99/month.


9. Ko-fi

🏆 Best for community building: Ko-fi is a platform designed to help creators monetize their content through donations, monthly memberships, and product sales.

payhip alternatives online store sell digital products ko-fi

One key advantage of Ko-fi is its focus on community-building. The platform offers features like live streaming and messaging to help creators connect with their audience and build a following. Additionally, Ko-fi offers a range of integrations with platforms like Twitch, YouTube, and Discord, making it a great option for creators who are active across multiple platforms. 

If you’re a creator who wants to sell digital products and physical merchandise, plus offer memberships and accept donations from your audience, then Ko-fi could be a good option for you. 

Key features

  • Mobile-optimized online storefront
  • Sell subscriptions, memberships, and commissions
  • Integrated payment system with PayPal, Stripe, and Apple Pay
  • Option to receive support without the pressure of ongoing subscription payments
  • Third-party integrations with Zapier, WordPress, and more 

Pricing

While Ko-fi has a free plan, it does take a 5% transaction fee on all sales. Ko-fi’s Gold plan starts at $6/month and charges 0% transaction fees on all sales. Ko-fi doesn’t charge any transaction fees on donations. 


10. SendOwl

🏆 Best for secure sales: SendOwl allows you to sell digital products, subscriptions, memberships, and more. It also comes with some unique features like PDF stamping, 2-factor authentication, download limits, and software license keys for extra security.

payhip alternatives online store sell digital products sendowl

SendOwl supports multiple currencies and payment methods and offers a tip jar and pay-what-you-want pricing feature. Its built-in marketing tools are plentiful including abandoned cart analytics and automated email follow-ups.

Overall, SendOwl is ideal for small to medium-sized digital businesses that need an all-in-one solution for selling digital products, managing affiliates, and automating product delivery. 

Key features

  • Online storefront
  • Embeddable checkout buttons
  • Customizable checkout pages and built-in affiliate marketing system
  • Audience analytics
  • Flexible payment options including discounts and upsells 

Pricing

Starter plan at $9/month (plus 5% transaction fee) for 10GB storage; Growth plan at $15/month (plus $0.33 per transaction) for 100GB storage; or Pro plan at $39/month (plus $0.17 per transaction) for 200 GB storage.

What to look for in a Payhip alternative 

When it comes to finding the perfect Payhip alternative for you, there are a few key features you’ll want to consider:

Low (or zero) transaction fees

Whether or not you pay transaction fees is most likely going to have the biggest impact on your digital product business. With Payhip, you have to pay a whopping $99/month for 0% transaction fees. 

Certain platforms like Snipfeed offer 0% transaction fees across all plans. However, you still have to pay a monthly subscription. 

As it stands, the only all-in-one creator store on the market that charges a 0% transaction fee and is 100% free is The Leap

Build your link-in-bio creator store with The Leap today. It’s free!

Ability to sell and build digital products from one place

Another important factor when considering a Payhip alternative is whether or not you can sell and create digital products on the same platform.

If you’re looking for an online store platform that allows you to create, sell, and market multiple types of digital products — like mini-courses, tutorials, guides, and more — then The Leap is your best bet. Plus, The Leap’s digital product builder is AI-powered, meaning it can help you build digital products in just minutes

image

Create and sell digital products in minutes using The Leap!

Flexible payment options

When shopping for an ideal Payhip alternative, flexible payment options may not be on your radar at first, but they can be a big game changer. Why? Offering your audience flexible payment options can make the difference between having a prospect and gaining an actual customer. 

Payhip comes with pay-what-you-want pricing and the ability to offer subscription payments. However, it lacks certain payment option flexibility that alternatives like The Leap offer, such as coupons/discount codes, one-click payments via Apple Wallet, or Buy Now, Pay Later payment plans with Klarna, Afterpay, or Affirm.  

Boost your digital product sales with The Leap’s flexible selling and payment options.

Build and sell digital products with The Leap

If you’re looking for a free platform to create and sell your digital products, without any transaction fee, Payhip might not be your best bet. However, there are several alternatives on the market with similar, or more robust features that cost less — like The Leap!

The Leap provides you with everything you need to start selling your digital products, so you can start monetizing your audience now — and it’s free!

The Leap provides you with the essential tools for creating, selling, and marketing your digital products to your audience, including an AI-powered digital product builder, an email list buildernative calendar booking, and built-in email marketing automation features. And that’s not all! The Leap’s user-friendly store builder allows you to set up your link-in-bio store in just a few minutes, so you can start selling your digital products ASAP. 

Long story short, The Leap saves you time and brainpower, enabling you to create engaging digital products fast. And it’s totally free to use! Sign up for The Leap today to start creating and selling digital products.

image

Build, market, and sell digital products all in one spot with The Leap!

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Further reading

jenni stablein
About the author

Jenni Stablein

Jenni Stablein is a content marketer and freelance writer passionate about producing compelling and educational content for a range of clients across tech, fashion, product design, and art. When she's not writing, Jenni is nerding out about clouds (yes, clouds) or how to keep things alive in her garden. 
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