Payhip alternatives: 7 platforms for selling patterns

Payhip alternatives at a glance

The seven Payhip alternatives for pattern designers are Etsy, Ravelry, Gumroad, Ko-fi, Sellfy, Stan Store and Shopify, and each suits one kind of seller better than Payhip. Payhip itself is $0 a month on Free Forever plus a 5% transaction fee, $29 a month on Plus plus 2%, and $99 a month on Pro with none, as read on 6 October 2026.

Etsy and Ravelry: a marketplace and a pattern site

Etsy charges $0.20 a listing, which lasts four months and is charged again when an auto-renewing listing sells, plus a 6.5% transaction fee and, with a US bank account, 3% plus $0.25 payment processing. A one-time, non-refundable shop fee also applies; its US amount is not on the help pages read.

A digital listing holds up to five files of 20MB each and cannot have variations, where Payhip allows files up to 5GB and variants. Payhip vs Etsy compares the two fee by fee.

Ravelry is the pattern-specific option. Its help says a purchased pattern can be added to a library where it stays available, and a designer selling more than $30 a month in patterns pays a small fee. The percentage sits on a sign-in page, so none is printed here.

To correct a PDF on Ravelry, add the new file before removing the old one, then publish an update notice to buyers. Ravelry's About page describes nearly half a million patterns for download, which is its own description, not a traffic figure. Payhip vs Ravelry weighs the two.

Gumroad and Ko-fi: a cut of each sale, no monthly fee on Ko-fi Standard

Gumroad has no monthly fee and charges 10% plus $0.50 on direct sales and 30% through its Discover marketplace; its help center says the direct-sale fee does not include card processing. Gumroad also says it has handled all of a seller's tax obligations since January 1, 2025. Payhip vs Gumroad sets the two side by side.

Ko-fi Standard is $0 a month plus a 5% service fee, with normal payment processor fees on top, and payments go to your own PayPal or Stripe account. Ko-fi Gold is $12 a month with a 0% service fee, though Ko-fi's Gold page says you no longer need it. Ko-fi's pricing page calls the $0 tier Standard, while its Gold page calls it Contributor.

Sellfy and Stan Store: a monthly plan and no transaction fee

Sellfy Starter is $29 a month, or $22 a month on yearly billing, and Sellfy says it charges no transaction fee. Starter covers up to $10k in sales per year, and above a plan's limits Sellfy says it may start to charge a 2% overage fee. One product can hold up to 50 files. Sellfy gives a 14-day free trial and a 30-day refund from the upgrade.

Stan Creator is $29 a month or $300 a year per Stan's help center, with a 0% transaction fee and a 14-day free trial. Payhip shows a monthly price only, so set it against Sellfy's $29 and Stan's $29 a month; Sellfy's $22 assumes yearly billing and Stan's $300 is a year price. Payhip vs Stan Store compares the plans.

Shopify: downloads beside a full online store

Shopify's Digital Products app is listed as free in the Shopify App Store. It combines digital files with product variants and sets access limits, and Shopify's help center says there are no additional fees for selling digital products on a store. Shopify's plan prices are on its own pricing page, so none is printed here. It fits a designer who already runs a Shopify store.

When Payhip is still the better fit

Payhip is the better fit for a designer who wants a store of their own with every feature on the Free Forever plan, files up to 5GB, variants for sizes and formats, and corrected files that reach past buyers through their original link. Payhip also says it handles US sales tax at no cost. Before leaving, weigh that Payhip's Free Forever plan already costs $0 a month, asks for no card and charges 5% only on a sale.