Payhip vs Gumroad: fees per sale, tax and pattern files

Payhip vs Gumroad: the short answer

Gumroad keeps 10% plus $0.50 of each direct sale and charges no monthly fee. Payhip's transaction fee is 5% on Free Forever at $0 a month, 2% on Plus at $29 a month and none on Pro at $99 a month, as read on 6 October 2026.

Fees on each sale: Payhip plans against Gumroad's cut

Gumroad's pricing page charges 10% plus $0.50 on sales through your profile or direct links, and a flat 30% when a new customer finds you through its Discover marketplace. Gumroad's help center says the 30% includes all processing fees, while the 10% plus $0.50 on direct sales does not include card processing or PayPal fees.

PayPal or Stripe charge their own standard rates on every Payhip plan, separately from Payhip's fee. On Free Forever, Payhip's 5% is below Gumroad's 10% plus $0.50 on any direct sale, before either platform's processor charges. Plus and Pro cost $29 and $99 a month where Gumroad has no monthly fee. Payhip fees lays out all three plans.

Taxes: merchant of record or sales tax collection

Gumroad says it has handled all of a seller's tax obligations since January 1, 2025, and its sales tax help says it acts as the Merchant of Record for all sales, handling tax collection and remittance.

Payhip says it has collected and paid US sales tax on the seller's behalf from July 1, 2026, at no cost, and that it is fully compliant to collect and remit EU and UK VAT automatically. Its help center adds that a seller may still have to file a state sales tax return. Is Payhip legit follows the money and tax flow.

Pattern files: variants, versions and protection

Payhip variants are options of one digital product, with a name, a price, a description and assigned files, so a pattern can offer sizes or print formats. Gumroad lets buyers pick from versions such as PDF, ePub and Mobi, and each version has a name, a description and an additional amount over the base price.

Deleting differs. Payhip's help center says past buyers keep the files of a deleted variant, while Gumroad says buyers of a deleted version see the content of the current cheapest version. In Payhip a corrected PDF replaces the old file, and past buyers reach it through the link in their original receipt email.

For sharing, Payhip's help center says PDF stamping prints the buyer's email address and purchase date on every page of a portrait PDF below 250MB, and that a seller sets a download limit. Gumroad's help says its PDF stamp adds the buyer's email and a Gumroad logo to the first page only. Gumroad's features page says it can create "lightweight DRM" (digital rights management), but its stamping help says it has no DRM solutions.

Which one to pick

• Gumroad for a seller who wants all tax obligations handled and a Discover marketplace that Gumroad says recommends products beyond a seller's own audience: 10% plus $0.50 a direct sale, 30% through Discover, no monthly fee.
• Payhip for a designer who wants a smaller platform cut per sale, variants with assigned files and corrected files that reach past buyers: $0 a month on Free Forever, plus 5% a sale.

To compare the two on real sales, a Payhip store on the Free Forever plan costs nothing a month, needs no card and takes 5% only when a pattern sells. Gumroad alternatives lists other options.