Gumroad vs Sellfy: Which One Keeps More Of Every Digital Product Sale

Selling a digital product -- a template pack, a course, a preset bundle -- comes down to two different fee structures on these platforms, and neither one is as simple as it first looks. Gumroad charges a percentage of every sale and nothing up front. Sellfy charges a flat monthly subscription plus its own payment-processing cut on every sale -- it is not the pure flat-fee platform it can appear to be at a glance. Which one keeps more of a given month's sales depends on sales volume and average sale price, not on which platform is "cheaper" in the abstract.

Gumroad: Pay Per Sale, Nothing Up Front

Gumroad's core fee on a direct sale -- a customer buying through a creator's own profile or a direct link -- runs 10% + $0.50 per transaction. There is no monthly charge at all; a creator with zero sales pays Gumroad nothing that month. Gumroad also has a second fee tier for sales made through its own Discover marketplace, where new customers browse and find products directly on Gumroad -- that separate marketplace rate isn't cited here, since its wording on Gumroad's page sits close to the direct-sale fee's own explanation. Check Gumroad's own pricing page directly for the current Discover marketplace rate if selling through Discover specifically. Start selling on Gumroad with no monthly commitment.

Sellfy: A Flat Subscription, Plus Its Own Per-Sale Cost

Sellfy runs a different structure -- a flat subscription rather than a Gumroad-style percentage on every sale -- but it is not fee-free per sale either. Billed monthly, its entry tier runs $39/month, the middle tier $79/month, and the top published tier $159/month. Paid annually, those drop to $29/month, $59/month, and $119/month respectively -- a real discount that requires committing to a year up front. On top of that subscription, Sellfy sellers also cover their own payment processor's cut, which Sellfy's own site names as 2.9% plus a per-transaction cents charge through PayPal or Stripe -- a real per-sale cost that sits on every single transaction regardless of subscription tier. Check Sellfy's current plans to see how those tier prices compare today.

The Sales-Cap Catch

Each Sellfy tier is also capped by annual sales volume, and going over that cap adds a 2% charge on the revenue above the limit rather than an automatic silent upgrade. A seller who picks the entry tier expecting a flat, predictable monthly cost and then has a breakout month can end up paying that overage fee on top of the subscription -- the "flat fee" only stays flat below the tier's own sales ceiling.

A Worked Example: One Month, Different Sales Counts

Take a digital template selling for a flat forty dollars. On Gumroad, ten sales in a month means the 10% + $0.50 fee applies ten separate times -- more sales always means more total fees paid, but a month with zero sales costs nothing. On Sellfy's entry tier, that same ten sales means the flat $39/month subscription applies regardless of the sales count, plus the 2.9% processor cut on each of those ten sales -- a cost that does not disappear even in a slower month, unless the seller downgrades or cancels. Whether Gumroad's per-sale fee or Sellfy's subscription-plus-processor-fee ends up costing more in a given month depends entirely on how many sales close and at what price -- a seller closing very few sales in a slow month pays less on Gumroad by design, while a seller with steady, high-volume months may pay less on Sellfy once the subscription cost is spread across enough transactions.

When To Choose Gumroad

Gumroad fits a seller with inconsistent or still-unproven sales volume: no subscription to justify in a slow month, no annual sales cap to track, and a single published fee structure 10% + $0.50 to plan around per sale. The tradeoff is that fee applies to every sale forever, with no volume discount published on the page for scaling past any particular threshold.

When To Choose Sellfy

Sellfy fits a seller with steady, predictable sales volume comfortably under a tier's annual cap, where the flat $39/month-and-up subscription plus the processor cut ends up smaller than what a pure percentage fee would take across that same volume. The tradeoff is the subscription cost applies every month regardless of sales, and an unexpectedly strong month can trigger the 2% charge if it pushes past the tier's sales cap.

Platform Terms Change -- Verify Before Committing

Fee structures, processor rates, and plan terms on both platforms are subject to change without much notice. Verify the current fee percentage and any processor surcharges on Gumroad, and the current tier prices and sales caps on Sellfy, directly on each platform's own pricing page before choosing -- especially before committing to an annual plan on either side.

The Bottom Line

Neither platform is truly fee-free past the subscription or the percentage: Gumroad's 10% + $0.50 per-transaction fee has no monthly charge behind it, while Sellfy's flat $39/month-and-up subscription still carries its own payment-processor cut and a sales-cap overage risk. Estimate a realistic monthly sales count and average sale price before picking either platform: low or inconsistent volume favors Gumroad's no-subscription structure, while steady volume comfortably under a Sellfy tier's sales cap favors the flat subscription once the processor cut is priced in.

For more ways creators sell digital products and templates, see the Affiliate and Creator Income hub, including How to Make Money with CapCut Templates and Amazon Influencer Program Without Followers.