Payhip

This Payhip review covers what the tool does, its features, Payhip pricing and fees, how it compares with Gumroad and other options, and who it suits. Payhip gives creators a hosted store and checkout to sell digital products without building a website. You upload a file or build a course, set a price, and share a product link or your store page. Payhip delivers the product, takes the payment through your own Stripe or PayPal account and sends the money on right away.

What is Payhip used for?

Payhip is used by creators, teachers, coaches and small businesses who sell digital products to their own audience and want to offer them from one store. Typical sales are ebooks, templates, printables, presets, music, software and other digital downloads. On the same account a seller can run online courses, paid memberships with monthly or yearly subscriptions, one-to-one or group coaching, and a small range of physical products. The store works as a simple website, so a seller does not need a separate site builder to start.

Key features

• Digital downloads: upload digital products of any file type, set a fixed price or offer a pay-what-you-want price, and let Payhip deliver the download after each sale.
• Online courses: videos, files, quizzes and assignments, with drip release and certificates (Payhip courses).
• Memberships: multiple tiers with recurring subscriptions and members-only content (Payhip memberships).
• Coaching: scheduled one-to-one sessions or group calls sold from the same store (Payhip coaching).
• Marketing tools: coupons, upsells, cross-sells, a referral system and an affiliate program, all available on the free plan, plus email marketing and integrations with Mailchimp, AWeber and GetResponse.
• Taxes: Payhip calculates and collects EU and UK VAT on digital products, so a seller does not handle those rules alone (Payhip help).

Payhip pricing and fees

Payhip has three plans, and every plan includes all features, unlimited products and unlimited revenue. The only difference is the fee Payhip takes on each sale. According to Payhip's billing help, as checked in September 2026:

• Free: $0 a month and a 5% fee on each transaction.
• Plus: $29 a month and a 2% fee.
• Pro: $99 a month and no Payhip fee.

Stripe and PayPal still charge their own processing fees on every plan, usually around 2.9% plus $0.30 per card payment. The break-even points are simple: Plus pays off once a seller makes about $967 a month, and Pro once sales pass about $3,500 a month. Below that, the free plan is the cheapest choice, and creators can switch plans from month to month as sales change.

Payhip vs Gumroad for digital products

Payhip and Gumroad are the two tools creators compare most when they sell digital products. Both let you sell downloads, subscriptions and memberships from a hosted page, and both work without building a website. The difference is the fee model. Gumroad takes 10% plus $0.50 of every direct sale, while Payhip starts at 5% and drops to 2% or 0% on a monthly plan. For creators with steady sales, that makes Payhip the cheaper choice: at about $5,000 a month in sales, PassiveKit puts Gumroad's fees near $500 against roughly $129 on Payhip Plus.

Gumroad's advantage is its Discover marketplace, which can offer your products to new buyers, though those sales carry a higher fee. Payhip has no marketplace, so it suits creators who are building their own audience through email, social media or a blog and want to sell to them directly. PassiveKit points to Gumroad's move to a flat 10% fee as the reason creators stop using Gumroad and compare Payhip: the same products, a lower fee, and more ways to sell. Payhip also covers courses and coaching in the same store. Skywork's comparison rates Gumroad faster for setting up a single product, while Payhip keeps a record of every sale, subscription and customer across more product types as you grow.

How Payhip pays you

Payhip does not hold your money. Each sale goes straight to the Stripe or PayPal account you connect. Stripe then pays out to your bank daily by default, or weekly, monthly or manually if you change it. A first PayPal sale can be held for a short approval, after which PayPal payments arrive instantly (Payhip help). Before you choose Payhip, check which payment methods work in your country and what currency conversion costs.

Where Payhip shines — and where it falls short

Strengths:

• One store for downloads, courses, memberships and coaching, with no monthly cost to start.
• Low fees at scale compared with flat-fee platforms such as Gumroad.
• Every marketing feature is on the free plan.
• Direct payouts to your own Stripe or PayPal account.

Trade-offs:

• No marketplace, so creators must bring every buyer themselves.
• Store design is simple and less flexible than a full website builder.
• Subscriptions are tied to Payhip, so moving platform later can stop recurring payments.
• Analytics are basic for larger stores.

How Payhip compares

• Gumroad: the closest alternative. Gumroad takes 10% plus $0.50 per direct sale but has a Discover marketplace that can send buyers.
• Podia: courses, memberships and email in one tool, with a monthly subscription.
• Kajabi: a bigger all-in-one creator platform with a higher monthly price.
• Shopify: a full e-commerce store, better for physical products and larger catalogs.
• Stripe: payment links and checkout for developers who build their own store.

Is Payhip worth it?

Payhip is worth it for creators building a business around digital products who already have an audience and want a low-cost store for digital products, courses or memberships. The free plan lets you start selling today, and the paid plans cut the fee as sales grow. It is less of a fit if you need buyers to find you through a marketplace, a highly custom design, or advanced analytics. If you want help setting up a store or connecting Payhip to your other tools, the low-code developers on LowCodeDevs can help.

Sources

• Payhip billing and upgrading: plans and transaction fees.
• Payhip: How do I get paid?: payouts through Stripe and PayPal.
• Payhip: Digital EU VAT and UK VAT: tax handling.
• Payhip courses, memberships and coaching: product types.
• Payhip vs Gumroad, PassiveKit: fee comparison and the subscription portability risk.
• Payhip review, Remogrid: traffic and payout caveats.