Gumroad vs. Payhip vs. Lemon Squeezy
Which Actually Pays Creators More?
If you sell digital products, you’ve probably gone back and forth on this.
Gumroad is the obvious one everyone knows. Payhip is the one people recommend when they want to pay less. Lemon Squeezy is the one that got bought by Stripe and nobody’s quite sure what to make of it anymore.
All three do roughly the same thing. The fees are where it gets interesting.
The actual numbers
Let’s skip the feature comparisons for a second and just talk about what you keep.
Gumroad charges 10% + $0.50 per transaction. No monthly fee. They also are a Merchant of Record, which means they handle sales tax and VAT globally on your behalf.
Payhip has three tiers. Free plan: 5% fee. Plus: $29/month with a 2% fee. Pro: $99/month with 0% platform fee. Payment processing (Stripe or PayPal) is extra on all plans, roughly 2.9% + $0.30 per transaction.
Lemon Squeezy charges 5% + $0.50 per transaction, all-inclusive. They’ve always been a Merchant of Record too, so taxes are handled. They were acquired by Stripe in 2024 and are currently transitioning to something called Stripe Managed Payments, but the platform still works as-is.
What that looks like with real money
Say you sell a $20 digital product and make 100 sales. That’s $2,000 gross.
Gumroad takes 10% ($200) plus $0.50 per sale ($50). You keep $1,750.
Payhip on the free plan takes 5% ($100) plus payment processing at 2.9% + $0.30 ($88). You keep about $1,812.
Lemon Squeezy takes 5% ($100) plus $0.50 per sale ($50). You keep $1,850.
At this volume, Lemon Squeezy wins. Gumroad loses by a fair margin.
Now let’s try $50 products, 100 sales. $5,000 gross.
Gumroad: 10% + $0.50 fees = $550. You keep $4,450.
Payhip free: 5% + processing = $250 + $145 = $395. You keep $4,605.
Lemon Squeezy: 5% + $0.50 = $250 + $50 = $300. You keep $4,700.
Lemon Squeezy still wins. Payhip is second. Gumroad consistently comes last on the free tier math.
The only scenario where Gumroad starts making sense is if you’re doing serious volume and their MoR tax handling saves you more in accountant fees than the 10% costs you. For most indie creators, that math doesn’t add up.
Payhip Pro
On paper, Payhip Pro looks attractive. $99/month and zero platform fees. Just payment processing.
But do the math.
At $99/month, you need to save more than $99/month in fees compared to the free plan just to break even. On the free plan you pay 5%. So you need to be moving over $1,980/month in sales before Pro starts saving you anything.
If you’re doing $5,000/month, Pro saves you about $150 in fees but costs $99 in subscription. Net: $51/month better.
That’s real but it’s not exciting.
If you’re doing $10,000/month, the math is better. You save around $400 in fees and pay $99 for the plan. Net: $300/month better. Now it’s worth it.
Below $2,000/month in sales, just stay on the free plan.
The Lemon Squeezy situation
Worth addressing directly: Lemon Squeezy got acquired by Stripe in July 2024.
They’re not shutting down. They’re being folded into Stripe Managed Payments, which is essentially Stripe building a proper Merchant of Record solution. Lemon Squeezy keeps running as normal in the meantime.
Whether that’s good or bad news depends on your perspective. Stripe is a serious company and the MoR functionality could get much better. But you’re also building on a platform that’s clearly mid-transition, and nobody knows exactly what pricing looks like on the other side.
For new creators starting today, that’s a real uncertainty. For existing Lemon Squeezy users, probably fine for now.
The tax thing actually matters
All three platforms now claim to handle sales tax in some form. But the details differ.
Gumroad became a Merchant of Record in January 2025. They handle global tax collection and remittance. If you’re selling to customers in Germany, the EU, or anywhere else with complicated digital goods tax rules, Gumroad now deals with that automatically.
Lemon Squeezy has always been a MoR. Same story.
Payhip also handles EU and UK VAT.
If you’re based in Europe or selling a lot to Europe, that’s really important.
So which one?
High volume, international sales, want simplicity: Gumroad. The 10% stings, but the tax handling is included and the platform is stable and feature-rich.
Low to medium volume, mostly US sales, want to keep more: Payhip free plan. The math is hard to beat at under $2,000/month in sales.
SaaS products, subscriptions, or anything where Merchant of Record really matters: Lemon Squeezy, with the caveat that you’re watching how the Stripe transition plays out.
None of them are the answer for every creator. But at least now you can run your own numbers instead of taking someone’s word for it.