Digital goods storefront with memberships, courses, and simple pricing.
Starts at Free (5% fee) · $29/mo (2% fee) · $99/mo (0% fee) · Best for digital download sellers, course creators (basic), coaches selling pdfs + templates.
Last reviewed November 2, 2026
Overview
Quick facts about Payhip.
- Launched
- 2011 (London)
- Headquarters
- London, UK
- Ownership
- Private (bootstrapped)
- Scale
- ~130,000+ creators
- Known for
- The UK-based Gumroad alternative with tiered flat pricing.
Pros & cons
The honest breakdown.
What's great
- Free to start — pay only on sales (5% platform fee)
- Paid plans drop fee to 2% or 0% at $29 or $99/mo
- Supports digital files, courses, coaching, memberships, physical goods
- EU VAT + US sales tax handling included
- Clean, simple UI — zero bloat
- Native affiliates + discount codes
What to watch for
- Smaller brand recognition than Gumroad or Lemon Squeezy
- Course builder is basic vs Teachable/Thinkific
- Fewer themes + checkout customization
- App ecosystem is thin
A clean, cheap alternative to Gumroad for digital-goods sellers who want to pay less at scale. The tiered pricing ($0 → $29 → $99) makes it predictable as revenue grows. For courses, Teachable or Thinkific are better; for pure downloads/templates, Payhip is fine.
Ideal for
Digital creators doing $5K-$300K/year selling ebooks, templates, downloads, coaching, basic courses.
Skip it if
You need a sophisticated course LMS, you're doing massive volume where custom MoR + Stripe is cheaper, or you need deep brand customization.
Pricing plans
What each plan gives you (and what it costs).
Free
$0
Transaction fee: 5% platform fee
Best for
Starting out, under $5K revenue
- Unlimited products
- Courses
- Memberships
- EU VAT handling
Plus
$29/mo
Transaction fee: 2% platform fee
Best for
$20K-$100K revenue
- All Free features
- Affiliate program
- Priority support
- Advanced reports
Pro
$99/mo
Transaction fee: 0% platform fee
Best for
$100K+ revenue
- All Plus features
- Zero platform fee
- Branded emails
- API access
💰 Costs the pricing page doesn't show
Budget for these on top of the subscription. They're normal — just not advertised.
Payment processing
~2.9% + $0.30
Stripe/PayPal — standard.
Custom domain
~$10-$15/year
Via Namecheap, GoDaddy.
Video hosting (for courses)
Included
Payhip hosts video natively.
Real-world cost
What Payhip actually costs at your scale.
Subscription is just the floor. Here's realistic monthly total including apps, payment fees, and day-to-day tools — based on real stores we've built and maintained.
Revenue
$10K/year
~$42/mo
Free plan: 5% platform + 3% processing
Revenue
$50K/year
~$112/mo
Plus plan: $29 + 2% platform + 3% processing
Revenue
$200K/year
~$600/mo
Pro plan: $99 + 0% + 3% processing — best at this scale
Features
What's built-in, what's paid, what's missing.
File delivery
License keys
Basic
Download limits
Updates to buyers
Video lessons
Quizzes
Progress tracking
Certificates
Monthly / annual tiers
Member-only content
Drip content
Community features
EU VAT
US sales tax
GST (AU)
Full global MoR
Not every country
Global readiness
Can you actually sell globally on Payhip?
Multi-currency, multi-language, local payment methods, regional tax compliance — the four pillars of international commerce. Here's where Payhip lands on each.
Countries
190+ (variable tax handling)
Currencies
25+ with auto-conversion
Languages
English
Tax compliance
EU VAT, US sales tax, AU GST handled
Local payment methods supported
Strongest in
Weak in
How it compares
Payhip vs the main alternatives.
The head-to-head that actually matters — what each platform wins on, based on 19 years of delivering both.
Both digital-goods SaaS — pricing model differs.
Payhip wins on
- Cheaper at scale (tiered pricing)
- Course builder included
- Lower fee at $100K+ revenue
Gumroad wins on
- Larger creator audience
- Simpler setup
- More brand recognition
Payhip tiers vs flat 5% MoR.
Payhip wins on
- 0% platform fee at Pro plan
- Course builder built in
- Cheaper for coaches/course sellers
Lemon Squeezy wins on
- Better SaaS features (licence keys, subscription tooling)
- Cleaner developer API
- Backed by Stripe
Migration
Moving in, and moving out.
What it actually takes to get onto Payhip — and how painful it is if you outgrow it later. No vendor lock-in surprises.
Moving to Payhip
Here's what it typically takes to migrate from common starting points.
Typical time
1-3 days
Typical cost
$0
Common move when sellers hit $50K+ and want lower fees. Products + files re-upload cleanly.
Leaving Payhip later
How hard is it if this isn't the right platform for you in 2-3 years? (Honest vendor lock-in reality.)
Data exports via CSV. Members/subscribers need to be re-onboarded manually to new platform.
Social proof
Brands that run on Payhip.
~130,000 small creators globally
Digital goods, courses, coaching
SMBFAQ
People ask us this a lot.
Payhip vs Gumroad for digital downloads?+
At under $20K/year, roughly equivalent. Payhip wins at scale: at $100K/year Payhip Plus ($29/mo + 2% = $2,350) is cheaper than Gumroad (10% = $10K). At $300K/year, Payhip Pro ($99/mo + 0% = $1,188) crushes Gumroad.
Does Payhip handle VAT and sales tax?+
Yes — EU VAT, UK VAT, US state sales tax, Australian GST all handled automatically. Payhip is Merchant of Record for VAT purposes, which simplifies compliance.
Can I sell courses on Payhip?+
Yes — Payhip has a built-in course builder with video hosting, quizzes, and student progress tracking. It's basic — if you need advanced LMS features (certificates, drip content, affiliate programs), Teachable or Thinkific are better.
What's the fee at $50K annual revenue?+
Free plan: $2,500 (5% fee). Plus plan ($29/mo): $1,000 fee + $348 subscription = $1,348 total. Pro plan ($99/mo): $0 fee + $1,188 subscription. Plus is the sweet spot for $20K-$100K range.
Does Payhip support physical products?+
Yes but basic — you handle fulfillment. For primarily physical sales, Shopify or Big Cartel are better fits.
Find what's slowing your Payhip store down.
We've audited 500+ stores. Payhip has predictable failure modes — get the prioritized fix list specific to your store.
- 12 dimensions audited (performance, SEO, security, conversion + more)
- Done by Dharmendra (20 yrs, 500+ stores)
- Razorpay USD/INR · NDA-protected · 24-hr refund
Still unsure if Payhip is right for you?
Book a 30-minute call. I'll tell you honestly — even if the answer is "pick something else."
Book a call · $29