First Sale Fees / Field guide
Payhip vs Gumroad: compare the fee model
A percentage, a fixed fee per sale and a marketplace sale are different costs. Keep them separate when comparing a low-price product.
Put your current direct sales into the comparison
Use sales from your own links. Moving a listing does not move marketplace demand. The extra-cost allowance is your estimate of costs that would increase on Payhip.
Same direct-sales volume · illustrative USD budget
Difference in listed platform charges: $221.00/month.
After your $100.00 monthly allowance for extra processing, tax administration and tools: $121.00/month.
Your $200.00 one-time moving budget would take 1.7 months to cover from the modeled difference. Sales volume and your allowance must hold for this example to apply.
Not a payout forecast. Payhip processing is separate. Enter the incremental difference in processing, tax work and tools in the allowance; zero does not mean those costs are zero. Excludes refunds, disputes, exchange rates and changes in conversion. Do not include Gumroad Discover orders in direct sales.
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Separate direct sales from marketplace sales
Gumroad lists a direct-sale fee of 10% plus $0.50 and a 30% fee for sales through Discover. Payhip's Free plan lists a 5% platform fee, with payment processing charged separately. These are the published platform charges; do not treat them as a complete, like-for-like operating budget.
A fixed charge matters more on a small product
For the direct-sale fee above, the fixed $0.50 alone represents 10% of a $5 product, 2% of a $25 product and 0.5% of a $100 product. The percentage component is added on top. This is why a low headline percentage is not enough to compare platforms.
At $10 per product and 20 sales, Gumroad's listed direct-sale charge calculates to $30. The Payhip Free platform charge calculates to $10, before its separate processor fees. The $20 difference is a difference in these listed platform charges; it is not a claim that your final payouts differ by $20.
Use the moving checklist to test delivery, access and the tax workflow before changing your live links.
Tax handling changes the comparison
Gumroad describes its role as merchant of record for sales-tax collection and remittance. Payhip describes automated EU and UK VAT handling. Compare the actual scope for the products and countries you sell to. Neither statement means your own income-tax or business-filing responsibilities disappear.
Before switching, list the administrative work your current service handles. A lower platform charge can be offset by extra software or work. We do not assign a dollar value to that work in the fee calculator.
Do not count discovery as guaranteed traffic
A marketplace fee and an acquisition result are separate questions. If you expect customers to arrive through your own product link, use the direct-sale rate. If a sale is attributed to a discovery marketplace, use the marketplace rate. Budget with traffic you can explain rather than treating a marketplace listing as a promise of visitors.
Calculate Payhip's plan costs with your actual processor quote. Check Gumroad's current fee details directly before making a final comparison.
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Sources & calculation notes
Prices checked 2026-09-16. USD list prices; check the provider before purchasing.