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Gumroad is a popular choice amongst creators and for several years it has been a beacon for providing a seamless way to monetize content. Recognized for its user-friendly interface and integrated marking tools, Gumroad has empowered artists, musicians, writers, course instructors, software developers, and entrepreneurs, to bring their expertise and creations to a global audience.
Gumroad is a powerful easy-to-use e-commerce platform that allows this diverse range of creators to sell digital products, such as e-books, music, videos, software, online courses, as well as physical products.
If you are a creator yourself, you can easily set up your storefront, upload digital content, and start selling directly to your audience with it. However, just like any other platform in the market, it has its own set of limitations.
In this article, we will further examine Gumroad looking into its pricing plans, strengths, and weaknesses. We will also do the same for its rivals, to help you decide which one offers the best e-commerce solution for your needs.
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Gumroad is free to use and comes with no monthly charges. With it, you can sell anything you want from digital and physical products to memberships. However, it takes a cut of 10% from your sales.
*Pricing information retrieved from Gumroad in November 2023.
Now, let’s go over the biggest advantages and disadvantages of Gumroad.
Gumroad Advantages 👍
One of Gumroad’s key strengths is that is easy to use and comes with a simple UI, making it accessible to creators with varying technical skills. The platform also offers built-in marketing tools, enabling creators to promote and sell their products effectively. Its flexible pricing options make it a suitable choice as you get to set your own prices, offer discounts, and create subscription-based products.
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Gumroad comes with several noteworthy strengths:
Gumroad Disadvantages 👎
While the platform is user-friendly, it offers limited customization options, making it challenging for creators who want more control over their storefront’s appearance. Gumroad fails to offer advanced reporting and course-building features. It also charges transaction fees on sales, which can impact the overall revenue for creators.
Gumroad also has its drawbacks:
Gumroad Reviews
Gumroad is rated 4.1 out of 5 based on G2’s user reviews.
Reviews from G2:
Gumroad is a very good choice of an e-commerce platform for users who are specifically looking for the features and capabilities it offers.
But it doesn’t hurt to check out some other options before you make up your mind.
👉 The table below features our top 4 platform picks among the ones we included in this article, comparing them side-by-side with Gumroad on pricing and features.
Now we will go over the bigger list of alternatives to figure out how they all compare against it, offering more detailed information on each. Let’s dive in!
LearnWorlds is a cloud-based all-in-one AI-powered online course platform that helps you create, market, and sell online courses.
It is a fully SCORM-compliant platform, that comes with advanced features to help you grow and scale your efforts, including powerful course authoring, in-depth reporting and analytics, interactive video, a robust no-code website builder, an assessment builder, a survey and mobile app builder that allows you to build a fully branded mobile app for your online academy.
With LearnWorlds you can effortlessly build your own website for your eLearning business and have an SEO-optimized online academy ready within minutes.
The platform allows you to track conversions, build your membership site, offer coaching programs, create coupons, and bundles, and sell a variety of digital products from subscriptions to ebooks, checklists, templates, and more.
LearnWorlds is the best alternative to Gumroad if your primary focus is on creating and selling interactive online courses and using powerful course creation features. Opt for Gumroad if you need versatility for selling various types of products and want a simpler setup.
Pros
Cons
How much does LearnWorlds cost?
*Pricing information retrieved from LearnWorlds in November 2023.
LearnWorlds Reviews
LearnWorlds is rated 4.7 out of 5 based on Capterra’s user reviews.
Review from G2:
Review from Capterra:
Shopify is a widely used and popular e-commerce platform that enables users to set up and manage online stores with ease. Known for its extensive app ecosystem, Shopify caters to entrepreneurs and businesses of all sizes, offering a comprehensive suite of tools for selling products, managing inventory, and handling transactions securely.
The platform allows you to build and customize your digital storefront and supports various payment gateways. It offers a mobile app, discount codes, customer segmentation, cart abandonment recovery, and marketing automation making it a robust e-commerce solution.
While Shopify is user-friendly, it comes with more advanced features and customization that require more technical skills from users. Gumroad appears to be less complex, offering more basic tools, making it more suitable to beginners or those who have limited technical know-how.
Pros
Cons
How much does Shopify cost?
*Pricing information retrieved from Shopify in November 2023.
💁 Compare Shopify to LearnWorlds
Shopify Reviews
Shopify is rated 4.5 out of 5 based on Capterra’s user reviews.
Review from G2:
Review from Capterra:
#3 Payhip
Payhip is a user-friendly platform designed to help creators sell digital downloads such as ebooks, software, online courses, coaching, memberships, and physical products effortlessly. With a streamlined setup process, Payhip enables users to create a customizable storefront, set their own prices, and securely deliver digital content to customers.
The platform comes with built-in marketing tools to help you boost conversion rates and offers the possibility to create coupons, discounts, add cross-sells, and upsells. It also features a powerful store builder and supports PayPal and Stripe as payment processing systems.
Both Payhip and Gumroad allow you to build your online shop for free. However, Payhip has lower transaction costs on its free plan compared to Gumroad, making it a more cost-effective solution.
Pros
Cons
How much does Payhip cost?
*Pricing information retrieved from Payhip in November 2023.
Payhip Reviews
Payhip is rated 4.2 out of 5 based on Capterra’s user reviews.
Review from G2:
Review from Capterra:
Kajabi is an all-in-one platform designed for entrepreneurs, educators, and businesses looking to create and sell online courses, coaching programs, memberships, and digital products. Kajabi enables users to build fully customized websites, create engaging multimedia content, and manage their online business in one place.
The platform also offers great marketing features, email automation, and analytics to help creators effectively market and sell their products. It allows you to build successful campaigns and sales funnels boosting your promotional efforts at large.
While Kajabi focuses on digital products, Gumroad offers a wider range of products, including physical ones. Gumroad is tailored for beginners and small businesses, and Kajabi is for bigger clients. On the other hand, Gumroad has a more cost-effective pricing model, whereas Kajabi’s plans can be expensive even for large companies.
Pros
Cons
How much does Kajabi cost?
*Pricing information retrieved from Kajabi in November 2023.
💁 Compare Kajabi to LearnWorlds
Kajabi Reviews
Kajabi is rated 4.4 out of 5 based on Capterra’s user reviews.
Review from G2:
Review from Capterra:
💡Ready to find the perfect platform for your online courses? Discover how to choose the right elearning solution in this FREE expert webinar.
WooCommerce is a powerful WordPress plugin designed specifically for WordPress websites, that helps to transform your site into a functional ecommerce store. This tool is known for its flexibility and scalability and caters to both individuals and businesses of all sizes. It allows them to sell physical and digital products, manage inventory and shipping, process secure payments seamlessly, and automate tax calculations.
WooCommerce also comes with many customization options, reliable support, complete data control, and mobile device compatibility. The platform offers additional features through extensions, and getting started with it costs $1, making it a cost-effective and user-friendly solution.
If you have a WordPress site or planning to build one on the chosen platform, WooCommerce is the best choice. To get all the features and the simplicity offered by a standalone e-commerce solution though, you can try Gumroad.
Pros
Cons
How much does WooCommerce cost?
*Pricing information retrieved from WooCommerce in November 2023.
💁 Compare WooCommerce to LearnWorlds
WooCommerce Reviews
WooCommerce is rated 4.5 out of 5 based on Capterra’s user reviews.
Review from G2:
Review from Capterra:
Sellfy is another noteworthy e-commerce platform that is tailored for digital product creators. It is a solution that users can use to start easily, grow big, and sell and distribute their creations and digital goods – ebooks, music, videos, and software anywhere. With Sellfy you can launch your print-on-demand merch store within minutes, add CTAs, and a shopping cart to your website.
Using its user-friendly interface, you can set up your online store swiftly, customize its appearance, and manage products efficiently. Sellfy stands out for its emphasis on simplicity, allowing users to focus on their products rather than intricate on the technical details. The platform also offers secure and reliable hosting for digital downloads.
Sellfy comes with greater selling features compared to Gumroad, which lacks a storefront builder and appears to be limited in terms of integration options. At the same time, Gumroad offers more flexible payments as it accepts direct payments from major credit cards including Visa, MasterCard, and American Express, but does not support Stripe.
Pros
Cons
How much does Sellfy cost?
*Pricing information retrieved from Sellfy in November 2023.
Sellfy Reviews
Sellfy is rated 4.5 out of 5 based on Capterra’s user reviews.
Review from G2:
Review from Capterra:
SendOwl is a digital product delivery platform that simplifies the process of selling and delivering digital goods. With a focus on ease of use, it allows you to effortlessly set up and sell your digital products, whatever these are – books, graphic designs, workout plans, event tickets, wherever and in any way you want to sell them.
SendOwl helps you concentrate on what you do best and it takes care of the rest. It provides features like secure product delivery, customizable checkouts, and integrations with various payment gateways that streamline the selling process.
This platform is a great alternative to Gumroad because they have many similarities. While SendOwl offers advanced secure file hosting and subscription/membership features, it is not a hosted e-commerce platform like Gumroad. It only converts an existing website into an online store.
Pros
Cons
How much does SendOwl cost?
*Pricing information retrieved from SendOwl in November 2023.
SendOwl Reviews
SendOwl is rated 4.1 out of 5 based on Capterra’s user reviews.
Review from G2:
Review from Capterra:
Ecwid is a comprehensive e-commerce platform that seamlessly integrates with existing websites and social media, offering a straightforward solution for online businesses of all sizes. With its versatility, Ecwid helps you create a fully functional online store with ease, allowing you to sell digital products, physical goods, and services effortlessly.
Ecwid features a user-friendly drag-and-drop store builder, support for multiple languages and currencies, and a variety of payment options. It also provides a mobile-responsive design for an optimal shopping experience across devices.
The platform also integrates with popular platforms like WordPress, Wix, and Weebly, offering flexibility for users with different website preferences.
You can choose to use Ecwid if you have an existing website and need a scalable e-commerce solution. Go for Gumroad if you prioritize simplicity and want a standalone platform for selling digital products.
Pros
Cons
How much does Ecwid cost?
*Pricing information retrieved from Ecwid in November 2023.
Ecwid Reviews
Ecwid is rated 4.6 out of 5 based on Capterra’s user reviews.
Review from G2:
Review from Capterra:
Teachable is a popular online course platform that empowers creators to build and sell their courses, coaching services, and downloadable content. It features a user-friendly dashboard that gives instructors the flexibility to design and customize their course websites, providing a professional online learning environment.
The platform supports multimedia content, enabling the addition of videos, quizzes, and discussion forums to enhance the overall learning experience. It also offers the ability to create sales pages, and lead magnets, and gain insights into your funnels, discount coupons, and built-in affiliate tools, facilitating creators in promoting and selling their courses effectively.
As a Gumroad alternative, Teachable has an advantage over the creation of online courses and comes with more advanced features, making it more suitable for course creators. However, Gumroad offers greater versatility in selling different types of digital products, offering you more choices to begin with.
Pros
Cons
How much does Teachable cost?
*Pricing information retrieved from Teachable in November 2023.
💁 Teachable vs LearnWorlds: A Side-by-Side Comparison
Teachable Reviews
Teachable is rated 4.3 out of 5 based on Capterra’s user reviews.
Review from G2:
Review from Capterra:
Podia is another online platform that offers a versatile space for selling online courses, memberships, and digital downloads. Podia enables creators to effortlessly launch their products and create a fully customizable storefront, showcasing their digital offerings.
Podia supports a variety of content types, including video, text, and multimedia, ensuring a dynamic and engaging learning experience for students.
The platform also offers the ability to host webinars, build memberships, and manage email marketing campaigns. Creators can seamlessly drip content to their audience, schedule live events, and create a community around their brand.
Podia’s straightforward pricing model, with no transaction fees and unlimited everything, appeals to both beginners and established entrepreneurs.
Opt-in for Podia if you prioritize effectiveness while working with an all-in-one solution and want to avoid transaction fees. But if you want to sell both digital and physical goods, Gumroad is the obvious choice here.
Pros
Cons
How much does Podia cost?
Podia also comes with an optional email add-on helping you boost your email marketing efforts. For the first 100 subscribers, it is free, but then it starts charging $9/month for up to 500 subscribers. The price increases as the number of subscribers grows.
*Pricing information retrieved from Podia in November 2023.
💁 Podia vs LearnWorlds: A Side-by-Side Comparison
Podia Reviews
Podia is rated 4.5 out of 5 based on Capterra’s user reviews.
Review from G2:
Review from Capterra:
Lemon Squeezy is an all-in-one platform that can help you run your SaaS business. It works as a digital product marketplace for creators seeking an uncomplicated yet, effective and easy-to-use platform.
Lemon Squeezy facilitates the seamless sale of digital goods such as e-books, presets, and templates. Its minimalist interface and straightforward setup process allow creators to showcase and sell their products without the need for extensive technical know-how.
The platform offers a secure and streamlined checkout experience, ensuring a hassle-free purchasing process for its customers. It incorporates customizable storefronts, allowing sellers to showcase their brand identity.
While it may lack the extensive features of larger platforms, Lemon Squeezy positions itself as an accessible and efficient option for creators looking to quickly bring their digital products to market.
Compared to Gumroad, Lemon Squeezy is relatively new, so if you need a comprehensive platform with a broader range of features and a larger community, Gumroad might be a better fit.
Pros
Cons
How much does Lemon Squeezy cost?
*Pricing information retrieved from Lemon Squeezy in November 2023.
Lemon Squeezy Reviews
Lemon Squeezy is rated 3.6 out of 5 based on Trustpilot’s user reviews.
Reviews from TrustPilot:
As the digital landscape evolves, so do the diverse needs of creators. Selecting the right platform for selling digital products is not an easy decision; however, it’s a crucial one that determines your success. Each Gumroad alternative discussed in this article comes with its unique features, pricing, and trade-offs.
As you go over each one, make sure to consider your specific needs and preferences in order to choose the platform that best aligns with your short and long-term goals. Whether it’s Shopify for extensive customization, or LearnWorlds for its advanced white-labeling options, explore these alternatives to find the perfect fit for your digital products.
Further reading you might find interesting:
Kyriaki is a Content Creator for the LearnWorlds team writing about marketing and e-learning, helping course creators on their journey to create, market, and sell their online courses. Equipped with a degree in Career Guidance, she has a strong background in education management and career success. In her free time, she gets crafty and musical.
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