13 Best Platforms to Sell Digital Products in 2026 (Fees & Taxes Compared)

Gumroad is the easiest place to start selling, and since the start of 2025 it is also the most hands-off on tax. There is no monthly fee, you create a product and share a link, and Gumroad takes 10% + $0.50 per sale (payment processing on top).

The big 2026 story is tax: Gumroad is now a full Merchant of Record, so it collects and remits sales tax and VAT worldwide, you never register or file anything. You pay a higher percentage than most, and that is the trade: the highest convenience and zero tax paperwork for a bigger cut.

Merchant of Record: Yes (worldwide). Gumroad handles all sales tax and VAT for you.

The honest catch: 10% + $0.50 plus processing is the highest effective fee of the simple storefronts, so at volume you will want to move to something cheaper. But for the first sale and zero admin, nothing is easier.

Lemon Squeezy is the better-value Merchant of Record. It charges a flat 5% + $0.50 a sale with payment processing already included, half Gumroad's cut, and it too handles global sales tax and VAT for you. It is especially strong for software, licences and subscriptions.

It was acquired by Stripe in 2024, and as of 2026 it still runs as a working Merchant of Record at the same rate (Stripe is rolling out a successor, but the two coexist and there is no forced migration). For digital sellers who want low fees and zero tax admin, this is the sweet spot.

Merchant of Record: Yes (worldwide). Tax and VAT handled in 200+ jurisdictions.

The honest catch: small surcharges apply for international cards, PayPal and subscriptions (around +1.5% each), and there is mild uncertainty about the long-term roadmap post-acquisition. Today, it is the best low-fee MoR for digital goods.

Payhip is the best genuine free option. The free-forever plan lets you sell downloads, courses and memberships with all features unlocked, taking a 5% cut. As you grow, the Plus plan ($29/mo) drops that to 2% and the Pro plan ($99/mo) to 0%, so the fee falls as your volume rises.

It also handles EU VAT, UK VAT and Australian/NZ GST automatically, which is more tax help than most non-MoR platforms give. It is a clean, no-nonsense storefront that scales with you.

Merchant of Record: Partial. Payhip handles EU/UK VAT and AU/NZ GST, but it is not a full worldwide MoR, US sales tax can still be your responsibility.

The honest catch: it is not a complete tax solution (US sales tax stays on you), and dropping to 0% fees means paying $99/mo, which only makes sense at real volume. For starting free, it is the best on this list.

Sellfy is the pick when you want to keep the most of each sale. It charges 0% platform transaction fee on every plan, so once you are past the monthly cost you only pay the payment processor. Starter is $29/mo (or $22 billed annually), and it is purpose-built for digital products with native file hosting and delivery.

The plans carry annual revenue caps (Starter up to $10k, Business $50k, Premium $200k), with a small 2% overage above the cap. For a steady seller, the flat fee plus 0% cut works out cheaper than the per-sale platforms.

Merchant of Record: No. You are the seller; Sellfy gives EU VAT calculation, but you remit tax yourself.

The honest catch: there is no free plan (14-day trial only), and the revenue caps mean the price effectively steps up as you grow. But for low fees on a predictable bill, it is the value pick.

Teachable is the established course platform, and a strong all-rounder for courses, coaching and digital downloads. The Starter plan is $39/mo ($29 billed annually) but carries a 7.5% transaction fee; the higher plans (Builder, Growth, Advanced) drop that to 0%, so heavy sellers move up to escape the cut.

Usefully, Teachable acts as a Merchant of Record, handling US sales tax and global VAT on all plans, which is rare for a course platform and a real reason to pick it over rivals that leave tax to you.

Merchant of Record: Yes (worldwide). Handles US sales tax and global VAT on every plan.

The honest catch: the cheapest plan's 7.5% transaction fee is steep, so you really want a higher tier (or high margins) to make it pay. There is no free plan, only a 7-day trial.

Podia is the approachable all-in-one. It bundles courses, digital downloads, a community and email marketing under one roof, with a clean, beginner-friendly interface. The cheapest paid plan is Mover ($49/mo, or $42 annually) at a 5% fee; Shaker and Earthquaker remove the fee.

Like Teachable, Podia is a Merchant of Record and handles sales tax across roughly 230 countries, so the tax admin is off your plate. It is the gentlest on-ramp if you want one tool for the whole creator business.

Merchant of Record: Yes (worldwide). Sales-tax handling included across ~230 countries.

The honest catch: Podia removed its free plan in late 2024 (30-day trial now), and the entry price rose to $49/mo, the old $33 figure you may still see quoted is stale. For an easy all-in-one with tax handled, it is excellent.

Kajabi is the premium end. It is a full business platform, courses, communities, email, websites and funnels, aimed at established creators doing serious revenue, and it is priced to match: the cheapest plan is Basic at $179/mo ($143 annually).

It markets "0% transaction fees", which is true only on Kajabi Payments (the card processor still takes ~2.9% + $0.30); bringing your own Stripe adds a 0.5-5% Kajabi surcharge. It is powerful and all-in-one, but it is the wrong tool for a beginner testing an idea.

Merchant of Record: No. Kajabi calculates and collects tax but does not file or remit it, you stay liable.

The honest catch: at $179/mo to start, it only pays off once your revenue is real, and it is not a Merchant of Record, so tax is still your job. For an established expert it is a powerhouse; for a first product it is overkill.

Stan Store is built for one job: selling to your social following from a mobile-first link-in-bio store. Courses, digital products, coaching and bookings all live on one clean page designed to convert followers, which is why it is popular with Instagram and TikTok creators.

It charges 0% platform fee on its plans (Creator $29/mo, or $25 annually), so beyond the subscription you only pay card processing. If your audience already lives on social, this is the most natural fit.

Merchant of Record: No. It calculates tax via Stripe Tax, but you remain responsible for filing.

The honest catch: "zero fees" is platform-only, the processor still takes ~2.9% + $0.30, and there is no free plan (14-day trial). For converting a social audience, though, its focused design earns its keep.

Ko-fi is the friendliest free start. It began as a tip jar and grew into a light storefront: it takes 0% on donations and 5% on shop sales and memberships on the free plan, with no monthly cost. For a creator dipping a toe into selling, that is hard to beat.

Upgrade to Ko-fi Gold ($12/mo) and the platform fee drops to 0% on everything. It is not built for a big catalogue, but for tips plus a few digital products it is a generous, no-risk place to begin.

Merchant of Record: No. Ko-fi does not handle your tax; the seller is liable.

The honest catch: Ko-fi Gold is $12/mo now (the $6 figure floating around is stale), processing still applies even on Gold, and it is not built for a serious product catalogue. As a free, low-pressure start, it is lovely.

Beacons is a link-in-bio platform with a built-in store, and it has a genuine free plan with unlimited digital products, a media kit and analytics. For a creator who wants one branded page that holds their links and their products, it is a tidy free start.

The thing to know is the fee structure: the free plan, and the $10/mo Creator plan, both keep a 9% store fee. You only reach 0% store fee at the Creator Plus plan ($30/mo). So paying $10 does not remove the cut, a detail most lists get wrong.

Merchant of Record: No. You handle tax, except where local marketplace-facilitator law forces Beacons to.

The honest catch: the 9% store fee stays until the $30/mo Creator Plus plan, so the cheap tiers are not cheap per sale. As a free link-in-bio store you own, it is a solid option.

Whop is purpose-built for selling access. If your product is a paid Discord or Telegram community, a membership, or any gated digital access, Whop handles the payments, the access control and the member management, with no monthly fee.

It charges 2.7% + $0.30 processing, plus a 3% platform fee on sales gated through an automation (so most community sellers land around 5.7% + $0.30). Crucially for a global membership, Whop is a Merchant of Record and remits tax in 190+ countries.

Merchant of Record: Yes (worldwide). Whop handles VAT and sales tax in 190+ countries.

The honest catch: the 3% platform fee applies to most real use (gated-community sales), so price it at ~5.7% + $0.30, not the headline 2.7%. For communities and memberships specifically, it is the best-fit tool here.

Etsy is the one platform here with built-in demand. Shoppers search Etsy for printables, templates, planners, SVGs and digital art, so you can make sales without building an audience first, the single biggest advantage on this list. You list a file for $0.20 and Etsy does the rest.

The fees add up to roughly 9.5% a sale ($0.20 listing + 6.5% transaction + 3% + $0.25 processing), and Etsy remits US sales tax and digital VAT for you as a marketplace facilitator. The trade is that you rent the audience, you do not own the customer.

Merchant of Record: For tax, yes. Etsy collects and remits US sales tax and VAT on digital goods.

The honest catch: you get no customer relationship or email list, competition is fierce, and you ride Etsy's fee changes. But for discovery, real buyers searching for your product, nothing else here competes.

Shopify is the full e-commerce platform, the choice when you want a complete branded store you control, your domain, your design, your customer list. It is not built for digital products out of the box, but the free first-party Digital Downloads app delivers files cleanly.

Basic is $39/mo ($29 annually), card processing is 2.9% + $0.30, and using a non-Shopify gateway adds 2%. There is no per-sale platform cut beyond processing, so at scale it is cheap per sale, you are paying for the store, not the transactions.

Merchant of Record: No. You are the merchant; Shopify assists with tax but you register and remit yourself.

The honest catch: it is overkill if all you sell is one PDF, digital delivery is a bolt-on app, and tax is entirely your responsibility. But if you are building a real brand and want to own everything, it is the platform. And if the monthly bill puts you off, I have compared the Shopify alternatives separately.