Payhip is the store we'd point most Gumroad-style sellers to first. Every plan gets every feature, the only variable is the transaction fee, and Payhip now handles sales tax in the US as well as EU and UK VAT. Money lands in your own Stripe or PayPal account. Here's our read of Payhip's pricing page and help center, checked October 10, 2026.
What it does well
No feature gating. Free Forever, Plus and Pro all include the same features: digital downloads, online courses, coaching, memberships, physical products, the store builder, coupons, affiliates and cross-selling. You choose a plan on fees alone, which makes the decision pure math.
Tax is handled. Payhip collects and remits digital EU and UK VAT on your behalf by default. Its help center says that from July 1, 2026 it also collects and pays US sales tax as a marketplace facilitator, and that it charges nothing for this. Its features page adds Canadian sales tax. If you have a physical presence in a state, you may still owe a "zero dollar" filing there, so check with an accountant.
Your payment accounts. You connect your own Stripe and PayPal accounts (plus options like Square and Mollie in some regions). Payhip says sales are deposited immediately after a transaction completes, and Stripe pays out to your bank on your Stripe schedule.
Good exports. The customer CSV includes email, name, gross and net amounts, payment type, Stripe or PayPal fee, Payhip fee, VAT details and email-consent flags. A separate export lists members and students with plan name, enrollment status and start date. Direct integrations add buyers to Kit, Mailchimp, MailerLite, ActiveCampaign, Flodesk, Klaviyo and others.
Where it falls short
The free plan's fee. 5% is fine while you test. At steady volume, Plus pays for itself quickly (see the Example).
Email is basic. Payhip's built-in "email updates" let you message customers, but it's not an automation platform. Most sellers will want to connect a dedicated email tool.
Membership, not community. Memberships are post-based areas (text, video, image, poll, embed). There's no discussion forum or chat in what we read.
Subscriptions and portability. Payhip's docs don't say whether active subscriptions can be moved to another platform. Customer emails export cleanly; plan on members re-subscribing if you leave.
Pricing in practice
Free Forever is $0/month plus 5% per sale. Plus is $29/month plus 2%. Pro is $99/month with no Payhip fee. Stripe or PayPal processing applies on all plans; Payhip's Stripe guide cites 2.9% + $0.30 as the standard Stripe fee. Only monthly prices are published.
Example (assumptions: 100 sales of a $29 product a month, US cards at 2.9% + $0.30, no tax):
- Free: $145 Payhip fee + $114.10 processing = $259.10 of $2,900.
- Plus: $58 + $114.10 + $29 = $201.10.
- Pro: $114.10 + $99 = $213.10.
Plus beats Free at about $967 a month in sales. Pro beats Plus at $3,500 a month.
Who should pick it (and who shouldn't)
Pick Payhip if you sell downloads, templates, presets, ebooks or a simple course or membership and want sales tax off your plate. Connect it to KitAFFILIATE (affiliate link) or another email platform so every buyer lands on a list you own.
Skip it if your business is a community, or if you need cohort courses, live sessions and email automation in one product.
Alternatives worth comparing
- Gumroad: no monthly fee and also handles tax, but a higher per-sale cut. See Gumroad vs Whop.
- Lemon Squeezy: merchant of record with software-friendly features.
- Podia: if your products are turning into courses and a community.
- Ko-fi: if tips are the main event and products are a side line.
For the full field with fee math, read Gumroad alternatives.
SOURCES (CHECKED OCT 10, 2026)
| Claim | Source URL | Checked |
|---|---|---|
| Plans $0 + 5%, $29 + 2%, $99 + 0%; same features on all plans; Stripe/PayPal fees apply; immediate deposit; EU/UK VAT collected and remitted (read in browser; curl returns 403) | https://payhip.com/pricing | 2026-10-10 |
| US sales tax handled as marketplace facilitator from July 1, 2026, at no cost; zero-dollar returns | https://help.payhip.com/article/392-us-sales-tax | 2026-10-10 |
| EU and UK VAT handled by default; 5% fee example on pre-VAT price | https://help.payhip.com/article/127-digital-eu-vat | 2026-10-10 |
| US/Canadian sales tax and EU/UK VAT on all plans; email updates; integrations list | https://payhip.com/features/email-marketing | 2026-10-10 |
| Own Stripe account; Stripe 2.9% + $0.30; daily payouts by default | https://help.payhip.com/article/65-connecting-your-stripe-account | 2026-10-10 |
| Own PayPal account | https://help.payhip.com/article/64-connecting-your-paypal-account | 2026-10-10 |
| Customer CSV export fields | https://help.payhip.com/article/83-export-customers | 2026-10-10 |
| Member/student CSV export fields | https://help.payhip.com/article/310-export-students-members-or-clients | 2026-10-10 |
| Mailing list integrations (Kit/ConvertKit, Mailchimp, MailerLite, ActiveCampaign, Flodesk, Klaviyo and more) | https://help.payhip.com/article/90-mailing-lists | 2026-10-10 |
| Membership post types and pricing plans | https://help.payhip.com/article/249-add-membership-products | 2026-10-10 |
| Zapier triggers | https://help.payhip.com/article/116-zapier | 2026-10-10 |
| Example math (derived): 100 x $29 = $2,900; 100 x (2.9% x $29 + $0.30) = $114.10; break-evens $29 / 3% and $70 / 2% | Derived from the rows above | 2026-10-10 |
| PLAN | PRICE | WHAT YOU GET |
|---|---|---|
| Free Forever | $0 /mo | 5% transaction fee plus Stripe or PayPal fees. All features. |
| Plus | $29 /mo | 2% transaction fee plus processor fees. All features. |
| Pro | $99 /mo | No Payhip transaction fee; processor fees still apply. All features. |
Creators selling ebooks, templates, presets, courses or small memberships who want a store with tax compliance handled and no feature gating. — and anyone who wants Payhip to do the heavy lifting in this category.
Skip it if you need a full community space, deep email automation, or a polished course platform with cohorts and live features. — if that's a dealbreaker, see every monetization tool we've reviewed.
- How much does Payhip cost?
Free Forever is $0/month plus a 5% transaction fee, Plus is $29/month plus 2%, and Pro is $99/month with no Payhip fee. Every plan has the same features. Stripe or PayPal processing applies on top.
- Does Payhip handle sales tax?
Yes. Payhip collects and remits EU and UK VAT on digital products, and its help center says it has collected and paid US sales tax as a marketplace facilitator since July 1, 2026, at no extra cost.
- When should I upgrade from Payhip's free plan?
In our Example, Plus becomes cheaper than Free at about $967 a month in sales, and Pro becomes cheaper than Plus at $3,500 a month.
- Can I export my Payhip customers?
Yes. The customer CSV includes emails, names, amounts, fees and VAT details, and a separate export lists members and students by plan and enrollment status.
- How does Payhip pay me?
Payments go to your own connected Stripe or PayPal account. Payhip says sales are deposited immediately after the transaction completes; Stripe then pays out to your bank on your schedule.
The best-value Gumroad-style store: every feature on every plan, sales tax handled for you, and payouts straight to your own Stripe or PayPal.
Editorially reviewed. An editorial evaluation of verified product information, official documentation, pricing and features, informed by Carlos Gil's professional experience. Available demos and screenshots may inform the review; documented product use is required for a hands-on label. Read our review standards.
Editorially reviewed by Carlos Gil. Based on Payhip's official pricing page and help center, checked October 10, 2026. Payhip pays us nothing and the link to it is a plain link. Links to Kit and LearnWorlds on this page are affiliate links, labeled where they appear, and never affect the score. How we review.
BestCreates is written and edited by Carlos Gil. Every tool is assessed against the same documented framework — the jobs creators hire it for, ease of use, pricing accuracy, support and integrations — and each review states in the open how it was assessed.
LAST UPDATED OCT 10, 2026
SIGNED BY CARLOS GIL · FOUNDER & EDITOR, THE BEST NETWORK · OUR DISCLOSURE POLICY