How to sell digital products online: platforms, fees and steps

How to sell digital products online

Selling a digital product means a buyer pays and gets a file, or access to content, with nothing to pack or ship. The work follows the same pattern every time: make the product, put it on a platform that handles checkout and delivery, set a price, and bring buyers to the page.

The platform you pick decides two things: how much of each sale you keep, and whether the platform sends you buyers or you find them yourself. A marketplace such as Etsy has its own search, so shoppers can find a listing there. Storefront tools such as Gumroad, Payhip, Stan Store and Sellfy give you a checkout page, and you bring most of the traffic.

Most digital products fall into a few groups:

• Ebooks, guides and workbooks, sold as PDF or EPUB files.
• Templates for tools people already use: spreadsheets, Notion pages, Canva designs, resumes and planners.
• Printables such as wall art, calendars, worksheets and planner pages.
• Presets, brushes, fonts, icons and stock photos for designers and photographers.
• Online courses, video lessons and memberships. Gumroad lists its product types as digital products, e-books, courses, tutorials and memberships.
• Music, sample packs, sound effects and small software tools.

One file can be sold again and again, which is the appeal. Anything easy to copy is also easy to undercut, so a product that solves a specific problem for a specific buyer is easier to describe and to price than a general one.

How to start a digital product business, step by step

These steps take one product from an idea to a first sale. Example: a $20 monthly budget spreadsheet for freelancers.

1. Pick one buyer and one problem

   Start with a task people already spend time on, such as planning meals, tracking a budget or editing photos. Name the group you are making it for. Search the platforms you plan to use and note what similar products cost.

2. Make a small first version

   Build the smallest product that solves the problem fully. A template, a short guide or a set of printables is quicker to finish than a full course. You can add a bigger version later and sell both.

3. Check that you own what you sell

   Sell only work you made or have the right to sell. Etsy, for example, accepts digital items as digital downloads of sellers' original designs. If you use fonts, photos or graphics made by other people, read their licence to check that it allows use in a product you sell. Tell buyers what they may do with the file, such as personal use only.

4. Choose where to sell

   Pick a marketplace if you have no audience yet, or a storefront tool if you already have followers or an email list. The table and fee example below compare the main options.

5. Set a price

   Price from the value to the buyer and from what similar products sell for, then check what the platform takes. On a $20 sale, platform and card fees on the platforms compared here run from $0.88 to $3.38, before any monthly plan.

6. Upload the file and test delivery

   Export the file in a format buyers can open, such as a PDF, a ZIP folder or a share link for a Notion or Canva template. Upload it, then buy it once yourself so you see the download email and the file the way a buyer does.

7. Sort out tax

   Some platforms act as merchant of record and collect sales tax and VAT for you; others leave it to you. The rules for digital goods differ by country and by state, so check them before your first sale.

8. Bring buyers to the product page

   Post samples or a free version where your buyers already spend time, collect emails with a free download, and link the product from your social profiles. Marketplace listings need clear titles, preview images and tags so shoppers can find them in search.

Where to sell digital products: platforms and fees

The table lists the main places to sell digital products for a US seller, using each platform's own pricing and help pages. Card processing is shown where the platform states a rate; Payhip leaves it to Stripe or PayPal at their standard rates.

Fees on a $20 digital sale, platform by platform

Example: one $20 download paid by a US card. Each line uses the platform's own published rates, plus card processing where the platform passes it on.

Free plan or paid plan

Platforms with no monthly fee take a larger share of each sale. Platforms with a monthly plan take little or nothing per sale, but you pay the plan in months when nothing sells. A simple rule: start on a free plan, and move to a paid one when the fees it would save you in a month are more than the plan costs.

The plans change the numbers in different ways:

• Payhip charges 5% on Free Forever, 2% on Plus at $29/mo, and 0% on Pro at $99/mo. Stripe or PayPal processing is charged on top on every plan.
• Gumroad: No monthly fee. Its rate on new direct sales drops from 10% + $0.50 to 5% + $0.50 after $20,000 in paid sales in a calendar month, for the rest of that month.
• Sellfy Starter costs $29 a month billed monthly, with a sales limit: Up to $10k in sales per year. Above that, an account that has not upgraded may pay a 2% overage fee on the extra revenue.
• Stan Store: No free plan. The Creator plan is $29/month after a trial of 14 days, and Stan takes 0% of each sale.

Selling on a marketplace or to your own audience

Etsy is a marketplace with its own search, so a listing can reach shoppers before you have any followers. You pay for that reach with the 6.5% transaction fee and processing on every sale. Etsy also charges an Offsite Ads fee of 15% on orders that come from its ads on other sites, and shops under $10,000 in sales over the past 365 days can opt out. Above that threshold the fee is 12%, mandatory for the lifetime of the shop.

Gumroad and Payhip also list products in marketplaces. Gumroad's Discover sales pay a flat 30%, which includes processing. Payhip's marketplace is for digital products only and charges no additional fee on top of the usual Payhip fee. To be listed, a store needs at least $10 (USD) in total sales and a review by Payhip's accounts team, and each product is then approved.

Stan Store says it is best used for selling and hosting digital products. Sellfy and Shopify give you a full store. With all three, the buyers come from your own posts, email list or ads.

Sales tax and VAT on digital products

Many places tax digital products, and the rules differ by country and by US state. Washington's Department of Revenue, for example, says sales or use tax apply to all digital products, regardless of how they are accessed, with some exclusions and exemptions. California's Department of Tax and Fee Administration says eBooks, digital images and similar products sent over the internet are generally not taxable. Check with the tax agency in your state and in the states where your buyers live.

Selling to consumers in the EU brings in VAT. EU VAT rules list the supply of digitised products generally as an electronically supplied service. For EU businesses, the EU's Your Europe guide says electronic services sold to consumers in another EU country are always taxed in the customer's country, with some exceptions. The EU's One Stop Shop for declaring this VAT is available to taxable persons established in the EU and outside the EU.

Some platforms take sales tax and VAT off your hands. Gumroad has been a merchant of record since January 1, 2025 and says it manages sales tax collection and remittance worldwide. Payhip handles digital UK & EU VAT automatically by default. Since July 1st 2026, Payhip is responsible for collecting and paying US sales tax, but a seller with a physical presence in a state where Payhip collects the tax may still be required to file a state sales tax return there. On platforms that do not handle tax for you, you may need to register, collect and file tax yourself.

Income tax is separate from sales tax. For US sellers who are self-employed, the IRS says you have to file an income tax return if your net earnings from self-employment were $400 or more.

This section is general information, not tax or legal advice. Rules vary by state and country, so check with your state's tax agency or a tax professional.

How you get paid

Payout rules differ by platform, and they matter most in the first months when sales are small.

• Gumroad pays out once your balance reaches $100 USD. Payouts to PayPal cost 2%, and US sellers who meet Gumroad's conditions can take instant payouts at a fee of 3% (amounts up to $10K).
• Payhip pays into your own PayPal or Stripe account immediately after a transaction.
• For US sellers, Stan Store passes on a Stripe payout fee of 0.25% + $0.25 per payout (min. $1).

Where Nation fits

Questions about selling digital products