Where to Sell Digital Products (Platforms Compared)

The main places to sell digital products are marketplaces like Etsy, where some buyers already search, and checkout platforms like Gumroad, Payhip, Lemon Squeezy, Stan, Shopify and Hotmart, where you bring the buyers yourself. Where to sell digital products depends on three things: whether you need built-in traffic, how the fees fit your price, and who handles sales tax and VAT.

Below we compare eight platforms on those points, with fees as of 2026. Fees and rules change often, so treat this as a map and confirm on each official page before you commit.

What types of platforms can you sell digital products on?

There are three kinds, and the difference matters more than the brand names.

• Marketplaces (Etsy, Gumroad's Discover, Notion Marketplace) show your product to people browsing or searching the platform. You get some traffic, but you compete side by side with similar products and follow stricter rules.
• Checkout and storefront tools (Gumroad direct links, Payhip, Lemon Squeezy, Stan, Shopify, Hotmart) give you a product page and checkout. They deliver files and take payments, but buyers come from your own marketing.
• Merchant of record (MoR) platforms legally sell the product to the buyer on your behalf, so they collect and remit sales tax and VAT. Gumroad and Lemon Squeezy work this way as of 2026.

Digital product platforms compared (2026)

Sources: each platform's official pricing or help page, linked below and in the sources list. Card and wallet processing fees vary by country and payment method.

Which platform fits which kind of product?

Etsy: built-in search for printables and templates

Etsy's strength is buyers who already search for "wedding seating chart template" or "homeschool planner". Its fee policy adds up to a noticeable share on cheap items, and its rules require digital items to be your own original work. We cover setup in detail in how to sell digital products on Etsy.

Gumroad: simple checkout, taxes handled

Gumroad charges 10% plus $0.50 per direct sale and 30% on sales from its Discover marketplace, according to its pricing page; its help center says card and PayPal processing are charged on top of the direct-sale fee. It acts as merchant of record, so it handles sales tax and VAT worldwide. The trade-off is that most sales come from traffic you send.

Payhip and Lemon Squeezy: storefronts with tax help

Payhip lets you swap a higher per-sale fee for a monthly plan, and it collects and remits EU and UK VAT. Lemon Squeezy charges 5% plus $0.50 per sale as a merchant of record, with small extra fees on some international payments; it announced a 2026 update tied to Stripe's managed payments, so check its pricing page for the current setup.

Shopify: a full store you control

Shopify makes sense if you want a branded store or sell physical products too. The free Digital Products app delivers files up to 5 GB, according to Shopify's help center. You pay a monthly plan, and taxes are your responsibility, with Shopify's tools to help.

Stan, Hotmart and Notion Marketplace

• Stan is built for creators who sell from a social media profile link. Its help center lists Creator at $29 a month and Creator Pro at $99, with no free plan.
• Hotmart focuses on courses and has a large affiliate network. It charges no monthly fee and takes a percentage plus a fixed fee per sale; the fixed part changed in September 2026, so check the current table in Hotmart's help center.
• Notion Marketplace charges 8% plus $0.40 per paid template, according to Notion's help center, and paid selling has required joining a waitlist.

Who handles taxes on digital product sales?

This is the question most beginners skip, and the one that makes merchant-of-record platforms attractive.

• EU: digital services sold to consumers are generally taxed in the buyer's country. Sellers outside the EU can register for the One Stop Shop (OSS) non-Union scheme in a single EU country and file one quarterly return, according to the European Commission. Without OSS, you'd need to register in each country. See Your Europe's OSS page.
• UK: the place of supply for digital services to consumers is where the consumer is, according to GOV.UK, so selling to UK consumers can create UK VAT obligations.
• US: sales tax on digital goods varies by state. Washington, for example, taxes many digital products, according to its Department of Revenue, while California generally does not tax electronically delivered products such as ebooks and digital images, according to the CDTFA. Whether you must collect depends on each state's rules for remote sellers.
• Canada and Australia have their own rules for digital sales to consumers; check the CRA or the ATO.

If you sell through a merchant of record, the platform handles these sales taxes. If you sell through your own Shopify or Stripe checkout, you are generally the one responsible. Either way, your profit is still income you report where you live. This is general information, not tax advice.

Can you sell digital products on more than one platform?

Yes, and many sellers do, as long as you created the product and no platform asks for exclusivity. A common path:

1. Start on one marketplace (often Etsy) to learn what buyers want while getting some search traffic.
2. Add your own checkout page (Gumroad, Payhip or Lemon Squeezy) for traffic you bring from Pinterest, a blog or an email list.
3. Move toward a store you control once you have several products and steady traffic.

Keep file versions and license terms identical everywhere, and update all copies when you fix something.

How do you choose where to sell your digital products?

Answer these in order:

• Do you have any audience? No: start where buyers already search (Etsy, or Notion Marketplace for Notion templates). Yes: a checkout tool keeps more per sale.
• What's your price? Under about $10, fixed per-sale fees take a big share; compare the math in how to price digital products.
• Do you want to deal with VAT and sales tax? If not, favor a merchant of record.
• Is it a course? Look at Payhip, Hotmart or Stan, which support lessons and members.
• Do the rules allow your product? Resold PLR, AI prompt bundles and trademarked designs are restricted on several platforms; see what PLR is.

Whatever you pick, the platform won't sell the product for you. Our guide to selling digital products spends most of its time on traffic for that reason.

Next steps

• Build the product first with our list of digital product ideas that sell.
• Plan for buyers with how to market digital products with no audience.
• For a step-by-step path from platform choice to first sales, see how to sell digital products.
• Want the wider view? Read our guide to making money online.