Digital Product Platform Fee Calculator
Selling ebooks, courses, templates, or downloads? Every platform takes a different cut — some charge a monthly subscription, some take a percentage, most do both. Enter your product price and monthly sales volume below to see exactly what Gumroad, Payhip, Sellfy, Lemon Squeezy, and SurcoPay would cost you — and, more importantly, what you would keep. Use it as a Gumroad fee calculator, a Payhip fee calculator, or to compare every platform side by side with current 2026 rates.
To keep the comparison apples-to-apples, every platform where you bring your own payment processor includes an estimate of card processing at Stripe's standard US online rate (2.9% + $0.30 per sale). Platforms that act as merchant of record already include processing in their fee. Details in the methodology.
Estimates only, based on published rates as of August 2026. Sorted by how much you keep, highest first. See how this calculator works for assumptions and what is not modeled.
How this calculator works
For each platform we compute a total monthly cost: monthly subscription + (sales × per-sale fees). "You keep" is your gross revenue (price × sales) minus that total. The effective fee rate is the total monthly cost divided by gross revenue.
Platforms fall into two camps, and comparing them fairly requires one adjustment:
- Merchant-of-record platforms (Gumroad, Lemon Squeezy) process the payment themselves — card processing is already included in their fee, so we model their published rate directly.
- Bring-your-own-processor platforms (Payhip, Sellfy, SurcoPay Standard) charge their platform fee on top of whatever your payment processor charges. For these, we add an estimate of 2.9% + $0.30 per sale — Stripe's standard US online card rate — so their totals reflect what actually leaves your pocket.
All rates are as of August 2026, taken from each platform's official pricing page:
- Gumroad — $0/month, 10% + $0.50 per sale, processing included. Sales through the Gumroad Discover marketplace carry a 30% fee and are not modeled. Source: gumroad.com/pricing
- Payhip — Free: $0/month + 5% platform fee. Plus: $29/month + 2%. Pro: $99/month + 0%. All plans add your own processing. Source: payhip.com/pricing
- Sellfy — Starter: $19/month (billed annually), 0% platform fee, plus your own processing. Source: sellfy.com/pricing
- Lemon Squeezy — $0/month, 5% + $0.50 per sale, processing included. Additional fees apply for PayPal, international cards, and subscription payments; the base rate is modeled. Source: lemonsqueezy.com/pricing
- SurcoPay (launching soon) — Standard: $0/month + 4.5% platform fee, and you connect your own Stripe account (processing estimated at 2.9% + $0.30). Express: $0/month, 8% all-inclusive with a $0.50 minimum per sale, processing included.
What this calculator does not model:
- PayPal processing rates (different from card rates on every platform)
- International card fees and cross-border surcharges
- Currency conversion fees
- VAT / sales tax registration, collection, and filing costs
- Refunds and chargebacks
Frequently asked questions
Why do you include Stripe's processing fee for some platforms and not others?
Because some platforms already pay it for you. Gumroad and Lemon Squeezy are merchants of record — they process the card themselves, and their published fee is the whole cost. Payhip, Sellfy, and SurcoPay Standard connect to your own Stripe (or PayPal) account, so the processor's cut comes out of your pocket separately. If we only compared headline platform fees, the bring-your-own-processor platforms would look about 3% cheaper than they really are. Adding the 2.9% + $0.30 estimate makes the totals comparable.
Can I use this as a Gumroad or Payhip fee calculator?
Yes — that is exactly what the per-row breakdown is. Enter your price and volume and the Gumroad row shows Gumroad's fee (10% + $0.50 per sale as of 2026), while the Payhip rows show each plan tier plus the Stripe processing you pay separately. The same goes for Sellfy and Lemon Squeezy. Rates are sourced from each platform's published pricing — links in the methodology section below.
Which platform is cheapest?
Honestly: it depends on your volume. At low revenue, free plans with a percentage fee win — a $29 or $99 subscription is hard to justify on a few hundred dollars of sales. As revenue grows, the math flips: a flat subscription with a 0% platform fee (like Sellfy Starter or Payhip Pro) becomes cheaper than any percentage. That is exactly why this calculator exists — plug in your real numbers and the sorting will tell you, whoever the winner turns out to be.
Does the fee affect sales tax?
No — platform fees are charged on your product price, and sales tax is a separate issue. But tax is a real cost worth factoring in: merchant-of-record platforms typically handle VAT and sales tax for you, while most bring-your-own-processor platforms leave registration, collection, and filing to you. Our guide to sales tax for digital products covers what that actually involves.
Why is SurcoPay in the comparison if it has not launched yet?
So you can see where our pricing lands against platforms you can use today. SurcoPay is launching soon — the rates shown (4.5% with your own Stripe account, or 8% all-inclusive) are our published launch pricing. The calculator sorts purely by cost, so if another platform is cheaper at your volume, it will rank above us. If the numbers look good to you, join the waitlist.
Keep more of every sale
SurcoPay: 4.5% with your own Stripe account, or 8% all-inclusive. Tax compliance built in. Join the waitlist to be first in line when we launch.
Join the waitlist