Gumroad can be too expensive for small businesses or digital creators just starting. Although the platform is free to use, it lacks what you’re really looking for: a customizable storefront with high conversion probability and low transaction fees. Here are some drawbacks that many creators find problematic:
- Gumroad doesn’t allow high-level customization: Gumroad only offers basic customization, preferable for beginners. It lacks advanced marketing tools or sales features like upselling, customizing each product listing, or organizing your products into categories — all essential for building a unique brand image.
- It has a high transaction fee: Small digital creators might think Gumroad’s “no-subscription” fee model is an advantage, but not for everyone. Each time you sell a product, Gumroad cuts 10% (+ credit card fees).
- Customer support limitations: Gumroad’s customer service can be challenging at times. They offer no live chat, relying solely on a support email and a help center, which can result in slower response times.
In this blog, we’ll compare 7 alternatives to Gumroad that overcome the above-mentioned limitations, starting from Fungies, the ultimate platform for digital creators, game developers, and small businesses that sell digital products.
TL;DR
Gumroad is a popular e-commerce platform where creators can sell digital products to their customers but its expensive fee and monotonous storefront customization may limit small businesses.
Fungies is the best alternative to Gumroad as it offers an advanced customizable no-code website builder, daily payouts, flexible payment gateways, integration with Web3 technologies, low transaction fees (5% + $0.50), and global tax compliance. You can directly sell digital products, subscriptions, or in-game assets to customers without any intermediaries.
SendOwl, Sellfy, Payhip, and LemonSqueezy are great for simpler setups, while Patreon excels for memberships and Shopify is best for physical products.
1. Fungies, the Alternate for Customizable Storefront, Low Transaction Fees, and Compliant Tax Handling
Fungies.io is an all-in-one Merchant of Record (MoR) platform that lets you sell anything digital, from digital products, and subscriptions, to in-game assets.
Using Fungies as an alternative to Gumroad can give you the following benefits:
- It has a no-code website builder: Fungies offers a no-code website builder with customization features. You can tweak the design, add features, and personalize the user experience.
- It is secure and tax compliant: The platform automatically collects and reports taxes on international orders for you based on global tax regulations, ensuring compliance and simplifying the sales process.
- It has low transaction fees with no upfront costs: Like Gumroad, Fungies also takes zero upfront costs. Plus, the transaction fee is much lower (5% + $0.50), allowing you to earn more profits from your sales.
- It offers more scalability for small creators: You can use advanced features like data analytics and advanced features to upsell and cross-sell your digital products, and boost revenue.
Here’s a detailed look at how Fungies can be your go-to platform for managing and selling digital products:
Customizable Product Listing With Easy User-Friendly Interface
Each product has its own feel, Fungies lets you customize your product’s listing based on how you think it looks best. You can customize your online store to your unique brand image with its 20+ pre-built templates, upload your logo, and landing page sections, and fill up the footer.
Here’s an example of a game storefront:
Fungies website builder allows you to add specific attributes of your products with text fields, image uploads, and configuration options. This enables customers to personalize their purchases according to their preferences.
Simply select “choose a template”, then drag and drop to add page sections, change font colors, or add additional pages, however you like. For a more personalized look, you can also organize subsections of your store under each page section, such as text, image, video, gallery, points, slider, and recent products.
From the dashboard, click on Products and select the product type that fits you best. Add a detailed description, complete the required fields, upload images, and set your pricing, and you’re all set to launch.
Here’s an example of how you can sell a subscription through Fungies:
How To Sell Subscriptions for your SaaS or Software
For game developers or those looking for more flexibility, Fungies offers the ability to add multiple options for the product you’re selling called Variants.
For example, you can promote a basic product alongside an enhanced version with additional features or sell a bundle of products at a discounted price.
You can also set up your in-game store or NFT marketplace using its Unity / Unreal SDK’s for free. The platform lets you set your own domain, homepage layout, and color settings. So, players can make in-game NFT purchases via cryptocurrencies or credit cards without leaving the game.
With a no-code website builder, selling digital products becomes faster. If you have advanced features like those on Fungies, your selling becomes more specific and focused on the target audience.
Unlike Gumroad, Fungies Gives Daily Payouts With an Integrated Flexible Payment System
Fungies stands out with its daily payout feature, multiple payment gateways, and flexible pricing, offering a range of options to customers.
Gumroad users often face delayed payouts, which can take at least a week to process. Fungies resolves this issue by offering daily payouts where owners can automatically transfer funds to their Stripe once a day.
And it’s easy to integrate: simply connect your Stripe account and you’re ready to earn your first sale.
Furthermore, Gumroad supports only a handful of payment methods, primarily credit cards and PayPal. This may restrict your sales. Fungies is more suitable as it offers 250+ global payment methods for international customers including Visa, Mastercard, Apple Pay, Google Pay, cryptocurrencies, and many more.
You can use options like one-time purchases, subscriptions, or installment payments, allowing the buyers to choose how they pay. It is highly suitable for recurring billing and subscription-based services.
You can also customize embedded overlay checkout on your own or inside your app. It appears as a pop-up window for customers to add items to their cart and pay immediately.
Although Gumroad has a checkout feature, it doesn’t match the level of customization of Fungies where you can customize the theme based on your website color.
Built-In Global Tax Compliant with Secure Transactions
As an MoR platform, Fungies simplifies tax management for small businesses with global reach, eliminating the need for in-house legal teams. It ensures full tax compliance by handling local VAT registrations, calculating and paying VAT, managing chargebacks, refunds, and fraud prevention.
While Gumroad covers VAT for EU customers, it lacks support for other regions. In contrast, Fungies automates global tax compliance, including regional taxes. It is responsible for tax collection, reporting, and filing, allowing creators to sell globally without tax concerns.
Marketing Tools with Sales Analytics on a Single Dashboard
Fungies allows you to create, upload, manage, design, and analyze your business from one dashboard. The built-in marketing tools on the platform include SEO Analytics.
It allows integration with Google Analytics so you can track site performance metrics such as visitor behavior, traffic sources, and conversion rates. This helps creators understand how their products are performing and where improvements can be made.
The platform supports creating custom dashboards that can display key performance indicators (KPIs) relevant to the creator’s business, such as Monthly Recurring Revenue (MRR) and customer purchasing behaviors.
For full control, Fungies offers a highly personalized management dashboard where you can view revenue analytics, user management, history of transactions, wallet management, and more.
Fungies provides insights into user management and subscription metrics, especially for SaaS businesses to understand customer retention and engagement.
Web3-Friendly Integration
Fungies is built with Web3 game developers in mind, offering personalized features that traditional Web2 platforms can’t match.
It enables creators to sell directly to players without relying on intermediaries like Steam or the App Store, which often charge high commissions. This direct-to-customer model allows developers to keep a larger portion of their revenue.
Players can buy subscriptions, chests, virtual currencies, bundles, and NFTs directly in the game. This gives developers the flexibility to manage and monetize their digital assets.
Fungies Pricing
Fungies.io is free to use with no additional costs, no subscription costs, and no monthly fees. It takes a small commission fee of 5%+50¢ only when you sell your product.
You can set up your own store for free without needing a credit card, making it accessible for those looking to launch quickly without initial investments. Furthermore, you don’t need to give them any credit card information, simply connect your Stripe account and get paid.
Fungies Pros
- Customizable no-code storefronts
- Built-in global tax compliance
- Suitable for Web3-friendly digital products
- Local currencies and payment methods
- Low transaction fees
- Analytics and reporting tools
- Easy and fast API integration
- Daily payouts
- Merchant of Record
Fungies Cons
- Newer Platform
Customer Reviews
Review #1:
“As we delved deeper into the world of game development, we realized we needed a robust commerce tool that mirrored our dedication to gaming. Enter Fungies. They don’t just ‘get’ gaming; they live it. Harnessing their platform, we crafted a storefront that resonated with our game’s spirit. If you’re seeking a platform that bridges gaming passion with commerce expertise, Fungies is the name.” – Martin Repetto, Founder of Mokens League.
Review #2:
“We developed our game and wanted a quick and cheap solution to build our own customizable storefront. Fungies did just that.” – James, Founder of MagicCraft
2. SendOwl
SendOwl is a user-friendly e-commerce platform that allows creators to sell digital products, memberships, and services directly from their website or social media.
The platform has built-in features like secure payment processing, automated product delivery, and customizable checkout to simplify the process of selling digital goods while offering tools for upselling, subscriptions, and affiliate marketing.
Similar to Gumroad, it has a simple storefront feature and the tax handling is also basic. Fungies is a better option for creators who want an in-depth customizable website builder with global tax compliance.
SendOwl Pros
- Simple
- User-friendly
- Affordable
- Secure
- Easy integration
SendOwl Cons
- Limited customization
- Basic tax handling
- No Web3 support
- Limited scalability
- Basic affiliate tools
Customer Review
“SendOwl has been meeting my needs as a digital goods and services merchant for over three years. Excellent customer service; recently, they even updated some aspects of the appearance to make it feel more current. It’s simply fantastic for digital products.” – Suyash J., Risk Analyst
Rating
- 4.5 stars on G2 (15 reviews)
- 4.1 stars on Capterra (7 reviews)
3. Sellfy
Sellfy is an e-commerce solution to sell digital products, physical goods, and subscriptions. It offers a simple, no-code storefront builder, like Fungies, but with limited customization options for branding and design.
The platform also has built-in payment processing, print-on-demand services, and marketing tools, such as email marketing and discount codes, ideal for small businesses. However, this platform takes a subscription fee, starting price from $22 per month for a yearly package.
In contrast, Fungies only takes 5% + $0.50 commission fee, only when you make a sale. You simply pay when you earn, otherwise, it’s forever free.
Sellfy Pros
- Easy-to-use
- Versatile
- Quick setup
- Offers EU VAT & sales tax compliance
- Supports physical products
- Has a mobile app
Sellfy Cons
- Limited customization
- No Web3 support
- Basic tax handling
- Subscription fee
Customer Reviews
“Sellfy has helped us setup an efficient compact online store catering exactly to our needs at the right price. The 14 day trial period helps you understand the product well. We have used the analytics feature the most where we easily understand the target customer stats and also our revenue from them. Best thing about sellfy is we just have to pay our subscription fee which is inclusive of hosting charges and after this , zero maintainance is required.” – Padmana N.
Rating
- 3.9 stars on G2 (53 reviews)
- 4.5 stars on Capterra (31 reviews)
4. Patreon
Patreon is a membership-based platform to earn recurring income by offering exclusive content and experiences to subscribers, known as Patrons.
For digital creators, Patreon offers various membership tiers, providing patrons with different perks like early access, behind-the-scenes content, or personalized interactions. It charges a fee ranging from 5% to 12% plus payment processing fees, which can reduce overall earnings.
Patreon is popular among YouTubers, Artists, Podcasters, Writers, and other digital creators who want to build a direct relationship with their audience and generate sustainable income.
However, it’s not suitable for creators who don’t have an established fanbase. Many developers believe this platform is more catered to creative arts, rather than product-selling.
Patreon Pros
- Membership tiers
- Recurring income stream
- No minimum subscriber requirement
- Direct selling to fans
- Suitable for creative arts
Patreon Cons
- No ownership over audience data
- No discoverability
- Payout delays
- High platform fees
Customer Reviews
“I have been using Patreon for more than 2 years now and have benefitted with all the features they provide. Ability to setup tiers for patrons is very useful to have and all the videos that we post in YouTube can be first uploaded to Patreon so that our patron feel special.” – Sujata B., Influencer.
Rating
- 4.1 stars on G2 (61 reviews)
- 4.5 stars on Capterra (23 reviews)
5. Shopify
Shopify is a popular e-commerce site that allows businesses and individuals to create online stores to sell products or services.
It offers a range of customizable templates, built-in payment processing, inventory management, and marketing tools. Shopify supports both physical and digital products, and its user-friendly interface makes it easy for entrepreneurs to launch, manage, and grow their businesses online.
Shopify is well-known for its customizable website builder for small businesses. In contrast, Fungies’ is more catered towards digital products and Web3 projects, with simpler customization tools suitable for creators.
Shopify Pros
- Advanced customization for the website builder
- Suitable for physical and digital products
- Globally integrated payment gateways
- Third-party integrations
- User-friendly interface
Shopify Cons
- Does not cater to Web3 or gaming, is more focused on traditional e-commerce
- High transaction fees, monthly fees, and additional charges
- Requires third-party apps for global tax handling
Customer Reviews
“I was positively surprised how easy it was to setup and start the store.Visually they have one of the best graphic solutions so the store looks professional and well branded.They provide many apps and integrations to enhance the store functionality.” – Daria J.
Rating
- 4.4 stars on G2 (4578 reviews)
- 4.5 stars on Capterra (6402 reviews)
6. Payhip
Payhip is an all-in-one e-commerce platform to sell digital products, memberships, and physical goods. It features a user-friendly interface where users can set up their online stores quickly and easily.
Payhip supports digital downloads, subscriptions, and even physical goods, with features like built-in tax handling, affiliate programs, and customer analytics.
Payhip Pros
- User-friendly interface
- No upfront costs
- Built-in affiliate marketing tool
- Integrated payment system
- Small commission fee (5%)
Payhip Cons
- Limited customization
- Customer support issues
- No SEO-friendly tools
Customer Reviews
“Payhip is very convenient for anyone who desires to sell digital products, and I know this because I use it for selling my ebooks. One other thing I love about Payhip, is the fact that they only take %5 from every sale you make, which is very fair since they have made things easy for whomever yearns to sell online.” – Refioe M.
Rating
- 4.3 stars on G2 (2 reviews)
- 4.2 stars on Capterra (14 reviews)
7. LemonSqueezy
LemonSqueezy offers a user-friendly interface, integrated payment processing, global tax compliance, and built-in marketing tools like email campaigns and affiliate programs. It is an e-commerce platform that simplifies selling digital goods while providing features to manage licensing, subscriptions, and customer support.
LemonSqueezy is also ideal for creators who need detailed analytics and reporting tools to help monitor their sales and optimize their marketing strategies. It is one of the popular options among digital creators.
As an alternative to Gumroad, LemonSqueezy offers good customer support with better customization options. In contrast, Fungies.io allows creators and game developers to fully brand and personalize their storefronts, along with a lower commission fee for every sale they make.
LemonSqueezy Pros
- User-Friendly site
- Affordable fees
- Simple store setup
- Designed for Digital products
LemonSqueezy Cons
- Limited customization
- Basic features
- Fewer integrations
Customer Reviews
“Lemon Squeezy made setting up a store and selling digital products super easy and fun. No more clunky plugins to manage or taxes to worry about. Lemon Squeezy does everything I need and more.” – Mike McAlister.
- 4.2 stars on ProductHunt (20 reviews)
Gumroad Alternatives: Quick Comparison Table
| Platforms | Key Features | Why It’s a Better Alternative to Gumroad | Pricing |
| Fungies | No-code customizable storefronts, Web3 & NFT support, daily payouts, global tax compliance | Lower transaction fees, advanced customization and scalability, Web3 integration, no upfront costs | 5% + $0.50 per sale |
| SendOwl | Simple storefront, secure payment processing, upselling & subscription support | More affordable for small creators, easy setup and basic customization | 5% per sale |
| Sellfy | No-code storefront, print-on-demand services, supports physical & digital products | Supports both physical and digital products, offers built-in EU VAT compliance | Starting from $22/mon (yearly) |
| Patreon | Recurring income through memberships, membership tiers, direct fan interaction | Recurring revenue model, direct-to-fan platform with membership features | 5% – 12% + processing fees |
| Shopify | Advanced customizable templates, supports physical & digital products, global payments | Advanced customization for storefronts, more robust e-commerce capabilities | $5/mon (transaction fee may apply) |
| Payhip | Built-in affiliate tools, supports digital & physical products, no upfront costs | Built-in affiliate marketing, lower fees and no upfront costs for new creators | 5% per sale |
| LemonSqueezy | Global tax compliance, affiliate & email marketing tools, licensing management | Integrated email marketing and affiliate features, simplified tax compliance | 5% per sale |
Choosing the Right Gumroad Alternative
Gumroad might not be the ideal for every digital creator because it can be quite expensive, less customizable, limited tax compliant, no Web3 support, or poor customer service.
Fungies.io is the best choice for small SaaS developers, digital creators and game developers. It takes no upfront costs, hidden fees, or subscription fees, gives advanced customization options for storefronts for free, checkout customization, and you only need to pay a small commission (5% + $0.50) when you make a sale.
Try the free website builder and start selling your digital products today!
