Etsy vs Gumroad for Digital Downloads: Fees, Buyers and Which to Start With

If you're selling a printable, planner, template or ebook, Etsy and Gumroad are the two names that come up first. Both host your file, take the payment and deliver the download. They differ in two ways that matter more than anything else: how much each keeps per sale, and whether the platform brings you buyers or you have to bring them yourself.

We sell our own product mainly through a Stripe Payment Link on our own site, and we don't earn anything from either platform, so pick whichever fits. Every fee below comes from Etsy's and Gumroad's own pricing and help pages, checked October 27, 2026, for a US seller and a US card sale. Fees change, so confirm before you price. This isn't tax or legal advice.

The short answer

• Start on Etsy if your product is something people already search Etsy for (planners, printables, wall art, wedding and party templates, spreadsheet templates) and you have no audience yet. Etsy's search is the main reason to pay its fees.
• Start on Gumroad if you'll bring the buyers yourself (from a newsletter, social posts, a community, YouTube or your own site), if the product is something like an ebook, course, Notion template or tool that Etsy shoppers rarely look for, or if you want sales tax handled worldwide without thinking about it.
• Many sellers use both: Etsy for discovery, plus a cheaper checkout for the people they bring themselves.

What you keep at five prices

Etsy: $0.20 listing fee (renewed after each sale of a multi-quantity listing), 6.5% transaction fee, and 3% + $0.25 Etsy Payments processing. Gumroad direct sale: 10% + $0.50, plus 2.9% + $0.30 card processing. Gumroad Discover (its marketplace): 30% flat, processing included. Sales tax is collected on top of your price and isn't included.

Two things stand out. On a normal sale, Etsy keeps less than Gumroad at every price in this range, because Gumroad's flat $0.80 and higher percentage add up. And both platforms' "marketplace" sales cost the most: Gumroad Discover takes 30%, and an Etsy sale that came from an Offsite Ad adds 15% (12% for shops over $10,000 a year). Those are sales you might not have found yourself, which is the trade.

For your own price, use the free Etsy fee calculator and Gumroad fee calculator. Both also show the same sale through your own Stripe checkout, which keeps the most per sale ($25.92 of $27 at Stripe's US standard rate of 2.9% + 30¢) but brings no buyers at all.

Where the buyers come from

This is the real decision. Etsy is a search engine for shoppers. A new listing with a clear title, good preview images and a product people already search for can sell without you sending anyone. You also compete with thousands of similar listings, often at low prices, on a page you don't control.

Gumroad works best when you send the traffic. Your product page is yours, without competitor listings next to it, and Discover can add buyers on top. In practice, most new Gumroad sellers get their first sales from people they reached themselves, which is why the direct-sale fee is the one to plan around.

A quick test: search Etsy for the exact thing you plan to sell. If you see many listings with lots of reviews, there's demand there (and competition). If you see almost nothing, Etsy probably won't find buyers for you, and its lower fee doesn't matter.

Sales tax and VAT

Gumroad has been the merchant of record since January 1, 2025, so it collects and remits sales tax and VAT on your sales worldwide. You don't register or file for those sales.

Etsy collects and remits sales tax in US states with marketplace facilitator laws, and VAT in many other countries. Rules vary by country, so check Etsy's tax pages for where your buyers are.

Either way, you're not handling tax yourself, which is one of the biggest reasons to pick a platform over your own checkout for a first product.

Delivery and files

Both deliver the download automatically after payment. Etsy digital listings allow up to five files of up to 20 MB each, so large bundles or video usually need a link inside a PDF. Gumroad hosts larger files and also handles things Etsy doesn't, like memberships, pay-what-you-want pricing and product updates sent to past buyers.

Which to start with

1. Is your product an "Etsy product"? Planners, printables, templates for events or small businesses: start on Etsy. Ebooks, courses, software, Notion or developer templates: start on Gumroad.
2. Do you have any audience? None: Etsy's search is worth its fee. Some (even a few hundred followers or subscribers): Gumroad or your own checkout keeps more of what you sell to them.
3. Will you sell mostly at under $10? Gumroad's flat $0.80 hurts most at low prices. Etsy is cheaper there, and so is bundling into one higher-priced product.

If you'd rather skip platform fees for the buyers you bring yourself, we walk through the setup in how to sell digital products on your own website, and compare more options in Gumroad alternatives and Gumroad vs Stripe Payment Links. Already on Etsy? See how to sell printables outside Etsy.

FAQ

Is Etsy or Gumroad cheaper for digital downloads? On a normal sale, Etsy keeps less: about $1.40 on a $10 download versus about $2.09 on Gumroad (direct sale with card processing). Gumroad Discover sales (30%) and Etsy Offsite Ads sales (15% extra) cost more than either.

Can I sell the same product on both? Yes, as long as you own the product and any fonts, graphics or templates you used allow it. Keep the price the same or explain the difference, and track which platform each sale came from.

Does Gumroad have buyers like Etsy does? Gumroad Discover can surface your product to people browsing Gumroad, but it's much smaller as a source of buyers for most new sellers than Etsy search. Plan on bringing your own traffic to Gumroad.

Do I need a business to sell on Etsy or Gumroad? No, both let individuals sell. You'll provide tax information for payouts, and you're responsible for income tax on what you earn.

Sources (checked October 27, 2026)

• Etsy Fees & Payments Policy and Etsy Help: payment processing fees
• Gumroad pricing and Gumroad Help: Gumroad's fees
• Stripe US pricing