Gumroad Alternatives for Selling Ebooks

Gumroad is popular with creators because it is quick: upload a file, set a price, share a link. But for authors, its fees add up fast, and they bite hardest on the low prices ebooks often sell for. This guide shows what Gumroad really costs on an ebook, and compares the alternatives.

What Gumroad really costs on an ebook

According to 2026 breakdowns of Gumroad's pricing, a direct sale costs 10% of the price plus $0.50, and card processing (around 2.9% + $0.30) is added on top. Sales through its Discover marketplace cost 30%.

Example calculations using 10% + $0.50 plus processing at 2.9% + $0.30.

The fixed fees are the problem. On a $2.99 ebook, Gumroad and processing take around 40% of the price, more than most retailers.

Gumroad alternatives compared

Checked September 2026. Processing modelled at 2.9% + $0.30 where the platform passes it on.

BooksOasis

BooksOasis is a bookstore rather than a general digital shop. You list your ebook (and print editions if you like) and keep 100% of the ebook price, for a flat plan: $29.99 a year for 10 books, $179 for 100, or $599 for 500.

• No per-sale fees on ebooks, and no processing cut taken from your royalty.
• No file delivery: buyers read instantly in Oasis Reader, on any phone, tablet or computer, with offline reading inside the app.
• Discovery: your books appear on genre shelves and in search in a store built for readers, not just on a link you share.
• Print too: add paperback and hardcover editions on the same listing, printed on demand.
• Promotions: set promotional prices with start and end dates.

Where Gumroad is different: Gumroad sells any digital product, from courses to templates, and shares buyer emails. BooksOasis is for books, and readers keep their accounts with the store.

Payhip

Payhip is the closest like-for-like replacement for Gumroad. It sells digital products from a simple store with buyer emails, discount codes and affiliate tools. Its free plan charges 5% per sale, the $29 monthly plan 2%, and the $99 monthly plan nothing, with processing on top. For most authors, the free plan alone is a big saving over Gumroad.

Books.by

Books.by is built specifically for authors: a yearly fee, 100% of proceeds minus processing, daily payouts and free ISBNs. Ebooks need the $299 Pro plan. It suits authors with an audience who want their own branded bookstore.

Shopify with BookFunnel

For a fully branded website shop, many established authors combine Shopify with BookFunnel, which delivers ebook files and handles reader support for downloads. It is powerful and flexible, and the most expensive and hands-on option.

Retailers

Don't forget the stores readers already use. Kobo, Apple Books, Google Play and Barnes & Noble pay 70% on most ebook prices and bring their own shoppers. They won't give you buyer emails, but they do bring sales you wouldn't otherwise make.

A year of sales: Gumroad vs the alternatives

Here is what 400 sales of a $4.99 ebook in a year would leave you with on each platform.

Example calculations on $1,996 of sales, after yearly plan fees where they apply.

File delivery vs a reading app

Gumroad, Payhip and BookFunnel deliver files: the buyer downloads an EPUB or PDF and moves it to their reading app. That is flexible, but it creates two problems:

• Support: many readers don't know how to get a file onto their phone or e-reader, and email you for help.
• Sharing: a file can be forwarded to anyone.

A reading app avoids both. On BooksOasis, the buyer taps Read now and the book opens, on any device they sign in to. See protecting your ebook from piracy.

Pricing when fees are fixed

Any platform with a fixed per-sale fee punishes low prices. If you sell on one, a few adjustments help:

• Avoid very cheap single ebooks. At $0.99 or $1.99, fixed fees can take half the price.
• Sell bundles. One $9.99 purchase of three books pays the fixed fee once, not three times.
• Offer a complete series. Readers who love book one will often buy the rest in one go.
• Move cheap promotions elsewhere. Run your deepest discounts on a flat-fee store, where nothing is deducted from each sale.

For a fuller approach, see how to price an ebook.

Keeping your mailing list growing

One reason authors like Gumroad is that it shares buyer emails. If you move some sales to a store that doesn't, keep your list growing in other ways:

• Offer a free short story, novella or bonus chapter in exchange for a sign-up.
• Put your newsletter link at the end of every book, where engaged readers find it.
• Use a dedicated email service for sign-ups, so your list doesn't depend on any one store.

Your list and your stores do different jobs: the list keeps readers close, and stores turn interest into sales.

Series and bundles direct

Selling a series direct is where the biggest savings appear, because readers who finish book one often want the rest immediately. On BooksOasis, every series has its own page where readers can buy the first few books or the whole series in one go, as ebooks or in print, and books they already own aren't charged again.

What buyers expect at checkout

• Familiar payment options, such as major cards and PayPal.
• Clear pricing, including any tax, before they pay.
• Instant access after payment, without waiting for an email.
• Help if something goes wrong, from a store with a clear refund policy.

A store built for books handles all of these for you. A general digital shop may leave some to you.

How to move from Gumroad

1. Export your customer list.Your existing buyers are yours; keep them for your newsletter.
2. Set up the new store.Upload your books and match your current prices.
3. Update your links.Newsletter, website, social profiles and the back matter of your books.
4. Tell your readers.A short note explaining where to buy now, and why, goes a long way.
5. Keep Gumroad for non-book productsif you sell courses or other digital items there.

Is Gumroad Discover worth 30%?

Gumroad's Discover marketplace can bring sales from people who didn't know you, but it takes 30% of each one. That is similar to what many retailers keep, without the scale of a major bookstore's readership. If discovery is what you want, compare it with retailers like Kobo and Apple, which pay 70%, and with BooksOasis, where readers browse a store built for books and you keep 100% of the ebook price.

A simple setup for most authors

When Gumroad still makes sense

• You sell mixed digital products and want everything in one place.
• You sell rarely, and simplicity matters more than fees.
• You rely on Gumroad's creator audience and tools.

A quick test before you switch

Look at last year's Gumroad sales. Multiply the number of ebook sales by 50 cents, and add 10% of your revenue. That is roughly what Gumroad's own fees cost you before processing. If the figure is larger than a yearly plan elsewhere, switching pays for itself.

Choosing the right alternative

Sources

Checked September 2026: Gumroad fees (Checkout Page); Gumroad pricing (Sellfy); Payhip pricing; Books.by pricing.

In short

Gumroad is convenient, but for ebooks its fees are among the highest of any way to sell. Payhip's free plan cuts the cost immediately, Books.by and Shopify give you a branded store, and BooksOasis lets you keep 100% of the ebook price while readers find you in a store built for books.