Payhip is popular with authors for good reason. There's no monthly fee to start, every plan includes every feature, and you get a proper storefront and your customers' email addresses. What pushes authors to look around is usually one of three things: fees adding up as sales grow, the lack of print, or the fact that a storefront only sells to readers you bring yourself.
This guide compares the real cost of each option over a year, and explains what each does and doesn't do.
What Payhip costs
| Plan | Monthly price | Transaction fee | Processing |
|---|---|---|---|
| Free Forever | $0 | 5% | PayPal or Stripe standard rates |
| Plus | $29 | 2% | PayPal or Stripe standard rates |
| Pro | $99 | None | PayPal or Stripe standard rates |
Payhip says all plans include every feature, unlimited products and unlimited revenue. The only differences are the monthly price and the transaction fee.
What Payhip does well
- No cost to start on the free plan.
- Your own storefront and your customers' email addresses.
- More than ebooks: digital downloads, courses and memberships.
- Coupons and affiliate tools for promotions.
- No feature gating between plans.
Why authors look for a Payhip alternative
| Reason | What it means |
|---|---|
| Fees grow with sales | 5% plus processing on every sale adds up at volume |
| Awkward plan jumps | $29 or $99 a month only pays off at high revenue |
| No print | Paperbacks and hardcovers need another platform |
| No browsing readers | A storefront sells only to readers you send there |
| File delivery | Readers must download and load files themselves |
A year of sales, compared
A $4.99 ebook, with card processing assumed at 2.9% + $0.30 per sale where it applies.
| Option | 100 sales | 500 sales | 2,000 sales |
|---|---|---|---|
| Payhip Free (5%) | $429.58 | $2,147.89 | $8,591.58 |
| Payhip Plus ($29/mo, 2%) | $96.55 | $1,874.75 | $8,542.98 |
| Payhip Pro ($99/mo) | A loss of $733.47 | $1,084.65 | $7,902.58 |
| Gumroad (10% + $0.50) | $354.63 | $1,773.14 | $7,092.58 |
| Books.by Pro ($299/yr) | $155.53 | $1,973.65 | $8,791.58 |
| BooksOasis Starter ($29.99/yr) | $469.01 | $2,465.01 | $9,950.01 |
What you keep in a year after platform fees and processing. Example calculations; actual processing rates vary by country and payment method. Gumroad's Discover marketplace charges 30% instead of 10% on sales it brings you.
Two things stand out. Payhip's Free plan beats its paid plans until revenue is well into five figures. And a flat-fee store beats every percentage-based option once you sell a few dozen copies a year.
Payhip alternatives compared
| Option | What it is | Cost | Best for | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gumroad | Creator storefront | 10% + $0.50 per sale + processing | No | Creators already on Gumroad |
| Books.by | Author storefront | Core $99/yr (paperback only); Pro $299/yr with ebooks; processing 2.9% + $0.30 | Yes | Authors wanting a branded shop with print |
| Shopify + delivery app | Your own online shop | Monthly plan plus apps and processing | Via integrations | Authors selling merchandise as well as books |
| BooksOasis | Independent bookstore | From $29.99/yr; 100% of ebook price; no processing cut | Yes, print on demand | Reaching browsing readers and keeping every ebook dollar |
Gumroad
Gumroad is the best-known creator storefront. It charges 10% plus $0.50 per sale, plus processing, and 30% on sales that come through its Discover marketplace. For a $4.99 ebook that leaves about $3.55 per direct sale, against about $4.30 on Payhip Free. It suits creators already building an audience there, but for ebook authors comparing on cost, Payhip usually wins. See Gumroad alternatives for ebooks.
Books.by
Books.by is built specifically for authors, with a branded store and print on demand. Its Core plan ($99 a year) is paperback-only; ebooks need Pro at $299 a year. You keep 100% of sales minus card processing. It suits authors who want a polished store with print and sell enough to cover the plan. More in Books.by alternatives.
Your own Shopify store
A general online shop gives you full control and suits authors who also sell signed copies, merchandise or special editions. You'll need an app to deliver ebooks, and you pay a monthly plan plus apps and processing. It's the most flexible option and the most work.
BooksOasis: a bookstore, not just a storefront
BooksOasis is an independent bookstore for ebooks, paperbacks and hardcovers. You pay a flat yearly plan and keep 100% of your ebook price on every sale, with no processing cut. The difference from a storefront is that readers browse BooksOasis: your book sits on genre shelves, author pages and series pages alongside other books, rather than on a page only your own followers visit.
- Plans: Starter $29.99 a year for 10 books, Growth $179 for 100, Publisher $599 for 500.
- Print on demand: earn the price minus printing and a 30% handling fee on that cost; the reader pays shipping.
- No files to send: ebooks open in Oasis Reader in any browser.
- Your own promo prices with start and end dates.
What BooksOasis does not do
- It isn't a storefront on your own domain.
- It doesn't hand you buyers' email addresses; invite readers to your newsletter from your book's back matter.
- It doesn't sell courses, memberships or non-book products.
- The plan costs a flat fee whether or not you sell.
Storefront or bookstore?
| Storefront (Payhip, Gumroad) | Bookstore (BooksOasis) | |
|---|---|---|
| Who finds your book | Readers you send | Readers you send, plus readers browsing the store |
| Customer emails | Yours | Kept by the store |
| Delivery | Download file | Reader's library, read in a browser |
| Other products | Courses, memberships, downloads | Books only |
| Cost model | Percentage or monthly plan | Flat yearly plan |
Many authors use both: a storefront for newsletter offers and extras, and a bookstore listing for discovery. Neither choice locks you out of the other.
Sales tax and VAT on direct sales
Selling ebooks directly to readers in other countries brings tax questions that retailers normally handle for you. Digital sales in the EU, the UK and elsewhere can carry VAT based on the buyer's location. Storefront tools differ in how much of this they take on, and in some setups you remain responsible for registering and filing. Before choosing any direct-sale tool, check its help pages on tax, and speak to an accountant if your direct sales become significant. When you sell through a bookstore, the store's checkout handles the sale on its side.
Running promotions outside Payhip
Payhip's coupons and affiliate tools are one of its strengths. If you move some sales elsewhere, plan how you'll run promotions there:
- Timed price drops: BooksOasis lets you set your own promo price with a start and end date, so a launch discount switches on and off automatically.
- Bundles: Books.by and your own shop can sell sets; on bookstores, a box-set edition does the same job.
- Newsletter exclusives: keep these on your storefront, where you control access.
- Series pricing: price the first book low and the rest at full price across every outlet.
Which Payhip plan, if you stay?
If you stay on Payhip, the maths is simple. At a 5% fee, Plus ($348 a year) only saves money once your revenue passes about $11,600 a year, since 3 percentage points on that amount covers the plan. Pro ($1,188 a year) beats Free once revenue passes about $23,760 a year. Below those figures, stay on Free.
Moving from Payhip without losing readers
- Keep your Payhip store open while you add a new outlet; there's no need to switch overnight.
- Export your customer list and invite past buyers to your newsletter.
- Update links in your back matter, website and social profiles.
- Honour existing downloads so past buyers can still access their files.
- Track sales by channel for three months before deciding what to close.
Questions to ask any direct-sale option
- What do I keep per sale at my actual price, after every fee?
- Is there a monthly or yearly cost, and at what sales level does it pay off?
- Can readers find my book there without me sending them?
- Can I sell print as well as ebooks?
- How are books delivered, and what happens if a download fails?
- Is there exclusivity, or can I keep selling everywhere else too?
Three authors, three choices
A cookbook author selling PDFs and a video course stays on Payhip Free, because courses and PDFs are exactly what it's built for.
A thriller author selling 800 ebooks a year direct keeps Payhip for newsletter bundles and lists every book on BooksOasis, where he keeps the full price and picks up readers browsing the thriller shelf.
A poet who wants signed paperbacks uses Books.by for a branded shop with print, and BooksOasis for ebooks and print-on-demand editions.
Sources
Checked September 2026: Payhip pricing; Gumroad pricing; Books.by pricing.
In short
Payhip's free plan is one of the cheapest ways to run your own ebook storefront, and its paid plans only make sense at high revenue. If fees are growing, if you need print, or if you want readers who browse rather than only readers you bring, add a flat-fee bookstore like BooksOasis, where every ebook sale is 100% yours.
Questions
How much does Payhip charge?
According to Payhip's pricing page, the Free plan adds a 5% transaction fee, Plus costs $29 a month with a 2% fee, and Pro costs $99 a month with no transaction fee. PayPal and Stripe charge their standard processing fees on every plan.
Are Payhip's plans different in features?
Payhip says all plans include all features, unlimited products and unlimited revenue; the difference is the monthly price and the transaction fee.
Which Payhip plan is cheapest?
It depends on sales. For most authors selling a few hundred ebooks a year, the Free plan's 5% costs less than $29 a month. Plus and Pro only pay off at higher revenue.
What is the best Payhip alternative for authors?
If you want your own storefront, Payhip is hard to beat on price at low volume. If you want to keep 100% of the ebook price and be listed in a bookstore readers browse, a flat-fee store like BooksOasis costs less once you sell a few dozen copies a year.
Is Gumroad cheaper than Payhip?
Usually not for ebooks. Gumroad charges 10% plus $0.50 per sale, plus processing, and 30% on sales through its Discover marketplace.
Does BooksOasis charge processing fees?
No. BooksOasis publishers keep 100% of the ebook price with no processing cut; the cost is the yearly plan.
Can I use Payhip and BooksOasis together?
Yes. Many authors keep a storefront for their newsletter and add BooksOasis as a bookstore listing. Neither requires exclusivity.
Does Payhip sell print books?
Payhip is built for digital products and memberships. For print on demand, authors use KDP Print, IngramSpark, Books.by or BooksOasis.
Do I get customer emails with each option?
Storefront tools like Payhip and Gumroad give you customer email addresses. Bookstores and retailers, including BooksOasis, keep the customer relationship on their side, so use your book's back matter to invite readers to your newsletter.
Who delivers the ebook file?
Payhip and Gumroad send the buyer a download. On BooksOasis, the book goes into the reader's library and opens in Oasis Reader, so there are no files to send.
When is Payhip Plus worth it?
Compared with the Free plan, Plus saves 3 percentage points per sale for $348 a year, so it only pays off once your Payhip revenue passes about $11,600 a year.
Do I have to handle VAT when selling ebooks direct?
It depends on the tool and where your buyers live. Digital sales can carry VAT based on the buyer's country. Check your storefront's tax help pages, and ask an accountant once direct sales grow.
Keep 100% of your ebook price
No commission and no processing cut, from $29.99 a year.