How Much Does It Cost to Sell Digital Products on Shopify? Fees Compared With Kit, Etsy and Gumroad
By Ashikur Rahman16 min readQuick answer: Selling digital products on Shopify costs the plan plus card fees and nothing else. Shopify's Digital Products app is free, and there is no separate digital rate. On Basic that means $39 a month ($29 billed yearly) plus 2.9% + $0.30 per sale. One $29 ebook sold 100 times a month costs $153.10 on Basic billed monthly. Kit's free plan costs $131.50 for the same sales, because it charges 3.5% + $0.30 and no plan fee. Etsy costs $320.70 and Gumroad $454.10. Shopify only overtakes Kit above about 167 sales a month. Fees read on 28 September 2026.
What does Shopify take from each digital sale?
It costs your Shopify plan plus the card rate on each sale. The app that delivers the files is free, and Shopify publishes no digital-specific payment rate. A digital store on Basic pays the same $39 a month and 2.9% + $0.30 per sale as a store shipping boxes.
Shopify's pricing page loads on yearly billing, so the big number on each card is the yearly-billed monthly equivalent. The comparison table gives both: Basic reads "Pay monthly $39 USD/mo" and "Pay yearly $29 USD/mo". The page also opens with "Try 3 days free, then $1/month for 3 months." The page data ties that $1 offer to monthly billing, though the card does not say so.
| Shopify plan | Pay monthly | Pay yearly | Online card rate | Third-party gateway fee |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Basic | $39 a month | $29 a month | 2.9% + $0.30 | 2% |
| Grow | $105 a month | $79 a month | 2.7% + $0.30 | 1% |
| Advanced | $399 a month | $299 a month | 2.5% + $0.30 | 0.6% |
| Plus | From $2,300 a month | No yearly row | 2.25% + $0.30 | 0.2% |
The card rate is the Shopify Payments "online standard" rate. Premium cards, which Shopify says "Includes business cards and American Express", cost 3.5% + $0.30 on Basic. International cards add "+ 1%" on every plan. The gateway column applies only if you skip Shopify Payments. The FAQ adds: "There are no setup fees on any of our plans."
One warning about Shopify prices quoted elsewhere. Shopify shows discounted local prices to visitors outside the US. An article quoting $19 or $25 for Basic was written from a geo-priced page.
What does the Shopify Digital Products app cost, and what does it do?
It costs nothing. The Shopify Digital Products app listing shows the price as "Free", Shopify as the developer, and a rating of 4.8 from 1,306 reviews. It was formerly called Digital Downloads.
Shopify's help page on Digital Products sets the limits: "The maximum file size is 5 GB." "You can upload multiple files per product variant." "There is no bandwidth limit for downloads." And: "By default, your digital products are set to fulfill automatically with unlimited downloads." You can cap downloads per variant if you want to.
The app can also sell a link instead of a file, but only from a fixed list: "Notion, Calendly, Acuity, Kajabi, Teachable, Thinkific, Google Drive/Docs, Dropbox, Canva, YouTube, Vimeo, and Figma. Links from any other website aren't accepted."
Two cautions. First: "If you edit or delete a digital file, then any customer that's previously purchased your product won't be able to access their digital download using their download link." Updating a file breaks old buyers' links. Second, Shopify's page on selling services or digital products warns that "Customers in the EU need to pay VAT on digital goods at the rate applicable in their own country regardless of where the seller is located."
What does one $29 digital sale cost on each platform?
On a $29 product, Shopify Basic and Thinkific Basic take $1.141 per sale, Kit takes $1.315, Etsy takes $3.205 and Gumroad takes $4.541 on a direct sale. Any monthly plan sits on top.
Kit's help page on selling digital products says: "Selling in USD costs 3.5% + $0.30 per transaction. There's no monthly fee for Commerce and nothing to pay until you make a sale." Kit's pricing page calls the rate "inclusive of credit card processing fees" and shows it on every plan. Etsy's Fees and Payments Policy charges "a listing fee of $0.20 USD for each item" and "a transaction fee of 6.5% of the price you display". Etsy's Payments Policy adds "3% + 0.25 USD" per US order. Gumroad's pricing page charges "10% + $0.50 Per transaction" on direct sales and "30% Per transaction" through its Discover marketplace.
The course platforms sell downloads too. Thinkific's pricing page quotes 2.9% on Thinkific Payments, with no platform fee. Teachable's pricing page lists a "7.5% transaction fee" on Starter. Podia's pricing page says: "On the Mover plan, we charge a 5% transaction fee." Teachable and Podia add processing of 2.9% + $0.30.
| Where you sell | Published fee per sale | Plan, monthly billing | Fee on one $29 sale |
|---|---|---|---|
| Shopify Basic | 2.9% + $0.30 | $39 ($29 yearly) | $1.141 |
| Kit Free | 3.5% + $0.30, processing included | $0 | $1.315 |
| Thinkific Basic | 2.9% + $0.30, no platform fee | $54 ($40 yearly) | $1.141 |
| Teachable Starter | 7.5% plus 2.9% + $0.30 | $39 ($29 yearly) | $1.141 plus 7.5% |
| Podia Mover | 5% plus 2.9% + $0.30 | $49 ($42 yearly) | $1.141 plus 5% |
| Etsy | 6.5% plus 3% + $0.25, $0.20 listing | $0 | $3.205 |
| Gumroad direct | 10% + $0.50, plus 2.9% + $0.30 | $0 | $4.541 |
| Gumroad Discover | 30%, processing included | $0 | 30% of the price |
What does 100 sales of a $29 product cost on Shopify, Kit, Etsy and Gumroad?
At 100 sales a month, gross $2,900, Kit Free is cheapest at $131.50. Shopify Basic costs $143.10 billed yearly and $153.10 billed monthly. Etsy costs $320.70 and Gumroad direct $454.10. Assumptions: US seller, US card buyers, no refunds, no tax in the base, no add-ons.
Shopify Basic, line by line:
- Card fee per sale: 2.9% x $29 + $0.30 = $1.141
- Card fees: 100 x $1.141 = $114.10
- Digital Products app: $0
- Billed monthly: $39 + $114.10 = $153.10
- Billed yearly: $29 + $114.10 = $143.10
Kit Free, line by line:
- Fee per sale: 3.5% x $29 + $0.30 = $1.315
- Total: 100 x $1.315 = $131.50, with a $0 plan
Etsy, one listing with multiple quantity:
- Listing: $0.20 initial plus 100 renewals at $0.20 = $20.20
- Transaction fee: 6.5% x $2,900 = $188.50
- Etsy Payments: 100 x (3% x $29 + $0.25) = 100 x $1.12 = $112.00
- Total: $320.70, before any Offsite Ads fee or set-up fee
Gumroad direct:
- Gumroad fee: 100 x (10% x $29 + $0.50) = $340.00
- Card processing: 100 x $1.141 = $114.10
- Total: $454.10. All through Discover instead: 30% x $2,900 = $870.00
| Platform, 100 sales of $29 | Plan | Fees | Month total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kit Free | $0 | $131.50 | $131.50 |
| Shopify Basic, yearly | $29 | $114.10 | $143.10 |
| Shopify Basic, monthly | $39 | $114.10 | $153.10 |
| Thinkific Basic | $54 | $114.10 | $168.10 |
| Kit Creator, monthly | $39 | $131.50 | $170.50 |
| Podia Mover | $49 | $145 + $114.10 | $308.10 |
| Etsy | $0 | $320.70 | $320.70 |
| Teachable Starter | $39 | $217.50 + $114.10 | $370.60 |
| Gumroad direct | $0 | $454.10 | $454.10 |
This is what most pages on this query miss. They compare Shopify with Etsy and Gumroad and stop. Add Kit's free plan and it beats every store option at this volume, because a $0 plan outweighs a slightly higher rate.
Transparency note: CriticNest has no affiliate or commercial relationship with Shopify, Kit, Etsy, Gumroad, Thinkific, Teachable or Podia as of 28 September 2026. Every vendor link on this page is a plain link. Nothing here is a paid placement. Every price and quotation was read from the vendors' own pages on 28 September 2026; if that changes, the disclosure will move to the top of this article.
What changes at 10 sales and at 500 sales a month?
At 10 sales Kit Free wins easily and Etsy moves into second place. At 500 sales Shopify Basic becomes cheapest, because its lower card rate outweighs its plan fee.
| Platform, $29 product | 10 sales ($290) | 100 sales ($2,900) | 500 sales ($14,500) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kit Free | $13.15 | $131.50 | $657.50 |
| Shopify Basic, yearly | $40.41 | $143.10 | $599.50 |
| Shopify Basic, monthly | $50.41 | $153.10 | $609.50 |
| Etsy | $32.25 | $320.70 | $1,602.70 |
| Gumroad direct | $45.41 | $454.10 | $2,270.50 |
At 10 sales: Kit, 10 x $1.315 = $13.15. Shopify, 10 x $1.141 = $11.41, plus $29 = $40.41 or plus $39 = $50.41. Etsy, $2.20 in listings + 6.5% x $290 = $18.85 + 10 x $1.12 = $11.20, total $32.25. Gumroad, 10 x $3.40 = $34.00 + $11.41 processing = $45.41.
At 500 sales: Kit, 500 x $1.315 = $657.50. Shopify, 500 x $1.141 = $570.50, plus $29 = $599.50 or plus $39 = $609.50. Etsy, $100.20 in listings + 6.5% x $14,500 = $942.50 + 500 x $1.12 = $560.00, total $1,602.70. Gumroad, 500 x $3.40 = $1,700.00 + $570.50 = $2,270.50. Gumroad's $20,000 monthly threshold is not reached, so 10% still applies.
Where does Shopify overtake Kit? Kit costs 17.4 cents more per $29 sale ($1.315 minus $1.141). Divide the plan by that gap. Yearly: 29 / 0.174 = 166.7, so Shopify is cheaper from 167 sales a month. Monthly: 39 / 0.174 = 224.1, so from 225 sales. A pricier product crosses sooner, because Kit's extra 0.6 points grow with the price.
Shopify's upper plans rarely change this. Its page on choosing the right plan puts the Grow break-even at "$200,000 USD/year" in sales with Shopify Payments. Twelve months at 500 sales is 6,000 x $29, still below it.
Is it better to sell digital products on Etsy or Shopify?
On cost, Etsy is better for a handful of sales and Shopify is better for steady volume. At 10 sales a month Etsy costs $32.25 against $40.41 on Shopify Basic billed yearly. At 100 sales Etsy costs $320.70 against $143.10. Etsy's price buys marketplace traffic.
Etsy also sets rules Shopify does not. Etsy's help page on digital listings says: "You can upload up to five digital files. The maximum size for each file is 20MB." It adds: "Like handmade items, digital items listed in your store must be made and/or designed by you, the seller." And: "No, you can't offer variations for digital items."
| Rule or fee | Shopify Basic | Etsy |
|---|---|---|
| Monthly plan | $39, or $29 billed yearly | $0 (Etsy Plus optional, $10) |
| Fees on a $29 sale | $1.141 | $3.205 |
| File limits | 5 GB per file | Five files, 20MB each |
| Variations | Files attach per variant | Not allowed |
| Ad fee | None | Offsite Ads 15%, or 12% at $10,000+ in sales |
| Set-up fee | "no setup fees" | Amount not published |
Offsite Ads is the Etsy line to watch. The policy says "The standard fee you will pay is 15% on Attributed Orders, unless the 12% fee applies". Below $10,000 in sales over the prior 365 days you can opt out. At $10,000 or more the rate drops to 12% but participation is required. On a $29 attributed order, 15% is $4.35. Etsy also says a one-time set-up fee "will be displayed and charged as part of the shop set-up process"; Etsy does not publish the amount. Listings "expire after four months" and renew at $0.20. In Etsy's favour, it collects and remits VAT on automatic-download items in certain countries.
Choose Etsy if buyers need to find you. Choose Shopify if the traffic is yours and you want the checkout and customer data on your own domain.
Are Gumroad's fees really "no hidden fees"?
Not quite. Gumroad's pricing page says "No hidden fees, no monthly charges." Its own help page says the 10% + $0.50 excludes card processing.
Gumroad's help page on its fees reads: "For sales made on Gumroad's website, we charge a 10% + $0.50 fee + sales tax per transaction. This does not include: Credit card processing (2.9% + $0.30) PayPal fees". On a direct $29 sale that is $3.40 to Gumroad plus $1.141 processing, $4.541 in all. Discover sales are "subject to a flat 30% fee, which includes all processing fees". At volume: "Once your paid sales in a calendar month reach $20,000, new direct sales that month are 5% + $0.50 instead of 10% + $0.50."
Gumroad earns part of that back: "Since January 1, 2025, Gumroad handles ALL your tax obligations." A Shopify seller handles tax through Shopify's tools instead.
What does Kit charge to sell digital products, and what is the catch?
Kit charges 3.5% + $0.30 per sale with no monthly fee on the free plan, up to 10,000 subscribers. The catch is what the free plan leaves out.
Kit's help page on the free plan says: "The Free plan costs $0 per month for as long as you stay under 10,000 subscribers." It includes "Digital products and subscriptions, so you can sell straight from your list". Email sequences and visual automations need a paid plan, so an automated sales sequence means Creator at $39 a month billed monthly. The "Built with Kit" badge stays on Free. Kit sells in "USD, EUR, GBP, CAD, AUD, and NZD", and "Processing fees aren't refunded."
Kit is not a storefront; it sells from landing pages and emails. Our guide to choosing email marketing software compares Kit with other list tools.
When does Shopify win, when does Kit win, and when does Etsy win?
Shopify wins when you already sell physical products or want your own checkout and domain. Kit wins when you sell to an email list at low to moderate volume. Etsy wins when you need a marketplace to bring buyers.
| Your situation | Cheapest sensible choice | Why |
|---|---|---|
| One or two files, sold to your list | Kit Free | $0 plan, 3.5% + $0.30 all in |
| Physical store adding downloads | Your existing Shopify plan | App is free; plan already paid |
| Over about 167 sales a month of a $29 file | Shopify Basic, yearly | Lower card rate covers the plan |
| No audience yet, own designs | Etsy | Marketplace traffic |
| Want tax handled for you | Gumroad | Handles tax obligations |
If you already pay for Basic to sell prints, a PDF guide adds only the card rate. If your product is a course rather than a file, see our breakdown of what it costs to create and sell a course, which works through Thinkific, Teachable, Kajabi and Podia.
What else can add to the Shopify bill for a digital store?
A third-party gateway, international cards, currency conversion, Shopify Tax and extra email.
The gateway fee is the largest. Using a provider other than Shopify Payments adds 2% on Basic on top of that provider's own fee: $0.58 on a $29 sale. Our comparison of Stripe and PayPal fees covers what those providers charge. International cards add 1%, and Shopify's currency conversion page sets the US conversion fee at "1.5%", adding that these fees "are not returned to you when you issue a refund".
Shopify Tax is free until $100,000 in sales, lifetime for stores created on or after May 13, 2026, then 0.35% on US orders with calculated tax on Basic, capped at $0.99 per order. Shopify Messaging includes "10,000 free emails to send at the beginning of every month", then "$1 USD per 1,000 additional emails". Paid themes cost $100 to $500 once. The full picture is in our breakdown of what a Shopify store costs each month.
How this was researched
Every figure was read on 28 September 2026 from the vendors' own pages: Shopify's pricing page, the Digital Products app listing and Shopify Help Center pages on digital products, choosing a plan, currency fees, Shopify Tax and Shopify Messaging; Kit's pricing page and two help pages; Etsy's fee policy, payments policy and digital listings help; Gumroad's pricing and fees help pages; and the pricing pages of Thinkific, Teachable and Podia. Pages were fetched as plain HTML, or in a headless browser where a page blocked plain requests or needed a billing toggle clicked.
Shopify's US prices were read from Shopify's own pricing page as captured by the Internet Archive on 27 September 2026, because Shopify shows discounted local prices to visitors outside the US. Shopify's help pages are not geo-priced and were read live.
What could not be verified: Etsy does not publish its set-up fee amount. Kit's prices above 1,000 subscribers were not read. Gumroad's file limits were not checked. The totals here are derived by CriticNest from published rates. No product was bought and no platform was benchmarked; the work was reading the fee pages and showing the arithmetic.
Verdict: what is the cheapest way to sell digital products?
For a creator selling one or two files to an audience they already have, Kit's free plan is the cheapest option read on 28 September 2026. At 100 sales of a $29 product a month it costs $131.50, against $143.10 for Shopify Basic billed yearly and $153.10 billed monthly. Shopify's Digital Products app is free and Shopify has no separate digital rate, so Shopify's cost is the plan plus 2.9% + $0.30. That makes Shopify right in two cases: you already run a Shopify store, or you sell more than about 167 copies a month of a $29 file on yearly billing. Etsy costs more per sale but brings buyers, and its five-file, 20MB limits bind larger products. Gumroad costs the most per direct sale, $4.541 on $29, despite its "no hidden fees" line. Decide by where your buyers come from, then check volume against the break-even.
Frequently asked questions
How much does Shopify charge to sell digital downloads?
Shopify charges your plan fee and its normal card rate. The Digital Products app is free, and Shopify publishes no digital-specific rate. On Basic that is $39 a month, or $29 billed yearly, plus 2.9% + $0.30 per online card sale through Shopify Payments. A $29 ebook costs $1.141 per sale in fees. A third-party payment provider adds 2% on Basic.
Is the Shopify Digital Products app free?
Yes. The app listing, published by Shopify, shows the price as "Free". Shopify's help page allows files up to 5 GB, says "There is no bandwidth limit for downloads", and fulfils orders automatically with unlimited downloads by default. Download limits per variant are optional.
Is it better to sell digital products on Etsy or Shopify?
Etsy is cheaper at a handful of sales; Shopify is cheaper once you have steady traffic of your own. At 10 sales of a $29 file a month, Etsy costs $32.25 and Shopify Basic billed yearly $40.41. At 100 sales, Etsy costs $320.70 and Shopify $143.10. Etsy also limits digital listings to five files of 20MB each.
What is the cheapest way to sell digital products?
For a creator with an email list, Kit's free plan is the cheapest option in this comparison at low and moderate volume. It has no monthly fee up to 10,000 subscribers and charges 3.5% + $0.30 per sale, processing included. At 100 sales of a $29 product that is $131.50. Above about 167 sales a month, Shopify Basic billed yearly costs less.
What are Kit's commerce fees?
Kit's help page says: "Selling in USD costs 3.5% + $0.30 per transaction. There's no monthly fee for Commerce and nothing to pay until you make a sale." The rate is the same on Free, Creator and Pro, and Kit's pricing page says it includes card processing. Kit also states that processing fees are not refunded when you refund a sale.
What are Gumroad's fees?
Gumroad charges 10% + $0.50 per direct sale and a flat 30% on Discover marketplace sales. Its help page says the 10% + $0.50 "does not include: Credit card processing (2.9% + $0.30)". The 30% Discover fee includes processing. Direct sales drop to 5% + $0.50 after $20,000 of paid sales in a calendar month, resetting each month.
Do I need Shopify Payments to sell digital products on Shopify?
No, but skipping it costs more. Shopify charges a third-party transaction fee when you use another payment provider: 2% on Basic, 1% on Grow, 0.6% on Advanced and 0.2% on Plus. That sits on top of the provider's own charge. On a $29 sale on Basic, it adds $0.58 to Shopify alone.
Can I sell digital products on the Shopify Basic plan?
Yes. Shopify's Digital Products help page names no plan restriction, and the app is free. Basic costs $39 a month or $29 billed yearly, with card rates of 2.9% + $0.30. Basic does not support staff accounts, so a creator who needs a team member in the admin would need Grow at $105 a month or $79 billed yearly.
Does Etsy allow digital downloads?
Yes, but digital items "must be made and/or designed by you, the seller." A listing can carry up to five files of 20MB each, and digital items cannot have variations. Etsy charges $0.20 per listing, a 6.5% transaction fee and, in the US, 3% + 0.25 USD in payment processing per order.
Do I pay VAT or sales tax on digital products sold through Shopify?
Shopify's help page says "Customers in the EU need to pay VAT on digital goods at the rate applicable in their own country regardless of where the seller is located." Shopify Tax is free until $100,000 in sales, then 0.35% on US orders with calculated tax on Basic, capped at $0.99 per order. Gumroad and Etsy handle some of this for you.
