What is Gumroad?
Gumroad gives each creator a profile page and product pages with checkout, or a buy button to embed on an existing site. It sells one-off downloads, subscriptions, memberships, pay-what-you-want items and software with license keys, and as merchant of record it collects and remits sales tax for you.
There is no monthly fee: Gumroad takes 10% + $0.50 of each direct sale plus card processing, or 30% when a buyer finds you through its Discover marketplace. The web app's code is public under the MIT licence, and Gumroad says an AI agent, Gumclaw, now runs much of its support and engineering.
Who is Gumroad best for?
Gumroad is best for creators and indie makers who want to sell ebooks, courses, templates or software without a monthly fee.
First digital products
With no monthly fee, a first ebook, template or preset pack costs nothing to list until it sells.
Creators selling worldwide
Gumroad collects and remits sales tax and VAT as merchant of record, and buyers can pay in their own currency.
Software and plugin sellers
It generates license keys and lets buyers pick between versions of a product.
Memberships and subscriptions
Recurring billing from monthly to yearly, plus email broadcasts and automated workflows to keep members engaged.
What's included with Gumroad?
Product pages and embeddable checkout, flexible pricing, license keys, PDF stamping, affiliates, email workflows and sales tax handled for you.
- Profile and product pages
- A page editor builds your storefront, or you can use your own domain and embed the checkout on an existing site.
- Flexible pricing
- One-time, recurring, fixed-length and pay-what-you-want prices, in the currency you choose.
- License keys and versions
- Software sellers get generated license keys, and ebooks or audio can ship in several formats at different prices.
- PDF stamping
- Lightweight DRM stamps PDFs with the buyer's email to discourage sharing.
- Affiliates
- Affiliates earn a commission you set and pay their share of the fees in proportion to it.
- Email and workflows
- Post updates, send broadcasts to followers and customers, and set up automated email workflows; your list can be imported and exported.
How much does Gumroad cost?
Gumroad charges no monthly fee: it takes 10% + $0.50 of each direct sale plus card processing, or 30% on Discover marketplace sales, and its code is free to self-host under MIT.
- The full Gumroad web app code on GitHub
- Needs Ruby, Node.js, Docker and MySQL
- Bring your own Stripe, S3 and email keys
- Sales from your profile, product pages or direct links
- Card processing of 2.9% + $0.30, or PayPal fees, on top
- No monthly fee; sales tax handled by Gumroad
- When a new buyer finds you through Gumroad's marketplace
- Payment processing included
Once paid sales in a calendar month reach $20,000, new direct sales that month cost 5% + $0.50; it resets on the 1st, and Discover stays at 30%. Affiliates pay a share of the fees in proportion to their commission. On a refund, Gumroad returns its own fee but keeps the payment processing part. Full pricing on gumroad.com. We checked these prices on .
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Gumroad pros and cons
It is the quickest way to start selling a digital product with tax handled, but the per-sale cut adds up as revenue grows.
Pros
- Setting up is quick: sellers on Reddit say the product page and checkout take little effort, so the real work is finding buyers.
- No monthly fee, so a product that sells slowly costs nothing to keep listed.
- It handles sales tax and VAT as merchant of record, which spares small sellers the filing work.
- The code is open source under MIT, so you can read how it works or run your own copy.
Cons
- The cut grows with revenue: sellers on Reddit say fees end up near 20% on small products after processing, and that flat-fee platforms cost less once sales are steady.
- The Discover marketplace rarely brings buyers on its own, sellers say, and its sales cost 30%; most traffic has to come from your own audience.
- Card processing of 2.9% + $0.30 comes on top of 10% + $0.50, so a $10 sale loses about $2.09 to fees.
Is Gumroad open source?
Yes. Gumroad's code is public under the MIT licence, so you can read it, change it and run it yourself.
On GitHub
10,145stars
- Last commit
- 13 Nov
- Repository age
- 1 years
- Latest release
- 12 Nov
- Licence
- MIT
- Repository
- antiwork/gumroad
How do I connect Gumroad to my AI agent?
Gumroad MCP is Gumroad's official MCP server. Add it to your agent once, then ask it to see Gumroad sales, list new products and check on payouts.
Lets your agent work with your Gumroad store, so you can review sales, write and publish a new product listing and see when your next payout lands.
Gumroad gives each account its own server address. Open the setup guide, copy your address, then add it to Claude Code like any other server.
Use the address from Gumroad's setup guide.
Gumroad's setup guide covers the sign-in.
Then ask your agent
- Runs
- On the web
- Sign-in
- See guide
- Maker
- Gumroad
- Guide
- gumroad.com
What are the best Gumroad alternatives?
Gumroad is an open source alternative to Easytools, Sellfy, Stan Store and 5 more.
EasytoolsFreemiumSell ebooks, cohorts and event tickets on your own Stripe account, with pages and campaigns included.
SellfyFreemiumSell downloads, subscriptions and print-on-demand items from your own store, with no transaction fee.
Stan StoreFreemiumChoose it when your buyers come from Instagram or TikTok: it puts courses, downloads and bookings in a link-in-bio store with 0% transaction fees, for a monthly subscription after a 14-day trial.
FourthwallFreeYouTubers and streamers sell print-on-demand goods, downloads and member perks from one branded site.
MarketsyPaidBuild online stores for digital products with AI help.
PaddlePaidSells your SaaS, app or game as merchant of record and files the sales tax and VAT for you.
Questions about Gumroad
What is Gumroad?
Gumroad is a storefront and checkout for creators who sell ebooks, courses, templates, software and memberships, charging no monthly fee and taking a cut of each sale instead.
Who is Gumroad for?
Gumroad is best for creators and indie makers who want to sell ebooks, courses, templates or software without a monthly fee.
Is Gumroad free?
Gumroad has no monthly fee and is free to start, but it takes 10% + $0.50 of each direct sale plus card processing. Its web app code is also free under the MIT licence if you want to run your own copy.
How much does Gumroad cost?
Gumroad's paid plans are Direct sales at 10% + $0.50 per sale and Discover marketplace at 30% per sale.
Is Gumroad open source?
Yes. Gumroad publishes the code of its web app on GitHub under the MIT licence. Running your own copy needs Ruby, Node.js, Docker and MySQL, plus your own keys for services such as Stripe and S3.
Does Gumroad have an MCP server?
Yes. Gumroad MCP is Gumroad's official MCP server, so agents such as Claude Code, Cursor, Codex and GitHub Copilot can see Gumroad sales, list new products and check on payouts. Gumroad runs it on the web.
What are the best Gumroad alternatives?
The closest alternatives on Recaply are Easytools, Sellfy, Stan Store, Fourthwall, Marketsy and Paddle.
Where can I try Gumroad?
On its official website, gumroad.com.
Does Gumroad handle sales tax and VAT?
Yes. Gumroad is the merchant of record, so it collects and remits sales tax and VAT on your sales in the regions where it has tax obligations, and you do not manage tax settings yourself.
Do Gumroad's fees drop at higher volume?
Yes, for direct sales. Once your paid sales in a calendar month reach $20,000, new direct sales that month cost 5% + $0.50 instead of 10% + $0.50. The count resets on the 1st, and Discover sales stay at 30%.
Our verdict
Gumroad is the simplest way to start selling a digital product, and its fee only starts to sting once sales grow.
There is no monthly fee and tax is handled for you, but 10% + $0.50 plus card processing takes a large share of cheap products, and the marketplace rarely sends buyers on its own.
- Skip it for
- Sellers with steady monthly revenue, who usually pay less on a flat-fee platform.
- Check first
- Work out the total fee at your price point, including card processing of 2.9% + $0.30, before you list.
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