How to Sell Digital Products: Platforms, Fees and Delivery

To sell digital products, make a file people will pay for, put it on a platform that takes payment and delivers the file automatically, then send buyers to it from your bio and stories. Gumroad, Etsy and Shopify all handle delivery for you; a Stripe Payment Link takes the money but leaves delivery to you. The right pick comes down to fees, whether you want a marketplace, and whether you already have a store.

Decide what you are selling

The digital products that sell best solve one specific problem for one specific person. A few that work well for creators and small businesses:

• Presets and filters for photographers and anyone who wants their feed to look like yours.
• Templates: Canva or Notion layouts, resume templates, budget spreadsheets, social post packs.
• Ebooks and guides, usually a PDF that turns what you already explain in captions into one organized document.
• Sample packs and stems for producers and musicians.
• Courses, either video lessons or a series of written modules.
• Training plans from coaches: a 12 week running plan, a gym program, a meal plan.
• Printables such as planners, wall art, worksheets and kids' activity sheets.

Before you build anything, check your comments and DMs. The questions people ask you over and over are your product list.

Compare the fees before you pick a platform

Fees change the math more than most people expect. These are each company's current standard US rates.

Here is what a $20 sale costs on the three most common options:

• Gumroad, direct link: $2.00 + $0.50 + $0.88 processing = $3.38. You keep $16.62.
• Stripe Payment Link: $0.88. You keep $19.12, but you handle delivery.
• Etsy: $0.20 + $1.30 + $0.85 = $2.35. You keep $17.65.

A few details that matter. Gumroad drops to 5% + $0.50 on new direct sales once you pass $20,000 in paid direct sales in a calendar month, and since January 1, 2025 it handles sales tax as merchant of record. Shopify adds 2% (Basic), 1% (Grow) or 0.6% (Advanced) if you use a payment provider other than Shopify Payments. Its trial is 3 days free, then $1 a month for 3 months.

Set up delivery on each platform

Delivery is the part that decides whether you wake up to sales or to "where's my file?" emails.

Gumroad

1. Create a New product and choose a type such as Digital product, E-book, or Course or tutorial.
2. Set a price (up to $5,000) and write the description.
3. Open the Content tab and add your files.
4. Click Publish.

The buyer gets a receipt email with the download link. Buyers with a Gumroad account can also find it in their Gumroad Library.

Etsy

1. Create a listing and choose Digital files under What type of item is it?
2. Upload up to five files, each up to 20MB. Etsy won't save an instant download listing without a file.
3. Name files carefully first. Names can be up to 70 characters, buyers see them, and you can't rename a file after uploading.

Buyers get their files from their Downloads page. For custom work, when an order comes in go to Shop Manager > Orders, choose Complete order, upload the files and complete it. The buyer is emailed that it's ready. Canceling the order is the only way to take back access.

Shopify with the Digital Products app

1. Install Shopify's free Digital Products app from the Shopify App Store.
2. Open the app and attach a file or a link to the product.
3. Upload files (up to 50 per variant, 5 GB combined; zip folders first) or paste a link from Notion, Google Drive, Vimeo or Dropbox.
4. Optionally set a per customer access limit.

Customers get an email with a download link after paying. To show the link on the Thank you and Order status pages too, add the Digital Products block in the checkout editor.

Stripe Payment Links

Stripe takes payment and sends receipts, but it doesn't host or send files. When you create or edit the link, click After the payment. You can show a custom message on the confirmation page, or choose to redirect buyers to a page on your site. Put the download link in that message or on that page. Our Stripe payment link guide walks through creating one.

Price it so it sells

• Start with a focused, low price. A single template or preset pack is an easy first purchase for someone who just found you.
• Let fans pay more. Gumroad supports pay what you want: type a minimum with a plus sign, like "$5+".
• Bundle. Gumroad has a Bundle product type that combines products you already sell. A bundle gives your best buyers a reason to spend more.
• Price after fees. On a $5 Gumroad sale the fixed $0.50 and $0.30 eat a much bigger share than on a $25 sale. Small prices favor platforms with no fixed fee or a low one.
• Match the price to the result. A training plan that gets someone to a race finish is worth more than a PDF of tips, even if both are 20 pages.

Sell digital products on Instagram and TikTok

Shopify's Facebook and Instagram channel, for example, only lists products that require shipping, so a PDF or preset pack won't show up there. For digital products, the link is the storefront.

1. Put your product or shop link in your bio. On Instagram, go to Edit profile > Links > Add external link. You can add up to five links. Our Instagram bio link guide covers the details.
2. Add a link sticker to stories every time you post about the product: a preview, a buyer's result, a launch countdown. Here's how to add a link to an Instagram story.
3. Say where the link is. "Templates are in my bio" in a caption or a pinned comment does a lot of work.

Once you sell more than one thing, a single shop link in the bio starts to fall short. For the wider picture, including physical products, see how to sell on Instagram.

Show your products on an Olaa page

Olaa gives you one short link, olaa.im/yourname, that opens a page with everything you want people to find. With Olaa Pro you can add products from Stripe, Etsy, Shopify or Gumroad, shown with their photo and price as a button or a buy card. Checkout happens in your own shop and Olaa takes no cut, so your platform's fees above are the only fees on the sale.

The same page can hold your free links and an email signup that sends subscribers to Mailchimp, which is handy for launch lists. Pro also adds countdowns and scheduled links, useful around a launch. Pro is $8 a month or $72 a year; see pricing for what's on the free plan.

FAQ

What is the easiest way to start selling digital products?

Gumroad has no monthly fee and emails buyers a download link automatically, so there is nothing to set up beyond the product itself. Etsy is similarly simple: choose Digital files, upload, and buyers download from their Downloads page.

Can I sell digital products with just a Stripe Payment Link?

Yes, but Stripe won't deliver the file. Use the After the payment setting to show a confirmation message or redirect to a page with the download, and keep in mind that anyone with that page's address could open it.

Do I need a website to sell digital downloads?

No. Gumroad and Etsy both give you a product page, checkout and automatic file delivery. Put that link in your bio or on a link page and you're selling.

Can I sell digital products in an Instagram shop?

Not through Shopify's Facebook and Instagram channel, which only lists products that require shipping. Sell digital products through a link in your bio and stories instead.

Which platform has the lowest fees for digital products?

A Stripe Payment Link has the lowest per sale cost at 2.9% + 30 cents, but you handle delivery. Payhip's Pro plan has no transaction fee for $99 a month, which only pays off at higher volume.