Download Monitor vs Easy Digital Downloads (2026): which should you pick?

Pick Download Monitor if

• Fits if you run WordPress and want to count who downloads what
• Works for sites that give out files after an email sign-up

Look elsewhere if

• Not for you if you're not on WordPress, since it runs only inside it
• Pricey if you stay past year one, because plans renew at $138, $258 or $398
• Watch out: email notification, CSV tools and cloud hosting need Popular or above
• Watch out: access rules and form locks need Complete at $398 a year
• Skip it if you want to sell files, as there's no checkout of its own

Pick Easy Digital Downloads if

• Fits if you already run a WordPress site and want to sell files from it
• Works for plugin and theme makers who need license keys, on Professional at $599 a year

Look elsewhere if

• Skip it if you don't want to look after a WordPress site and its hosting, which isn't priced here
• Pricey if you budget on the first-year price, as passes renew at double, from $199 a year for Personal
• Tight if you stay on Lite or Personal: platform fees apply until Extended at $399 a year, 3% of Stripe sales on Lite
• Pricey if you want licensing, the API, a marketplace or a second site, which start on Professional at $599 a year
• Watch out: canceling a license ends support and updates, and you lose your locked-in price

Download Monitor

• Runs only inside WordPress; it is a download manager, not a storefront with its own checkout.
• Annual plans renew at the regular price after the introductory first year.
• Email notification, CSV tools and cloud hosting need Popular or above; access rules and form locks need Complete.
• Free edition lacks captcha, custom buttons and email notification.

Easy Digital Downloads

• It needs a WordPress site you run yourself, or a WordPress.com business plan, which allows third-party plugins.
• First-year prices are introductory: passes renew at full price, from $199 a year for Personal.
• The free version and the Personal pass do not include no-platform-fees; EDD's blog puts the free version's Stripe fee at 3%.
• Licenses renew yearly; cancelling ends support and updates, and you lose your locked-in price.

Download Monitor

Download tracking

Logs each download with user data, IP address and timestamp, with reports on trends and top files.

Versions under one link

Keep several file versions under a single download link so visitors get the current release.

Access control

Role-based permissions and password protection, with rule-based access management on the Complete plan.

Email before download

Form locks for Ninja Forms, Gravity Forms, WPForms, Contact Form 7 and Mailchimp can collect an email first.

Cloud file hosting

Serve files from Amazon S3 with secure, expiring links, or use files hosted on Google Drive.

Document library

Build searchable, filterable document libraries and use shortcodes to place buttons and lists anywhere.

Easy Digital Downloads

Store on your own WordPress site

Unlimited products, a cart and checkout inside WordPress, with full ownership of your store data and Elementor checkout templates.

Payments

Stripe, PayPal and Square in the free plugin, Apple Pay listed on every paid pass, and Authorize.net and 2Checkout from Extended up.

Subscriptions and memberships

Recurring payments with free trials and setup fees on paid passes, plus content restriction for members from Extended up.

Software licensing

Issue license keys and deliver updates for plugins, themes and other software, on Professional and All Access.

Marketplace and commissions

Run a multi-vendor marketplace and pay commissions to sellers, on Professional and All Access.

Marketing tools

Discount codes, abandoned cart recovery, cross-sells and upsells, AI product recommendations and syncing with Mailchimp, ConvertKit and others.

Download Monitor

• Free$0

  Core download management and terms-and-conditions gating, without the PRO extensions.

• Basic$138

  per year for 1 site, regular price after a first year at $48

  1 site, 1 year of support and updates, Enhanced Metrics, anti-spam and bot protection. First year shown at $48.

• Popular$258

  per year for 3 sites, regular price after a first year at $90

  Adds email notification, CSV import and export, Document Library Manager and Amazon S3 and Google Drive hosting.

• Complete$398

  per year for 5 sites, regular price after a first year at $139

  Adds rule-based access management, priority support and form locks for Ninja Forms, Gravity Forms, WPForms and more.

Easy Digital Downloads

• Lite$0

  Free plugin from WordPress.org that you run on your own WordPress site. EDD adds a 3% fee to each Stripe transaction in the free version.

• Personal$199

  per year at renewal, after a first year for $99.50

  1 site, subscriptions and free trials, discount codes, EU VAT, AI recommendations and cart recovery. Platform fees are not waived on this pass.

• Extended$399

  per year at renewal, after a first year for $199.50

  1 site, no platform fees, Authorize.net and 2Checkout, multi-currency, content restriction, bundles, reviews and Zapier.

• Professional$599

  per year at renewal, after a first year for $299.50

  2 sites, adds software licensing and API, a multi-vendor marketplace with commissions, shipping, post-purchase funnels and premium support.

• All Access$999

  per year at renewal, after a first year for $499.50

  3 sites, every extension, including loyalty rewards, fraud prevention, advanced reports and bulk discount codes.

Download Monitor

• Other savings

  First-year introductory price on annual plans

  Annual plans show $48, $90 and $139 for the first year with a Black Friday banner; they renew at the regular price.

• Lifetime license

  Lifetime licenses with 3 years of support

  One-time payments listed at $483 for 1 site, $903 for 3 sites and $1,393 for 5 sites, with lifetime updates.

Easy Digital Downloads

• Other savings

  Half price in the first year

  EDD's pricing page shows introductory first-year prices of half the regular rate, from $99.50 for Personal; renewals are at full price.