Gumroad vs Lemon Squeezy
We give Gumroad a 2.6 GPA and Lemon Squeezy a 2.8, out of 4.0. Lemon Squeezy grades higher on value for money. They get the same grade on the free plan, features, ease of use and platforms.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
Lemon Squeezy
Merchant of record checkout for software, subscriptions and downloads
How we grade them
| 2.6GPAGumroadGood | 2.8GPALemon SqueezyGood | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | DNo monthly fee, but Gumroad keeps 10% + 50¢ of each direct sale: $100 on $1,000, plus 50¢ an order. Card processing of 2.9% + $0.30 comes on top and isn't counted. That's in this category's dearest tenth, though it does handle sales tax for you. | CNo monthly fee. Each order costs 5% + 50¢, which covers card fees and sales tax, so $1,000 of sales costs $50 plus 50¢ an order. Buyers abroad add 1.5%, PayPal 1.5% and subscriptions 0.5%. That's above this category's dearer quarter, short of its dearest tenth. |
| Free plan and trial | ANothing to pay until you sell, with every feature, unlimited products and no cap a normal person would reach. The fee comes out of each sale instead, and the value grade counts that. | ASelling is free to start with every ecommerce feature, and you only pay as orders come in. Email marketing is free up to 500 subscribers too, then $10 a month at 1,000. |
| Features | BDownloads, memberships, courses, license keys, pay-what-you-want, email broadcasts and workflows, affiliates and a Discover marketplace. Physical goods aren't allowed, but that's outside this job, so nothing's missing from the core. | BMerchant of record, subscriptions with usage billing, license keys, signed download links, a store on your own domain, affiliates, upsells, cart recovery and email marketing. It covers the whole job. |
| Ease of use | CNo App Store rating on record. You build a profile store with a page editor and set up products on the web; the iPhone and Android apps only track sales and open purchases. | CNo App Store rating on record. It's a web dashboard where you set up products, checkouts and a store before your first sale, with nothing in the listing to say it's quicker than that. |
| Platforms and integrations | BWeb, iPhone and Android, with Stripe, PayPal, Zapier, Discord and Circle, plus a checkout you can embed on your own site. No desktop app, which an A needs. | BWeb, with Zapier, ConvertKit, Mailchimp, WordPress and Laravel, checkout overlays for any site and a public API. No phone or desktop app is listed. |
| Best for | a first digital product with no monthly bill | selling software and subscriptions worldwide |
The GPA is the average of the five grades: an A is 4 points, an F is none. The full reasons are on each tool's page: Gumroad and Lemon Squeezy. How we grade
Price against what you get
Gumroad has no paid plan and scores 2.7 out of 4 on features, ease of use and platforms. Lemon Squeezy starts at $10 a month and scores 2.7.
They score the same, and Gumroad starts $10 a month lower. Of the other tools for selling digital products on the chart, none scores higher than Gumroad for less, and 2 score higher than Lemon Squeezy for less.
Features, ease of use and platforms, averaged
What paid plans start at, a month (each step along is roughly double) →
- The best score at each price
- Has a free plan
- No free plan
Where they differ
- Gumroad is free. Lemon Squeezy starts at $10 per month for email marketing to 1,000 subscribers.
- Only Gumroad lists iOS and Android apps.
- Lemon Squeezy also covers online store.
At a glance
| Gumroad | Lemon Squeezy | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free | Free plan |
| Starts at | Free | $10 per month for email marketing to 1,000 subscribers |
| Free plan | No monthly fee. Gumroad keeps 10% + $0.50 of each direct sale plus card processing (2.9% + $0.30), or a flat 30% on sales made through its Discover marketplace. | Selling is free to start with every ecommerce feature included; Lemon Squeezy keeps 5% + 50¢ of each order. Email marketing is free up to 500 subscribers. |
| Free trial | None listed | None listed |
| Web | ||
| iOS | ||
| Android | ||
| Made by | Gumroad, Inc. | Link, LLC (formerly Lemon Squeezy LLC) |
| Price read from | gumroad.com | lemonsqueezy.com |
| Checked | Oct 18, 2026 | Oct 18, 2026 |
Who each one suits
Gumroad
- Creators testing a first product who want no monthly bill
- Sellers who want sales tax and VAT handled for them
- Software makers who need license keys with each sale
Lemon Squeezy
- Software makers selling licenses or subscriptions worldwide
- Sellers who want sales tax and VAT filed for them
- Creators who want no monthly fee until they make sales
Worth knowing
Gumroad
- Gumroad keeps 10% + $0.50 of every direct sale plus 2.9% + $0.30 card processing; Discover marketplace sales cost a flat 30%.
- Physical goods are not allowed: Gumroad is for digital products, memberships and services only.
- Payouts go out by direct deposit or PayPal depending on the seller's country.
- The mobile apps track sales and open purchases, but accounts and products are set up on the web.
Lemon Squeezy
- Stripe's 2026 update admits slower support and fewer updates while the team builds Stripe Managed Payments, and plans a migration path for users.
- Each order costs 5% + 50¢, plus 1.5% for buyers outside the US, 1.5% for PayPal and 0.5% for subscription payments.
- Recovered abandoned carts add 5% and affiliate referrals add 3% to the fee; payouts to non-US banks cost 1% each.
- Products priced under $10 and high-volume sellers are asked to contact sales for custom pricing.
Key features
Gumroad
- Profile store or embedded checkout
- Build a storefront with Gumroad's page editor on a custom domain, or embed its checkout and follow button on a site you already have.
- Memberships and subscriptions
- Charge monthly, quarterly, twice a year or yearly, or a fixed number of payments, with members keeping access to a content library while subscribed.
- Merchant of record
- Gumroad collects and remits sales tax, VAT and GST on sales where it has an obligation, so sellers have no tax settings to manage.
- Software and file options
- License keys for software, several versions of one product (PDF, ePub or lossless audio), pay-what-you-want pricing and light DRM.
- Audience tools
- Import an email list, post updates, send email broadcasts and automated workflows, run an affiliate program and read sales analytics.
- Mobile apps
- iOS and Android apps show daily, monthly and all-time sales with push notifications, and let buyers open or download their purchases.
Lemon Squeezy
- Merchant of record
- Lemon Squeezy is the seller on each order: it calculates, collects, files and pays sales tax and VAT, and takes on the tax liability.
- Subscriptions and usage billing
- Weekly, monthly or yearly plans with upgrades, downgrades, free trials, PayPal subscriptions, usage-based billing and a customer portal.
- License keys and secure files
- License keys are issued after each sale and can be deactivated or reissued; download links are signed and throttled.
- Checkout anywhere
- Hosted checkout links, an overlay checkout for any website, or a store on a custom domain, taking cards, PayPal and payments in many currencies.
- Email marketing
- Broadcasts, signup forms, segments that update from purchase behavior and email reports, free up to 500 subscribers.
- Affiliates and recovery
- A built-in affiliate program, discount codes, bundles and upsells, plus abandoned cart emails and failed payment recovery.
Plans
Gumroad
Direct sales$0
No subscription. The seller pays 10% + $0.50 of each sale through a profile or direct link, plus card processing of 2.9% + $0.30 or PayPal fees.
Discover marketplace$0
Sales to new customers who find you through Gumroad's Discover marketplace carry a flat 30% fee, which includes processing.
Lemon Squeezy
Ecommerce$0
No monthly charge. The seller pays 5% + 50¢ of each order, covering card fees and tax, plus 1.5% abroad, 1.5% on PayPal and 0.5% on subscriptions.
Email marketing$10
per month for up to 1,000 subscribers, billed monthly
Free up to 500 subscribers. The price rises with the list: $24 a month at 3,000 subscribers and $60 a month at 10,000.
Ways to pay less
Gumroad
- Other savings
Lower fee above $20,000 in monthly sales
Once paid sales in a calendar month reach $20,000, new direct sales that month cost 5% + $0.50 instead of 10% + $0.50; it resets each month.
Lemon Squeezy
- Annual discount
Two months free on yearly email marketing
Lemon Squeezy prices yearly email marketing at ten times the monthly rate: $100 a year instead of $10 a month at 1,000 subscribers.
