Payhip vs ThriveCart
We give Payhip and ThriveCart the same GPA: 2.6 out of 4.0. Payhip grades higher on the free plan. ThriveCart grades higher on value for money and features. They get the same grade on ease of use and platforms.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
Payhip
Store for downloads, courses and memberships, with a free plan
ThriveCart
Checkout, funnel and course platform with a lifetime licence option
How we grade them
| 2.6GPAPayhipGood | 2.6GPAThriveCartGood | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | CPlus at $29 a month plus its 2% fee ($20 on $1,000) comes to $49, a dollar under the free plan's 5% ($50). Pro at $99 drops the fee but costs more at this size. No yearly price is on record, and PayPal or Stripe fees come on top (not counted). | BThe lifetime Standard licence is $495 once, with no cut of sales. Spread over two years, as we do for one-off prices, that's well under the yearly plan's $888 for the same two years ($444 + $444) and under two years of this category's middle price. Processor fees aren't counted. |
| Free plan and trial | AFree Forever has every feature, unlimited products and unlimited revenue, with no cap you'd reach. Payhip takes 5% of each sale instead, and the value grade counts that. | CNo free plan, but a 30-day free trial on the monthly and yearly plans, longer than most here. The listing doesn't say whether it needs a card. |
| Features | CDownloads, courses, coaching, memberships, physical products and bundles, plus coupons, affiliates and PDF stamping. The gap the listing names is email: there are no built-in campaigns, so buyers sync to ConvertKit or another service. | BCheckouts, order bumps, one-click upsells, A/B tests, subscriptions with retention offers, buy now pay later, sales tax, and courses and communities through Academy. Nothing's missing from the job; affiliates and custom domains need Pro+. |
| Ease of use | CNo App Store rating on record. Every plan has every feature, so there's nothing to unlock, but you still set up the store, your products and a PayPal or Stripe account. | CNo App Store rating on record. A visual editor helps, but you're building checkouts, funnels and courses and linking Stripe, PayPal or Authorize.net before anything sells. |
| Platforms and integrations | BWeb, with Stripe, PayPal, Zapier, Zoom, Calendly and ConvertKit, plus buy buttons for WordPress, Squarespace, Wix and Shopify sites. No phone or desktop app is listed. | BWeb, with Stripe, PayPal, Authorize.net, Zapier, ActiveCampaign, ConvertKit, Mailchimp and HubSpot. No phone or desktop app is listed. |
| Best for | a free store for downloads, courses and coaching | paying once for checkouts, funnels and courses |
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: Payhip and ThriveCart. How we grade
Price against what you get
Payhip starts at $29 a month and scores 2.3 out of 4 on features, ease of use and platforms. ThriveCart starts at $37 a month and scores 2.7.
ThriveCart scores higher, and starts $8 a month higher: the question is whether the extra is worth that to you. Of the other tools for selling digital products on the chart, 6 score higher than Payhip for less, and 2 score higher than ThriveCart 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
- Payhip starts at $29 per month. ThriveCart starts at $37 per month, billed annually ($47 monthly).
- Payhip has a free plan. ThriveCart does not, though it has a free trial.
- Payhip also covers online store.
- ThriveCart also covers community and a/B testing.
At a glance
| Payhip | ThriveCart | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free plan | Free trial |
| Starts at | $29 per month | $37 per month, billed annually ($47 monthly) |
| Free plan | Free Forever plan with all features, unlimited products and unlimited revenue; Payhip takes 5% of each sale on top of PayPal or Stripe fees. | None |
| Free trial | None listed | 30-day free trial on the monthly and yearly plans |
| Web | ||
| Made by | Payhip | ThriveCart |
| Price read from | payhip.com | thrivecart.com |
| Checked | Oct 18, 2026 | Oct 18, 2026 |
Who each one suits
Payhip
- New sellers who want a free store and pay only when they sell
- Creators selling downloads, courses and coaching from one store
- Sellers who want EU, UK and US sales tax taken care of
ThriveCart
- Course sellers who want checkout, funnels and course hosting together
- Creators who would rather pay once than pay every month
- Sellers who run affiliate programs and upsell funnels
Worth knowing
Payhip
- The free plan takes 5% of each sale and Plus takes 2%, on top of PayPal or Stripe fees; only Pro at $99 a month removes Payhip's fee.
- Payhip has no built-in email campaigns: a newsletter block collects followers for export, and buyers sync to a separate email service.
- Payments go through the seller's own PayPal, Stripe or regional gateway account, such as Square, Razorpay or Paystack.
- Sellers with a physical presence in a US state may still have to file a zero-dollar sales tax return there, Payhip's help center says.
ThriveCart
- ThriveCart takes 0% of sales, but payments run through your own Stripe, PayPal or Authorize.net account, whose processing fees apply.
- The affiliate center, multiple order bumps, dunning and custom domains all need Pro+ at $87 a month or $804 a year.
- The lifetime Standard licence costs $495 once; Pro+ bought outright costs $790 and then $295 a year from year two.
- Checkout pages offer paid add-ons, such as $69 courses and a $19 one-time offer, which are optional.
Key features
Payhip
- Many product types
- Digital downloads with variants, online courses, coaching with Calendly or Zoom scheduling, memberships, physical products and bundles.
- Sales tax handled
- Payhip collects and remits EU and UK VAT on digital sales and, from July 1, 2026, US sales tax as a marketplace facilitator, at no extra charge.
- Marketing tools
- Coupons, running sales, cross-selling, upgrade discounts, a referral system, customer reviews and an affiliate program.
- Store or embedded buttons
- A hosted store on a custom domain, or buy buttons added to WordPress, Squarespace, Wix, Weebly or Shopify sites.
- File protection
- Download limits, set to 5 by default, and PDF stamping that prints the buyer's email and purchase date on every page.
- Mailing list sync
- Buyers are added to lists in ConvertKit, ActiveCampaign, AWeber, Drip, Flodesk, Klaviyo and other email services after a purchase.
ThriveCart
- Checkouts and funnels
- Modal, single-page or multi-step checkouts, order bumps, one-click upsells and downsells, and a visual page editor for whole funnels.
- Payment options
- Cards, PayPal, buy now pay later through Afterpay, Klarna, Affirm or ThrivePay Installments, multi-currency pricing and crypto on Pro+.
- Subscriptions
- Trials, renewals, upgrades and cancellations, a fixed monthly billing date, subscription bumps at checkout and retention offers before cancelling.
- ThriveCart Academy
- Courses with drip content, quizzes and certificates, plus branded communities, included with every subscription; limits rise from Starter to Growth.
- Affiliates on Pro+
- Recruit affiliates, set commissions, track referrals and pay affiliates automatically, with joint venture contracts for partners.
- Digital delivery and tax
- Instant delivery with expiring download links, plus sales tax calculation and collection with tax-inclusive pricing.
Plans
Payhip
Free Forever$0
All features, unlimited products and revenue. Payhip takes a 5% transaction fee on each sale; PayPal and Stripe charge their own fees too.
Plus$29
per month
The same features as Free Forever, with Payhip's transaction fee cut from 5% to 2% of each sale.
Pro$99
per month
The same features with no transaction fee from Payhip; only PayPal or Stripe processing fees apply.
ThriveCart
Standard$37
per month, billed annually ($47 monthly)
Unlimited products and funnels, 1 order bump, upsells, A/B tests, cart recovery, sales tax tools, and Academy Starter for 2,000 community members.
Pro+$87
per month ($804 billed yearly)
Adds multiple order bumps, the affiliate center with automatic payouts, dunning, custom domains, team permissions and the Academy Growth plan.
Standard lifetime$495
one-time
A ThriveCart Standard account for a single payment with no subscription, offered beside the monthly and yearly plans.
Pro+ hybrid$790
one-time, then $295 a year from year 2
Pro+ bought on its own page for a one-time $790, followed by a $295 yearly subscription from the second year.
EnterpriseCustom
For high-volume sellers: volume-based processing rates, unlimited team seats, a dedicated account manager, migration and white-glove setup.
Ways to pay less
Payhip
No public discounts listed.
ThriveCart
- Annual discount
Save 20% on Standard with yearly billing
ThriveCart's checkout lists Standard at $444 a year ($37 a month) as a 20% saving on $47 a month; Pro+ is $804 a year instead of $87 a month.
- Lifetime license
Lifetime Standard licence for $495
ThriveCart sells a Standard account for a one-time payment of $495 instead of a monthly or yearly subscription.
- Nonprofit
Special pricing for schools and charities
Schools and registered charities can fill in a form on ThriveCart's site, and its support team will be in touch about special pricing.
