The Easy Digital Downloads Insider’s Guide
Everything we know about Easy Digital Downloads in one document: what it costs, its grades, getting a refund, getting help and what else to look at. Read it here, or keep a copy.
Easy Digital Downloads
The Insider’s Guide
WordPress plugin for selling digital downloads from your own site
Every plan, grade, refund rule and rival among tools for selling digital products, read from Easy Digital Downloads’s own pages.
Made by Sandhills Development, LLC · checked Oct 18, 2026 · toolgpa.com
Contents
- 01WelcomeWhat it is, who it suits, its grades and the ten things to know first
- 02What it costsEvery plan, the free plan, ways to pay less and how prices have moved
- 03What it doesIts main features, where it runs, what it works with and who makes it
- 04Where it standsIts grades against its category, and whether to keep it or make your own
- 05The alternativesThe tools it is most often weighed against, side by side
- 06Quick answersThe questions people ask about it, each answered in a line or two
- 07About ToolGPAWho made this guide, what else is on the site, and how to cite it
ToolGPA put this guide together from Easy Digital Downloads’s own pages, its app-store listings and our grades. Every fact in it is on Easy Digital Downloads’s page too, where it is kept up to date. Checked Oct 18, 2026.
Part 01 · Overview
Welcome
What it is, who it suits, its grades and the ten things to know first
2.2
GPA, above 1 of the 14 other tools for selling digital products we grade
Easy Digital Downloads is a WordPress plugin that turns your own site into a store for ebooks, software, music, templates and other digital files. The free Lite version on WordPress.org handles products, cart and checkout with Stripe or PayPal; yearly paid passes add subscriptions, software licensing, content restriction, cart recovery and, on higher passes, multi-vendor marketplaces.
To get you started, here are 9 things to know about Easy Digital Downloads, taken from its own pages and our grades.
You need a WordPress site to run it on, though, and passes renew at double the first-year price.
- 1
Best for selling files from your own WordPress site
Paid passes add subscriptions, license keys and even a multi-vendor marketplace.
- 2
Paid plans start at $16.58 a month when paid by the year
As its pricing page puts it: $199 per year at renewal, after a first year for $99.50.
- 3
There is a free plan
The Lite plugin is free on WordPress.org with unlimited products and transactions and Stripe and PayPal checkout; Stripe sales carry an extra 3% fee in the free version.
- 4
It runs on Web
Web.
- 5
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.
- 6
Payments
Stripe, PayPal and Square in the free plugin, Apple Pay listed on every paid pass, and Authorize.net and 2Checkout from Extended up.
- 7
Subscriptions and memberships
Recurring payments with free trials and setup fees on paid passes, plus content restriction for members from Extended up.
- 8
A 2.2 GPA, above 1 of 14
That is against the other tools for selling digital products we grade, on value, the free plan, features, ease of use and platforms.
- 9
Keep it
To replace Easy Digital Downloads you would be making checkout, card payments and sales tax handled for you. That is not a weekend's work, with an AI app builder or without one.
Easy Digital Downloads at a glance
- Pricing
- Free plan, from $199 per year at renewal, after a first year for $99.50
- Free plan
- Yes
- Free trial
- None stated
- Runs on
- Web
- Made by
- Sandhills Development, LLC
- Category
- Selling Digital Products
- Our grade
- 2.2 GPA, fair
The report card
Best for selling files from your own WordPress site
Easy Digital Downloads turns your own WordPress site into a store for ebooks, software and other files, and the free Lite plugin covers products, cart and checkout. Paid passes add subscriptions, license keys and even a multi-vendor marketplace. You need a WordPress site to run it on, though, and passes renew at double the first-year price.
| Subject | Grade | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | C | The free Lite plugin adds a 3% fee to Stripe sales: $30 on $1,000, plus the cost of hosting WordPress, which isn't on record. Extended at $399 a year drops the fee. Software that's free only if you host it yourself counts as a C here. |
| Free plan and trial | B | Lite is free on WordPress.org with unlimited products and transactions, so you can run a real store on it. Not an A: it needs a WordPress site on a paid host, and subscriptions and discount codes need a pass. |
| Features | C | Store, cart and checkout, then subscriptions, content restriction, license keys, a multi-vendor marketplace and cart recovery on paid passes. A broad kit, but it needs a WordPress site to be useful, and much of it sits on Professional at $599 a year. |
| Ease of use | D | No rating on record. You host it yourself: a WordPress site you run, or a WordPress.com business plan, plus yearly licence renewals to keep support and updates. |
| Platforms and integrations | B | Runs in the browser inside WordPress, with Stripe, PayPal, Square, Authorize.net, Zapier, Mailchimp and Elementor, and an API on Professional. No phone or desktop app is listed. |
An A is worth 4 points, a B 3, a C 2, a D 1 and an F nothing. The GPA is the average of the five.
Who Easy Digital Downloads is for
- Great if you already run a WordPress site and want to sell files from it
- Handy when you make plugins or themes and need license keys and updates
- Good for sellers who want to keep their store data on their own site
Who it is not for
- Skip it if you don't want to look after a WordPress site and its hosting
- Pricey if you budget on the first-year price, as passes renew at full price
- Tight if you stay on Lite, as Stripe sales carry an extra 3% fee
Good to know
Good for
- WordPress site owners who want to sell files from their own site
- Plugin and theme makers who need license keys and updates
- Sellers who want no platform fee once on a paid pass
Worth knowing
- 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.
Part 02 · Pricing
What it costs
Every plan, the free plan, ways to pay less and how prices have moved
$16.58
A month to start, paid by the year. There is a free plan too
Easy Digital Downloads has a free plan. Paid plans start at $199 per year at renewal, after a first year for $99.50.
Software that's free only if you host it yourself counts as a C here.
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.
The free plan
The Lite plugin is free on WordPress.org with unlimited products and transactions and Stripe and PayPal checkout; Stripe sales carry an extra 3% fee in the free version.
Read from easydigitaldownloads.com on Oct 18, 2026.
Ways to pay less
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.
Stated on easydigitaldownloads.com
Part 03 · Features
What it does
Its main features, where it runs, what it works with and who makes it
1
Place it runs: Web
WordPress plugin for selling digital downloads from your own site. Here is what it does, as its own site describes it, and what it covers: public API, online store, 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.
Where it runs
- Web
What it works with
- WordPress
- Stripe
- PayPal
- Square
- Authorize.net
- Zapier
- Mailchimp
- Elementor
Easy Digital Downloads is made by Sandhills Development, LLC.
Part 04 · Standing
Where it stands
Its grades against its category, and whether to keep it or make your own
1/14
Other tools for selling digital products it is graded above
Easy Digital Downloads's GPA of 2.2 is higher than 1 of the 14 other tools for selling digital products we grade.
It stands best on free plan and trial (B, above 6 of 14) and worst on ease of use (D, above 0).
Its paid plans start at $16.58 a month when paid by the year, against a middle price of $24.50 for the category: 3 of the 9 others that charge start lower.
On features, ease of use and platforms it scores 2.0 out of 4. 7 tools score higher and cost less.
Each grade against the category
Every bar is all 15 tools for selling digital products we grade, cut by the letter each got. Easy Digital Downloads’s own letter is outlined.
- CValue for moneyAbove 3 of 14
- BFree plan and trialAbove 6 of 14
- CFeaturesAbove 0 of 14
- DEase of useAbove 0 of 14
- BPlatforms and integrationsAbove 0 of 14
Price against what you get
Each dot is one of 14 tools for selling digital products. Further left costs less; higher up scores better on features, ease of use and platforms. Easy Digital Downloads is the marked dot.
What paid plans start at, a month (each step along is roughly double) →
Keep it, or make your own?
Whether this is something you could build for yourself with an AI app builder, and what you would give up.
Keep it
To replace Easy Digital Downloads you would be making checkout, card payments and sales tax handled for you. That is not a weekend's work, with an AI app builder or without one.
That makes this kind of software worth paying for, not this one in particular: 13 of the 14 other tools for selling digital products grade higher. It costs $199 a year.
What you could make
- Digital downloads: an app builder makes this well.
What you could not
- Checkout, card payments and sales tax handled for you.
- It plugs into other products, WordPress, Stripe and PayPal among them, and has an API.
What this rests on. Easy Digital Downloads’s listing: what it does, where it runs, what it plugs into and what it costs. It is a judgement about the kind of software this is. We have not built a replacement for it, and making your own means looking after it too. How we decide, and every tool’s verdict.
Part 05 · Alternatives
The alternatives
The tools it is most often weighed against, side by side
WooCommerce, SendOwl, Payhip, Lemon Squeezy and MemberPress
The 5 tools Easy Digital Downloads is most often weighed against, with where each one differs from it.
- 2.2GPA
WooCommerce
Free plan
Free, open-source store plugin for WordPress that you host yourself.
- Only WooCommerce lists iOS and Android apps.
- WooCommerce is open source and self-hostable, according to its own site.
- Easy Digital Downloads also covers digital downloads.
- 2.4GPA
SendOwl
Free trial · from $32.50/mo
Checkout and delivery for downloads, licenses and subscriptions.
- Easy Digital Downloads has a free plan. SendOwl does not, though it has a free trial.
- SendOwl also covers affiliate tracking.
- 2.6GPA
Payhip
Free plan · from $29/mo
Store for downloads, courses and memberships, with a free plan.
- Payhip also covers online courses and affiliate tracking.
- 2.8GPA
Lemon Squeezy
Free plan · from $10/mo
Merchant of record checkout for software, subscriptions and downloads.
- Lemon Squeezy also covers email campaigns, affiliate tracking and merchant of record.
- 1.8GPA
MemberPress
From $399/yr
WordPress plugin for paid memberships, courses and communities.
- Easy Digital Downloads has a free plan. MemberPress does not.
- Easy Digital Downloads also covers online store and digital downloads.
- MemberPress also covers online courses and community.
Part 06 · Questions
Quick answers
The questions people ask about it, each answered in a line or two
14
Questions, each answered in a line or two
The short version of everything above, for when you only need the answer. Each one is told in full in its part of the guide.
Is Easy Digital Downloads free?
Easy Digital Downloads has a free plan. The Lite plugin is free on WordPress.org with unlimited products and transactions and Stripe and PayPal checkout; Stripe sales carry an extra 3% fee in the free version.
How much does Easy Digital Downloads cost?
Easy Digital Downloads lists 5 plans. Lite: $0.
What platforms does Easy Digital Downloads work on?
Easy Digital Downloads is available on Web.
Does Easy Digital Downloads offer any discounts?
Easy Digital Downloads publicly lists the following: Half price in the first year.
Does Easy Digital Downloads have an Android app?
No Android app was listed when its pages were read on Oct 18, 2026. Easy Digital Downloads is listed for Web.
Does Easy Digital Downloads have an iPhone app?
No iPhone app was listed when its pages were read on Oct 18, 2026. Easy Digital Downloads is listed for Web.
Is Easy Digital Downloads open source?
Easy Digital Downloads is not described as open source on its own site, as read on Oct 18, 2026.
Does Easy Digital Downloads have an API?
Yes. Easy Digital Downloads offers a public API, according to its own site.
What does Easy Digital Downloads integrate with?
Easy Digital Downloads's listing names WordPress, Stripe, PayPal, Square, Authorize.net, Zapier, Mailchimp and Elementor.
Who makes Easy Digital Downloads?
Easy Digital Downloads is made by Sandhills Development, LLC.
What are the alternatives to Easy Digital Downloads?
The closest alternatives to Easy Digital Downloads in our directory are WooCommerce, SendOwl, Payhip, Lemon Squeezy and MemberPress.
How does Easy Digital Downloads compare with other tools for selling digital products?
Easy Digital Downloads's GPA of 2.2 is higher than 1 of the 14 other tools for selling digital products we grade.
Is Easy Digital Downloads good value for money?
ToolGPA grades Easy Digital Downloads C for value for money. Its paid plans start at $16.58 a month when paid by the year, against a middle price of $24.50 for the category: 3 of the 9 others that charge start lower.
Could I make my own version of Easy Digital Downloads?
To replace Easy Digital Downloads you would be making checkout, card payments and sales tax handled for you.
Where this guide comes from
The prices, plans, platforms and features were read from Easy Digital Downloads’s own pages on Oct 18, 2026, and the grades were given on Oct 18, 2026. Graded from this listing, whose facts were read from Easy Digital Downloads's own pages on 18 October 2026. Not based on using the product, and shorter than our full reviews.
Every tool we list gets five grades, A to F, each with its reason, and a GPA that averages them. How each is decided is at toolgpa.com/grades. This guide is ToolGPA’s own work; it is not made, paid for or approved by Sandhills Development, LLC. Prices change, so check easydigitaldownloads.com before you buy.
Part 07 · About
About ToolGPA
Who made this guide, what else is on the site, and how to cite it
2,281
Tools graded, in 73 categories
ToolGPA grades software the way a school report grades a pupil: five subjects, a letter for each with the reason written beside it, and a GPA that averages them. Prices, plans and platforms are read from each maker’s own pages and dated, so you always know how fresh a figure is.
ToolGPA is free to read. It may earn a commission from affiliate links and it works with sponsors, but anything paid for is labelled and no one can pay for a grade. Every tool on the site has a guide like this one, free to download and pass on. It all lives at toolgpa.com.
2,281
tools graded
73
categories
426
price changes on record
579
apps priced in 12 countries
What else is on toolgpa.com
- Easy Digital Downloads, kept up to dateEverything in this guide, with prices and grades as they are todaytoolgpa.com/tools/easy-digital-downloads
- How grades are givenThe rules behind every letter and every GPAtoolgpa.com/grades
- Value chartsWhat each tool costs against what it scores, for every categorytoolgpa.com/charts
- CompareAny two tools side by side, plan by plantoolgpa.com/compare
- Price changesEvery price rise and cut on record, each with its sourcetoolgpa.com/price-changes
- Prices by countryWhat apps cost on the App Store in 12 countriestoolgpa.com/prices-by-country
- Pay lessEvery public discount: yearly billing, students, nonprofitstoolgpa.com/save
- Keep or makeWhich tools are worth paying for, and which you could build yourselftoolgpa.com/keep-or-make
Scan for the live page
Prices and grades as they are today
Quoting this guide?
Please name ToolGPA and link to the live page, so readers can check the figures for themselves:
ToolGPA, "Easy Digital Downloads: The Insider's Guide", checked Oct 18, 2026. https://toolgpa.com/tools/easy-digital-downloads
Know someone choosing between tools for selling digital products?
Send them this guide: toolgpa.com/tools/easy-digital-downloads/guide
ToolGPA elsewhere: youtube.com/@toolgpa
See our other guides
The best-graded tools for selling digital products after Easy Digital Downloads, each with an Insider's Guide of its own.
- Selling Digital Products Insider's GuideEvery one of the 15 tools for selling digital products we grade, compared
- Whop Insider's GuideStorefront, checkout and payouts for paid communities and products3.4 GPA
- Patreon Insider's GuidePaid memberships, a shop and community for creators and their fans3.0 GPA
- Lemon Squeezy Insider's GuideMerchant of record checkout for software, subscriptions and downloads2.8 GPA
Choosing software? Every tool graded, every price dated.
Compare tools at toolgpa.com ›Everything in this guide is ToolGPA’s own summary of what Easy Digital Downloads’s pages, its app-store listings and public reviews said on the dates shown. Grades are our judgement under the rules at toolgpa.com/grades. ToolGPA uses affiliate links and may earn a commission from them, and it works with sponsors; anything paid for is labelled, and no one can pay for a grade. Easy Digital Downloads is a trademark of its owner, and this guide is not made, paid for or approved by Sandhills Development, LLC. Prices and plans change: check easydigitaldownloads.com before you buy.